News you can use
News you can use
Sorted by date Results 2936 - 2960 of 3212
While working on the "Voters on the Hi-Line" series Havre Daily News ran last week, I thought it was interesting that pretty much every person I talked to, no matter who they supported or what they believed, began by saying that they are sick of all of the political advertising and that they couldn't wait for the election to be over. Well it appears that this is in no way particular to the Hi-Line. The folks behind picture- and article-sharing website Buzzfeed and Unbaby.me, which removes all pictures and posts about your...
I would first like to wish everyone a very happy holiday season from the Havre Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and the Chamber staff. During this time of year, many people give unselfishly of their time to make the holidays a little more special for all of us. And we are very grateful to their efforts and time. Those who volunteer during the holidays and throughout the year are community members who are willing to step up and undertake a service and give back unselfishly to something they believe in and support. W...
One of the only things it appears both parties in this year's election agree on is that the media has done an awful job of tackling the issues that really matter. And Alex Ohanian is in that same boat. Ohanian is the 29-year-old Internet entrepreneur behind what is probably my favorite website, Reddit.com, which he sold to magazine-giant Conde Nast straight out of college. Zach White Since then he has started several new websites and has been a vocal advocate of keeping the Internet as free and open as possible. Ohanian and...
This week Victor Miller died. 'Most everybody in the state knew Vic. He was a former mayor of Harlem, a Blaine County Commissioner at two different times, talented drummer who nearly achieved national fame, a tireless storyteller and a man with a heart as big as he was. And Victor was a big man. Victor was my friend. It was a hard week for me. Every morning I walked down to City Shop for my usual coffee with the boys before work. I wanted to hear the report on our friend in th...
When Rep. Denny Rehberg visited the Havre Daily News earlier this year, he predicted that by October, a lot of people would be so sick of political commercials, they would want to shoot their television. He was wrong. Most Montanans don't want to wait until October. But, while people may not like the commercials, they do talk about them, especially the one where Republicans, with the miracle of Photoshop, gave back to Sen. Jon Tester the fingers he lost in a farm accident years ago. At least television viewers don't have to...
I don't even have television and I'm counting down the days until Election Day ... or rather, the day after. Election Day is like Christmas Eve and the next day is the day off, the day of peace, the day of tranquility and togetherness. I'm so tired of the senseless, election-politics bickering that the day-after-Election-Day politics-as-usual will seem peaceful by comparison. Mostly, I'm tired of all the negative, nasty spin doctoring of everyone's words. When one group is...
Where does one begin to say thank you for making Havre Festival Days such a great weekend. The weekend's success would not have happened without the continued support from the many volunteers and the willingness of many different community organizations coming together on this third weekend in September to throw a community celebration for all to enjoy. It truly takes a community to make Havre Festival Days. Debbie Vandeberg It takes partners such as Montana State University-Northern who was our Festival Days sponsor again...
This is a poem. A poem that was pushing at me to be written. I sat down to write it. This is what came out. A prose poem. I ask myself, "Why did I move back to Montana?" I fish the waters for an answer. Sometimes I haul in a trout or a salmon. Often my line hooks seaweed or a sucker. I would like a rational answer. Even to my mind, decisions based on the smell of bruised sage, the open bowl of forever sky, the gathering of elk at Slippery Ann or the first crocus at Snake...
In Montana, a teenager under age 18 can't get a tattoo or a body piercing without a parent's permission. Yet most people are stunned to learn that a girl of any age — even 12 or 13 — can be taken for an abortion without her parents even knowing about it. This is totally legal under current Montana law. There are 37 states that require parental notification or permission before a minor can get an abortion. Sadly, Montana is one of just 13 states without this common-sense policy. Legislative Referendum 120, on this year's bal...
A couple weeks ago I went to Floweree to spend the weekend with Karen. Our friend Luana joined us for lunch. After we ate, we piled into Karen's car and explored the back roads, down to the Missouri and the Carter Ferry. If black clouds had not been roiling over the mountains, we would have crossed the river on the ferry, driven dirt roads to Highwood and circled into Great Falls. Instead, we back-tracked through Carter, dug out a yucca plant we spotted along the roadside for...
If Public Policy Polling is right, Montanans will see a lot of close elections this year. The poll showed Democratic gubernatorial candidate Steve Bullock with a slight lead over former U.S. Rep. Rick Hill, 44 to 39 percent, and Sen. Jon Tester with a slight lead, 45 to 43 percent. Libertarian Dan Cox is third with 8 percent. John Kelleher Steve Daines, the GOP hopeful for the state's lone congressional seat, leads Democrat Kim Gillan 40 to 37 percent, a closer race than many had thought. Mitt Romney leads President Barack...
I've written a few columns about a recurring bond between the Internet and space exploration, as several Internet billionaires look to use their resources to explore the cosmos. And while there haven't been any new rockets launched or asteroids mined since those last columns I wrote on the subject, the Internet did just return one of the main reasons I have been so interested in space travel, and science in general. Zach White Last Thursday morning, Bill Nye, the Science Guy, hosted a live streaming science show at...
