More Fluff Conveniently Published Near Election Time

The Citizen-Times published this little gem as the primary elections for principal chief occur this coming Thursday. The article cites a UNC study that states that "Cherokee Casino raises incomes." There's the "duh!" factor. That in and of itself isn't what's so irritating about this article.
I will highlight what is so irritating:
* It's misleading. It makes it appear like Cherokee is somehow bucking economic trends while the rest of the area is struggling. That's not true. The casino itself hasn't exactly been on a hiring frenzy, and the consistent decline in per capita payments since 2007 is a clear indicator that all is not well there. Yes incomes have risen in the past 10 years, but the last four years will tell a different story.
* Michell Hicks, while he doesn't deserve blame for the decline in casino revenue, he certainly doesn't deserve credit for its success. Yet the article quotes him, and only him. There are four other candidates for his position and not a word from any of them is in the article. The result is a happy little puff piece published right at a time when non residents, who tend to be largely uninformed about tribal government, are likely to be in town, coincidentally right before election time.
* The tribe and casino revenue-funded Cherokee Preservation Foundation paid for this study along with Harrah's and AdvantageWest, a regional tourism promoter. That's right, tribal money was used to "study" this assertion that we all already knew to be true. That's like paying for a study to conclude that the sky is blue. It's another waste of tribal money, something for which the Hicks administration has become notorious.
Of course my greatest irritation is the Citizen-Times is capable of much better than this. Among the paper's ethical standards is that they'll be a voice for the voiceless. Right now the people of Cherokee have no voice. While it's understandable that some of them are fine with that, the people of Cherokee deserve better out of the "Voice of the Mountains."