Orion Donovan Smith
@orionds.bsky.social
Baltimore resident and DC reporter covering the other Washington for The Spokesman-Review in Spokane. Member of the Standing Committee of Correspondents, Regional Reporters Association board member, Report for America alum, amateur bike mechanic.
The Radio-TV Correspondents Association and the Standing Committee of Correspondents have released this statement to address concerns @reedreports.bsky.social and I have heard about reporters being barred from recording video of Sen. McConnell when he returned to the Capitol yesterday.
Joint Statement on Latest Push for Filming in the Senate Wing of the U.S. Capitol – RTCA Capitol Hill | Radio & Television Correspondents' Association
rtcacapitolhill.org
Those frantic, hysterical political fundraising texts aren’t for you, they’re designed to take advantage of known cognitive vulnerabilities among seniors, says this twice-spiked(!) report from @adambonica.bsky.social data4democracy.substack.com/p/hook-and-s...
Hook and Squeeze
How Democratic consultants, committees, and party leaders built a fundraising spam pipeline that funnels money from a captive pool of elderly donors into their own operations.
data4democracy.substack.com
More than 700 structures burned. 67,000 residents evacuated. 14 people unaccounted for so far. Here are The Spokesman-Review's front pages over the past three days of fires...
It’s true. The Spokesman-Review has been doing incredible work and it's transitioning right now to nonprofit ownership. There’s never been a better time to subscribe: spokesman.com/subscribe
Leah Sottile@leahsottile.bsky.social · 2mo agoI've been asking reporters in Spokane how we can help and everyone says subscribe, subscribe, subscribe. The Spokesman-Review has been doing unreal coverage of the fires: www.spokesman.com
I've been asking reporters in Spokane how we can help and everyone says subscribe, subscribe, subscribe. The Spokesman-Review has been doing unreal coverage of the fires: www.spokesman.com
The Spokesman-Review | Local News, Business, Entertainment, Sports & Weather for Eastern Washington
Serving the Inland Northwest since 1883. Spokesman.com provides breaking and in-depth coverage of Spokane area news, sports and community.
spokesman.com
Alexandra (Alex) Duggan@alexdugganreports.bsky.social · 2mo agoThe front page of this morning’s Spokesman-Review, Aug. 2, 2026, the day after one of the worst wildfires in Washington state history. More than 600 structures, mostly homes, have been lost in the #OldTrailsFire. Read local news.
I was on the scene that day and watched people flag police down to talk to someone walking away from the fire. My law enforcement sources confirmed to me this evening my description of the person I saw was consistent with the suspect. Here’s the story so far: www.spokesman.com/stories/2026...
Sheriff: Man, 37, arrested on suspicion of setting Old Trails fire
A 37-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of first-degree arson for allegedly setting the Old Trails fire, Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels announced Monday night.
spokesman.com
Alexandra (Alex) Duggan@alexdugganreports.bsky.social · 2mo agoBREAKING: Investigators have arrested 37-year-old Aaron Farinacci, a former Arizona resident with a manslaughter conviction, in connection to the start of the Old Trails Fire in Spokane.
The Spokesman is doing incredible reporting on this story. Follow them for critical info. @alexdugganreports.bsky.social www.spokesman.com/stories/2026...
'Never seen it this bad': Thousands evacuated in north Spokane as wildfire crosses river into city
A wildfire driven by high winds jumped the Spokane River Saturday afternoon, burning homes and quickly moving into the Indian Trail Neighborhood.
spokesman.com
ICYMI in Sunday's Spokesman-Review, Democrats in Idaho's biggest county have given @rothforidaho.bsky.social an ultimatum: Raise $50k and produce a campaign plan by Aug. 12, or they'll consider endorsing independent @achillesid.bsky.social in the race against Sen. Jim Risch.
Idaho Democrats think Jim Risch could be beaten, but they aren't sure they want a Democrat to run for Senate
WASHINGTON – Democratic Party leaders in Idaho’s most populous county think they have their best chance in decades to oust an incumbent Republican senator. They just aren’t sure a Democrat is the one ...
spokesman.com
ICYMI: I asked county election officials in WA & ID what they think of the SAVE America Act. Of the 9 who replied, 8—most Republicans—shared serious concerns. Even the 1 who supports the bill said "it would be a disaster" for many states. www.spokesman.com/stories/2026...
The 'SAVE America Act' has brought Congress to a halt. Local election officials say it's an unworkable bill
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has made it clear his top legislative priority is the “SAVE America Act,” a bill that would impose new restrictions on the way Americans vote this November.
spokesman.com
Some highlights from the Great American State Fair: An elk with an Amazon package in Washington state's empty booth, WA's own Glenn Beck railing against what "they" don't want you to know, and Benny Benassi's 2002 electro-house hit "Satisfaction."