There is a lot of chatter on the web. In fact that's pretty much the point, to have as many people sharing as much information as they want. A lot of that info is, or can be, posted without requiring a name be attached, which upsets many people, while others find it freeing and necessary. Anonymity is baked into the structure and culture of the web. While many websites now allow the linking of accounts across websites and identity verification through cellphones or email, the web began with nothing more than usernames for...
The haze was thick at Colstrip last week when I visited, but it wasn't because of the 2,200-megawatt coal-burning facility there. It was because of forest fires. The Rosebud Complex, a group of nearby fires which started August 1, was finally contained two weeks later. This came on the heels of the Ash Creek fire, which burned from late June to mid-July. In all, these fires burned 421,000 acres, destroying everything from ranchland in Tongue River and Rosebud country to timber in the Custer National Forest whose sale had been...
"Are humans becoming less intelligent?" That's how the Monday headline from LiveScience.com read, and I said what everyone is thinking, "Well, duh." This was an election campaign year, what more evidence do you want? We all felt our brains getting sucker punched every day, what other result could come of it? Pam Burke But writer Tia Ghose reported that researcher Gerald Crabtree isn't looking at evidence from just this year. He made genetic studies of mankind through the ages...
Although election season is over, citizens and elected representatives will continue to discuss many serious economic issues. One critical topic on the 2013 legislative agenda is funding of the Montana Teachers' Retirement System; a defined benefit pension plan. Views on the retirement system vary widely — from solid support to severe criticism. A crucial role of the TRS Board and staff is to ensure legislators and the public have accurate data and information about Montana's pension systems. We want to support policy d...
Montana is a powerhouse. For generations, our natural resources have powered this nation's homes, cities and economy. And we stand to keep powering America for generations to come as one of the top producers of biofuels and bio-energy. Through hard work and innovation, Montana can remain one of the nation's top energy producers, preserve our state's natural resources and create new markets and jobs. On top of all that, our growing biofuels industry stands to one day make our nation and military independent from foreign oil. B...
Montana parents want and need choice in K-12 education. Fifty percent of Montanans would choose an option other than traditional public school for their kids, if possible (see EdChoice.org/MTpoll). So we were not surprised when the ACE Scholarship program we launched earlier this year was wildly oversubscribed. ACE provides partial funding to families with financial need so they can access the best educational setting for their child. Using ACE scholarships, this fall 500 Montana families have benefited. Sadly, many kids...
The tone of the 2012 election scene has hit a new low throughout much of the United States. Maybe that has to do with the introduction of so much negative television commercials because of the Citizens United decision. John Kelleher Maybe it has been prompted by the number of divisive issues facing voters this year. Or perhaps it is just a growing incivility and the growing belief that if you disagree with someone, the other person must be evil. It isn't the first time that the political discourse has taken a turn for the...
In a year when most state legislatures were engaged in budgetary belt-tightening, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer and public employee union representatives agreed to a pay plan package that would make any private sector worker envious. According to the agreement, each of the next two years state workers would receive both a 5 percent raise in pay and a 10 percent increase in the state contribution toward health insurance premiums. The price tag is estimated at $138 million After the pay plan agreement was reached, a local...
Look at what the weatherman dragged in. It looks a lot like one of those old winter storm warning charts being recycled from last year, but it's a brand spankin' new one for this year. Pam Burke Sure we've had snow and some cold already, if you want to think of below freezing as cold, but this winter storm is predicted to be more the real deal. Sub-zero temps. Winds of 20-30 mph with gusts to 40 mph. Blowing and drifting snow. We haven't had that joy for a while. It's no Superstorm Sandy, but I see trouble ahead in this...
Currently before Congress is the Parental Rights Amendment which would explicitly define the liberty of parents to direct the upbringing, education and care of their children as a fundamental right. Believe it or not, this right is not expressly stated in our Constitution, but is only an implied right. This shortcoming in our Constitution has led to the erosion of parental rights by court decisions and international law. Historically, the Supreme Court consistently maintained that parents possess a "fundamental right to...
Recently I have been rethinking my personal war against kochia, a common noxious weed, otherwise known as tumbleweed, romanced in song by the Sons of the Pioneers, engraved in our western history by Zane Gray. One day the thought tumbled into my head, at that moment vacant and dreamy, that nobody ever wins a war. How true, I thought. So why do I stand out in the blazing sun, my hands encased in protective gloves, ripping kochia up by the roots? Oh, my aching back! Sondra...
Last week saw one of the greatest demonstrations of the power of the Internet, and the strength behind the threats it faces, of all time. From the beginning of the Arab Spring uprisings, the Internet has been an invaluable tool in toppling the dictators who, once they lost their control over information, lost control of their countries. Facebook and Twitter became central means of coordination among demonstrators, with information, encouragement and warnings. YouTube became a way for the entire world to see up close the bruta...
While Montana seems to be having trouble with a rash of train derailments, rail lines in Bunnell, Fla., are having their own problems keeping their trains on schedule. A Bunnell man, 29-year-old Charles Cowart, was engaging in horseback riding under the influence of alcohol activities which took him onto the train tracks, and police officers were forced to call the train station to have all train traffic halted. Pam Burke WESH.com reported that the incident, along with urinating on a lawn and attempting to escape law...
