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New West Book Review

Forget Me Not
by Jennifer Lowe-Anker
Mountaineers Books, 256 pages, $24.95

In Forget Me Not, Jennifer Lowe-Anker chronicles life with her first husband Alex Lowe, who was thought by many to be the world’s best mountain climber before he was lost in an avalanche in the Tibetan Himalayas in 1999. Her memoir, comprehensive and faithful, does his life of achievement great justice, and is surprisingly upbeat even as she attempts to answer some of the darker questions associated with his vocation. As she examines Alex’s childhood as well as their courtship—when his profession as a mountain climber first took shape—she wonders how Alex became such an intense leader and climber, risking his life again and again, and, in his case, even with a family waiting at home.

At the beginning of the book, Lowe-Anker writes of Alex’s heart, that it was “frequently and most definitely in conflict with itself.” And at the end of the book, Lowe-Anker states that the writing of this memoir has been cathartic. Though her main aim is to memorialize the grandness of Alex’s success and scope, she also ends up describing the troubling fact that she was often left alone to raise three boys. She grapples with why she was attracted to such a life in the first place, and then why she was so understanding—so much so that Alex himself dubbed her “Saint Jennifer.” [more]

Guest Column

Fueled by $180 million in federal stimulus money, the National Security Agency will build a one-million square foot data center outside of Salt Lake City. According to the Salt Lake Tribune:

Hoping to protect its top-secret operations by decentralizing its massive computer hubs, the National Security Agency will build a 1-million-square-foot data center at Utah’s Camp Williams.

The years-in-the-making project, which may cost billions over time, got a $181 million start last week when President Obama signed a war spending bill in which Congress agreed to pay for primary construction, power access and security infrastructure. The enormous building, which will have a footprint about three times the size of the Utah State Capitol building, will be constructed on a 200-acre site near the Utah National Guard facility’s runway.

Congressional records show that initial construction — which may begin this year — will include tens of millions in electrical work and utility construction, a $9.3 million vehicle inspection facility, and $6.8 million in perimeter security fencing. The budget also allots $6.5 million for the relocation of an existing access road, communications building and training area.

Officials familiar with the project say it may bring as many as 1,200 high-tech jobs to Camp Williams, which borders Salt Lake, Utah and Tooele counties. [more]

By Chris Blanchard, Guest Writer, 7-02-09 | comments (1) | email story | print story

Guest Column

The passage of the Waxman-Markey Climate bill is a historic, bold step in the right direction in terms of embracing innovative and sustained business practice.

Hailed globally as a “sea of change in U. S. policy on climate,” this legislation will reshape energy policy by capping greenhouse gas emissions for the first time, boost production and investment in renewable electricity, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and tend to our cherished natural resources. Concurrently, the bill will create jobs here in the United States and help businesses and communities hardest hit by these new changes.

We commend our forward thinking leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives and say job well done. [more]

Guest Column

To those of you who find the word ‘crap’ heinous, rude or disgusting – apologies in advance. But if the concept of being ‘anti-crap’ makes you smile or perhaps conjures up the anthem - “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore” – you are definitely “made” in Montana.

In 2008, I ran (unsuccessfully) for the Montana State Legislature. During the election process, my Bitterroot friends oft asked: “You’re a recycled hippie challenging an incumbent (HD 87) in a very conservative part of Montana. What are you thinking?”

My answer: it’s Kinky Friedman’s fault.

Kinky, of the semi-legendary, “Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jew Boys”, was challenging secessionist incumbent, Rick Perry for the Governor of Texas and I figured if Kinky can do it, why can’t I? Note: I also blame my beloved wife Susan - a 4th generation Montanan. She bought me Kinky’s book and it stirred political passions semi-dormant since the 1960’s.

The good news: Discussing and learning about issues that face our community and Montana was a great experience. And even better, meeting wonderful folks on both sides of the aisle and finding common ground rocked.

[more]

International Peace Park Goes Overseas

Although Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park already spans the Canadian-U.S. divide, Canadian and American environmental groups are hoping to cross another border, a provincial one, to fully protect the pristine wilderness.

And to do so, they're taking the cause to the UN.

