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My Page: Jonathan Weber

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With both Democratic presidential candidates making a big push in Montana ahead of the June 3 primaries, our friends at the Flathead Beacon interviewed both candidates on a series of Montana-specific issues. As we all know, Obama and Clinton aren't very far apart on most issues, and neither is eager to climb out on any political limbs at this stage of the game. But the interviews do appear to show some meaningful differences in approach on issues including energy development and wilderness designations. Check out the interviews here. [more]

Barack Obama has a healthy 52%-to-35% lead over Hillary Clinton among likely Democratic voters heading into the June 3 Montana primary, according to a Lee Newspapers poll. That's not a big surprise- Obama has done very well in the Mountain West and the Pacific Northwest, racking up a massive win in Idaho earlier this year and taking the Oregon primary handily last week.

Obama has also been using his big cash horde to blanket Montana with television and online advertising, an effort Clinton cannot match. [more]

In the wake of our New West local event on social networking, I've been thinking a lot about the dynamics of interacting on the Internet. In my column for the London Times Online this week, I wrote about the strange way that anonymity works (or doesn't) on the Internet. As a glance at NewWest.Net discussion threads shows, anonymity can be liberating, but not always in a good way. Asking people to use their real names in online conversation seems almost radical. But we're always looking for ways to encourage good conversations, so let us know if you have any thoughts.

A Bridge Over the Blackfoot

In 1921, a steel bridge was built across the Blackfoot River at Milltown; the contractor was a company called Security Bridge, and the main man on the job was W.P. Roscoe. Now that bridge is being rebuilt as part of the Milltown Dam removal project - made a little longer, among other things - and will be used as a pedestrian and bicycle crossing. The company doing the work is Roscoe Bridge, a unit of Roscoe Steel & Culvert, a Billings-based company owned by Jim Roscoe - the grandson of the original builder.

The steel truss bridge is not what you would build today - there are cheaper and easier methods - but it holds a powerful place in our industrial history, and in the aesthetic memories of local residents. [more]

New West Missoula Event

If you're reading this story, you're probably Internet-savvy enough to know that the hottest thing online is "social networking." Facebook and MySpace are the kingpins of this phenomenon, but social networking happens in all kinds of ways and in all kinds of places on the Web. And if you think social networking is mostly about flirting and dating, well, you'd be surprised.

Here in Missoula, Hank Green of EcoGeek, Steven Sundheim of Modwest and Grupthink, and our very own Courtney Lowery have been at the forefront of the social networking phenomenon. In addition to the highly successful EcoGeek blog, Hank has created a hugely popular social network called Nerdfighters. Steven and his compatriots at the Web hosting company Modwest have built a unique social Web site called Grupthink. Courtney, for her part, is in charge of all things community here at NewWest.Net and has dipped her toes in almost everything new on the Web.

Please join Hank, Steven and Courtney for a discussion and, yes, networking reception on what online social networking can mean for you, your business, and your social circle. It happens May 13 at 5:00 p.m. at the Missoula Art Museum. Please call 406-829-1725 for more information, or email We look forward to seeing you there. [more]

Newseum and Politics

It's always a bit of a shock to the system to travel from Missoula to the big city, and the couple of days I spent in Washington D.C. this week were no exception. The trip reminded me again how unpleasant flying has become (I'll spare you the specifics of the many annoyances), and I was also shocked to see, in bricks and concrete, one of the central ironies of the Bush Administration: during this regime of the party that's supposed to stand for smaller government, Washington itself is booming. Shiny new buildings are everywhere – government buildings, private office buildings, fancy apartment houses, you name it. The news story of the day was about how the prosperity – no housing bust here! - hasn't trickled down to the city's large underclass. More than ever, Washington has the feel of an imperial capital, where the regents are all in clover.

By contrast, for those attending the conference I came to speak at - the annual meeting of the American Society of Magazine Editors and the Newspaper Association of America – these are hardly the best of times. The daily newspaper business is in nothing less than a free-fall, and my conversations with some top editors indicate that it's getting worse. The trade show floor, where the manfacturing infrastructure of the news business is on display, was practically deserted.

But there were a couple of highlights even for the newspaper execs. One was the appearance of all three presidential candidates; a roomful of newspaper editors is still an occasion that no politician will miss.

The second was the reception at the spanking new Newseum. [more]

Welcome Barack and Hillary!

Whatever the East Coast political pundit class might have to say about the downsides of the extended Democratic presidential primary, I think I can speak for almost everyone in Montana in saying that we're just delighted it's played out in a way that's brought both candidates to our fair state.

The excitement that began with Bill Clinton's tour of the hi-line early this week will ratchet up a few notches today as Missoula prepares for what's looking like a huge Obama rally Saturday. Hillary will be here too, doing a high-dollar fund-raiser and, apparently, trying to figure out a public event that won't look small next to her opponents. Then both will be off to Butte for the Democratic Party dinner Saturday night. [more]

Luxury Real Estate

Tamarack Resort in Idaho, the Promontory Club in Utah, and the Yellowstone Club in Montana have more than a little in common. All three are new, high-end residential resort developments that feature expensive houses, fancy golf courses, and very good skiing. All three have sought to capitalize on the dual trend of the rich getting richer, and aging baby boomers seeking a private piece of paradise. All three have run into difficulties of late. And all three count international banking giant Credit Suisse as their primary financier. [more]

April 24-25 in Bozeman

We're putting the finishing touches on the program for the latest New West conference, Designing the New West: Architecture and Landscape in the Mountain West, and it's shaping up to be an event you won't want to miss. In addition to the top-notch line-up of more than 20 speakers - including architectural luminaries from Seattle, Jackson, Los Angeles, Bozeman and Missoula - the event will feature three different architectural tours in the Bozeman area, led by Montana State University School of Architecture students. We're also delighted to announce that Vann's will host a special reception Friday evening at its "Living Kitchen" in Bozeman, with top chefs preparing food with some the best kitchen gear around.

The event has also been approved for continuing education credit: eight AIA architecture credits, eight AICP planning credits, and four mandatory Montana Board of Realty credits.

The conference will take place at the beautiful Gallatin Gateway Inn, and space is limited. Click here to see all the details, and click here to register now. Sign up soon to assure your spot, and we look forward to seeing you in Bozeman.

Dave Kansas in Missoula

NewWest.Net is delighted to welcome Internet media pioneer Dave Kansas as the guest speaker for our latest local event. It will happen Monday, March 17 at 4:00 at the Missoula Art Museum, and will be followed by a beer & wine networking reception.

Dave was the founding editor of the online financial news site TheStreet.com, and later served as deputy online editor editor of WSJ.com and then as Money & Investing editor of the Wall Street Journal. He recently returned to the online world as head of a Dow Jones/ IAC Corp. joint venture to create a new type of personal finance Web site for young people.

Dave has deep first-hand knowledge of the ups-and-downs of the Internet journalism world, and great insight into financial news and personal finance in particular. It promises to be a fascinating discussion and presentation. We're very pleased to have the University of Montana School of Journalism and First Security Bank as co-sponsors of the event. Tickets are $10 at the door, $5 for students, and free for paid members of NewWest.Net. Please call 829-1725 with any questions, and we look forward to seeing you there.

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