News you can use
News you can use
Sorted by date Results 2183 - 2207 of 3188
Those dratted leaf-cutter ants are at it again, drilling holes, raising mounds of pebbled dirt around their nests. Their chain-saw jaws can strip my hibiscus, roses, oleander and hydrangea in minutes, leaving bare-naked stalks. Unsated, they turn to the rest of my garden. I gently escort spiders out of my house. But when I see fresh ant hills, I show no mercy. We were driving out the Rancho road to the highway, going to Guadalajara to pick up Pam at the airport, when I saw a...
Two years ago, the Conference of Western Attorneys General initiated research into the legality and precedents of efforts to move federal lands from public ownership. Recently, they released their conclusions, which have been endorsed by a bipartisan group of attorneys general of 11 Western states, including Montana. In a nutshell, they found that this current round of efforts to radically alter America’s century-old legacy of public land ownership has no legal basis in state or federal constitutional law. They soundly r...
What has defined America in the past no longer exists. Roughly 80 percent of Americans describe themselves as Christian but much current belief about what is moral bears little resemblance to biblical directives and traditional Christian teaching. How relevant is this in the midst of a contentious election year and in deciding who will lead our states and our nation? President George Washington in 1796 said, “And let us with caution indulge in supposition that morality can be maintained without religion.... Reason and experie...
I have spent my entire legal career as a prosecutor. Judge Dirk Sandefur presided over many of my most significant cases. He possesses a brilliant legal mind and a work ethic no one can match. Now unscrupulous political operatives backed by dark money are attacking him using half-truths and lies. I wholeheartedly endorse Judge Sandefur for the Montana Supreme Court, and I will set the record straight. Judge Sandefur has rock-solid credentials on criminal justice issues. Judge Sandefur imposes tough sanctions on criminals who...
If you ever find yourself on the other side of the Pacific homesick for Montana beef, you may soon be able to indulge at a local restaurant or supermarket in China. In a game-changing move, China recently announced that it would end the ban on United States beef imports for the first time since 2003. This long-overdue decision signals a tremendous boon to Montana’s economy and a milestone decision in a vigorous campaign. China is the second largest beef import market in the world. This May, I led a Congressional Delegation t...
Election to the State Auditor’s Office means the individual will serve as insurance commissioner for Montana. This person will play a critical role in setting policy which will affect nearly every man, woman and child in our state. Whether through health, life, homeowners, automobile, workers’ compensation insurance, or the myriad investment products available, everyone in our state is impacted by this office. The Auditor’s Office provides for the licensing and oversight of the firms selling insurance and investment produ...
It is a good thing you have me to think of these things. It took a long time but I finally have the weather figured out. For years I have stated that weather forecasters use the dart board method. They follow a probability theory that some ding-bat engineer has worked up into a chart which a graphics specialist transferred to a giant dart board. So the meteorologist is blindfolded, turned in circles until dizzy, pointed toward the board, handed a dart. Wherever it lands, that is the forecast for the day. I used to sneer that...
The Montana state auditor leads an office that is often overlooked or misunderstood, even though its insurance and investment work impacts every single Montanan. I’ve spent the past seven years serving as the top lawyer in the office and in that time, I’ve had the absolute joy of helping Montanans in every corner of our state. I've been in the trenches fighting for you, and I'm ready to put that experience to work as your next state auditor. My career has been dedicated to consumer protection, which is exactly why I love the...
I serve as a commissioner in a county where nearly 50 percent of the land is federally owned. There are some Montana counties, such as Mineral and Sanders counties, where the federal government owns more than 80 percent of the lands. While we all value our public lands and how they afford us our unique way of life, the issues that rural counties face is that, because so much of our land is public, it’s left off the tax rolls. Every year we have to fight for Montana counties’ share of funds to offset the loss of these fun...
The essentials for traveling out of the country are simple: • Have a reliable vehicle. • Have a good driver. • Bring a familiar blanky and comfort food for the neurotic companion. • Leave the crazy-eyed feral one at home. This is a story about my recent trip to Seattle, Washington, in which the only eventful thing, or running joke if you will, is the talking GPS’ continual disappointment with us that we would deviate from its chosen path. Apparently you have to program i...
After more than a decade supporting local CASA programs and volunteer advocates with supplemental training, outreach, and statewide coordination, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Montana’s state office will discontinue operation October 31, 2016. The CASA of Montana state office added value to the efforts of Montana’s local CASA programs, whose role has always been – and remains – to recruit, train, and coordinate the volunteer advocates who directly serve our endangered children in court. Although the state o...
Owners of a store in the village of Whycocomagh, Nova Scotia, are employing some good ol’ colonial strategies to help out with a population problem that has become an employee shortage problem: land-deal bribery. Unable to find enough employees for their country store/bakery, Farmer’s Daughter Country Market, and recognizing that the problem was a lack of community members, owners Sandee Maclean and Heather Coulombe looked at their asset of 80 acres of farmland to solve the...
It’s that time of year again when the nights and mornings get a little cooler the leaves start changing color and the elk are bugling. Soon, it will be time to break out the snow shovel and winter coat. The changing season also means that across Montana our students and teachers are back in the classroom. As a father of four and a product of Montana’s public schools from kindergarten at Longfellow Elementary School in Bozeman through college at Montana State University, I look forward to this time of year and the new beg...
