http://www.newwest.net/topic/main/C559/L/ New West Network: The Voice of the Rocky Mountains en info@newwest.net Copyright 2008 Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:50:54 MDT Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:50:54 MDT http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/ten_years_later_wyoming_murder_haunts_reporters/C559/C559/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/ten_years_later_wyoming_murder_haunts_reporters/C559/C559/ Sun, 12 Oct 2008 10:19:05 MDT It's been 10 years since Matthew Shepard, a gay college student at the University of Wyoming, ran into two young men at a bar in Laramie who robbed him, drove him to the edge of town, tied him to a wooden fence and struck him 18 times in the head with a .357-caliber Magnum handgun before leaving him to die. This weekend National Public Radio looks back on how the murder turned Laramie into "the country's newest symbol of hate," and also how it deeply affected the journalists who covered it. http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/deer_lodge_lumber_mill_lays_off_23/C559/C559/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/deer_lodge_lumber_mill_lays_off_23/C559/C559/ Sun, 12 Oct 2008 08:51:45 MDT Sun Mountain Lumber of Deer Lodge, Montana, has laid off 23 employees who worked in the finger joint and planer operations. The layoffs were effective Thursday. Owner Sherman Anderson says poor market conditions led to the decision. Mills in Bonner, St. Regis, Columbia Falls and Libby have announced layoffs totaling nearly 180 workers since May. http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/rural_resource_rich_states_skirt_meltdown/C559/C559/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/rural_resource_rich_states_skirt_meltdown/C559/C559/ Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:33:20 MDT As the national economic meltdown takes its toll, some out-of-the-way states are enjoying an economic boom, reports the AP's Daniel Wagner, because they're isolated from major urban centers and benefit from an abundance of in-demand commodities. http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/new_west_conference_now_more_than_ever/C559/C559/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/new_west_conference_now_more_than_ever/C559/C559/ Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:46:00 MDT When we launched Real Estate and Development in the Northern Rockies two years ago, markets around the region were booming and the big questions on many peoples' minds were about how to control runaway growth. Today the environment is very different – but we think the insights you'll gain into the economy, the real estate market, and land use issues at this year's Real Estate and Development in the Northern Rockies conference, taking place Oct. 23-24 in Missoula, will be more valuable than ever. With an historic election just weeks away and financial markets continuing to gyrate in unpredictable ways, the timing of this event is in some ways fortuitous. On Thursday, Oct 23, we'll have four of the top journalists in the region assessing the political climate, the election, and how that might impact growth and change in the Northern Rockies. We're also inviting elected officials to be our special guests at the Thursday reception, and they'll undoubtedly have a lot of insight into the political dynamics as well. http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/bear_eats_car/C559/C559/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/bear_eats_car/C559/C559/ Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:37:23 MDT When she went outside on a brisk morning in mid-September, Mary Randall got a rude surprise. "I noticed the windshield wiper was hanging down and I went, 'Hmm, that's odd.'" Odd doesn't begin to describe it. Along with a broken wiper, the interior of Randall's car – parked outside her home in the Sugarloaf area in the canyons above Boulder – had been completely destroyed by a scavenging bear. http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/mccains_lead_in_montana_dwindling_poll_shows/C559/C559/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/mccains_lead_in_montana_dwindling_poll_shows/C559/C559/ Thu, 09 Oct 2008 13:36:56 MDT John McCain's lead over Barack Obama in Montana is shrinking, according to a poll released Thursday by American Research Group. McCain is now up by five points -- 50 percent to 45 percent -- compared to last week's eight point advantage (in a Rasmussen Reports poll) and double-digit advantages two weeks ago (in polls conducted by Research 2000 and CNN/Time Opinion Research). http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/fifteen_hundred_boise_workers_to_lose_micron_jobs/C559/C559/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/fifteen_hundred_boise_workers_to_lose_micron_jobs/C559/C559/ Thu, 09 Oct 2008 13:13:21 MDT Less demand for flash memory technology which led to a worldwide glut