Good morning and happy Saint Nicholas Day!
The temperature is creeping down as ski season begins Saturday, but the news is breaking fast and furious on the Beacon. Our top story this morning looks at the problems Wolford Development ran up against in the last planning board meeting over its Glacier Town Center proposal, and where the project goes from here. Jack Hanna answers your questions on why ducks march in a row and problematic parrots. In Bigfork and Somers-Lakeside districts, schools are educating in cramped quarters after bond votes to expand facilities failed. Environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against the Forest Service over a logging project in the Yaak they say will threaten grizzlies. And Mark Riffey has photos of the Columbia Falls Christmas parade.
Gov. Brian Schweitzer is in the news this morning, with the announcement out of Washington D.C. that he will serve as the Democratic Governors Association Vice Chairman for 2008. But here at home, Schweitzer is being ripped by the GOP for attending a fund raiser for Hillary Clinton in Washington that, apparently, never took place. And the governor is at odds with the Legislature over the accountability information he is providing, which is, according to some lawmakers, abundant but not quite the information they are seeking. In Polson yesterday, Kelly Birmingham pleaded guilty to the murder of a high school senior, and will likely be sentenced to 100 years in prison. At the Montana Grain Growers Association in Great Falls, executives are warning that the supply of world grain is not enough to meet demand. And in Butte, a doctor was fired after he brought a handgun into the hospital.
In the New York Times, check out this piece on the food presidential candidates are obligated to eat on the trail – with some disturbing pics of presidential hopefuls stuffing their faces. Wax those skis and get ready for the weekend.