News you can use
News you can use
Sorted by date Results 2329 - 2353 of 3191
A day. Not an ordinary day. No connection to music or movie. A day plowing through bureaucratic formalities. Still, if one has a mind to connect the dots, a good day. With Carlos, driver and interpreter, my first stop was the much visited immigration office where I’m now on a first name basis with Amelia, Sophia and Ogla. I’ve left behind reams of paperwork, copies of numerous invasive documents, fingerprints, mug shot and much of my money. Today’s task was simple — I would p...
Recently, the shadowy Americans for Prosperity, funded by the Koch Brothers, and best known for claiming to speak for millions (and millions and millions) of Montanans, has recently submitted guest opinion pieces to several Montana daily newspapers making wild claims about the costs to Montana consumers and our economy from a clean energy plan that has yet to even be developed. Their “sky is falling” screed claims that Montana electricity consumers will find their electricity costs rocketing to unbearable levels if Mon...
I generally shudder when I see the first Christmas decorations in stores. They seem to appear earlier every year. However, this year I am thankful for them. I have long held that we humans migrate as much as the Canada geese which make semi-annual treks across our Big Sky. The difference is that we migrate through time rather than space. I guess we’re hard wired to do so, with seasonal ebbs and flows. The end of one year and the start of another is a powerful reminder that we ought to be thoughtful, consciously and c...
We both serve on the Havre City Council and work hard to make sure the decisions we make are in the best interest of our community and its residents. We have enjoyed working together in the past and will continue to do so in the future. However, we also have legitimate differences of opinion on certain issues. When we have disagreed on policy or other issues, we have always done so respectfully and tried to find common ground when we can. One issue of major importance to the city of Havre, its citizens and its future on...
I periodically scanned the news and checked the satellite images, waiting for Hurricane Patricia. It was much easier for me to focus on the dangers of the hurricane than to pay attention to the elephant stomping around my living room. My friends aided and abetted in my avoidance, unknowingly, of course. At six in the morning Nancie and Lani called me from Etzatlan near Guadalajara. “No, I’m in no danger in Mazatlan. In fact, if Patricia follows her projected path, you are likely to see more wind and rain than we do.” All d...
In a surprising twist of fate, a man who professes on his own website to be the “world’s best-known warlock,” lost a court battle with self-proclaimed witch priestess Lori Sforza in a little place called Salem, Massachusetts. News just doesn’t get any better than this for Halloween. On Wednesday, Salem News reported that witch Lori Sforza was granted a protective order by Salem District Court Judge Robert Brennan against warlock Christian Day. The harassment case reveale...
I have a cat burglar. Not the stealthy, romanticized thief-in-black who scales walls to steal valuables from upper stories of a home or business. I’m talking about an actual cat who burgles and who, by the way, is an unpleasant sort, a sneak-about in the dark and a brutish thug. And, yes, that last one is the real rub. This mean bully is picking on my Tony-O kitty, our resident, one-quarter feral shop cat who is often referred to as “handsome man” and “best cat ever,...
"You lie," the note from my friend said. "You said you were in Montana. If that were the case, you would have stopped in to see us." Immediately, as I often do, without thought, I shot back a reply. Afterwards, I began thinking. Was I flippant? I certainly did not mean to be. I had sent what I felt at the moment was an explanation. On later consideration, I felt I had sent a poor excuse. True, I had popped my head in the door and John wasn't there. I only had a five-minute win...
Nancie sent me photos of the vibrant leaves along the highway and streets of Leavenworth, yellow and orange and red against the green backdrop of Douglas fir and cedar. Immediately I could imagine the golden snake of cottonwoods slithering across the plains, hugging the banks of the Milk River. I love this season with a tinge of sadness, knowing it is short-lived, knowing winter could arrive before the next calendar page is turned. Those years when early frost, heavy with...
“Love your columns,” the email starts. No “Hello.” No “Dear Pam.” Not even a “Hey.” It just jumps right into the middle of a declaration of my awesomeness. Welcome to my beautiful life. A girl dreams, for years, of something like this happening. You work toward the goal, but sometimes you can’t bring yourself to belie— You do know that when I said “girl” I meant that as a nice, light-hearted, casual, way of saying woman, chick, broad or whatever to mean me since I started...
I hope your week has been good. I hope your week has not been like everyone else’s. The only thing I can attribute it to is astrology. I’m sure you must believe in astrology just as religiously as I do. I’m sure the Moon is in Mar’s pocket, Venus is flirting with Jupiter, Pluto is in the 29th house of Disney and the Sun has measles spots. None of the planets are tending to business. One of my close friends had three deaths in her family this week. Another friend had stomach...
Like a wine expert, a chocolate connoisseur, an opera singer with perfect pitch, a movie sound director, an artist, a sniper, a braille speed-reader, a plush-pile inspector who runs his or her hands over soft, fuzzy fabric and says “Oh, yeah, that’s so soft and fuzzy” (it’s a job, I'm sure), like any of these people, I have a sensory gift. I hear things. If it buzzes, whirs, taps, hums, squeaks, rings, dings, grinds, taps, knocks, clicks, whistles, snaps, twangs, thumps,...
