Good morning; on the Beacon today, Whitefish City officials who previously used the building boom as a bountiful revenue source for their municipal budgets are now facing the reality of vastly diminished construction revenues. Joining other cities around Montana and in the Flathead confronting the issue, Kalispell City Council voted Tuesday night to impose a temporary prohibition on medical marijuana caregiver facilities, referring questions of how and whether to regulate such businesses to the planning board for its review and recommendation. Leaders from Montana and British Columbia are scheduled to sign an agreement that bans mining and drilling in a valley along the U.S.-Canadian border north of Glacier National Park. Flathead County recently agreed to a tentative settlement with the developers of the North Shore Ranch Subdivision, a decision that could put the county on the hook for $1 million and the cost of constructing the development’s road system. And Dave Skinner delves into the real implications of the Supreme Court decision freeing up campaign donations. Bill Schneider writes about the rift Sen. Jon Tester’s Forest Jobs and Recreation Act is causing in the conservation community.
The American Civil Liberties Union asked the United Nations on Wednesday to intervene in the case of a Montana State Prison inmate the ACLU says is being subjected to “torturous” treatment. Nearly 50 of the 88 bison that have been held in a quarantine compound outside Yellowstone National Park were loaded in large stock trailers Wednesday morning for the two-hour ride to their new home on Ted Turner’s ranch. The Missoulian’s Vince Devlin writes about a Polson drifter who was allegedly breaking into homes to file paperwork in an attempt to steal those homes. One year after the passage of the federal $787 billion stimulus bill, Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont, wants to scrap the measure in exchange for payroll tax cuts. A computer glitch in the state’s expanded children’s health-insurance plan that has randomly booted families out of the program is causing some patients to forego refilling critical prescriptions, according to several Bozeman doctors. Former Montana Gov. Marc Racicot has taken a seat on the Plum Creek Timber Co.’s board of directors. Sen. Max Baucus told a Helena audience Wednesday that he still believes Congress can and should pass a health-reform bill, but offered no details of what a compromise measure might include.