Glenn Beck and an elk standing next to an Amazon box: The sights and sounds of the Great American State Fair
WASHINGTON – Wednesday’s theme at the Great American State Fair was “faith, values and inspiration.”
spokesman.com
I spoke yesterday with Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Rep. Michael Baumgartner about President Trump's threats to destroy Iranian society and the results of the past five weeks of war. Crocker called Trump's rhetoric "beyond extreme" and said the war has left the Iranian regime in a stronger position.
As shaky U.S.-Iran ceasefire begins, Crocker calls Trump's threats 'beyond extreme' while Baumgartner defends them as 'Machiavellian'
WASHINGTON – As renewed threats and conflicting claims tested the first day of a U.S.-Iran ceasefire Wednesday, a day after President Donald Trump threatened to destroy Iranian civilization, a decorated American diplomat said the truce could leave Iran’s government in a stronger position than when the United States and Israel launched the war five weeks earlier.
spokesman.com
A “small but growing number” of Spokane’s veterans hospital staff have affixed photos of Alex Pretti, the man killed by border patrol agents in MN, onto their ID badges. www.spokesman.com/stories/2026...
'One of our own': Employees, patients at Spokane veterans' hospital honor Alex Pretti, the VA nurse slain in Minneapolis
Employees at Spokane’s veterans’ hospital observed a moment of silence on Monday morning, and some affixed photos of Alex Pretti to their own ID badges in a show of solidarity with the VA nurse shot d...
spokesman.com
Veteran and VA employees in Spokane honored Alex Pretti, the slain nurse who worked at the Minneapolis VA, with flowers outside Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center and by putting Pretti's photo on their own ID badges. With @alexdugganreports.bsky.social in today's Spokesman-Review.
'One of our own': Employees, patients at Spokane veterans' hospital honor Alex Pretti, the VA nurse slain in Minneapolis
Employees at Spokane’s veterans’ hospital observed a moment of silence on Monday morning, and some affixed photos of Alex Pretti to their own ID badges in a show of solidarity with the VA nurse shot d...
spokesman.com
"A small but growing number" of employees at Spokane's VA medical center are putting photos of Alex Pretti, their fellow VA clinician killed by CBP agents in Minneapolis, over their own name badges, one nurse tells me. They began today with a moment of silence. More to come at spokesman.com
Scoop: Rep. Dan Newhouse won't run for re-election in 2026, leaving Congress after a dozen years representing Central Washington in the House. One of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in 2021, his departure will leave an open seat in Washington's most reliably conservative district.
Dan Newhouse won't seek re-election in 2026, retiring after 12 years representing Central Washington in Congress
WASHINGTON – Rep. Dan Newhouse will announce Wednesday that he won't seek re-election and will retire at the end of 2026, stepping down after a dozen years representing Central Washington's 4th Congre...
spokesman.com
Chris Dawson built an empire off a program that gave him massive no-bid contracts in exchange for the promise of uplifting Native Hawaiians. He’s now accused of cheating it to line his own pockets. Check out my latest with @propublica.org and @civilbeat.bsky.social www.civilbeat.org/2025/12/hawa...
Lack of Oversight In SBA Program May Take Millions Away From Native Hawaiians
A small business program allowed Christopher Dawson to win big contracts if he promised to uplift Native Hawaiians. Instead, federal prosecutors allege, he used the money to line his own pockets.
civilbeat.org
Republicans have seized upon a scandal involving a Native Hawaiian defense contractor to target a civil rights era program meant to help disadvantaged businesses compete in the federal marketplace. www.civilbeat.org/2025/12/frau... (A collab w/ @civilbeat.bsky.social & @propublica.org)
‘Fraud Magnet’? Senator Wants To Halt SBA Contracts Amid Hawaiʻi Case
In a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Joni Ernst cited a criminal investigation of Christopher Dawson, accused of hijacking small business funding intended to help Native Hawaiians.
civilbeat.org
I spoke with Jim Risch, Ryan Zinke & Michael Baumgartner about the U.S. strikes on boats in the Caribbean & Eastern Pacific. Sen. Risch said there's "no difference" between drugs & weapons. Rep. Zinke said the alternative to strikes is "no enforcement." www.spokesman.com/stories/2025...
