In the Rockies today, Western governors get a slot on "Meet the Press," and the Utah governor orders a four-day workweek for state employees.
Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal is hosting the Western Governors' Association annual meeting in Jackson Hole next week, and he'll spend Saturday with Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter and NBC Special Correspondent Tom Brokaw taping a segment of "Meet the Press," on the West as a political battleground in November's election.
Brokaw will give the keynote speech opening the conference on Sunday.
Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. will attend the meeting, where he'll share his state's latest effort to conserve energy: a 10-hour, four-day work week for state employees.
Headwaters News is taking a summer holiday.
Our next daily edition will post July 7.
Rockies today
'Meet the Press' in Wyoming Saturday to talk with Western governors
Tom Brokaw will interview Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal and Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter on Saturday, using the Grand Tetons as a backdrop, to discuss the West as a political battleground this November; Freudenthal is hosting the Western Governors' Association annual meeting in Jackson Hole that begins June 29 and Brokaw is addressing the group on Sunday.
Jackson Hole News & Guide; June 27
Utah governor's "Working 4 Utah" gives workers a 4-day workweek
Most Utah state offices will go to a four-day workweek in August, part of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s "Working for Utah" initiative designed to save the state money on energy costs and to help Utah workers cut commuting costs.
Deseret News; June 27
BLM officials say freeze on solar plants needed to develop a plan
The Bureau of Land Management imposed a moratorium on new solar-power projects in order to give the agency time to process the 130 permit applications it currently has before it, and to do a comprehensive environmental assessment on the impact of huge solar projects on its lands in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.
New York Times; June 27
Groups take first steps to sue EPA over dirty air in national parks
States were to provide the Environmental Protection Agency with their plans on cleaning up the airsheds around national parks, wildlife refuges and national recreation areas by December, but so far only six have actually done so, and on Wednesday the Environmental Defense Fund and the National Parks Conservation Association put the EPA on notice that if it doesn't enforce that deadline, they will sue the agency to make it do so.
Casper Star-Tribune (AP); June 27
Developer unveils grand plan for Bear Lake on Idaho-Utah border
Plans to turn 2,200 acres of land on Bear Lake in Idaho into a multibillion-dollar resort replete with golf, skiing, sailing, hotels, condos and ranches were released on Thursday.
Salt Lake Tribune; June 27
Enviro groups press for international review of B.C. mine proposal
Canadian and U.S. environmental groups want the International Joint Commission, a panel formed to resolve disputes between the U.S. and Canada under a 1909 water treaty, to investigate British Columbia's plan to develop coal and coalbed methane resources in the headwaters of the Flathead River, which flows into Glacier National Park in Montana.
Billings Gazette (AP); June 27
Bakken Formation in Canada, U.S. may hold 413B barrels of oil
A U.S. Geological Survey study of the Bakken Formation, a formation of oil-rich rock that lies under the prairies of Montana, North Dakota, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, found that the rock entraps nearly 413 barrels of recoverable oil.
CBC News; June 27
Opinion
Idaho resort towns need to recognize need for worker housing
For years, residents of Ketchum and Sun Valley have resisted building apartments, condos or townhouses designated for the North Valley's workers, but soon those Idaho towns may be forced to deal with life without the folks who run the stores, fix their cars and keep the towns' economies running.
Idaho Mountain Express; June 27
United States needs oil from Alberta's oilsands
Canada is the United States' top source of imported oil, without which the nation would be even more heavily dependent on OPEC oil, and environmental groups and Congress need to get over their aversion to oil pulled from Alberta's oilsands and acknowledge that Canada is taking aggressive action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from oilsands production.
Great Falls Tribune; June 27
Beyond the region
Extra hydro, wind power put strain on NW's power grid
A doubling of wind-generated power, coupled with this spring's surge in hydroelectric power, has highlighted the limitations of the power grid in the Northwest United States.
Portland Oregonian; June 27
U.S justices square off over constitutional right to own a gun
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the majority opinion in the landmark case that the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects an individual's right to own an gun, while Justice John Paul Stevens wrote the dissent in the 5-4 opinion that called the decision a "dramatic upheaval" in the law.
New York Times; June 27
Nation's high court agrees to take Alaska mining case
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take up an appeal filed by Alaska and a mining company over the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' invalidation of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit given to the mining company that cleared the way for the company to dump gold mining waste in Alaska Tongass National Forest.
Baltimore Sun (AP); June 27
As oil prices hit record high, world's stock markets tumble
World stock markets hit a three-month low as oil prices approached $142 a barrel.
Financial Post (Toronto); June 27
California wildfire closes stretch of historic oceanside highway
The Big Sur wildfire has burned more than 50,000 acres along central California's coast, and on Thursday the fire forced the closure of the scenic Big Sur coastal highway.
Vancouver Sun (Reuters); June 27
California releases sweeping plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Tough new mandates on vehicle emissions that include an order to California refineries to produce lower-carbon diesel and gasoline, along with a requirement of state utilities to obtain a third of their electricity from renewable resources and tougher efficiency standards on home appliances, green building codes and mandated energy conservation efforts are all part of California's new emissions reduction plan.
Christian Science Monitor; June 27
California's water shortage sends prices of some foods higher
Farmers in California's Central Valley are sacrificing some crops to save another because there's just not enough water go to around.
Christian Science Monitor; June 27
Washington state high court mulls jurisdiction in wind-farm case
After a wind-farm project in Washington state's Kittitas County received the governor's approval, the county and residents who lived near the wind farm challenged the decision, and now the matter is before the Washington state Supreme Court, which is weighing whether it has jurisdiction over the matter.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (AP); June 27
In depth
Colorado senators applaud high court's decision on guns
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision that overturned Washington, D.C.'s ban on handguns, won't have any immediate effect in Colorado, both the state's U.S. senators said they approved of the decision.
Denver Post; June 27
Gun-rights advocates in Utah laud Supreme Court decision
The founder of Women Against Gun Control said Thursday's U.S. Supreme Court decision on gun rights was the "greatest thing that's happened in this nation since the Revolutionary War."
Salt Lake Tribune; June 27
High court's ruling on gun ownership resonates in Idaho
An Idaho man who co-authored a paper cited in Justice Antonin Scalia's majority opinion on gun rights was particularly pleased with Thursday's Supreme Court decision.
Idaho Statesman; June 27
Nevada officials say gun decision won't hit home
Nevada's right-to-carry law and the relatively easy route to gun ownership in the state means the Supreme Court's decision that overturned an Eastern city's outright ban on handguns won't have much of an impact in the Silver State.
Las Vegas Review-Journal; June 27
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