New West Network

My Page: Kyle Lehman

Missoula police are stepping up efforts to ticket lawbreaking cyclists in response to the surge of bicycles on the streets.

“With rising fuel costs and students back in town bike traffic has increased dramatically,” said Lieutenant Scott Brodie of the Missoula Police Department. “It can cause some problems.”

Brodie said that the increase in bike traffic has lead to more citizen complaints about cyclists failing to obey traffic laws and riding at night without lights. As a result, bicycle infractions have become a higher priority, with police officers detailed specifically to enforce bike laws and issue tickets to cyclists that break them. [more]

hot springs

Montana’s cool La Nina year has meant that much of the state’s high country snow pack is close to its historic average, but according to regional experts, how long it sticks around depends on this spring’s temperatures.

“What happens over the next three weeks of May is going to be critical,” said Jesse Aber of the Montana Drought Committee. “We’re kind of holding our breath and crossing our fingers.”

According to Aber, warm spring weather can dash all hopes that the snow pack will carry on into summer, easing drought conditions and possibly reducing the intensity of the coming fire season. [more]

bike walk bus week

Supposedly spring is here, though one wouldn’t have guessed it from the seat of a bike cruising through Missoula in 40-degree temperatures with fat raindrops rapping off the street. But like the timid wildflowers on Mt. Jumbo, local bikers are making a belated emergence this spring. Their appearance was helped along by the city’s annual Bike Walk Bus Week, which encourages Missoulians to seek out alternative transportation with a variety of enticing incentives. Mountainline has been free all week, UM is raffling off assorted prizes for commuters, and local cafes and bakeries have offered treats to patrons that bike or walk to their doors. [more]

new west news brief

Montanans have given more money to Democrats than Republicans in this year’s presidential race, and Barack Obama is the leading recipient of the Treasure State’s generosity, according to the Great Falls Tribune.

New numbers released Monday by the Federal Election Commission have Obama raking in $249,740, 31 percent of Montana’s total donations. Hillary Clinton is a distant second with $123,920 in donations, the majority of which came from her Missoula fundraiser. Republican Ron Paul may not have a chance at his party’s nomination, but by raising $104,312 he has topped all other Republican candidates including John McCain. [more]

timber framing

When Missoula’s former Champion Sawmill site is transformed into the mixed-use Old Sawmill District (a brownfield redevelopment), the city will have a new 14.5-acre park along the Clark Fork River, Silver Park.

The park will preserve the site’s former life in several new installations to be placed along the park’s riverfront trail, offering walkers shelter from the elements. And their construction this fall will give citizens a chance to take part in the art of timber framing. [more]

Traffic Woes

Missoulians filled the bleachers of Franklin Elementary School Wednesday night to hear the latest proposal for widening Russell Street and redeveloping South 3rd Street to accommodate projected traffic increases.

The proposal -- still in early stages -- drew criticism from some who say it will only make room for more traffic, not solve the underlying issue.

The proposal to widen the street and install more traffic signals was prepared by HKM engineering after working with the city, the Missoula Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration. The aim of the project is to solve the congestion and bike and pedestrian issues that have plagued Russell Street for years. [more]

wilderness issues lecture series

To address the problem of climate change Americans must strive to create a "green" economy bolstered by federal regulations that promote innovation and investment, said K.C. Golden in his lecture Tuesday night at the University of Montana.

“The problem is upon us now,” he said. “It’s time to move from being very worried to being very focused on the issue.”

Golden’s talk, the final lecture in the University’s Wilderness Issues Lecture Series, focused on ways the United States can work to lessen the severity of global climate change while reducing our dependence on costly and unstable imported fossil fuels. [more]

presidential politics

Teddy Davis of ABC News has a new interview with Brian Schweitzer in which the Montana governor offers some sharp criticisms of Senator Barack Obama, but says that he will withhold his coveted endorsement for whoever wins his state’s primary on June 3rd.

The interview, conducted at Schweitzer’s Helena home, has the governor disapproving of Obama’s health care plan and his strict guidelines for clean coal technologies, which Schweitzer sees as vital for reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil. No matter who wins the Democratic Party's nomination, Schweitzer thinks Republican nominee John McCain will win Montana for his stance on gun control alone.

Click here for the full interview. [more]

wilderness issues lecture lecture series

On Tuesday night, Eban Goodstein stood before an audience of mainly college students at the University of Montana and urged them to take action in making climate change the most important issue of their generation.

“This really is the mission of your generation, and with that mission you cannot afford to fail,” he said.

Goodstein, a professor of economics at Lewis and Clark College in Portland Oregon and founder of Focus the Nation, was speaking as part of the University’s Wilderness Issues Lecture Series. Goodstein said that in order to posses technologies such as solar energy and wind power that will be vital for dealing with global warming, today’s college students must convince their leaders to make investments right now. Goodstein called the process “intergenerational gift giving” and said that it is necessary considering the level of restructuring required by future generations. [more]

new west news brief

On Monday, chemical company W.R. Grace agreed to an estimated $3 billion settlement to resolve current and future asbestos claims against the company, according to the AP.

If U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Judith Fitzgerald approves the plan, the company will pay $250 million in cash into a trust fund for asbestos victims, followed by deferred payments of $110 million per year for five years beginning in 2019 and $100 million per year for 10 years beginning in 2024. [more]