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FWP: Fireworks illegal in state parks, fishing access sites

(Billings) With the annual Independence Day holiday this week, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks reminds people that it is illegal to use fireworks in the state’s many parks and fishing access sites.

State law prohibits use of firework on any FWP lands. Anyone caught violating the law can be charged with a misdemeanor crime and fined as much as $500.

Additionally, Lake Elmo State Park is inside the Billings city limits, where municipal law prohibits personal use of fireworks.

In the interest of personal safety, fire prevention and staying on the right side of the law, FWP says Fourth of July celebrants are encouraged to leave their fireworks at home, when visiting Montana’s state parks and fishing access sites this week.

FWP Mountain Lake Guide 2008
NOW AVAILABLE
Click HERE for information

NOTICE OF CROW BAR EXAM
Saturday July 12, 2008

Deadline July 9, 2008

Click HERE!

Yellowstone reports record June visitation

(Yellowstone National Park AP) Visitation to Yellowstone National Park hit a new record in June, and is on a near-record pace for the first six months of the year.

Park officials say Yellowstone recorded more than 612,000 recreational visits last month.

That's up nearly 2,500 visitors from June 2007, and marks only the second time ever that the park's June visitation has topped the 600,000 mark.

For the first six months of the year, Yellowstone recorded more than 947,000 visitors.

That's a slight decrease from last year's record of 978,000 visitors. But it's still the second-highest visitation level ever recorded for the first six months of the year.

Yellowstone had a record 3.15 million visitors in 2007. The previous record was set in 1992 at 3.14 million visitors.

The bulk of the park's visitation occurs in May through September.

Sheriff recall petition circulating in Big Horn County

(Hardin) A petition recalling Sheriff Lawrence “Pete” Big Hair is now being circulated in Big Horn County. The county clerk approved the form of the recall petition which was submitted by former Undersheriff Bob Runge of Hardin.

The petition was filed today (Thursday) with Cindy Maxwell, Big Horn County Clerk. Maxwell said she reviewed the form and approved it to be circulated for signatures. Runge immediately started to circulate the petition for signatures.

According to Maxwell, supporters of the recall petition need to collect 1165 signatures from registered voters in Big Horn County in order to initiate a recall election. And the signed petitions must be submitted to her office within three months.

Montana Statute says the only grounds for the recall of an elected official are physical or mental lack of fitness, incompetence, violation of the oath of office, official misconduct, or conviction of certain felony offences.

The petition to recall Sheriff Lawrence “Pete” Big Hair alleges three reasons for his recall: Incompetence, breach of oath of office and engaging in acts of official misconduct. Four examples were given in the petition supporting the recall.

Rungee cites Big Hair’s lack of knowledge in a public forum of the number of deputies he had on staff, status of required Montana certification, and his budget amounts or expenditures. The Sheriff is also alleged to have hired a deputy who served time in prison. In addition, he failed to ensure that his undersheriff and deputies met the certification requirements of Montana statute for law enforcement officers within one year of employment, as mandated by state law.

Big Hair is also accused of removing inmates for the County jail for work details until this practice was ended by court order.

The last allegation is based upon Big Hair’s much publicized recent arrest for domestic assault, endangering the welfare of children and bribery. The matter is now before the Crow Tribal Court. Big Hair has pled not guilty to those charges and trial is set for this October in Crow Agency

Big Hair was elected in November 2006 amid past allegations of rape, domestic abuse and the use of his federally issued firearm in a murder. No criminal charges were ever brought against him in those incidents.

Tester: People want safe border, unhampered trade

(Havre AP) U.S. Sen. Jon Tester says people along the Montana Hi-Line want a safe international border, but not at the expense of trade between the U.S. and Canada.

Tester says that was a principal message he heard during a three-day border tour that ended Wednesday with a Senate field hearing in Havre on border security.

An audience of about 125 people attended the hearing at Montana State University-Northern.

On part of the tour, Tester was accompanied by the deputy secretary of Homeland Security, Paul Schneider

Tester serves on the Senate Homeland Security Committee. He says the tour gave him a chance to see for himself the problems faced at the northern border.

He says many Hi-Line residents told him they want to see more ports of entry open around the clock.

