Last Best News (https://montana-mint.com/lastbestnews/page/102/)
I was planning to ride off into the sunset today, but if I may appropriate an observation by Benjamin Franklin, it looks as though I might be heading in the direction of the rising sun.
In the week since I announced that Last Best News would cease publication today, I have heard so many expressions of interest in reviving it in some shape or form, with or without my continued involvement, that it appears likely that this independent online newspaper will live on.
The Montana Legislature will convene in a few days to conduct the business of the citizens of Montana. Legislators have some serious work to do, little time to do it, and less time to think about how their actions will affect their employers. Here are some issues they might want to think about as they begin the session: Continue Reading →
Mary Peters was hanging some of her huge, canvas-mounted photographs at the Last Chance Pub and Cider Mill last week, preparing for the first of what Last Chance manager Tanner Vinecke hopes will be a series of collaborations with artists.
For Peters, though, the exhibition has a deeper meaning. Continue Reading →
For part of Terry Zee Lee’s childhood, her family lived near the Pacific Ocean in Oregon. She and her three sisters and her brother would often spend the whole day playing on the beach. Their mother, who wanted to keep an eye on them but had things to do, would tie a kite string to each child’s wrist, so that they were all tethered to kites soaring above the beach.
Their mother could do her work around the house while periodically looking out the window and counting kites. You might say that Lee has been attached to kites ever since. Continue Reading →
Christmas came a day early for Kiki.
On Christmas Eve, the 16-year-old sophomore at Billings Senior High School brought home Zarah, a Bichon Frise puppy that was born on Oct. 29. The impossibly cute little dog won’t be just a pet, though. She will also be Kiki’s emotional support and service dog, mainly helping Kiki deal with chronic depression and “really bad anxiety.” Continue Reading →
The Montana Supreme Court has delayed action on a proposed change in the professional code of conduct for lawyers that has drawn hundreds of complaints from people who say the change threatens lawyers’ First Amendment rights.
The proposed change comes from the American Bar Association, which adopted it in August. The change considers it professional misconduct for a lawyer to “engage in conduct that the lawyer knows or reasonably should know is harassment or discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status or socioeconomic status in conduct related to the practice of law.” Continue Reading →
A few days before Christmas, 38 lucky students at McKinley Elementary School found themselves in possession of new bicycles, locks and helmets on Wednesday, compliments of Billings TrailNet.
“We build trails around town,” TrailNet event coordinator Kevin Odenthal told a gym full of kids Wednesday afternoon just before the giveaway. “We also want to make sure people have fun.” Continue Reading →
Montana Then and Now, by Aaron Parrett, Bangtail Press, 2014. 187 pages, $16.95.
I went into This House of Books, the new independent, cooperative bookstore in downtown Billings, determined to buy a Christmas present for somebody. Continue Reading →
When I started the Billings Blog back in 2003, it seemed cutting edge. It was the first Montana blog started by someone who was actually trying to make a living as a journalist.
For a while, it appeared that citizen-run blogs might be where the news would go, the independent, nonprofessional alternative to the ailing corporate behemoth. Continue Reading →
