By Dan Testa, 11-16-09
Good morning; on the Beacon today, a proposed logging project in a heavily-used network of trails near Whitefish on Spencer Mountain has residents there
mobilizing to make sure that recreation is considered as part of the plan. The
jail in Columbia Falls will close its doors when the new county 911 center begins operation this February, prompting the city to change its routine way of incarcerating prisoners. A spokeswoman for Many Glacier Lodge in Glacier National Park says
work to correct health and safety issues at the lodge will begin in a year. Leaders of the
Flathead Valley Multi-Faith Project are planning their second annual potluck Thanksgiving dinner for Nov. 22.
Kalispell's Old Steel Bridge fishing access is a high traffic area for anglers and those looking for an accessible outdoor break. Kitchen Guy Jim Gray continues his
criticism against the state of Montana's alcohol licensing laws.
Montana's state Land Board on Monday will have the chance to
offer up for lease a vast tract of coal in the southeastern corner of the state. Smoking in Montana's bars, casinos and restaurants was forbidden Oct. 1, but some Great Falls residents are
complaining the prohibition isn't being enforced. Medical marijuana providers in Montana, while legal,
still face obstacles regarding whether law enforcement and others understand what's legal and what's not. A Lincoln County woman,
Morgan Jackson of Eureka, was killed on Friday when she lost control of the Mazda she was driving on U.S. Highway 93 near Stryker. Lee's Mike Dennison has a great analysis this week of
how health care legislation in Congress will affect Montanans having trouble with their current insurance. He also looks at
his own family's health care, and the "socialist" care his son receives while attending college in Vancouver. And one economist says
taxpayer-funded offshore information technology work for state projects isn't necessarily a bad – or even uncommon – thing.
[End of article]
