In the Rockies today, water and climate change; crime in Indian country and another chapter in the Yellowstone Club saga.
The Western Governors' Association kicked off its annual meeting in Park City, glaciers in Glacier National Park in Montana may all be gone by 2020, a decade earlier than predicted in 2003.
The Washington Post reports that a new effort to tackle crime and substance-abuse problems in Indian Country will be announced Tuesday, while attendees at the American Indian Justice Conference in Colorado on Saturday called for an overhaul of the federal-tribal justice system.
And finally, the New York Times offers an interview of Edra Blixseth, co-founder of the exclusive Yellowstone Club in Montana, and Ms. Blixseth's take on what went wrong.
Rockies today
Water issues take top billing at Western governors conference
Several members of the Obama administration's cabinet are attending the three-day Western Governors' Association conference that kicked off Sunday in Park City, Utah, where Sunday's agenda focused on climate change and water issues.
Helena Independent Record (AP); June 15
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Utah governor opens Western governors' meeting in Park City
On Sunday, Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. opened the 25th Western Governors' Association in Park City, and then handed over the remainder of the chairman's duties to Vice Chairman Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who will carry on Huntsman's agenda that includes water and climate concerns, while Huntsman prepared to head east to D.C. to continue briefings to prepare for Senate confirmation hearings on his appointment as ambassador to China.
Salt Lake Tribune; June 15
Glaciers in Montana national park could be gone in 10 years
A 2003 study of the glaciers in Glacier National Park in Montana predicted that they could be gone by 2030, but the ice is disappearing much faster than predicted and researchers now say that the glaciers could all be gone by 2020.
Billings Gazette; June 15
Other cities want to follow Denver's track for success
Over the past decade, Denver has embarked on a $4.7-billion mass transit system including a light-rail system that revitalized and transformed its downtown area, and now other cities, such as Salt Lake City, are following the track laid down by the Colorado city.
New York Times; June 15
Tribes call for judicial reform at Colorado conference
Since the 1885 Major Crimes Act, the federal government has slowly whittled away at the judicial power of Indian tribes, and drug traffickers have have begun to capitalize on the lack of tribes' authority to prosecute major crimes and the federal prosecutors' disinterest in tackling methamphetamine cases, turning reservations into distribution hubs, prompting a group to call for judicial reform at the American Indian Justice Conference in Colorado.
Durango Herald; June 14
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Justice Dept. to roll out plan to address crime in Indian Country
The violent crime rate among American Indians and Alaska Eskimos is 2 1/2 times higher than the national rate, with only 3,000 federal and tribal agents handling 55 million acres of territory, and at a a conference hosted by the National Congress of American Indians in Niagara Falls, N.Y., today, Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli will announce a new plan to reduce substance abuse and crime in Indian Country.
Washington Post; June 15
Idaho city's economy 1 of 6 predicted to rebound this year
IHS Global Insight, a leading economic forecaster, predicted that Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, was one of six cities in the nation where job numbers would rebound in 2009; and Las Cruces, N.M., was in the round of cities where jobs would rebound in 2010.
Idaho Statesman (McClatchy Newspapers); June 14
E. Blixseth: Yellowstone Club loan fueled Tim's midlife crisis
This week Edra Blixseth will fight a bankruptcy court ruling in Montana that may force her to sell all her assets, including her Porcupine Creek property, a 240-acre private golf course with a 30,000-square foot home in Rancho Mirage, Calif., and Ms. Blixseth speaks out about Tim Blixseth, her ex-husband and co-founder of the Yellowstone Club, and the financial meltdown that followed the $375-million loan from Credit Suisse.
New York Times; June 13
Opinion
Health care reform should straddle the center
The all-or-nothing approach to health-care reform won't work, and Congress' efforts to revamp the system should take a middle-of-the-road approach.
Billings Gazette; June 15
Idaho county's rezoning decision first of many toward nuclear power
The Elmore County Commission's decision today on rezoning a parcel of land from agricultural to industrial is just the first of many hurdles Don Gillispie must clear to build his proposed 1,600-megawatt nuclear power plant in Idaho.
Idaho Statesman; June 15
Idaho has much to do to promote clean energy
Idaho's ranking as having the fastest-growing clean-energy sector in the nation is amazing, given its incidental approach to public policy on growing renewable energy, and if the state wants to keep a stake in this emerging economic sector, its leaders must do more.
Idaho Statesman; June 14
Beyond the Region
Obama administration fires up FutureGen project
The Obama administration will spend $1 billion to take a new look at the FutureGen coal-fired power plant that would sequester 60 percent of its carbon emissions; the FutureGen project was canceled by the Bush administration in 2007 shortly after an Illinois location for the plant was selected.
Washington Post; June 13
Oregonians angry about parked railcars near wilderness area
Residents of Union and Wallowa counties aren't happy about the deal with Union Pacific that allows hundreds of railcars to be parked on 30 miles of railroad tracks owned by the Oregon counties, but county officials said they have no choice as they need the rental money to make the payments owed on the tracks.
Portland Oregonian; June 15
Obama administration withholds coal-ash report
The Environmental Protection Agency has identified 44 coal-ash storage ponds that could potentially harm surrounding communities if breached, as part of an investigation in response to a Tennessee spill last year, but the Obama administration has refused to release the names of the communities or locations of the ponds out of concern that the information might be exploited by terrorists.
Arizona Republic (AP); June 15
Scientists say white roofs could help fight climate change
The installation of white roofs on many of the buildings on Earth could be a simple solution to help fight climate change, and some states are requiring new commercial buildings be covered with vegetation or reflective material.
Washington Post; June 15
Report: Consumers look first at fuel efficiency in vehicle purchases
A new survey by Kelly Blue Book indicates that Americans expect gas prices to continue to increase, and that most drivers plan to purchase more fuel-efficient vehicles as a result.
Atlanta Business Chronicle; June 12
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