Sen. Barack Obama chose to celebrate the Fourth of July in Butte with his wife, Michelle, and daughters, Malia and Sasha. The Obama family attended the Independence Day Parade and hosted a "family picnic" at Montana Tech where Obama gave a brief speech, cooked hamburgers and chatted casually to fans. Photos by Alexia Beckerling 

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Stumbling the Walk

The stage was set, the wall of black, logoless amplifiers had glowing lights. A roadie would wander out periodically to adjust a mic stand or open a couple bottles of water on the drum riser, then stroll off again. A huge smoke machine was belching fog over the stage and theater; ZZ Top was playing over the PA. The crowd was chanting, “Ace, Ace, Ace!” and it seemed to take forever. Finally the lights dimmed, and it was on. 

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Stumbling the Walk

Missoula City Code

#12.16.030 Snow and ice to be removed from sidewalks.

A. Every person owning, in charge or control of, or occupying as tenant any building or lot of land within the city which fronts on, abuts, or contains within a public use easement a sidewalk, shall remove and clear away, or cause to be removed and cleared away, snow, ice, slush, mud, or other impediment to safe and convenient foot travel from so much of said sidewalk as is in front of, abuts on, or is contained within said building or lot of land. It is further such person’s duty to prevent accumulation of the same upon such sidewalks.

 

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Stumbling the Walk

How do you kill time on an airplane planted on the tarmac, snow blowing and swirling outside, in the wee hours of the morning? The most amusing event was when some older fellow walked up into first class, looked around with his hands on his hips for a couple moments, and then turned to return to the back of the plane without saying a word. He did not pass quietly: clearing the third row, which is where I just happened to be seated, he unleashed a fuselage-rattling fart that did not go unnoticed by any of us in the vicinity. "I think he just fired a shot across our bow," I remarked, and the giddiness of the hour made it a lot funnier than it may have otherwise been. 

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thank you for not smoking

The City of Missoula and other West Central Montana agencies will enact Stage I fire restrictions Saturday.

Stage I prohibits campfires except at designated campsites and smoking except in an enclosed vehicle, at a designated recreation site, or in an area at least three feet in diameter that is cleared of all flammable materials.

"We have some urban-interface lands -- like Mount Jumbo, Mount Sentinel, Waterworks Hill -- that are precious to the community but are also prone to fire," Missoula Fire Chief Tom Steenberg said in a release.

The restrictions go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, July 14.  

food, family and culture

It’s closing time at the Missoula farmers' market and Hmong children in oversized t-shirts load icicle radishes, rhubarb and beets into black milk crates for the Missoula Food Bank.

A large portion of the weekly Food Bank donations comes from these kids, first generation Montanans working for their parents to earn a little spending cash.

Almost half of the vendors at the Missoula market are Hmong refugees from Laos. In total, there are more than 200 Hmong living in Missoula County, according to U.S. Census figures from 2000. Many emigrated here in the wake of the Vietnam War, after their ally, the United States, pulled out of Southeast Asia and the Communists took over.

Chou Moua, 61, and his family were part of that wave. 

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