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Friday,
Feb. 20 10 a.m. edition |
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2 More news from the Rockies |
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Community 
Yucca Mountain opponents push Chu to pull NRC application Energy Secretary Steven Chu reiterated the Obama administration's opposition to the creation of a nuclear waste repository in Nevada's Yucca Mountain on Thursday, declined to say that he was willing to do what opponents of the project want: pull the application under consideration by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Las Vegas Sun; Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story Colorado court orders E. Blixseth arrested for failure to appear After Edra Blixseth failed to appear in federal court in Colorado for a hearing Wednesday on nonpayment of a $13-million loan on properties in Montana's Gallatin and Madison counties, the federal magistrate issued a warrant for her arrest. Bozeman Daily Chronicle; Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story Montana county board denies appeal of private bridge decision Butte-Silver Bow zoning officials denied Peter Kamperschroer's appeal of an earlier decision by the Montana county's planning officials that denied his request to build a private bridge across the Big Hole River, and cited public opposition to the request, Butte's reliance on the river for clean drinking water and the area's pristine quality as reasons for the denial. Montana Standard; Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story Utah school lands agency sees green in renewable energy Utah's School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration said interest in developing renewable-energy projects on state school lands has skyrocketed in the last nine months, and such projects could generate millions of dollars for schools over the next five years. Salt Lake Tribune; Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story HUD gives Colorado $19.4 million to aid homeless The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Thursday that it was awarding $19.4 million in grants to 77 agencies in Colorado; the state will also share in the $1.6 billion designated for homeless programs in the federal stimulus package, although its share has not yet been determined. Denver Post; Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story Survey shows Utahns like to ride the rails A survey by the University of Utah's Center for Public Policy & Administration found that, of the 1,002 Utahns questioned, 79 percent support more spending to develop light-rail options. Salt Lake Tribune; Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story Census survey says 1 in 12 Utahns foreign born New 2007 American Community Survey data released Thursday estimate that about 216,000 of Utah's 2.65 million residents are foreign-born, or about 8 percent. Deseret News; Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story Idaho school district switches to biodiesel for buses All 27 buses in Idaho's Blaine County School District now run on biodiesel, and the school district is working on installing its own 12,000-gallon storage tank so the fuel can be bought in bulk at a lower price. Idaho Mountain Express; Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story Idaho town forced to lay off employees, freeze wages Ketchum is the first city in Idaho's Wood River and Magic valleys forced to lay off workers because of a budget crunch. Twin Falls Times-News; Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story Tribes
Montana tribe, Utah company ink energy deal Chippewa Cree officials signed a third memorandum of understanding with Utah-based Native American Resource Partners, LLC forming a tribal energy corporation with NARP and setting the stage for energy development work on the Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation in Montana that could begin as early as this summer. Great Falls Tribune; Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story Apache leader's family sues Yale, Skull and Bones over remains Descendants of Geronimo filed a lawsuit against Yale and Skull and Bones, seeking the return of the remains of the Apache leader that lore has it were stolen by members of the secret society in 1918 from a burial plot in Oklahoma; the family wants the remains returned so they can be reburied in New Mexico. RezNet.org (AP); Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story Crow tribal leader laid to rest in Montana Montana's two U.S. senators and Gov. Brian Schweitzer were among those who spoke at the funeral of Crow tribal leader Carl Venne in Crow Agency Thursday. Billings Gazette; Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story Environment
Vandalism discovered at historic mine sites in Wyoming South Pass City Historic Site Superintendent Joe Ellis said vandals caused $30,000 worth of damage at the two mine sites at the historic Carissa Mine in Wyoming on Feb. 8, and officials are asking the public for help in apprehending those responsible. Casper Star-Tribune; Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story Off-road groups promise help to curb abuses in Montana forest At the second meeting on addressing illegal trails and trash dumping in the Ninemile Ranger District of the Lolo National Forest in Montana, off-road groups and others lined up to volunteer their time and effort to clean up trash, police trails and curb other abuses to keep the area open to recreation. Missoulian; Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story Wildlife advocates protest planned coyote hunt in Idaho A coyote hunt scheduled Saturday in Idaho's rural Custer County and promoted by an sporting goods store in Challis that is offering prizes in certain categories has drawn the ire of wildlife advocates. Idaho Statesman (AP); Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story Idaho national forest selects plan for Blue Alder Resource Area The Idaho Panhandle National Forest has decided on a plan to prevent wildfires in an area of forest near Couer d'Alene, selecting the third alternative proposed that will allow prescribed burns on 950 acres, commercial logging will be done on 1,279 acres, 600 acres will be planted with tougher species and 22 miles of road will be decommissioned. Coeur d'Alene Press; Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story Politics
