Blazersedge has learned tonight that the Vancouver Columbian has hired Matt Calkins, previously of the Riverside (CA) Press-Enterprise, to serve as its Portland Trail Blazers beat writer.

You can read through Calkins's column archive on the Press-Enterprise's website right here. 

Calkins replaces the paper's former Blazers beat writer, Brian T. Smith, who now covers the Utah Jazz for the Salt Lake City Tribune. Smith, in turn, replaced Ross Siler, who left the Jazz beat to attend the University of Washington's Law School.

You can visit the Columbian online here.

You can find Matt on Twitter here.

-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter