Lawmakers in the Montana House of Representatives, many arguing that they are worried about the stress their county clerks and recorders are under on Election Day, have supported eliminating same-day voter registration. But if you’ve been paying attention at all this session, you quickly realize that the bill’s backers are not really worried about that […]

Dear Sen. Jim Shockley, I have been looking over some of the bills you are carrying or sponsoring in the Senate and must applaud you on a few of them – specifically Senate Bill 17 and Senate Bill 18. I am confused then why you would not support Senate Bill 114, which like one of […]

How is it that five members of the Montana Legislature can overturn the will of the people of Montana and the United States? I am deeply disappointed that you voted to eliminate funding for the lifesaving Montana Tobacco Use Prevention Program. I am outraged that you chose Corporate Tobacco over protecting Montana’s children. In 2002, […]

The tax deal negotiated by President Obama and the Republican congressional leadership has been called a “stealth stimulus package.” By maintaining all the Bush tax cuts, renewing unemployment insurance benefits, adding a payroll tax cut, and so on, the deal will probably boost the speed of the economic recovery. But is it enough to reduce […]

Whether you love what you do or chose it for the money, the math that makes the business work…actually has to work. It’s more complicated than how much you spend and how much you make. How’d you come up with the prices for your stuff? If you’re a retailer, you probably had someone tell you […]

“We conclude first and foremost that this crisis was avoidable,” said Phil Angelides, chairman of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC). In last month’s report the FCIC said the financial crisis that spread to Montana could have been avoided. The FCIC contends that the causes of the crisis lay with the federal authorities, under presidents […]

Only a few of the new Obamacare regulations are in effect now. But they’ve already made insurance so expensive that Health & Human Services had to grant waivers to 733 businesses and unions so they could continue current insurance for 2.1 million employees. The list of waiver recipients includes Hypex, Inc. (with one employee) and […]

Nothing sets the mood for romance like chocolate. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, this couldn’t be a better time to share with you two of my favorite chocolate desserts. If you want to do something extra special to make your Valentine’s heart melt, I invite you to prepare one of these for your […]

Very simply, I wish to die with dignity. My heartfelt hop is that this freedom remains an option for Montanans. It is already legal in Oregon and Washington state. This freedom was recognized in Montana in 2009 by means of the Baxter case. Now, Great Falls Sen. Anders Blewett of Great Falls has written Senate […]

Our country’s leaders have promised (using super serious language) to take steps to reduce the federal deficit. “Our nation is approaching a tipping point.” “Another wake-up call.” “Now is the time to act.” These quotes, lifted from three separate political speeches last week, are at once interchangeable and meaningless unless they are attached to concrete […]

As a citizen of Canada and a lifelong resident of Fernie (the closest B.C. community to the proposed park) I would thank the international coalition of retired park superintendents who came together to voice their support for expanding Waterton Lakes National Park into the southeastern one-third of the British Columbian Flathead (Dec. 29 Beacon: “Former […]

The city of Kalispell has been working on rebuilding relationships with the rural volunteer fire departments since January 2010. The city’s new administration, inclusive of the city manager, fire chief, myself and the city council, felt it prudent to begin discussions with the West Valley Fire Department in particular, as West Valley’s tax base was […]

Recently NY Times’ “You’re the Boss” blog had a piece about the 10 reasons small businesses fail. It’s a laundry list of pretty fundamental stuff, much of which we regularly talk about here: a business model whose math doesn’t work, owners who can’t get out of their own way out-of-control growth poor accounting insufficient cash […]

On Jan. 10, state District Judge Joe J. Hegel told environmentalists they could proceed with litigation against the preliminary leasing of the so-called Otter Creek tracts to Arch Coal. That the Greens are pursuing this case strikes me as otter stupidity. But first, some history and numbers: Otter Creek came into Montana’s trust portfolio in […]

More jobs. The two words every Montanan was promised by candidates running for the state Legislature. Many of these now-elected officials plan on living up to their promises, but I have to question the sincerity of Rep. Derek Skees, R-Whitefish, now that he has introduced House Bill 244, which attempts to repeal our Renewable Energy […]