Idaho's Minnick a Democrat of a different mind-set U.S. Rep. Walt Minnick was a lifelong Republican until he left the party over Watergate, and now the Democratic congressman from Idaho, arguably one of the nation's most Republican states, marches to his own beat. An analysis. Los Angeles Times; Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story Alberta swings from debt-free to $1B in the hole In August, Alberta officials predicted an $8.5-billion budget surplus for the fiscal year, but on Thursday, the Finance Minister announced a "sharp period of recession," and predicted the province would have a $1-billion budget deficit. Toronto Globe and Mail; Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story Legislature
Wyoming Senate gives intial nod to ban on internet hunting The Wyoming House has already passed legislation banning the practice of internet hunting, which allows a person to shoot animals over the internet with a remote-controlled gun equipped with a web cam, and on Thursday the Senate gave the bill preliminary approval. Casper Star-Tribune (AP); Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story Utah bill on stream access draws of flood of angry anglers The sponsor of House Bill 187 said the legislation is intended to clarify a Utah Supreme Court decision that said recreationists are legally entitled to walk any streambed in the state, but the crowd that gathered Thursday to protest the bill said it will limit their access to waterways that cross private land. Salt Lake Tribune; Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story Utah House passes health-care bill Legislation passed by the Utah House on Thursday would create health-care plans called NetCare available to small employers, individuals and employees who have lost their jobs that would provide health care insurance, although with $6,000 or $12,000 deductibles, caps on preventive care and would require those covered to pay 50 percent of the cost for name-brand prescriptions. Salt Lake Tribune; Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story Report details effect of Nevada's tax breaks A yearlong study of tax incentives provided by Nevada said that about half the tax breaks offered by the state to lure new businesses have never been used, and some local governments have over-reached in their use of redevelopment authority, but the report offered little details to lawmakers that ending such incentives would help the state close its $2.3 billion budget gap. Reno Gazette-Journal; Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story Montana bill would wrest wolf-control from federal government Montana Sen. Joe Balyeat, R-Bozeman, said his bill to void existing agreements between the state and the federal government on wolf management is needed to force the federal government to remove federal protection of wolves. Helena Independent Record (AP); Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story Montana House Ag Committee advances horse-slaughter bill The Montana House Agriculture Committee voted 15-5 to approve House Bill 148, which would allow the state to allow the operation of private horse slaughterhouses in the state, and would prohibit a state court from delaying construction of such a plant after it is licensed by the state, and sent the bill to the full House for action. Missoulian; Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story Montana Senate gives abortion bill preliminary approval Senate Bill 46 is just one of several bills dealing with abortion before the Montana Legislature this session, and on Thursday, the Senate voted 29-19 to move the bill, which would ask voters to amend the state's Constitution to acknowledge that "protection of unborn human life is a compelling state interest," to a second vote before the Senate. Helena Independent Record (AP); Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story Economy
N.M. governor orders extra aid for furloughed Eclipse workers Albuquerque-based Eclipse Aviation furloughed about 800 workers on Wednesday, and said they would be called back when the pending sale of the company is complete. Santa Fe New Mexican (AP); Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story Laid-off mine workers in N.M. eligible for federal aid U.S. Sens. Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall and Rep. Harry Teague announced Wednesday that the workers at the Chino mine in southwestern New Mexico are eligible for federal benefits under the Trade Adjustment Assistance program that extends benefits to workers who lose their jobs or have their hours reduced because of increased imports. Albuquerque Journal (AP); Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story N.M. plant officially a nuclear site now The arrival of 70 pounds of uranium hexafluoride -- raw material that will be refined at the National Enrichment Facility -- officially makes the Eunice reactor fuel plant in New Mexico a nuclear facility. Albuquerque Journal; Feb. 19 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story Utility to boost net-metering credits in Utah Beginning on April 1, Rocky Mountain Power will give Utah households and small businesses a heftier credit for generating their own energy. Deseret News; Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story Montana agency recommends wind project move ahead The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation released its draft environmental statement on the Martinsdale Wind Farm proposed for 18,000 acres of private and state land in Wheatland and Meagher counties, stating its preferred option for the project would be to allow the developer, Houston-based Horizon Wind Energy, to lease land from the state and erect turbines on adjacent state lands. Great Falls Tribune; Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story Company dials down drilling work in Colorado again The most active company in Colorado's Piceance Basin, Williams Companies Inc., announced Thursday that it will halve the number of drilling rigs it previously said it would operate in 2009, citing increased costs of doing business and a tight credit market for the decision; EnCana, the second-largest producer in the basin, announced earlier it would reduce the number of drilling rigs from the dozen it had running in 2008 to five in 2009. Grand Junction Sentinel; Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story Lee Enterprises signs debt reorganization agreement Lee Enterprises, which owns a number of papers in the Rocky Mountain West, announced it had reached an agreement with its lenders that allows it to refinance $306 million in short-term debt and restructure $1.1 billion in bank financing arrangements. Arizona Daily Sun; Feb. 20 Add Comment View Comments(0) Email Story |
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| Headwaters
News is a program of the Center for the Rocky Mountain West
at the University of Montana. |
