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Tuesday, Feb. 11 9 a.m. edition |
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"Survivor Utah: Who Will Win the Meltdown?"
Ken Cook, director of the Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Working Group, suggesting a name for Utah legislators' plan to store hot nuclear waste on state land, in apparent competition with the Goshute Tribe and Yucca Mountain.
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In the Rockies today, state budget deficits still dominate regional headlines. The chief of Idaho's corrections system said his agency's share of across-the board budget cuts would require closing one prison and releasing 5,800 inmates. That's if lawmakers rely solely on spending cuts to balance the budget and reject Gov. Dirk Kempthorne's call for higher taxes. Observers say more lawmakers are coming around to Kempthorne's thinking, though some still don't see the severity of the big picture. In Colorado, a House committee passed a bill that would reject Medicaid claims from legal residents who aren't U.S. citizens. The move would cut about 3,500 low-income residents from the program and set a national precedent for denying coverage based on citizenship. |
Wyoming House advances wolf bills Denver ranks near top for congested roads Idaho bills would protect farmers from effects of burning fields Group sues over timber sale in Montana grizzly habitat Colorado rafting companies suffer first-ever year of decline |
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 Headwaters News is a partner in FocusWest, a project of Idaho Public TV, Wyoming Public TV and KNPB in Reno |
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  Headwaters News is a project of the Center for the Rocky Mountain West at the University of Montana. |
Rockies today
Utah governor says he's shocked at legislators' plan to store n-waste Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt blasted legislative leaders for endorsing a study of the feasibility of storing high-level nuclear waste on state land. Salt Lake Tribune; Feb. 11 Idaho prisons chief says budget cuts would free 5,800 inmates Idaho would have to release 5,800 inmates and close one prison if the Legislature insists on balancing the budget with tax cuts, according to the head of the state corrections system. Spokane Spokesman-Review; Feb. 11 Colorado would cut Medicaid for low-income noncitizens Colorado legislators would deny Medicaid coverage to legal residents who aren't citizens, to save $2.7 million in state spending, a move that would make the state the first to deny coverage based on citizenship. Denver Post; Feb. 11
Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano has moved the state's 2004 presidential primary to Feb. 3, a week after New Hampshire, and the first primary in a large state with a sizable population of Hispanic and Indian voters. Arizona Republic; Feb. 11 Groups want health advisories posted in Yellowstone Health organizations and environmental groups have called on Yellowstone National Park officials to warn visitors that snowmobile exhaust may be hazardous to their health. Billings Gazette; Feb. 11 Opinion
Idaho legislators' demands for school audits add insult to injury Some Idaho legislators aren't satisfied with cutting education budgets, they need to kick the schools while they're down. Idaho Falls Post Register (Lewiston Morning Tribune); Feb. 11 Colorado forest bill should address only thinning A Colorado bill has two contradictory goals: managing state forest land to reduce wildfire risk and to increase water yields. Denver Post; Feb. 11 Utah should repeal term limits, despite voters' wishes Utah lawmakers should be brave enough to repeal the state's term limits law and buck the will of three-fourths of voters. Deseret News; Feb. 11 N.M. governor should take longer view of finances New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson's tax cuts and fiscal policies are starting to look like spending tomorrow's stability on today. Santa Fe New Mexican; Feb. 11 Beyond the Region
Environmentalists threaten to sue over failure to list California owl Federal officials declined to put the California spotted owl on the list of threatened species, based on protections in a Forest Service plan that's likely to change. Salt Lake Tribune (AP); Feb. 11 Gas pipeline through Northwest Territories still not imminent Despite the announcement that TransCanada Pipelines Ltd. will fund tribes' portion of a gas pipeline through the Mackenzie Valley, the $3 billion project is still years away. Calgary Herald; Feb. 11 In depth
Great Plains region again is nation's frontier Parts of the Great Plains, including sections of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico, have seen such an exodus that the population density is comparable to parts of Greenland or the North Pole. Part One of a series. Christian Science Monitor; Feb. 11 Colorado business leaders angry at attack on mass transit funds Colorado's Senate president is spearheading a move to shift funds from the state's 20-year, $15 billion mass-transit package, approved just last year, to highway construction. Denver Business Journal; Feb. 11 |
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