Good morning; on the Beacon today, there will be 36 acts performing at 15 venues during the annual First Night Flathead celebration, with some in Columbia Falls as well. As federal lawmakers hammer out a final health care reform bill, residents in Libby are watching closely. Sen. Max Baucus blasted anonymous accusations that he was drunk during a speech on the Senate floor about health care legislation. We’re low on 2009 and hoping for a better year in 2010 in our weekly news index of what’s up, down and in between. Lex Hilliard of Kalispell, Mont., had 86 yards in total offense and his first two NFL touchdowns as the Miami Dolphins tried to rally from a 27-0 deficit against the Houston Texans. And though Christmas has come and gone, it’s worth checking out Lido’s video of his family’s search for their Christmas tree.
Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg said Monday he plans a series of public meetings to solicit ideas for “fixing” legislation from U.S. Sen. Jon Tester that seeks to both expand wilderness and increase logging in Montana. The business model is unraveling at ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox and the local stations that carry the networks’ programming. A group of environmentalists pledged Monday to file petitions and lawsuits over the next 36 days to persuade the Obama administration to make protection of endangered plants and animals a priority. In 2009, the recession unraveled nearly four times as many Ponzi investment scams as fell apart in 2008, with “Ponzi” becoming a buzzword again thanks to the collapse of Bernard Madoff’s $50 billion plot. After announcing it would permanently shut down operations on Dec. 31, word came from Smurfit’s corporate headquarters that plant operations would continue through Jan. 5. A Turah man was charged Monday afternoon with two counts of vehicular homicide while under the influence after allegedly hitting and killing two teenage girls with his truck late Saturday night in MIssoula. More than 1,200 people visited Yellowstone National Park over the first six days of the park’s winter season. The often bizarre tale of Hardin’s effort to turn its empty jail over to an international police force — capped by the revelation that the uniform-clad savior was a California con man — was chosen by members of The Associated Press as the top news story in Montana for 2009. Helena attorney Michael Cotter said Monday he was eager to start into his work as Montana’s next U.S. attorney but does not yet know when he will be sworn in. A toddler froze to death on Christmas Eve in Wibaux, said authorities, who are calling the death accidental.