Inland NW Republicans defend Caribbean boat strikes amid bipartisan scrutiny of potential war crimes
WASHINGTON – Congressional Republicans from the Inland Northwest have largely stood by the Trump administration this week amid bipartisan scrutiny of U.S. military strikes on small boats allegedly car...
spokesman.com
Not ready for prime time? via @washingtonpost.com and Spokesman-Review @orionds.bsky.social and Desmond Butler wapo.st/3KGIcKC
VA staff flag dangerous errors ahead of new health records expansion
A multibillion-dollar electronic system seeks to boost medical care for veterans across VA’s network. Some medical providers say glitches put patients at risk.
wapo.st
This report attributes several deaths of Ohio VA patients in the Columbus area to the glitchy new VA computer system
Orion Donovan Smith@orionds.bsky.social · 10mo agoFive years after the VA launched a new computer system in Spokane, Desmond Butler and I found the $10 billion Oracle EHR is still beset with problems, as the Trump administration gears up to launch it at 13 more hospitals in 2026. 1/ www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
Five years after the VA launched a new computer system in Spokane, Desmond Butler and I found the $10 billion Oracle EHR is still beset with problems, as the Trump administration gears up to launch it at 13 more hospitals in 2026. 1/ www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
VA staff flag dangerous errors ahead of new health records expansion
A multibillion-dollar electronic system seeks to boost medical care for veterans across VA’s network. Some users say glitches and errors put patients at risk.
washingtonpost.com
'We are alive:' federal workers get hugs, validation in fraught period of shutdown and layoffs www.baltimoresun.com/2025/10/03/w...
‘We are alive:’ federal workers get hugs, validation in fraught period of shutdown and layoffs
WASHINGTON — The poem about vulnerability and persistence was hitting its mark. It could hardly have found a more appropriate audience. “We are alive and we are trying,” Drew Tye Ruby-Howe recited…
baltimoresun.com
Some news: The Trump administration notified some AmeriCorps programs this week it was reinstating funding that had been abruptly terminated in April, a sudden about-face that came with no explanation for the reversal or clarity on its scope. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/07/17/n...
Months after widespread cuts, some AmeriCorps programs receive sudden notice of reinstatement - The Boston Globe
The sudden about-face came with no explanation for the reversal or clarity on its scope.
bostonglobe.com
Senate version of the "big, beautiful bill" would raise the debt limit by $5 trillion, a $1 trillion increase over the $4 trillion included in the House version www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-ne...
Last week, before Trump ordered ICE to stop targeting farmworkers (as the NYT and others have reported), I talked to several GOP lawmakers about the open secret that U.S. relies heavily on unauthorized migrant workers. Could Congress finally reform immigration law for them?
Republicans in Congress urge Trump to target criminals, not farmworkers, as ICE arrests increase
WASHINGTON – Amid a recent surge in arrests of immigrants allegedly living in the country illegally, some raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have drawn quiet concern from Republicans in...
spokesman.com
There's plenty of troubling-to-horrifying stuff going on in the world these days, but this @kashhill.bsky.social story stands out. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/t...
President Trump wants to boost U.S. mining, commercial fishing and oil/gas drilling. But his administration has closed a Spokane office responsible for protecting workers' safety in those same industries. I spoke with researchers at NIOSH's Spokane Research Lab whose jobs are in jeopardy.
As Trump administration aims to boost mining, drilling and fishing, Spokane office dedicated to workers' safety remains in jeopardy
WASHINGTON – Among the more than 150 executive actions President Donald Trump has taken since assuming office in January are orders that aim to boost oil and gas drilling, mining and commercial fishin...
spokesman.com
A music and art festival nestled in an Appalachian river valley wouldn‘t immediately seem like a place where DOGE would be top of mind. But when I went, I indeed found a community that feels like DOGE is closing in all around. My dispatch: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/05/09/n...
‘It’s all connected’: In Appalachia, a bustling community struggles under the weight of mounting DOGE cuts - The Boston Globe
The omnipresence of concern illustrated how President Trump’s dramatic efforts to downsize the federal government through DOGE are reverberating around the country.
bostonglobe.com
A Prince George's County community is on edge after Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported from that Maryland county. www.baltimoresun.com/2025/04/19/a...
A Prince George’s County community is on edge after Abrego Garcia deported
Five weeks after Kilmar Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported to an El Salvador prison, an immigrant community in Prince George’s County is on edge.
baltimoresun.com
I'm proud and grateful to work for The Spokesman-Review, a local news outlet with both an illustrious past (second-worst paper in America, per Harry Truman) and a bright future. They also continue to pay me, even though I'm so bad at social media that I'm posting this a day late.
Cowles family plans to donate The Spokesman-Review to local nonprofit
The Cowles family intends to donate The Spokesman-Review to a recently formed Spokane-based community nonprofit organization that plans to continue publishing the newspaper amid the changes and challe...
spokesman.com