Last Best News (https://montana-mint.com/lastbestnews/page/119/)
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.
Former Montana House member Daniel Kennedy of Laurel has agreed to pay a $19,599 fine for accepting illegal campaign contributions during the Republican primary in 2010.
In a settlement reached last Thursday and posted Tuesday on the Montana commissioner of political practices’ website, Kennedy said “I did not know at the time but now understand” that the package of campaign services he received came from the National Right to Work organization. Continue Reading →
Usually, for my column on Labor Day, I write (maybe lecture) on how we should remember that what we now take for granted—the eight-hour workday, the weekend and safe workplaces—were given to us by people who often gave their lives so that the lives of others might be better. Continue Reading →
This is the 27th chapter of the 32-part video series “The Montana Ethic Project.” This chapter features Steve Running, University Regents Professor of Ecology at the University of Montana, talking about “Montana Climate Change.” You can watch the whole video below. Here is an edited transcript of how it begins:
A recent visit to Deer Lodge brought back memories of my first and last brush with Hollywood.
It was early July 1980 and I was the Anaconda Bureau reporter for the Montana Standard in Butte. I had heard there was a movie being filmed at the old prison in Deer Lodge, barely 25 miles from Anaconda, so I made arrangements to drive over and visit the set. Continue Reading →
In Phoenix earlier this week—as on his official website—Donald Trump promised “enhanced penalties for overstaying a visa. Millions of people come to the United States on temporary visas,” he claims, “but refuse to leave.” Trump’s solution? “Completion of a visa tracking system.”
Each year, 45 million nonimmigrant visitors come to these shores. The Department of Homeland Security estimates that 1.17 percent of them overstay their visas. So, for starters, Trump’s “enhanced penalties” are a solution is search of a problem. Still, the unintended consequences would be onerous. Continue Reading →
And … the Olympics is over. Whew.
I have to admit, I’ve never been a huge fan of the Games. Of all the events, though, the gymnastics portion has always held a certain fascination for me. It’s largely wistful. I used to do gymnastics, you see.
And, wow, was I terrible. Continue Reading →
A good job with a stable employer who values you can be a hard thing to come by in Montana. But now two organizations are not only seeking to make that more difficult, but may also put some people out of a job with legislation they are planning to propose for the 2017 Montana Legislature.
The Big Sky Veterinary Technician Association (BSVTA) and the Montana Veterinary Medicine Association (MVMA) have circulated pieces of draft occupational licensing legislation for comment by local veterinary practices. Continue Reading →
Over the past four years, Barrett Kaiser has spent a lot of time at the airport in Bangor, Maine. It was some consolation that it reminded him of the airport in Billings.
When you travel a lot, he said, it’s nice to be in an airport where the crowds are smaller, the people are friendlier and fly rods are everywhere. The next time he visits Maine, though, it will be purely for pleasure. His work there is done. Continue Reading →