Festival Days weekend’s success would not have been obtained without the continued support from the many volunteers and willingness of the many different entities of the community to come together on this third weekend in September to throw a community celebration for all to enjoy. Our many thanks go to the numerous volunteers, the businesses, community organizations, the vendors and our Festival Days sponsor partner, Montana State University-Northern, for helping the Havre area Chamber of Commerce make the weekend a huge a...
Tragedy has been stalking my house, doing dirty deeds. Tragedy, as you may know, is one of the lapdogs of the Universe, which likes loose its lapdogs to nip at my heels and bite me in the backside, maybe cause a stampede or an avalanche of irony. The lapdogs are kind of like the hounds of hell, but with a cruel sense of humor that tends to make their irony worse than their bite. Still hurts, though. Late last week the valve connected to the floaty-thingy inside our toilet tank...
Few things bring fear or dread into my life. When my car breaks down, I admit to approaching a state of near panic. This is mostly imaginary. When I was 23, a truck plowed into the side of my pick-up while I was driving east of U.S. Highway 2. I went into shock. I nearly lost my life. I have absolutely no memory of fear. And in actuality I cannot bring up one instance of car trouble, in which I didn’t know help was nearby or AAA would gallop to my rescue. My car problems w...
As a 20-year classroom teacher, I’ve seen first-hand how schools constantly work to make their education dollars stretch as far as possible. From textbooks and lab supplies, to technology and instructional tools, Montana educators are ensuring that the resources that are allocated to schools are used in the most efficient way possible. An often forgotten cost of educating students is the expense of keeping lights on and water running in our schools. This is why I’m pleased, this week, to be kicking off the second annual SMA...
I don’t mean to be bossy, but you need to sit down, take a few deep breaths and remain calm if you intend to continue reading. I am, at this very moment on this Friday afternoon of this beautiful fall season, experiencing a major medical crisis. I have an angry, inflamed pimple on my nose. Yes, thank you for your sympathy, prayers and good vibes. Believe me, I’m feeling you feeling my pain, and you will never know how much your emotional support means to me in these try...
My parents did their best to teach their children to be fair to a fault. It made thinking hurt sometimes. Despite our demands for sympathy in disagreements, moral disputes and a wide variety of emotional issues surely destined to ruin our lives — forever — their first response to drama was to tell us to consider how the other person, group or entity felt and to think about other viewpoints of any story or issue. I'm sure they would not approve of my current, and ironic, int...
How do I talk about something about which I don’t even want to think? Give me a good strong dose of denial. Cover my eyes with a blindfold. Bury my head in the sand. This summer I’ve had a good dose of talking with friends about what to do next, about downsizing a life, about disease and death. Two of my friends lost their husbands. Two more are suffering the downward spiral of Alzheimer’s. One friend is struggling to maintain by herself a life she loves which feeds her passi...
My dog and cat have entered into the next phase of our big, life-changing, house project with all the emotional balance and fortitude of your average neurotic, cross-species, counter-crosswise twins. The beginning of this adventure saw the cat happy that we were spending time up at the shop, but the dog angry because he wanted to be in the comfort of his home. It didn’t help that every time we put down a bed for the dog to lie on, the cat would strut across the floor, put one...
I love my Montana home, which, along with Washington, Idaho and our neighbors north and south, is burning. Love is, indeed, blind. If we have any sensibilities at all, our hearts are on fire. Our beautiful state is in flames. And The Platters said it all. When your heart’s on fire smoke gets in your eyes. The air is full of ugly particulates. The horizon has disappeared. Our view is dull, our “Little Sky” hovers, brown and gritty. Looks like a blizzard could blow in any minute...
Editors at Pamville News are bringing readers a healthy dose of international news items to freshen their morning. ABCNews.go.com reports the 20th Air Guitar World Championship started Thursday in Oulu, Finland, with 30 competitors airing their best moves. That first day of competition determined the top 15 international competitors who will go on to the final round today. Hosted by Finland’s northernmost city, Oulu, The competition is a favorite of the town’s mayor who des...
When I lived in Harlem, Shirley, Bev and I gallivanted around the country whenever we felt the strong urge to get out of Dodge, to shake out the metaphorical cobwebs. Since we “solita” women find cooking for one less than fun, someone would take the initiative, “Let’s go to Turner (or elsewhere) for a burger. I’ll drive.” So it seemed natural, while back in Harlem, to revisit our favorite haunts. When the train from Wolf Point pulled into Havre on a Sunday, my friends met me at the station. “Is there anything you want to do w...
If Iran’s ultimate goal is to obtain a nuclear weapon, the deal reached by the Obama administration sets Iran on a course to do so. From the time this deal is agreed to, Iran has ten years to fill their coffers with tens of billions of dollars from newly unsanctioned oil sales and pursue the research and development of nuclear capabilities. As the world’s leader of state-sponsored terrorism, it will only be a matter of time before Iran achieves its ultimate goal: obtaining a nuclear weapon. These are bipartisan concerns. Top...
Historians tell us that we need to know where we came from if we are to know where we are and where we’re going. If that’s the case, we in Havre and the Hi-Line know a lot more about ourselves because of the work of Gary Wilson. Wilson wrote several books on the colorful and sometimes bizarre history of this place we call home. He wrote books on the area, wrote newspaper articles and spoke to groups about the characters who helped build this place. He was the go-to guy for any facts about the how the Hi-Line has dev...
