Good morning; on the Beacon today, less than a year after creating a temporary vendor ordinance and with two mobile food vendors operating under the law, the Whitefish City Council is considering a moratorium on the vendors until the ordinance can be tweaked, or abolished. Local food banks are running out of meat. Brush the dust off those golf clubs, it’s time to hit the links, with a quick roundup of local golf courses. And Kitchen Guy Chef Jim Gray recalls the childhood incident that forever marked his troublesome relationship with green beans.
U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg is swearing off earmarks for at least one year in a symbolic stance against federal spending. He has also asked the White House to delay a new Environmental Protection Agency rule that requires contractors to take extra precautions in dealing with lead-paint dust and debris. The Montana Livestock Loss Reduction and Mitigation Board reports it has paid out about $142,000 for 369 livestock losses to wolves in 2009, but some question whether it is doing enough funding preventative measures. Consumers spent modestly last month, a sign that the economic recovery is proceeding at a decent — but not spectacular — pace. Lawmakers plan to tackle Montana’s drunken driving problem in the upcoming Legislature, and have already drawn up some proposals. Supporters of gun rights rallied on the lawn of the state Capitol building over the weekend. Lee’s Chuck Johnson recalls another Montana Democrat who fought for health care: Sen. James E. Murray of Butte. And Dustin Frost, the former Rehberg staffer who was seriously injured in a boat crash on Flathead Lake last year, is excited to begin his new political consulting business.