In the waning days of 2011, Congress is doing its best to reaffirm the perception that it is wholly incapable doing anything, at all. The debate over whether to extend the payroll tax cut no longer just involves the merits of its extension (the economy is awful and increasing taxes is a bad idea), but […]

I read with interest Tom Crimmins’ guest column (Nov. 16 Beacon: “Release Inventoried Roadless Lands”) and would like to commend him for 32 years of service with the U.S. government (Forest Service). But he has several opinions that are unsettling to me. The Roadless Area Review and Evaluation (RARE) and RARE II were good for […]

“Our clients are so stupid!” Is that your company’s vibe? If you aren’t sure, ask the people who staff your front desk, sales department and/or customer support/service positions. At one time, the majority of my software customers were studio photographers. Their industry was making the massive shift from film to digital. Prior to that, many […]

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer is nationally recognized for his plain talk and good ideas. The Democrat selected a Republican running mate by allowing Montanans to mail in their nominees. He used the same strategy to trim the state budget and to select the design for the state quarter. Schweitzer is frugal with the Montana budget, […]

Jesus of Nazareth is recognized worldwide among scholars, historians, archaeologists, even Muslims, Hindus, and Jews. His existence is indisputable, even by Dan Brown. So, one might ask, “What ‘religious law’ is established by a statue of this historical man resting on public property?” What about the memory of this man needs so desperately to be […]

The new ruling by the Montana Public Service Commission purportedly clarifies how “nonprofit” taxi services must operate and these new regulations will affect the services provided, free of charge, by the Ride Guy in Whitefish. The Ride Guy is a group of dedicated volunteers that seek to reduce to zero the number of people driving […]

Two years ago, following an especially nasty local election season, I sat on a panel in Whitefish with then Political Practices Commissioner Dennis Unsworth. I was a bit out of my element, but I did learn something about the agency responsible for refereeing state campaigns: It lacks any sort of teeth. In the audience that […]

I support Whitefish’s goal of having strong, positive and vigorously enforced land use policies and its vision of a city where urban sprawl is limited and growth is controlled. I have supported the Dark Skies Initiative for years. One of my reasons for coming to the Flathead 20 years ago was the environment here that […]

As I look back over time, I’m convinced that Scott Dinsmore is exactly right. None of us have a clue what we can really do. Not the faintest idea. On the contrary, we’re all fairly sure what we can’t do. But the whole “can’t” thing is really way too easy. It’s the can that hard. “Can […]

Most folks expect the race between incumbent U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D) and challenger Congressman Denny Rehberg (R) to be as much a nail-biter as the 2006 race between Tester and then-incumbent Conrad Burns. With the Supreme Court taking limits off contributions for “independent expenditures,” 2012 should be the greatest election ever in terms of […]

The mayor and city council of Kalispell are looking for another high paid city manager. Next year we will vote to retain the city manager or go back to a mayor form of government. This vote happens every 10 years, or you can vote on the form of government every year if you can get […]

An Associated Press article entitled “Crowded field courts far-right voting bloc” recently appeared on the front pages of newspapers across Montana. The author, Matt Gouras refers to the far-right voting bloc, which he links to the Tea Party. Since when is being fiscally responsible, following the Constitution and supporting free markets far right? It sounds […]

Council members have largely praised Kalispell City Manager Jane Howington’s short tenure here. When she arrived in August of 2009, the city was dangerously close to broke. She quickly made cuts, which is why there is another camp that is eager to see Howington pack up her desk and head to Rhode Island. City departments […]

Did the Flathead County commissioners really think no one would notice the fraudulent makeup of the mailing list they used to survey a “select” group of Whitefish “doughnut” property owners? Many long-time residents were not even sent a survey, while many out-of-state property owners got multiple survey cards. The survey methodology used by the county […]

In Steve Denning’s Forbes commentary this week, he mentions a presentation made by author and Harvard business professor Clayton Christensen decrying U.S. business schools’ focus on numbers-above-all, saying the pursuit of profit is killing innovation and the US economy. The pursuit of profit is not the problem, nor is profit itself. What the always interesting and provocative Christensen […]