My Page: Amy Linn

Blixseth Fraud Trial

The fate of Yellowstone Club founder Tim Blixseth, and the health of his wallet, depend on the fine print of a divorce settlement and a variety of accounting questions that were argued in exquisite detail in federal court in Missoula today.

Blixseth stands accused of fraud and “breach of fiduciary duty” related to a $375 million loan he obtained from Credit Suisse in 2005. The 59-year-old former billionaire spent more than $200 million of the cash for his personal use, buying everything from high-end real estate to airplanes.

Blixseth's Alleged Breaches

Accused of secretly siphoning $286.4 million of his assets to a Nevada company so creditors couldn’t get it--and charged with bankrupting the ski resort he built from scratch--Yellowstone Club founder Tim Blixseth sat in a federal courtroom in Missoula yesterday and watched the latest chapter in his legal saga unfold.

The ending might be riches-to-rags.

The 59-year-old real estate tycoon, who launched a lavish 13,400-acre private enclave above Big Sky a decade ago, is on trial before U.S. District Judge Ralph Kirscher for allegedly committing fraud and breaching his fiduciary duties to the club.

Polar Bears, Melting Ice Floes, and Us

Polar explorer Will Steger, one of the most accomplished Arctic adventurers of all time, has seen and done things that most mortals can’t imagine. In 1986 he led the first dogsled expedition to the North Pole without resupply; in 1988, he traversed Greenland by dogsled, a 1,600-mile trip that was the longest of its kind ever; in 1989 he launched the first dogsled traverse of Antarctica, a seven-month, 3,471-mile journey.

What Steger never expected to see was the end of ice. And what he never expected to be doing is what he’s engaged in right now: a battle to fight climate change and save the planet.

Global warming doubters might refute the scientific studies, Steger says. What they can’t do, he believes, is refute eyewitness reports and photos from someone who’s explored the territory for 45 years. So Steger has taken the injured Arctic on the road.

Forest Jobs and Recreation Act

Sen. Jon Tester today announced that he hopes to make revisions to his Forest Jobs and Recreation Act, legislation that has drawn widespread support, criticism and suggestions from Montanans—some of which Tester said he’d insert into the legislation.

The Senator, speaking at a small press conference in Missoula, said the proposed 21 changes—some involving simple word clarifications and others more meaty—were brought to his attention by a wide variety of individuals and organizations, from the Montana Wood Products Association and the University of Montana School of Forestry to environmental groups and the Montana AFL-CIO.

Abused Kitten Saga

Today, KPAX reports that police arrived at the apartment of the man suspected in the case, planning to serve him with a warrant for aggravated cruelty. As an officer walked inside the man’s apartment, he heard a gunshot, according to the Missoulian.

After calling for backup, securing the neighborhood, and evacuating some nearby residents in case more gunfire ensued, police entered the man’s apartment at 2419 38th St. and found him dead of what apparently was a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police told reporters.

Green Changes Hands

The spectacular 18,500-acre Sun Ranch in Madison Valley, a showcase for eco-friendly real estate development, has been bought by the CEO of a multinational mining company, the Bozeman Chronicle reports.

The Montana ranch, a blend of conservation, development and sustainability, was put on the market last spring by owner Roger Lang for $55 million. The list price as of last Friday had dropped to $42 million.

OPINION

“This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.

In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves, which is essential to victory. I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.

Property Reappraisal Pushback

Saddled with soaring tax bills, several Montana residents—most of them from Flathead and Lake counties—have filed lawsuits against the Montana Department of Revenue, challenging how the state carried out its property reappraisal.

On Jan. 19, Kalispell attorney Dale McGarvey sued the Revenue Department in Flathead District Court over the reappraisal of two Whitefish Lake properties owned by the McGarvey Family Limited Partnership, Elsie Taylor (formerly McGarvey) and himself.

The same day, William Solem and his wife, Ellen, of Chinook, filed a suit in Flathead District Court over the tax assessment of property they own in Lakeside which accuses the Revenue Department’s reappraisal process of being “fundamentally flawed in that it is speculative, arbitrary and capricious resulting in the unlawful taking of property.”

OPINION

There are two general reactions to a car wreck: rubbernecking, or averting your eyes. Call it the owl versus the ostrich.

Which is the better approach for humans? Maybe neither one works on its own, and the best tactic is a combo.

Consider the horrid economic news. Stare at it too long and you’ll come to a standstill and potentially get clobbered from behind. Ignore it completely and you won’t be able to navigate the slowdown.

An owl-rich, on the other hand, would only look at the wreck long enough to get the information it needed. Been there, seen that. It would move off and find something new. Sounds easy, of course, but it isn’t all that simple to look away when it comes to the economy — the wreckage is everywhere, from Flathead County to the Wyoming border. 

Six Degrees of Separation from Killer Whales

The connectedness of a shrinking world can sometimes feel cringe-worthy. Do we really want to know that dot A connects to dot B and on to dot Z—that everything we do has consequences? Escaping that over-connected feeling is something a lot of us seek in the wilderness, where no one can hear us singing Neil Young songs off key and where a bird call, or silence, fills our brain pans.

But wilderness, of course, is the essence of interconnectedness, with each critter in a niche that keeps another living thing in balance. That’s what the Los Angeles Times reminds us of with a fine column by Carl Safina, founder and president of the Blue Ocean Institute, who writes about a photo of an Alaskan bear eating a salmon, with a wolf looking on.