http://www.newwest.net/index.php/city/main/C110/L110/ New West Network: The Voice of the Rocky Mountains en info@newwest.net Copyright 2008 Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:09:00 MDT Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:09:00 MDT http://www.newwest.net/city/article/denver_book_burglar_sentenced/C110/L110/ Wed, 16 Jul 2008 10:12:00 MDT Last year I mentioned the arrest of the Denver booknapper, Thomas Pilaar, who checked out about 1,400 books and DVDs from Denver-area libraries and attempted to sell them online. Pilaar pleaded guilty to theft and last week was sentenced to "10 years in prison and ordered to pay $53,549 of restitution," according to Tille Fong of the Rocky Mountain News. During the year between his arrest and his sentencing, it seems that the formerly moustached Pilaar took the time to further cultivate his facial hair. I can't think of a way to segue gracefully into the non-felon portion of today's Roundup, so I guess I'll just proceed: Steven Wingate emailed to point out a new book deal for a fellow Colorado writer, Irene Vilar. Matthew Thornton of Publishers Weekly reported that Vilar recently sold her memoir Impossible Motherhood to Other Press. Also in the Roundup: David Wroblewski's continued success and Albuquerque's Cary Herz is honored. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/idaho_bookstore_owner_dies_in_car_accident/C110/L110/ Wed, 14 May 2008 08:00:00 MDT This week brought some sad news for the Idaho book community: Sun Valley Online reports that Gary Hunt, the owner of Iconoclast Books in Ketchum and the Sun Valley Mall, was killed in a car accident Saturday morning. Sun Valley Online established the blog Gary Hunt Remembrances for people to leave their messages about the man whom they describe as "a kind soul and passionate family and business man." Also in the Roundup: Oregon native Benjamin Percy makes the long list for the Frank O'Connor Prize, Idaho's Brandon R. Schrand receives several honors, Deanne Stillman interviews Larry McMurtry, and Las Comadres launch a Latino book club to meet in Utah and New Mexico, among other states http://www.newwest.net/city/article/wilderness_is_multiple_use/C110/L110/ Thu, 08 May 2008 04:57:00 MDT Have you ever heard somebody say they prefer "multiple use" over Wilderness? I have what seems like a thousand times, and every time I hear it, I say to myself, wrong! So, it seems like a good time to say it out loud because the words, "multiple use" have been lost in the Wilderness. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/public_land_owners_taking_rat_forest_service_to_civil_court/C110/L110/ Mon, 05 May 2008 18:01:01 MDT Enough is enough, say the owners of our national forests. And they may have finally found a way to spike the Recreation Access Tax or RAT. After years of working through cumbersome administrative channels and several rounds in criminal court, people interested in reasonable and free access to their public land have dragged the Forest Service (FS) into civil court. In addition to asking for injunctions against collecting "illegal" fees while the case is being litigated and if successful the fee program terminated, the plaintiffs in the class action complaints--to be filed tomorrow morning in Arizona and Colorado--want all fee collection signs removed and all fees collected through the years under the program returned to the people who shouldn't have had to pay them. Suffice to say, it's panic time in the FS offices back in Washington, D.C. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/the_wilderness_drought_and_how_the_green_group_feud_keeps_it_alive/C110/L110/ Thu, 01 May 2008 01:02:00 MDT Over the past two years, I've been periodically posting selections of my favorite comments from readers of my columns and articles. I plan to continue doing this, but differently. Instead of listing comments chronologically, I've edited them into general subject areas. In this case, here are a few insightful comments that came in over the past few months on several articles on the wilderness drought and the green group feud that keeps it alive and if not endless. Enjoy. Editor's Note: For a complete list of Comments Worth Repeating, click here. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/merge_remake_the_forest_service/C110/L110/ Thu, 24 Apr 2008 03:00:00 MDT Last month, the General Accountability Office (GA0) announced it was studying a plan to take the Forest Service out of the Department of Agriculture and merge it into the Department of the Interior. Predictably, this news was met with a chorus of yawns because we've heard many grandiose plans for reorganizing federal land-managing agencies. In every case, after significant wasted staff time and much stress for employees, nothing happens. But this one wasn't a yawner for me because something like this really needs to happen. This time, let's get serious and seize this opportunity to remake the Forest Service (FS), an agency lost in the today's political landscape. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/wolf_recovery_turned_out_as_planned/C110/L110/ Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:41:00 MDT Some NewWest.Net readers might be a bit "overwolfed," but I thought the views of the man who probably did more to return the Big Dog to the Rocky Mountain West than any other person on Earth could be interesting. And surprisingly, to me at least, he thinks it all turned out about how he expected. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/more_fly_fishing_only_rivers_please/C110/L110/ Thu, 10 Apr 2008 09:01:00 MDT Before all the non-flycasters get excited about the headline, I should say that I like all kinds of fishing, not just fly fishing, a problem that has made my life a constant struggle against poverty. In fact, I have more spinning and baitcasing rods than fly rods, and probably use them more, too. Nonetheless, today, I'm feeling sorry for those anglers who only use fly rods. I think fisheries managers should throw them a bone by designating a few stretches of a few rivers as fly-fishing-only--especially a few rivers with steelhead in them. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/national_poetry_month_across_the_region/C110/L110/ Wed, 02 Apr 2008 08:00:00 MDT In 1996, the Academy of American Poets declared April to be National Poetry Month, and no one seems inclined to argue with them. Poets and poetry-lovers across the country continue to get in the spirit of things with readings and events, and our region is no exception. Check out the national poetry map on Poets.org, which fills users in on everything you'd want to know about poetry in your state, including "Poetic History," "Favorite Poems," poems about the state, readings, workshops, and more. Read on for a sampling of the many poetry-related events across the region this month. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/wolf_haters_fight_trigger_itch/C110/L110/ Fri, 28 Mar 2008 13:14:00 MDT Here's something you probably never heard a western rancher say: "Government is a wonderful thing." But that might be precisely what they're saying down in the coffee shops and saloons in Idaho and Wyoming because they could be thinking the federal government has accidentally given them the opportunity to shoot as many wolves as they can for the next 30 days with no consequences. To this, I say: Don't even think about it.