Opinion

Opinion


 Time to Unleash the Potential of Clean Energy

On Nov. 9, the Clean Energy Jobs American Power Act (S. 1733) passed through an important committee in the Senate – moving us closer to setting our country on a path to a cleaner energy future. This is the first substantial effort toward a new energy plan since Jimmy Carter urged the American public to […]

By David Fischlowitz
Business Is Personal

Simple Questions Don’t Always Have Simple Answers

Recently I received an email from a friend that asked a simple question: “We’re looking for ways to get the word out nationally on (our stuff). When you Google (keywords that they think are important), nothing about (our stuff) comes up. Do you have some suggestions?” Sometimes a one sentence question with a two sentence […]

By Mark Riffey
Like I Was Saying

Montana’s Obama Disapproval

President Barack Obama’s staff may want to rethink focusing on Montana in 2012. The president’s national targeting director Ken Strasma told the blog fivethirtyeight.com in August that he viewed our state as the “no. 1 pick to flip” from red to blue in the next presidential election. But according to an MSU-Billings poll released last […]

By Kellyn Brown
Opinion

Climate Bill Would Cost Montanans

While the U.S. Senate considers a “cap-and-trade” bill that includes creation of a new federal bureaucracy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the Montana Petroleum Association (MPA) is becoming more concerned about the toll such a plan would take on our industry and on Montana consumers. The Senate bill, modeled after one that passed the U.S. […]

By Dave Galt
Business Is Personal

Happy New Year … In November?

I don’t mean the Chinese New Year, the Jewish New Year or the new Federal fiscal year. I’m talking about the regular old New Year that happens on January first. Business-wise, are you ready for it? Or will you start getting ready for it on January second? If your business is struggling, I suggest you […]

By Mark Riffey
Closing Range

Let the DNRC Cut Some Trees

Last summer, I met Montana Department of Natural Resources (DNRC) Kalispell Unit forester Brent Kallander at the Whitefish rifle range. He was inventorying the ground where the range is located, the Spencer block of state forest southwest of Whitefish. Job No. 1 for DNRC is managing state trust lands for long-term revenues to support education, […]

By Dave Skinner
Like I Was Saying

The Amateurs are All Right

Montana’s tax collections are down. The Short-Term Investment Pool program is offering such weak returns that counties are pulling out their money. And the state’s pension system has lost nearly 21 percent of its value since last year and, at its current rate, will be more than $2 billion in the hole in 30 years. […]

By Kellyn Brown
Opinion

Don’t Jeopardize Montana’s Energy Future

Energy. It is the lifeblood of the American economy. For this reason, it is no surprise that energy policy discussions receive a great deal of attention. Done wrong, energy policy can significantly harm the economy. That is a real concern as the U.S. Congress and individual states debate legislation that aims to address climate change […]

By Carl Graham and Tom Mullikin
Business Is Personal

For Businesses, Every Day is Election Day

Your SD5 education tax dollars were well spent last week. Remember the Beacon story that talked about Kalispell School District 5’s failed levy? Just in case you missed it, here’s the reason why your tax dollars were well invested: “Such a request had never failed before, so School District No. 5 didn’t spend any money […]

By Mark Riffey
Like I Was Saying

Tammi Fisher’s Mandate

It was not surprising that Tammi Fisher won Kalispell’s mayoral race, but the margin with which she did it certainly was. She beat incumbent Mayor Pam Kennedy by more than 25 percentage points (63-37) in a defeat that cannot be blamed on low turnout in an off-election year. At 31 percent, it was actually quite […]

By Kellyn Brown
Opinion

Global Warming Film Just Wrong

I recently attended a public showing of the film “Not Evil, Just Wrong” in Kalispell. Sponsored by the Northwest Montana Patriots, it was billed as a documentary exploring the economic impact of global warming “hysteria.” I hoped it would broaden my perspective on climate change issues, but the film was a disappointment. First, while I […]

By Tim Lydon
Business Is Personal

Tools of the (Future) Trade

Ever have one of those vendors that supplies something that is so amazing that you can’t cure yourself of them? I deal with one of those in the software side of my world. And of course, their customer service is nowhere near ideal. They rarely communicate with their clients. They do a few things that […]

By Mark Riffey
Closing Range

For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People

The Beacon recently ran Christian Science Monitor writer Todd Wilkinson’s timely story on President Obama’s new National Park Service (NPS) director, Jonathan Jarvis. Jarvis has a tough row to hoe, leading an agency that can’t even agree on why it exists. The debate centers on a philosophical question: Are parks for people, or do parks […]

By Dave Skinner
Like I Was Saying

Road No Longer a Mirage

In January, I posed a question on flatheadbeacon.com asking when the U.S. Highway 93 Bypass would be finished. Of the 127 readers who responded to the unscientific poll, 53 percent of them said “never.” And who could blame them? The idea of building a highway to circumvent downtown Kalispell had been discussed for decades. Then, […]

By Kellyn Brown
Opinion

The Good Old Days Were Just That

Today you just wander down to the ski shop with a sliver of plastic and in a short time are able to take advantage of several million dollars worth of research and development that you can use to continue to make turns on a mountain no matter your age. Turn back the calendar to when […]

By Warren Miller