On June 27, representatives from a coalition of 11 groups in the United States and Canada will travel to Seville, Spain, to speak to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The groups will ask that the park, which includes Glacier National Park in Montana and Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, be designated a “World Heritage Site in Danger.” [more]

Sea Stories in Seattle

There's a proposal making the rounds to designate a large chunk of Washington's coastline a National Maritime Heritage Area. Such an area would require an act of Congress.

The proposed Heritage zone would extend up Washington's Pacific coast from Gray's Harbor and include the Strait of Juan de Fuca and San Juan Islands. It would run south from the Canadian border to the southern tip of Puget Sound. In Seattle, it would encompass Salmon Bay, the Lake Washington Ship Canal and Lake Union. It would extend 1/4 mile inland, and could include other nearby designated sites.

The main idea is to provide a way to recognize Washington's maritime history and industry, from Coast Salish cedar canoes to old lighthouses, from World War II shipyards to houseboat communities. A Heritage Area designation allows locals to coordinate ways to recognize and protect local historic sites and structures, promote tourism, and develop a narrative that ties-in life today. It also views cultural heritage to be seen broadly, connected to living, inhabited, and industrious contemporary landscapes. A Heritage Area is no wilderness National Park, though the Park Service does provide technical assistance.
[more]

Opinion

The core question of whether or not Judge Sonia Sotomayor is qualified to be a Justice on the highest court and legal authority in the United States can be answered. We can compare her record to that of the potential colleagues who currently comprise the Supreme Court. After all, the most important criteria to be examined in the consideration of the qualifications of any Supreme Court nominee is their federal judiciary C.V.—how much experience do they have with Federal law and Appellate Court Procedure, and most importantly in Constitutional Law?) Do they have experience judging cases that require interpretation of constitutional complexities? How qualified is Judge Sotomayor in this regard?

For that matter, how qualified are the current members of the Supreme Court? [more]

Deja Boo

After more than five hours of hearing public comment Monday night, the visibly exhausted Missoula City Council sent the proposed zoning rewrite ordinance revision back to the Plat, Annexation and Zoning committee for re-evaluation.

If passed, the new zoning ordinance would replace the existing zoning ordinance, which Office of Planning and Grants Director Roger Millar described as confusing and contradictory.

“Everything we do depends on zoning, and our regulatory foundation is broken,” Millar said during his brief presentation last night. “It’s time for a change.”

Following Millar’s presentation and continuing until past midnight, about 50 Missoula residents representing commercial, organizational, neighborhood and personal interests lined up in the aisles of the Council Chamber and, one by one, voiced their concerns before the weary Council members, Mayor John Engen and City Attorney Jim Nugent. The meeting was adjourned at 12:30 a.m.
[more]

Bones of Contention

Revolution rages in Tehran and the world is transfixed by millions of Iranians demanding free speech. Laramie, Wyoming is light years away from the Islamic world, but amid charges of repression of free speech and totalitarian decisions, a revolt is gaining momentum against the University of Wyoming (UW) trustees -- and its emblematic martyr is Big Al, the Allosaurus.

Facing an $18.3 million budget shortfall, UW decided to close the school’s Geological Museum in response to the state of Wyoming’s mandated 10 percent budget cuts. The museum will close to the public July 1; its director and assistant are among the people who will lose their jobs as a result.

Big Al -- whose incredibly-preserved bones greet museum visitors -- will become a recluse. Some researchers may be able to see him, but not the public. The same goes for other museum prizes, including one of the only mounted skeletons of an Apatosaurus (or Brontosaurus, as it was formerly called).
[more]

Single-economy woes

In an interview with WyoFile, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Thomas Hoenig recommend Wyoming wean itself from a commodity diet.

Hoenig was in Sheridan earlier this month to give a speech titled: An Economy at Risk.

Although Hoenig was addressing the national economic recession, the title to his speech could not be more fitting for the perilous state of Wyoming’s immediate economic future.

Wyoming has watched as the $2.05/thousand cubic feet (and falling) natural gas price has reduced its 2009-2010 budget surplus from $900 million to $187 million (and dropping).

Wyoming gets 52 percent of its mineral tax revenue from the sale of natural gas. In April, Wyoming suffered its worst monthly job loss since 1987, although it still has one of the country’s lowest unemployment rates. Wyoming remains among the least economically diversified states in the nation. That needs to change, says Hoenig. [more]