Good morning; on the Beacon today, a look at how Semitool’s acquisition by Applied Materials could affect its local workforce. At a round table discussion on jobs with local business people, Sen. Jon Tester got an earful of local economic woes. Wondering what happened to the power yesterday? A major transmission line fell onto power distribution lines after a clamp used to keep the wires tight broke off for unknown reasons. Business columnist Mark Riffey urges you to start preparing for the New Year well before January 1.
U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg said Tuesday he is still evaluating a plan from Sen. Jon Tester that aims to both expand wilderness and increase logging in Montana. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar lashed out at the oil and gas industry Tuesday, accusing some industry trade groups of acting like an arm of the Republican Party in criticizing the Obama administration’s record on energy production. A bankruptcy judge said Tuesday that Moonlight Basin can use money from a recent sale of a $1.4 million condo to conduct business as usual at the resort — a ruling that company officials say will ensure that lifts will be running this December. Barry Beach, a Poplar man sentenced to 100 years in prison without the possibility of parole for a 1979 murder will get another hearing in his effort to prove he is innocent. In Kalispell, even though Sykes’ Market is closed, the Thanksgiving dinner tradition will continue. Montana wildlife officials say two bighorn sheep south of Darby have died from pneumonia – raising fears about the health of a large herd along the East Fork of the Bitterroot. A search is under way in the Beartooth Mountains for a 53-year-old man from the Columbus area, David K. Krueger, who was last spoken to on Saturday. The president of Montana Conservatives is disavowing any connections to a new group with a similar name, the Montana Conservative Coalition that is soliciting money here.