After several weeks of rarely dipping below 32 pages, Tuesday’s SeaTimes descended again to 26 pages, the current bare-bones minimum in the paper’s current format. What’s worse, the issue contained less than three pages of paid advertising.

And, local bloggers allege, what we do get within our last local broadsheet daily is increasingly weak in whole areas of coverage.

Jeff Reifman has noted online about the SeaTimes‘ avoiding any mention of Microsoft’s successful rerouting of software sales to Nevada for tax purposes.

Effin’ Unsound and Horses Ass, meanwhile, cry foul about the paper’s total silence i/r/t a boiling-over jurisdictional dispute between state attorney general Rob McKenna and commissioner of public lands Peter Goldmark.

It’s a fascinating unfolding saga, more complex than I can do justice to here. Essentially, the Okanogan PUD wants to condemn some Methow Valley land, owned by a state trust that supports schools. Goldmark, whose department oversees the trust, doesn’t want this. McKenna, despite a job description requiring him to represent the state in disputes such as this, refuses to pursue a suit. Goldmark has gone to the State Supreme Court to force McKenna to do McKenna’s job.

The SeaTimes still finds space, however, to run a glowing human interest feature about every sparsely attended tea party rally. And, starting Wednesday, it promises a new weekly commentary special all about why state government should do everything big business wants, or something along those lines.