Good morning; on the Beacon today, 33 vehicles at Gardner’s RV and Trailer Center were vandalized Monday night, with death threats. Local high school graduates remain quietly optimistic despite a tough economy and job market. Local attorney Tammi Fisher announced Tuesday she is throwing her hat into the ring to run for mayor of Kalispell. A recent city council vote on the Kalispell Fire Department budget overrun demonstrates how tough the city’s budget situation continues to be. And business columnist Mark Riffey advises on how missing just a tiny bit of attention to the details of your internet communications can really impact the message you’re trying to get across to a client or prospect.
In state news, the pesticide carbaryl is going to be used to fight the beetles killing the forests of Western Montana. A new revolving loan fund set up by the Legislature to help the wood products industry is beginning to distribute some $1 million. State Republicans descend on Helena this week to choose a new state chairperson. A Sanders County man has been arrested on a felony animal cruelty warrant after abandoning 17 horses in Camas Prairie. The assets of two Polson men accused of orchestrating the biggest Ponzi scheme in Montana history were ordered frozen by a Helena judge. Lobbyists report spending roughly $6 million in the 2009 Legislature. The Billings Gazette’s Brett French has an excellent story on what firefighting costs in the wildland urban interface are likely to cost, and unsuccessful attempts in the recent legislative session to incentivize some fire mitigation measures by homeowners. And the U.S. Justice Department will not seek the death penalty for the man accused of murdering three women at a Florence hair salon in 2001.