News, Missoula News

Labor

Jessica Mayrer — Thu, 16 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Clinic hit with lawsuits by Jessica Mayrer Since February, six Partnership Health Center staffers have filed lawsuits alleging a range of grievances against the Missoula clinic including harassment, wrongful discharge and that management required employees to perform tasks without pay. "We consider this to be a serious and pervasive problem in this workplace and felt that we had a responsibility to file these lawsuits," says Great Falls attorney Elizabeth Best, who represents the plaintiffs in six separate cases.…

Viewfinder

Cathrine L. Walters — Thu, 16 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

by Cathrine L. Walters

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Equality

Jessica Mayrer — Thu, 16 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

ACLU targets first responders by Jessica Mayrer The Montana ACLU has argued for years that the state discriminates against gays. But even the nonprofit's legal director, Jon Ellingson, did a double take when he discovered to what extent same-sex partners of deceased police and fire department officers are treated differently.…

No redemption

Jessica Mayrer — Thu, 16 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Montana Supreme Court denies Barry Beach's latest chance to prove his innocence by Jessica Mayrer On a recent evening in Billings, Barry Beach sifted through stacks of handwritten notes in his garage. They were bundled and meticulously sorted by era and by which prison he was housed in during his 29 years behind bars.…

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Indy Staff — Thu, 16 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

by Indy Staff Few details could be gleaned from the May 9 press conference announcing the conclusion of the Department of Justice's yearlong investigation into the University of Montana's handling of sexual assaults. The prepared statements made by U.S. Attorney Michael Cotter, UM President Royce Engstrom and DOJ Assistant Attorney General Roy Austin all seemed to reiterate the same point: What the investigation discovered is less important than the fact that the university can now move forward.…

Schweitzer

Alex Sakariassen — Thu, 16 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Drafting a "game changer" by Alex Sakariassen Adam Green has been following Brian Schweitzer from afar for years. Even before he co-founded the Washington, D.C.-based Progressive Change Campaign Committee with former union organizer Stephanie Taylor in 2009, he saw Schweitzer as "an authentic guy who says what's on his mind and generally stands up for the little guy."…

Homestead revival

Alex Sakariassen — Thu, 16 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Revisiting the Moon-Randolph strategic plan by Alex Sakariassen About six months ago, Matthew LaRubbio and Meredith Turner were driving through a snowstorm in Oregon when they got word that they'd be the next caretakers of the Moon-Randolph Homestead in Missoula's North Hills. The couple had been eyeing the property for seven years, their minds filling with ideas on how to improve one of the area's most overlooked historic landmarks.…

UM golf course

Alex Sakariassen — Thu, 16 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Raising more questions by Alex Sakariassen Late last month, three students from the University of Montana spent nine hours surveying bird populations on UM's main campus, UM's golf course and the Mount Jumbo Saddle. They'd recently heard of the university's push to establish a South Campus at the golf course—beginning with a new Missoula College facility—and were curious how such a development might affect the existing ecosystem.…

Counsel cuts

Jamie Rogers — Thu, 16 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Federal Defenders of Montana goes on the offensive by Jamie Rogers On Friday, May 10, John Rhodes, a public defender who works in the Federal Defenders of Montana's Missoula office, stood outside the Russell Smith Federal Courthouse holding a sign that read, "What about the Sixth Amendment right to counsel?" Another man, who had joined Rhodes for the lunch-hour protest, held a sign with the message, "You have a right to an attorney.…

Responsible meat

Lori Bell — Thu, 16 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

A lesson from a pig called Eddie by Lori Bell I love animals and always have, but I am also a meat eater. In my early 20s, I tried a short stint as a vegetarian, but jumped off the meat-free wagon after a happy encounter with bacon.…

Zip lining

Alex Sakariassen — Thu, 09 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Boosting the bottom line by Alex Sakariassen Montana Snowbowl's summer operation has always been low-key. The mountain's single tracks are popular in the local mountain biking scene, and a disc golf course at the top of the Grizzly chairlift draws a decent crowd.…

Old v. New West

Michael Dax — Thu, 09 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Confronting frontier anxiety for the 21st century by Michael Dax Frederick Jackson Turner's classic 1893 essay, "The Significance of the Frontier in American History," argued that the frontier experience—the opportunity for unlimited expansion into "uninhabited" lands—shaped the country's entrepreneurial spirit. Turner's essay took on added significance because three years earlier, the Census Bureau had declared the frontier closed.…