Official: Bakken shale won't impact oil prices yet

(Bismarck ND AP) North Dakota's mineral resources director says it likely will be a decade before the promising Bakken shale formation has a significant effect on the nation's oil and gas supplies and prices.

Lynn Helms testified Wednesday in Bismarck at a hearing chaired by Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., to discuss fuel prices.

The Bakken encompasses some 25,000 square miles in North Dakota, Montana, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, with about two-thirds of the acreage in western North Dakota. The U.S. Geological Survey has estimated that up to 4.3 billion barrels of oil can be recovered from the formation using current technology.

Helms said the interest in the Bakken has led to more drilling and exploration, but the oil still must be delivered and processed.

"We're going to have to build more pipelines. We're going to have to build natural gas processing plants. We're going to need electric generation and transmission ... and we're going to need refining capacity," Helms said.

"This is going to be a long-sustained process in developing our petroleum resources in North Dakota," he said.

Gene LaDoucer, a spokesman for AAA North Dakota, said North Dakotans are driving less because of high fuel prices, and many are calling the auto club with questions and pleas for help.

"The reality is that the cost of gasoline is causing some North Dakotans to struggle to make ends meet," he said.

LaDoucer said AAA also gets calls from people stranded on the road after running out of gas.

Apparently, with the high prices, they're waiting longer to fill up in the hope that gas will go down "even by a few cents," he said.

Conrad said he favors a plan that increases domestic oil production, reins in oil speculation, promotes fuel-efficient vehicles, provides incentives for alternative fuels, and promotes coal-to-liquid techniques.

"I think we'll look back and see that North Dakota becomes a major energy hub for the nation," he said.

NorthWestern files power line siting application

(Butte AP) On Monday, NorthWestern Energy filed a major facility siting application with the Dept. of Environmental Quailty for a proposed 500 kilovolt transmission line from Montana to Idaho.

The DEQ has 30 days to review the application to see if it is complete. Company officials estimate the entire permitting process could take up to two years.

The Mountain States Transmission Intertie would run about 400 miles from a new substation just south of Townsend to a substation north of Jerome,Idaho.

Rich Walsh, who is in charge of siting and permitting for NorthWestern, says the power line would give new power projects in Montana a way to reach markets in the West.

The company says the $800 million transmission line would be operated outside its regulated utility business and have no effect on consumer electric rates.

At the Flathead National Forest, public comment is being taken on a proposed natural gas pipeline in the Hungry Horse Ranger District.

NorthWestern wants to install 12 miles of 12-inch diameter steel pipe from a natural gas valve station near Marias Pass to a station near the junction of Bear Creek and the Middle Fork of the Flathead River.

The underground pipe would generally parallel U.S. Highway 2 and an existing natural gas transmission line.

NorthWeatern says the pipeline would increase its capacity to supply natural gas to the growing Flathead Valley. The company wants to do the work next summer.

Governor Schweitzer signs an agreement to extend Montana's Unemployment benefits

(Helena) Gov. Schweitzer signed an agreement Wednesday that gives an estimated 8,500 unemployed Montanans access to the unemployment benefit extension recently passed by Congress. "The agreement provides much needed assistance to Montana workers who are unemployed and will give an additional boost to the Montana economy," said Schweitzer.

The provisions allow for an additional 4-13 weeks of benefits to individuals who have exhausted an Unemployment claim on or after May 1, 2007, and who are not eligible to begin a new Unemployment Insurance claim. Because the extension is federally funded, there is no cost to employers.

Montana Dept. of Labor and Industry Commissioner Keith Kelly says, "The extension helps those Montanans who are having a hard time finding employment in some parts of our economy and at the same time provide an economic stimulus to our Main Street business."

Claimants who could be eligible for the benefits will be notified by mail and can call or file beginning July 7, 2008.

To inquire about the extension of the porgram or to file a claim, individuals long onto www.UI4U.mt.gov%20 or they can contact the Unemployment Insurance Claims Center at (406) 444-2545 in the Helena area or (406) 247-1000 in the Billings area.

States set rules for importing cattle from Montana

(Billings AP) States worried about brucellosis-infected cattle are imposing strict rules on Montana cattle, especially those from counties surrounding Yellowstone National Park.

