A lot has happened since March 9. It was then that the Kalispell City Council approved traffic impact fees in what council members called a compromise and developers panned as anything but. The decision was supposed to settle an issue that had been debated for two years; how much to charge developers for the added […]

Just days after the city of Kalispell announced that it had narrowed to three its list of candidates for city manager, two of them withdrew from consideration. With just one man left standing, the council opted to push back a scheduled meet and greet and widen its search. Better that, I suppose, than making a […]

It’s difficult to accurately measure a recession by everyday anecdotes. We tally vacant storefronts, count new job listings and scan local real estate prices. They’re subjective, but the signs of hard times are there. What we tend to overlook – or at least I do – are other indicators; the ones that point to optimism, […]

Despite their many critics, Montana lawmakers do well representing their constituents’ varied opinions. This state is quirky and impossible to pigeonhole left or right. Don’t touch our guns, but smoke marijuana once approved by your doctor. The politics mix progressive and conservative views with staunch libertarianism. This legislative session lawmakers, by and large, have again […]

Judging by their remarks on the recently passed federal stimulus plan, it’s hard to believe Rep. Denny Rehberg, Republican, and Sen. Jon Tester, Democrat, voted on the same piece of legislation, are in the same profession or work in the same city for that matter. The two men, in separate interviews at the Beacon last […]

The much lauded and criticized federal stimulus plan has now passed. Montana’s U.S. lawmakers are back on the trail to defend their votes one way or another. The bill will either “bloat the federal government” or “create millions of good-paying jobs” – depending on who’s talking. What exactly is in the plan is still not […]

Partisanship is trickling downward: from the federal stimulus plan; to the race for Montana’s lone U.S. House seat; to the timeline and makeup of the state budget. The political creed – advanced by President Barack Obama – that elected officials would compromise for the good of the country, economy and its constituents’ respective psyches lasted […]

During this recession I have most often received two complaints that generally contradict each other: That the media is portraying the economy as worse than it actually is, or that we are too optimistic about what is happening locally. Both views are warranted. The economic health of Northwest Montana is something that no one, especially […]

Gov. Brian Schweitzer has come out of hiding. He’s putting pressure on Montana lawmakers to begin crafting a state budget as only he can – by comparing himself to an off-road vehicle: “I was in 2-wheel drive, and now I have put it in 4-wheel drive. I am going to use the strength of the […]

Kalispell unveiled a revitalization plan for its urban core earlier this month, complete with an optimistic rendering of what the center of the Flathead Valley’s largest city could look like with a substantial facelift. It was greeted, at least by many of our readers, with both skepticism and cynicism: “People will be colonizing the planet […]

On Jan. 8, two of the Flathead Valley’s largest employers announced massive layoffs in a day of reckoning that left another 345 people without jobs. There is little to do but shake your head and hope that collectively we find a solution to stem the bleeding. This region owes much of its prosperity to the […]

Instead of debating the merits of an inevitable federal government stimulus plan and arguing over whether such an influx of money will shore up the U.S. economy, Flathead Valley municipalities should get in line early and start begging. Fortunately, it appears that they already have their respective hats out. No longer is there a question […]

A new year, a fresh start? I hope so. The last one turned sour about midway through and ended on an especially bitter note when the Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. announced just a few days before Christmas that it was shutting its doors. When, exactly, did 2008’s optimism fade? The year began with presidential primaries […]

Sen. Jon Tester voted against the $700 billion bailout for the nation’s financial industry because he couldn’t find anyone who could tell him “it would do any good.” He then opposed a bailout for Detroit’s automakers because the “big three’s” business plan “wasn’t really a business plan.” It put him in a unique position, as […]

Myrt Webb has quickly become rather unpopular. The man who stepped in as Kalispell’s interim city manager – since the previous one, Jim Patrick, also rather unpopular, was fired – has told the council his blunt view of its finances. In short, he said if the city doesn’t begin making more staff cuts it will […]