BILLINGS – The White House plan to seek alternate routes for a Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline presents a tangle of new problems for the project's backers, and any of those obstacles could still sink the proposal before the first spade of dirt is turned.
Shifting the path to avoid a major aquifer could increase the number of perilous stream crossings and put the line closer to populated areas. Major changes also risk alienating pipeline supporters, who tout the economic benefits of creating thousands of jobs. And the most vocal opponents plan to keep up their fight regardless of the route.
Shifting the path to avoid a major aquifer could increase the number of perilous stream crossings and put the line closer to populated areas. Major changes also risk alienating pipeline supporters, who tout the economic benefits of creating thousands of jobs. And the most vocal opponents plan to keep up their fight regardless of the route.
Comments (21) TotalPOLSON – Ten employees of Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Polson were laid off this week due to a serious budget shortfall.
Chief Executive Officer James Kiser tells the Missoulian the employees were notified of the layoffs Wednesday and Friday was their last day.
Chief Executive Officer James Kiser tells the Missoulian the employees were notified of the layoffs Wednesday and Friday was their last day.
Comments (2) TotalWASHINGTON – The State Department has ordered the developer of a pipeline that would carry oil from western Canada to Texas to reroute it from environmentally sensitive areas of Nebraska, possibly delaying a final U.S. decision until after the 2012 election.
The decision, described to The Associated Press by two senior State Department officials familiar with the project, will require an environmental review of the new section. That review probably would take at least a year.
The decision, described to The Associated Press by two senior State Department officials familiar with the project, will require an environmental review of the new section. That review probably would take at least a year.
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| Chuck Gailey, with OTB Designworks, removes one of the first jack rafters from a timber frame home fabricated on Webster Lane near Whitefish. The home was disassembled and prepared for shipment to New York. - Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon |
WHITEFISH – In Chuck Gailey’s basement office, what he believes is the future of home design and building sits on a computer screen. Various windows are open on the screen, all displaying the complex workings of a timber frame home that is being constructed a few miles away along KM Ranch Road, just west of Whitefish. But the frame won’t be staying there long.
This week, the frame, roof structure and other parts will be loaded into three semi-trucks and transported more than 2,000 miles to New York where the final product will be assembled with the help of home builders and designers. That is what makes Gailey’s company, OTB Designworks, unique.
This week, the frame, roof structure and other parts will be loaded into three semi-trucks and transported more than 2,000 miles to New York where the final product will be assembled with the help of home builders and designers. That is what makes Gailey’s company, OTB Designworks, unique.
Comments (0) TotalHELENA – Montana has started issuing permits to an Exxon Mobil subsidiary to ship about 300 loads of oversized oil refinery equipment over interstates 90 and 15 to the northern border, a state transportation official said Wednesday.
The Montana Department of Transportation has so far issued permits for six loads to travel from the Idaho-Montana line to Alberta, Canada, Duane Williams of the agency's motor carrier services division said.
The Montana Department of Transportation has so far issued permits for six loads to travel from the Idaho-Montana line to Alberta, Canada, Duane Williams of the agency's motor carrier services division said.
Comments (0) TotalWASHINGTON – The State Department is considering a plan that would reroute the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada away from environmentally sensitive areas of Nebraska, an action that could delay a final decision on the project until after the 2012 election.
A U.S. official said told The Associated Press on Wednesday that rerouting the pipeline was a key issue that came up during public meetings and this fall in the six states through which the pipeline would run. The official asked not to be identified because no decision has been made.
A U.S. official said told The Associated Press on Wednesday that rerouting the pipeline was a key issue that came up during public meetings and this fall in the six states through which the pipeline would run. The official asked not to be identified because no decision has been made.
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| An air tanker drops retardant as the Emerald Hills Fire crosses Interstate 90 in this aerial view. - Photo courtesy of Larry Mayer, Aerial Photographics |
A nearly decade-long battle over the use of fire retardant now centers on the effectiveness of the wildfire suppressant.
The group responsible for initially suing the U.S. Forest Service over the chemical’s environmental impact believes the agency’s latest assessment raises doubts about whether retardant is even proven useful, an opinion local fire officials and the leader of the assessment disagree with.
The group responsible for initially suing the U.S. Forest Service over the chemical’s environmental impact believes the agency’s latest assessment raises doubts about whether retardant is even proven useful, an opinion local fire officials and the leader of the assessment disagree with.
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| Iraq veteran Apollo Child, center, reaches for his son, Nathan, while talking about the difficulties of finding a job as his wife, Tamara Child, and Army veteran Dale Merrill, right, look on at the Flathead Job Service. - Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon |
Apollo Child spent a year fighting for his country in Iraq. When he returned home to Kalispell, a happy wife and newborn baby were waiting for him, but a job wasn’t. He’s been unemployed for two months now and he’s beginning to have flashbacks to his poverty-stricken childhood.
“I can’t let Nathan go through the same thing I did growing up,” Child said, gesturing to his 3-month-old son while sitting in a room at the Flathead Job Service last week.
“I can’t let Nathan go through the same thing I did growing up,” Child said, gesturing to his 3-month-old son while sitting in a room at the Flathead Job Service last week.
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