Open water

Alex Sakariassen — Thu, 09 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Floating a new Clark Fork for the first time by Alex Sakariassen For more than a century, the Clark Fork has been a waterway divided. Anglers fished its upper reaches from the Deer Lodge Valley to Turah.…

Housing

Jessica Mayrer — Thu, 09 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Campus Crest concerns by Jessica Mayrer Missoula Mayor John Engen acknowledges that he's heard concerns about a North Carolina-based company that city and University of Montana officials are evaluating as a potential developer to build off-campus student housing. "I've had two people express concern to me about Campus Crest, indirectly," Engen says.…

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Independent Staff — Thu, 09 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

by Independent Staff The Sunday, April 28 edition of the Missoulian was billed at a "premium" rate for home subscribers, but it's understandable if you happened to miss the announcement—and the extra cost. The "premium" rate policy is listed each day in small print on page A2.…

Still waiting

Jamie Rogers — Thu, 09 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Ronald Smith's fate rests in new hands by Jamie Rogers Thirty years ago, Canadian-born Ronald Smith was sentenced to death after pleading guilty to the kidnapping and murder of Thomas Running Rabbit Jr. and Harvey Mad Man Jr. Today, Smith has spent more than half of his life in prison, the vast majority of that locked for 23 hours a day in a maximum security cell in Deer Lodge.…

2014

Alex Sakariassen — Thu, 09 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Catching up with Baucus by Alex Sakariassen Pundits have run wild the past two weeks with predictions about who will vie for Sen. Max Baucus' seat when he retires next year. Only two Republicans, Corey Stapleton and Champ Edmunds, have officially declared candidacies so far.…

A rude awakening

Allison Bye — Thu, 09 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Why it's necessary to lock your doors, even in Missoula by Allison Bye Courtney Hodek never really worried about locking her doors. In fact, she and her husband, Mark, got used to sharing just one key to their one-story house on South Fourth Street.…

Crime

Jessica Mayrer — Thu, 09 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

"Ghoulish fiend" sentenced by Jessica Mayrer On May 6, a California judge marked the end to a series of gruesome crimes when he sentenced former mortician and Frenchtown resident David Wayne Sconce to 25 years in prison. Sconce's legal troubles began in the mid-1980s in Pasadena, Calif., where law enforcement began investigating him and his parents, all owners of the Lamb Funeral Home.…

Black mark

Dan Brooks — Thu, 09 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Looking back at the lowlight of the 2013 legislature by Dan Brooks Let's say I hate my neighbor. This premise is not true.…

The challengers

Jamie Rogers — Thu, 02 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Three newcomers vie for school board seats by Jamie Rogers Since the Missoula County Public School board voted in January to award Superintendent Alex Apostle a 13 percent raise—eventually boosting his pay to $200,000 a year—members of the Missoula community have been finding ways to decry the decision. In late January, a Hellgate High School student started an online petition calling for Apostle to reject the money and for the entire board to be "re-evaluated" before the May election.…

All you can eat

Independent Staff — Thu, 02 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

The dish on Missoula's recent rush of new restaurants by Independent Staff You can't swing a bushel of nettles in this town without hitting the front stoop of some newly opened restaurant. We count 12 since last fall, with five setting up shop within a few downtown blocks in the span of three weeks.…

Pass/fail

Jessica Mayrer and Alex Sakariassen — Thu, 02 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

A look back at the 63rd Montana Legislature by Jessica Mayrer and Alex Sakariassen The 2013 Montana Legislature officially adjourned April 24 after 87 days of lawmaking. And while the gavel fell on schedule, the past few months didn't always go smoothly.…

Bitterroot

Alex Sakariassen — Thu, 02 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Legacy Ranch moves forward by Alex Sakariassen The Ravalli County Planning Board gave a thumbs-up to the Legacy Ranch subdivision April 18, recommending that the county commission approve the proposal despite overwhelmingly critical public comment. Now opponents are redoubling efforts to quash a development larger than Corvallis on the fringes of the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge.…

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Indy Staff — Thu, 02 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

by Indy Staff Missoula citizens are agonizing over the future of our little burg. It's a heavy burden and, as such, some feel compelled to share it.…