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HIGHS & LOWS

By Beacon Staff

Flathead’s unemployment rate drops for the first time in eight months. Meanwhile, the Obama administration is under fire as oil continues to leak into the Gulf of Mexico.

HIGH
UNEMPLOYMENT – The Flathead County jobless rate dropped in April, from 13.8 percent to 12.2 percent, the first positive movement in eight months.
CHARLES DJOU – This Republican won a special election in the heavily Democratic Hawaiian congressional district where President Obama grew up.
JERRY KOZAK – This state employee won the contest for ideas to save money in government, suggesting delaying purchases of new computers.
CONSUMER PROTECTION – A Montana rule that makes it more difficult for insurance companies to deny claims will stand after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

BETWEEN
RAND PAUL – This libertarian unseated the establishment-backed candidate in the Kentucky Republican Senate primary, a clear victory for the tea party movement. But within a few days, Paul was scrambling to explain controversial remarks on the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

LOW
OBAMA & BP – Local officials in the Gulf of Mexico are increasingly critical of the administration and BP for not stopping the catastrophic oil gusher, but it doesn’t appear anyone knows how, exactly, to stem the flow.
LIBERTY CONVENTION – Organizers predicted this conservative gathering in Missoula would draw 5,000 attendees. Instead, about 250 people showed up.
BIGFORK GOLF – This team was disqualified from the state Class B tournament after officials determined a round of golf played on the way to the competition constituted an illegal practice.
JASON FREDERICK – This Roosevelt County sheriff’s deputy broke both of his arms and dislocated his shoulders in a training exercise where he was shocked by a Taser.