Good morning and happy birthday Rosa Parks.
On the Beacon today, child care providers are hurting as layoffs sweep through an industry accustomed to expansion, and the state budget appears poised to freeze funding. Kalispell voted to annex 207 acres for a new development Monday, but some council members indicated this would be the last of Kalispell’s expansion for some time. A district judge rejected Robert Kowalski’s request to back out of a plea agreement in the shooting death of his girlfriend. The DNRC is done taking public comment and now begins a study to assess the environmental effects of removing old logs from the lake bed of Somers Bay.
An Australian company wants to build a $375-million plant in southeastern Montana to produce coal and synthetic crude oil. A conservation group is debating whether to challenge the air quality permit granted to Thompson River Power, which has a poor environmental record. Republicans blamed Gov. Brian Schweitzer yesterday for the demise of a proposed coal-fired power plant near Great Falls, meanwhile a Nobel Prize-winning UM scientist disputed whether so-called “clean coal” technology even exists.
And finally, a man in Australia was busted for smuggling pigeons – in his pants. Have a great day.