Archive for December, 2007
by Rebecca Schmitz Bozeman’s Mayor Jeff Krauss wants us to win in Iraq. Conservatives on Missoula’s City Council feel it’s “wrong and disgusting” to discuss the war on Council’s time. With all the division in Bozeman and Missoula over our towns’ Iraq War resolutions, other American cities serve as a reminder that we’re not really [...]
by Rebecca Schmitz I’ve been accused of using hyperbole to make a point by a couple of our readers, so I’m not immune to criticism. I know Jay’s officially retired the “creep” category, so hopefully the level of discourse can remain above personal attacks. But sometimes a blogger can’t resist, because this, this is priceless: [...]
by Pete Talbot My very first piece here at 4&20 Blackbirds, almost seven months ago, was on Republican legislator Bill Nooney. He “represents” House District 100 on Missoula’s western edge. My post basically said that Nooney, who had painted himself as a moderate during his campaign, had voted lock step with the most right-wing element [...]
by Pete Talbot Missoula’s reputation as a haven for “liberal dope-smoking hippies” makes it hard to get candidates from the Garden City elected to statewide office. That’s according to Craig Wilson, a political science professor at MSU-Billings, in a story written by Chelsi Moy in last Sunday’s Missoulian. “To the rest of the state, there [...]
by Jay Stevens This week’s feature story in the Missoula Independent profiles the “Missoula Project,” an effort to plant a church here to create a church community for believers and unbelievers alike. It’s an attractive idea, isn’t it? Call me dubious. I wrote about them just over a year ago, when I stumbled on their [...]
by jhwygirl Daniel Nairn’s thoughts on “It” are worth the read.
by jhwygirl I’m now paralyzed with writing because of your grammar wars or grammar watches or whatever you want to call them. Just wanted to let you know.
by jhwygirl Saw this in the paper today: County approves preliminary steps towards zoning. Good for them.
by jhwygirl I just finished watching Montana PBS’s Land Rich, a documentary on the state of ranching here in Montana. The people are colorful – you just want to hug them all – the scenery is ethereal, and the message, predictably, melancholic. It replays on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Set your TiVo or VCR or [...]
by Pete Talbot … chickens. Well, not personally – too much responsibility. But thanks to a City Council vote Monday night, maybe one of my neighbors will share their homegrown, fresh huevos with me. … a rewrite of Missoula’s zoning regulations (in progress). Planned Neighborhood Clusters, density bonuses, redrawn property lines – these issues, while [...]
by Rebecca Schmitz One hundred years ago your local pharmacist doubled as the owner of the town’s soda fountain, dispensing both lemon phosphates and cocaine to customers without fuss. Nowadays, you might be able to pay for most of your purchases at the pharmacy counter in the back of CVS or Walgreens, but don’t expect a [...]
by 4&20 Staff Please attend this important event: In response to the stomping to death of homeless man Forrest Clayton Salcido, Missoulians are invited to Take Back the California Street Bridge on Thursday, December 20 at 5:30 p.m. Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger will speak at this candlelight vigil, which will be followed by a rally [...]
by jhwygirl With the approval of the Rattlesnake’s Sonata subdivision last night, and today’s hearing before the Board of County Commissioners regarding JTL’s proposed gravel pit-across-the-street-from-another-gravel pit up near Lolo (the only thing that can stop that is zoning), I’ve been thinking for the last few days about how long it would be before we [...]
by Rebecca Schmitz Here’s the latest from one of our key allies in the, as the Bush Administration now calls it, War on Islamofascism: the Saudi gang-rape victim has been pardoned by King Abdullah. Remember this poor soul? She and an ex-boyfriend were raped by seven men because they were sitting…oh, hell. Who cares why? There’s no reason [...]
by Rebecca Schmitz Yesterday morning I answered my phone at work like I always do: “This is Rebecca. How can I help you?” The woman on the other end of the line said, “Merry Christmas! I have some questions.” “Good morning,” I replied without thinking twice, “let’s get you some answers.” There was a long pause [...]
by Rebecca Schmitz The Missoula City Council passed the urban chicken ordinance by a vote of eight to four last night. The usual suspects, Councilmen Reidy, Hendrickson, Wilkins and Nicholson, voted against it. Coincidentally, chicken supporter Mike Jakupcak penned an ode to our feathered friends based on…wait for it…‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. “The chickens [...]
by jhwygirl By a 3-2 vote, the Bozeman City Commission supported a resolution for a “orderly, rapidly and comprehensive” withdrawal of troops from Iraq. More of Montana speaks.
by jhwygirl Looks like Bozeman’s city council will consider a resolution calling for President Bush to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq. The Bozeman Peace Seekers have been gathering signatures since November. The city council, in November before a packed meeting, voted 3-2 to consider the resolution. Critics, like those in Missoula, say that city council [...]
by jhwygirl Private Darren Smith, 19, of Helena, was killed in Iraq on Thursday of non-combat related injuries. The DoD has not released any additional information, but does say that his death is still under investigation. Pvt. Smith is the 21st Montanan killed in Iraq (2 have also died in Afghanistan), and the 6th soldier [...]
by Angela Goodhope Robin Prosser was Montana’s leading medical marijuana patient-activist – until she took her own life last October. She also was a good friend of mine. I first got to know her when she went on a month-long hunger strike in 2002, to publicize her predicament, and I spent a lot of time [...]
by Matt Singer If you haven’t yet, take five minutes and read Tristan Scott’s deeply moving story about the life and untimely death of Forrest Clayton Salcido, a homeless veteran in Missoula who was viciously murdered a week ago. The death so far seems to have been the focus more of quiet conversations than of [...]
by Rebecca Schmitz Forget reindeer, eight tiny chickens will be leading Santa’s sleigh just in time for the holidays thanks to Missoula’s City Council: Missoula City Council’s Public Safety and Health committee Wednesday morning approved the urban chicken ordinance, including an amendment to require annual $15 permits, sending the contentious proposal to the Council floor for [...]
by jhwygirl I will admit I didn’t fully read through the Missoulian’s article on the proposed Lolo gravel pit before I posted this the other day. Not only did I know exactly where DEQ was coming from (after I read the first few lines), but I also knew that the Missoula Board of County Commissioners [...]
by jhwygirl Ahhh, the serendipity of it all. The other day, when I posted A Case for County-Wide Zoning, a few hours later, in my inbox, came copy of papers filed by John Richards in Montana’s Fourth Judicial Court right here in Missoula. Now, some of you might remember John Richards as the developer of [...]
by Pete Talbot The topics above are too abbreviated to stand alone. So, instead of making separate posts, here’s my abridged take on some current events. Governor Schweitzer has an electric, new message. He was in Missoula last night for a fundraiser. I hadn’t seen him for a while so I went to hear what [...]
by dharmagrrl THIS JUST IN: In England, Brighton to be more specific, if you play music that promotes violence against gays or lesbians in your club or pub, you will be shut down, according to a licensing proposal announced today. Now this is a fine example of how laws speak to the values of a [...]
by jhwygirl DEQ officials are letting everyone know that only zoning can stop a gravel pit proposed by JTL up near Lolo. No surprise there – legislation passed in the 2005 session made that true. It’s not like the county commissioners didn’t know it either – they did an emergency resolution related to that ’05 [...]
-
Recent Comments
JC on Memorializing War Swede Johannson on Memorializing War Swede Johannson on Rape is not “knucklehead… 
larry kurtz (@larry_… on Memorializing War larry kurtz (@larry_… on Memorializing War Turner on Liz’s Weekly Poetry Seri… lizard19 on Memorializing War