of the chips means they’re now so cheap that it costs more to make them than they’re worth. Boise’s Micron Technology will stop producing NAND chips, and the company will lay off 15 percent of its workers worldwide. The Boise plant will lose 1500 of those jobs. The company employs an estimated 9,000 to 10,000 workers in Boise and about 19,000 worldwide. A 15 percent cut worldwide would be about 2,850 workers. The job cuts come more than a year after Micron shed about 1,100 jobs in Boise. The company has lost money for seven straight quarters as the brutally cyclical computer-memory market suffers an extended downturn. The new job cuts will begin with a voluntary program, Micron said. Gov. Butch Otter released this statement: “Our thoughts and our best efforts are with those individuals and families who will be experiencing this difficult period firsthand. I met with [Micron CEO] Steve Appleton and assured him that state agencies stand ready to assist with job placement services and other help. I asked Department of Labor Director Roger Madsen to increase staffing at all area Job Service offices to operate during extended hours and on Saturdays. I also asked Department of Commerce Director Don Dietrich to identify businesses with the potential for adding on some of these highly qualified workers. [Otter's statement continues after the jump] http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/federal_judge_molloy_republican_challenge_political_chicanery/C559/C559/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/federal_judge_molloy_republican_challenge_political_chicanery/C559/C559/ Thu, 09 Oct 2008 08:16:37 MDT U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy in Missoula came down hard on the Montana Republican Party for its blanket challenge of more than 6,000 registered voters in Democratic-leaning areas. The challenge had already been abandoned two days ago by the Montana GOP. A spokesman said its effort was to avoid voter fraud, not strip the right to vote from citizens. And Montana Secretary of State Brad Johnson had already asked counties to ignore the challenges. So there was no reason for Molloy to grant a request from the Montana Democratic Party and two voters for a temporary restraining order. And while Molloy didn't hold back in his order (PDF). He called GOP concerns about voter fraud "meritless if not frivolous" because those concerns were limited to "select counties that likely contain concentrations of Democratic voter." http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/helena_moab_and_denver_host_literary_festivals/C559/C559/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/helena_moab_and_denver_host_literary_festivals/C559/C559/ Wed, 08 Oct 2008 09:00:17 MDT It's literary award and festival season across the region. Colorado Humanities and Colorado Center for the Book will announce the winners of the 17th annual Colorado Book Awards tonight at the Tivoli Turnhalle on the Auraria Campus in Denver (6-10 p.m.), and tickets are available for $75. As I mentioned before, several of the books we've reviewed over the past year are finalists for awards. Meanwhile in Utah, Confluence: A Celebration of Reading and Writing in Moab will be held from October 14 through 19. Further north, the Helena Festival of the Book kicks off today. Authors scheduled to participate include Hipólito Rafael Chacón, whose book Brian D'Ambrosio recently reviewed for New West, Russell Rowland, a writing teacher at MSU-Billings and the editor of The Smoking Poet and Stone's Throw magazine (which is accepting submissions now), and Missoula essayist Susanna Sonnenberg. Also in the Roundup: Boulder Book Store celebrates its 35th Anniversary, and even more festivals are to come in Missoula and Denver this month. http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/second_presidential_debate_coverage_roundup/C559/C559/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/second_presidential_debate_coverage_roundup/C559/C559/ Wed, 08 Oct 2008 06:24:50 MDT Traditional Media Washington Post: “Economic Crisis Dominates Debate” says “the gravity of the moment” led to “an often stifled encounter.” New York Times: “Obama and McCain Clash Over Economy”calls the debate “muted.” Associated Press: “Neither candidate in the second debate had a game-changing moment.” Begins, “Barack Obama made strides toward easing voters' concerns about his candidacy in Tuesday night's debate. John McCain, despite raising pointed questions about his rival's readiness, didn't create the game-changing moment he'll need between now and Election Day.” CNN thought the debate was more lively: “Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama hammered away at each other's judgment on the economy, domestic policy and foreign affairs as they faced off in their second presidential debate.” Polls CBS News conducted a poll of uncommitted voters, and 39% thought Obama won, 27% thought McCain won, and 35% saw the debate as a draw.