Where There's Smoke
The Butt Stops Here
As Montana bars dealt with their first smoke-free weekend since the state’s indoor smoking ban went into effect, ingenuity ruled. In Missoula, according to a great piece by Michael Moore in the Missoulian, the Rhino Bar gave smokers their very own place to light up: a Butt Hutt, created by Dave Golden of Well Done Welding and Jim Bell, a general contractor.
In downtown Choteau, meanwhile, the popular Antler Bar chose to accommodate smokers with private digs in what was formerly a garage in the back of the bar. The new light-up zone, complete with garage-like ambiance, includes picnic tables, heaters, and plenty of ash trays.
It's a mad mad world
Mad Money’s Cramer Plugs W.R. Grace Stock
Investomaniac Jim Cramer yesterday urged fans to buy shares of W.R. Grace & Co., a company that was acquitted May 8 of criminal charges that it contaminated Libby, Montana with asbestos from a company mine, leaving more than 1,000 people ill and hundreds dead. Grace declared bankruptcy in 2001 after being deluged by more than 100,000 damage claims related to the toxic asbestos in its products.
Cramer didn't mention those details on his CNBC TV show, "Mad Money." Instead, he focused on the fact that Grace ("amazing Grace," in his words) will soon be exiting its eight-year spell in Chapter 11.
Bozeman, MT
City of Bozeman Demands Passwords from Job Applicants
Raising privacy and civil liberties issues, job applicants to the city of Bozeman are not only required to list all their social media accounts, but their passwords as well.
"Please list any and all, current personal or business websites, web pages or memberships on any Internet-based chat rooms, social clubs or forums, to include, but not limited to: Facebook, Google, Yahoo, YouTube.com, MySpace, etc.," the City form states. The application shows a space for passwords.
Oh, Those Pesky Economists
This Isn’t the First Recession, Nor the Worst… So Far
This painful economic cycle may end a 30-year stretch of moderate ups and downs, but it's about average compared to the worst 10 recessions since World War II.
That's one lesson immediately apparent after checking out the graphs and statistics on a new Web page on the site of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank.
"Our main reason wasn't to push any line," explained senior economist Terry Fitzgerald. "But it's important to look at the data and keep things in perspective."
Housing Market News
Montana Realty Board: Number of Agents Is Falling Fast
It seems not many people want to be real estate agents anymore, and established agents are getting out of the business like never before.
About 40 percent fewer new real estate agents received a license from the Montana Board of Realty Regulation in 2008, and about 15 percent of old members didn't renew last year, said Grace Berger, head of the state's regulatory agency.
Here are the numbers: Last year about 500 new applicants passed the requirements to become a real estate agent in Montana, down from about 800 in 2007. That year capped about a decade of growth in the number of licensed agents in Montana.
Hard Times in the Trades
Downturn Has Builders in Bankruptcy, or Just Getting Out
Small construction companies are seeking bankruptcy protection in Montana like never before, say Montana bankruptcy lawyers.
"They're just getting out. Selling everything and going," said James Screnar of Screnar Law Firm in Bozeman whose clients include North American Pipe and Welding of Three Forks.
Many of the contractors have filed for Chapter 7s -- which amount to a liquidation -- because they don't see a future, Screnar said.
He described scenarios in which developers commissioned work but didn't pay, while contractors and subs ordered materials -- wood or drywall or pipe -- on credit. When the developed couldn't sell the homes, the contractors didn't get paid, either. Many are stuck with the debts to suppliers.
