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Wildlife Destruction Dept.

When she went outside on a brisk morning in mid-September, Mary Randall got a rude surprise.

"I noticed the windshield wiper was hanging down and I went, 'Hmm, that's odd.'"

Odd doesn't begin to describe it. Along with a broken wiper, the interior of Randall's car – parked outside her home in the Sugarloaf area in the canyons above Boulder – had been completely destroyed by a scavenging bear.  [more]

watching the polls

John McCain's lead over Barack Obama in Montana is shrinking, according to a poll released Thursday by American Research Group.

McCain is now up by five points -- 50 percent to 45 percent -- compared to last week's eight point advantage (in a Rasmussen Reports poll) and double-digit advantages two weeks ago (in polls conducted by Research 2000 and CNN/Time Opinion Research).  [more]

from the new west blog: economy

Less demand for flash memory technology which led to a worldwide glut of the chips means they’re now so cheap that it costs more to make them than they’re worth.

Boise’s Micron Technology will stop producing NAND chips, and the company will lay off 15 percent of its workers worldwide. The Boise plant will lose 1500 of those jobs.

The company employs an estimated 9,000 to 10,000 workers in Boise and about 19,000 worldwide. A 15 percent cut worldwide would be about 2,850 workers.

The job cuts come more than a year after Micron shed about 1,100 jobs in Boise. The company has lost money for seven straight quarters as the brutally cyclical computer-memory market suffers an extended downturn.

The new job cuts will begin with a voluntary program, Micron said.

Gov. Butch Otter released this statement: “Our thoughts and our best efforts are with those individuals and families who will be experiencing this difficult period firsthand. I met with [Micron CEO] Steve Appleton and assured him that state agencies stand ready to assist with job placement services and other help. I asked Department of Labor Director Roger Madsen to increase staffing at all area Job Service offices to operate during extended hours and on Saturdays. I also asked Department of Commerce Director Don Dietrich to identify businesses with the potential for adding on some of these highly qualified workers. [Otter's statement continues after the jump]  [more]

U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy in Missoula came down hard on the Montana Republican Party for its blanket challenge of more than 6,000 registered voters in Democratic-leaning areas.

The challenge had already been abandoned two days ago by the Montana GOP. A spokesman said its effort was to avoid voter fraud, not strip the right to vote from citizens. And Montana Secretary of State Brad Johnson had already asked counties to ignore the challenges. So there was no reason for Molloy to grant a request from the Montana Democratic Party and two voters for a temporary restraining order.

And while Molloy didn't hold back in his order (PDF). He called GOP concerns about voter fraud "meritless if not frivolous" because those concerns were limited to "select counties that likely contain concentrations of Democratic voter."  [more]

Western Book Roundup

It's literary award and festival season across the region. Colorado Humanities and Colorado Center for the Book will announce the winners of the 17th annual Colorado Book Awards tonight at the Tivoli Turnhalle on the Auraria Campus in Denver (6-10 p.m.), and tickets are available for $75. As I mentioned before, several of the books we've reviewed over the past year are finalists for awards.

Meanwhile in Utah, Confluence: A Celebration of Reading and Writing in Moab will be held from October 14 through 19.

Further north, the Helena Festival of the Book kicks off today. Authors scheduled to participate include Hipólito Rafael Chacón, whose book Brian D'Ambrosio recently reviewed for New West, Russell Rowland, a writing teacher at MSU-Billings and the editor of The Smoking Poet and Stone's Throw magazine (which is accepting submissions now), and Missoula essayist Susanna Sonnenberg.

Also in the Roundup: Boulder Book Store celebrates its 35th Anniversary, and even more festivals are to come in Missoula and Denver this month. [more]

from the new west blog: presidential election

Traditional Media
Washington Post: “Economic Crisis Dominates Debate” says “the gravity of the moment” led to “an often stifled encounter.”

New York Times: “Obama and McCain Clash Over Economy”calls the debate “muted.”

Associated Press: “Neither candidate in the second debate had a game-changing moment.” Begins, “Barack Obama made strides toward easing voters' concerns about his candidacy in Tuesday night's debate. John McCain, despite raising pointed questions about his rival's readiness, didn't create the game-changing moment he'll need between now and Election Day.”

CNN thought the debate was more lively: “Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama hammered away at each other's judgment on the economy, domestic policy and foreign affairs as they faced off in their second presidential debate.”

Polls
CBS News conducted a poll of uncommitted voters, and 39% thought Obama won, 27% thought McCain won, and 35% saw the debate as a draw.

[more]

from the new west blog: presidential election column

The presidential campaign has entered the pants-on-fire portion of the sorry spectacle we call an election.

The perennial claim by political strategists that negative campaigning is unfortunate “but it works” is on full display. The question is how to avoid it if your opponent attacks. Does the attackee sit tight and let lies and damn lies float by without refuting them, in order to take the proverbial high road? History seems to say they don’t have that luxury. Remember Sen. John Kerry’s lackluster responses to the Swiftboaters who successfully smeared Kerry’s status as a decorated veteran? We all know what happened then.

Peter Wallsten of the Los Angeles Times has a nicely balanced piece today about what the two campaigns are up to in going negative.

The LA Times also has these two short pieces of interest: “Barack Obama’s connection to William Ayers” and “John McCain’s ties to Charles Keating.” [more]

From The New West Blog

Yellowstone National Park is considering a wireless communication plan that could lead to more cell towers, backcountry webcams, wireless internet access in stores and hotels -- and, opponents say, a compromised wilderness experience.

“People go out into the wild to be in nature,” says Bill Boteler of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. “They don’t go out to be surrounded by cell phone towers and gadgets.” [more]