I like to write letters. I like to receive letters. It’s a lifelong habit for me. While I no longer have a mailbox, I do have an email account and a computer. While the pleasure is not even similar to pulling down the flap of the aluminum container perched on a post at the end of the drive, I have learned to compensate. We live in a wondrous and fearful world. Everything — letters, bills, junkmail, spam, appears on my screen without visible means of support. Just this week, in...
I will stand for the national anthem because I live in a free country. This freedom comes with a price. This freedom comes from the ultimate sacrifice. This freedom comes from hard work, deep thinking, intense arguments, powerful protests, and a continued dedication to improving our country. This freedom also comes from a long and sordid past. I have never wanted to be a soldier or a politician. I have been happy to enjoy the freedoms and luxuries that come from living in America, and have tried my best to stay an informed,...
A massive sob came over Havre Thursday afternoon as word spread that civic leader Pam Hillery had died. She had meant so much to so many. On Facebook, in downtown conversations, in office buildings, people mourned her passing. Not that it was a surprise. Since she learned nearly four years ago that she had the horrific disease ALS, Pam had been open about it. In Facebook posts, newspaper columns, blogs, in interviews and in public appearances she had been very open about it. She shared the most secret thoughts on life and...
My friends are back home in British Columbia. I signed up for three days of depression, lonely following our whirlwind of explorations and excitement. A vibrantly green lizard perches on my wall, staring down at me, as if to say, “I’m here. Don’t cry.” Each day brought choices, where to go, what to see. We drove to Tonola twice for the tianguis (open-air street market). Twice we plucked fruit and vegetables from huge piles at the Friday tianguis in Etzatlan. Under the guise o...
Not that I was hyper-critical before, but now that I'm hyper-sympathetic to errors, I find myself thinking - far too often - "Ha, ha, haw, hmm, ooooh, man, I feel your pain." It really is pain I feel in my heart-guts-brain area - even if it's a 6,835-mile-long error that lands you, your crew and 212 paying airline passengers on the wrong continent. But we'll get back to that. For a good handful, or two, of years a significant part of my job has been not only to not-make...
Last session, I sponsored SB 128, a bill that created the School Funding Interim Commission, and requires the legislature to examine the school funding formula at least every 10 years, if not more frequently. The Commission met for 18 months and just wrapped up its work. The results of the Commission are several strong, new proposals to adjust some components of school funding to meet some pressing needs of Montana's public schools, and additionally, to lay out a roadmap for...
Recycle Hi-Line has partnered with Pacific Steel and Recycling, and Collective Recyclers of Billings to host an e-recycle event Saturday, Sept. 10. This event will allow residents a safe and convenient way to recycle unwanted electronics. Typically, Pacific has a per-pound charge to take items such as TVs and monitors. This charge is due to the costs for shipping, through end of life fees for that item. EPA regulations require meticulous handling and documentation for cathode ray tubes — CRTs — and hazardous substances in ele...
One of my horses is kind of loaned out to a ranch right now, and it’s like having a disturbance in the Force to be missing one of the living beings in my life. The two horses I have left are rocking the adjustment like, well, horses. This means, they ran around frantically for 15 minutes, whinnied loudly and regularly for maybe three hours, whinnied occasionally for another 10 hours and then they moved on to jockeying for position in the discussion over who would be in c...
Today, Kathy and her sister Crin fly into Guadalajara from Victoria, British Columbia. I’ve known Kathy for, I don’t know, maybe 15 years. When two friends recognize they are kindred spirits, who counts years? This is embarrassing, but I can’t remember Crin’s given name. I met Crin a couple years ago in Mazatlan. Crin’s unusual nickname comes from her penchant for crinoline underskirts when she was a little girl, back in the day when we all wore the starched scratchy...
As I enter my fourth year post-ALS diagnosis, I can honestly say, I have been blessed by the Havre community, my family and my widespread friends. To hear what you mean to people is a true gift, one I will treasure to my last breath. While in the words of Monty Python, I’m not dead yet, I am sticking close to my beloved home and yard. My voice is gone, and I get nervous in crowds. (I have to be sick: not talking and avoiding people!) I had a good run, though, and have no regrets. But I would be remiss if I didn’t say what hos...
With war in the Middle East bleeding the U.S. military budget dry, government officials have had to come up with creative ways to practice war craft, and officials launched their inaugural test run under this initiative Sunday with a small-scale invasion of riverfront property in Canada under the guise of a drunken float trip in the Great Lakes region. About 1,500 water-floaters taking part in the Port Huron Float Down on St. Clair River were blown by storm winds to the...
Groucho Marx said it. I suppose there are as many book readers in Mexico as in any other country. What I know for sure, no supposition, true fact, is there are more dogs than people. I’ve wondered if dog ownership is a residency requirement. Even here in Colonia El Guaje, also known as Rancho Americano, everyone has a dog or two or even six. Oops — no — I’m wrong. Lani has cats. Lani has three large male cats. Three male cats equal one male dog. All the dogs are male. I’ve no idea how they reproduce. Maybe a company g...
