Page 6 - Flathead Beacon // 12.7.16
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DATA POINTS
THIS WEEK’S POLLS FROM FLATHEADBEACON.COM
0.7
Inches of snowfall in Kalispell in November, the seventh lowest total on record dating back to 1899, according to the National Weather Service. Kalispell normally receives 9.3 inches of snow in the month of November.
THE GOOD
STOCKS
U.S. stocks have continued to post record highs since the election, with the three large-cap indexes rising more than 2 percent.
SHOULD MEDICARE BE PRIVATIZED?
TOTAL VOTES
SHOULD MONTANA TAX SALES OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA?
TOTAL VOTES
SHOULD MONTANA RAISE ITS FUEL TAX TO PAY FOR MORE INFRASTRUCTURE?
TOTAL VOTES
THE BAD
OAKLAND FIRE
A re erupted during a dance party at an Oakland, California, warehouse on Dec. 2, killing at least three-dozen people. It was the most lethal re in the U.S. in more than a decade and its cause is under investigation.
Montana U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat, reacting to President-elect Donald Trump’s recent cabinet appointments, including Steven Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs executive who was named Treasury Secretary.
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DECEMBER 7, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
24% YES
76% NO
63% YES
37% NO
51% YES
49% NO *READER POLLS ARE NOT SCIENTIFIC
“I asked President Engstrom to consider this transition at this time based on my belief that a change in leadership direction is the right step for UM going forward.”
Commissioner of Higher Education Clayton Christian announced Dec. 1 that University of Montana President Royce Engstrom is stepping down e ective Dec. 31. The university continues to face declining enrollments and budget cuts.
$3.95 MILLION
Amount of court-ordered fees that are owed to the O ce of the State Public Defender. A nancial audit found the agency doesn’t know how much money it is owed by criminal defendants and that the o ce is
not trying to collect the money while facing a $3.5 million budget shortfall.
260
234
288
27
Montana Highway Patrol trooper positions that could be lost under Gov. Bullock’s budget proposal for the next two years. The governor’s o ce is seeking a 10 percent cut to the agency in response to reduced revenues from fuel taxes.
“I’m deeply troubled that the President-elect is surrounding himself with lobbyists who are using loopholes to get around the rules after he promised to ‘drain the swamp.’”