Nebraska state veterinarian Dennis Hughes says cattle coming to Nebraska from Madison, Gallatin, Park, Sweet Grass, Stillwater and Carbon counties will have to be certified brucellosis-free. All animals older than 18 months will have to test negative for the disease, even if they're not going to market.

There are less stringent rules for counties farther away from the park.

Idaho, Washington, Colorado, North Dakota and South Dakota also drafted rules for importing Montana cattle.

State veterinarians from Montana, Idaho and Wyoming have said cattle will continue to be plagued by brucellosis as long as it remains prevalent in wildlife in and around Yellowstone.

Health care measure certified for ballot

(Helena AP) The secretary of state has certified a ballot initiative that provides government-funded health coverage for as many as 30,000 uninsured children.

Brad Johnson says the measure received enough signatures to be on the November ballot.

The initiative is known as the "Healthy Montana Kids Plan Act."

The initiative needed 22,308 signatures to qualify. It had received 24,789 certified signatures in 54 legislative districts as of Wednesday.

Supporters say that the initiative will make Montana a national leader in covering children who are now without health insurance.

I-155 would expand the Children's Health Insurance Plan, known as CHIP, and Medicaid. Gov. Brian Schweitzer has told his budget director to expect that it will pass and put it in the state budget with an estimated annual cost of $20 million.

Liberal Group Gives Obama's Faith-Based Initiative Thumbs Down

(CNSNews.com) - Sen. Barack Obama is courting evangelicals with his support for an expansion of President Bush's "faith-based" programs, but a liberal religious watchdog group called the move "disappointing." The Illinois senator said Bush's program did not provide enough funding for social service programs for the poor. Speaking to reporters in Zanesville, Ohio, Obama said he wants faith-based social programs to be a "central" mission in his administration, because social issues like poverty are too big for the government to handle alone. "We need an all-hands-on-deck approach," Obama said. His Council for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships would include a training program for community faith-based groups so they can to teach smaller groups how to apply for government programs.

(Click HERE for full story)

Western Govs Hope to Sway Future Energy Policy

(CNSNews.com) - Citing a lack of federal leadership, the nation's Western governors plan to draft a national energy policy that will influence the next president. Governors participating in the final day of the Western Governors' Association meeting in Wyoming said their resource-rich region is well positioned to take the lead on the issue. Over the next several months, representatives from the governors' offices will craft the energy policy proposal.

(Click HERE for full story)

Pro-Lifers Praise Ruling Allowing Statement on Abortion

(CNSNews.com) - South Dakota may enforce a law that requires doctors to provide pregnant women with a written statement saying, "the abortion will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being," a federal appeals court ruled last Friday. In Planned Parenthood v. Rounds, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit voted 7-4 to strike down a 2005 preliminary injunction issued by the U.S. District Court for South Dakota. The injunction had prevented a statute - requiring abortion providers to tell women, in writing, that an abortion would terminate the life of a "living human being" - from taking effect. The decision by the appeals court reversed the injunction and remanded it to the district court for further proceedings consistent with its opinion.

(Click HERE for full story)

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UN-Renewable Energy

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. calls it a "green energy gold rush." Global investors plowed 148 billion dollars into new wind, solar and other alternative energy assets last year. That's 60 percent above the 92.6 billion dollars spent on such projects in 2006.

The spike in investment reflects sharply rising concerns over climate change and energy prices.

In 2005, alternative energy drew 58.5 billion dollars in new money.

An additional 56 billion changed hands on mergers and acquisitions involving alternative energy last year. The head of the U.N. Environment Program says it's another sign the "clean energy" industry is maturing in the eyes of investors.

The U.N. reports wind energy led last year, drawing 50 billion in new investments, a more than 40-percent rise from 2006.

And the report says solar power was the fastest-growing sector, rising almost 90 percent to 28 billion dollars.

Most of the new money flowed into Europe, followed by the U.S. But the report noted there is growing interest in green technologies in China, India and Brazil.

Starbucks closing 600 stores

SEATTLE (AP) — Starbucks plans to close 600 stores in the U.S. in the next year and cut back the number of new stores it had planned to open.

The coffee purveyor says 70 percent of the stores set for closure had opened since the start of the 2006 fiscal year. The total includes 100 previously announced closings.

Starbucks says it will try to place workers from closed stores in remaining Starbucks.