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Solving Missoula's Affordable Housing Puzzle, Part II

So how can Missoula do infill -- and density -- right?

It's a tough question. Many residents don't want Missoula to become a typical, densely developed city. They want to see its rural neighborhoods and large lots remain that way. They want to continue seeing open pastures and horses, trees and mountains.

In other words, they don't want change. Or growth. It's a natural emotion for many in Missoula, scarred by spiraling growth for the last two decades.

This is the second in a two-part series on affordable housing in Missoula. Click here for part one. [more]

Solving Missoula's Affordable Housing Puzzle, Part I

Missoula is at a critical stage when it comes to housing affordability. The actions taken -- or not taken -- by city officials in the next few years will decide whether we will see a mix of housing types within city limits, or whether infill will be discouraged and new development pushed further away from the city and key services. The issue affects every aspect of Missoula life, from traffic to taxes.

In this series, affordable housing advocates and infill opponents sound off on the density debate. The result will set the future of the city of Missoula -- how it grows, how its neighborhoods look and who gets to live in them.

This is the first in a two-part series on Missoula's affordable housing issue. [more]

gender wars

In a lawsuit filed in Seattle Wednesday, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleges that Oregon-based tire company Les Schwab has refused to promote women through the ranks – hiring only one female assistant manager in the last five decades.

The company, which runs 400 tire and automotive centers in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, California, Utah, Nevada and Alaska, denies they refused women higher-paying jobs within their tire stores and the corporation.

A settlement was attempted but was not successful, according to a statement from the EEOC.
[more]

As the June 6 primary draws closer, do Democratic voters really know Jon Tester and John Morrison?

Most people–pundits, voters, even the candidates themselves–don’t really think so.

In recent press on the U.S. Senate race, with the primary only days away, both Tester and Morrison have made healthcare the keynote in their campaigns. Tester has called for universal health care, particularly for Montana’s uninsured children. Morrison has supported expanding the current system, focusing on small businesses.

Despite important policy at stake, it is the differences in style between the two–Tester’s down-to-earth, no-nonsense attitude and his flat-top hairstyle; Morrison’s Clintonesque charm–that voters seem to be stuck with. [more]

hey, joan, there's a bear on the porch

The grizzly moves slowly out of the woods, his steady gaze focused on a wobbly newborn calf in the rancher’s field. Just out of hibernation, every instinct is telling him to find his next meal as quickly as possible.

Cautiously approaching, he moves closer to his target – only to be rudely interrupted by an electrified fence surrounding the calving pen.

Disgruntled, the big griz shuffles back into the woods to find other food. The fence, with its mild electrical current, is part of bear researcher Seth Wilson’s innovative program in the Blackfoot Valley – working closely with local ranchers to make sure grizzlies aren’t using private lands as feeding grounds.

The overriding goal is to keep human/bear conflicts to a minimum. And it may be such programs that give bears their best hope to peacefully co-exist with the humans who keep encroaching further and further into their natural territory. [more]

cowboy lit 101

Talk about inspiring locations for that summer writing course you've been meaning to take: A Columbia writing professor is hosting a weeklong fiction writing workshop on a cattle ranch in the Tetons this July.

In between selected readings from Proulx and Stegner, aspiring writers can learn to make cowboy coffee, lasso a stray calf, tell a campfire story, and build fence (if the ranchers are smart, they'll have those black-turtlenecked New York intellectuals building a WHOLE lotta fence).

You might have to sell your first-born to pay for it, but isn't it worth it? Although it would be hard to explain why you're saddle sore after a week in fiction writing class.

yellowstone park and bison management

What to do about the bison?

The wild-and-woolly bison herd in Yellowstone, now around 4,900 strong, is once again in the news, as the number slaughtered sharply rose to 889 this year, officials announced.

According to state and federal policy, if the animals can’t be hazed successfully back into the park when they wander, they are captured, tested for brucellosis – and then slaughtered if the test comes back positive.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer isn’t convinced the plan is the best strategy – and plans to hold a meeting with state and federal officials a.s.a.p. to discuss potential management options [more]

off road vehicles and forest lands

On the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, officials are hoping a new grant will help them keep off-road vehicle users on the straight and narrow, according to a story in today’s Montana Standard.

The numbers speak for themselves – in the last five years, forest officers handed out only 21 tickets for violating off road rules across the forest – while over the same period, 291 incident reports were filed. [more]

Missoula Housing Mole

Here at New West, we know Missoulians want the straight story on growth – where it's happening, and where it's coming next. So we are starting a new weekly report on the Missoula real estate market, trends and new projects in and around town. Let us know what you think.

Head out of town on Broadway, and you’ll come to East Missoula – a hard-scrabble mix of gas stations, weathered buildings, trailers, and newer, freshly built homes. Take a right on Speedway and head onto to Deer Creek, though, and you get a shock: A cascading fountain appears out of nowhere, next to a cheerful rock-and-stone sign announcing the Canyon River Golf Community.

Missoula isn’t used to a 280-lot development and 18-hole golf course springing up almost overnight out of a wide-open field. But increasingly, “planned” communities are popping up all over western Montana. [more]

open space and development

In the first public dialogue on a proposed $10 million open space bond, Missoula made its feelings known – open space was well worth paying for.

The tentative county bond measure will go through a round of public hearings this summer, before it is likely to be placed on the November general ballot. The vast majority crowded elbow to elbow into Missoula’s tiny courthouse meeting room Wednesday evening voiced strong support for the bond.

“I’d be glad to not go to dinner one night to leave a lasting legacy for my kids,” Missoula resident Chuck Tribe told assembled officials. [more]