By Dan Testa, 2-24-10
Good morning; on the Beacon today, amid deep Congressional gridlock, Montana Sen.
Jon Tester visited the Flathead Beacon offices last week for a wide-ranging discussion of what the upcoming year holds for the Senate, where he painted a picture of a Democratic caucus dissatisfied with the lack of progress while acknowledging its own culpability. Gabriel Perjessy, a Kalispell dentist in the area for more than 30 years, recently installed a system at his office that is said to
rearrange the molecular structure of water to give it qualities that promote better health. And business columnist
Mark Riffey observes some remarkably poor customer service.
Gov. Brian Schweitzer has ordered that
flags be flown at half-staff from Friday through Saturday to honor a Montana soldier, Sgt. Jeremiah Wittman, who was killed while on patrol in Afghanistan. States again saw
sharp declines in tax collections in the last quarter of 2009 — a record fifth straight quarterly drop, according to a new report that predicts more looming spending cuts or tax increases. The
founder of the millionaires-only Yellowstone Club goes on trial Wednesday to face claims that he fleeced the private Montana resort out of at least $286 million. A Montana
convenience store manager who is tired of being robbed has expanded the no shoes, no shirt, no service dress code to include a ban on hoodies and ski masks. Here's one point on which Democrats and Republicans agree on health care: President Barack Obama's much-touted televised summit has
virtually no chance of breaking the political logjam. Stymied at the Montana Legislature, some groups said Tuesday
they instead will ask voters to cap at 36 percent the annual interest rates that payday lending businesses can charge, compared with the current 400 percent maximum. Yellowstone County Attorney Dennis Paxinos struck back Tuesday against
accusations by a former employee that he sexually harassed and assaulted her. Sen. Max Baucus of Montana is one of three senior Senate Democrats who have been
named to a bipartisan panel established by President Barack Obama to find a plan to wrestle the budget deficit under control. Fears of the Obama administration enacting radical gun control have made receipts for the Pitman-Robertson Fund, funded by an excise tax on guns and ammunition,
increase 40 percent nationwide.
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