http://www.newwest.net/topic/main/C559/L/ New West Network: The Voice of the Rocky Mountains en info@newwest.net Copyright 2010 Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:30:31 MST Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:30:31 MST http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/former_rep_bill_sali_of_idaho_wont_run_for_congress/C559/C559/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/former_rep_bill_sali_of_idaho_wont_run_for_congress/C559/C559/ Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:55:16 MST Former Idaho Rep. Bill Sali announced today he will not run in the Republican primary to regain his old seat, but instead will support state representative Raul Labrador in the primary. Others who have filed in the Republican primary for Idaho’s First Congressional District include Harley D. Brown, Michael L. Chadwick, Allan M. Salzberg, and Vaughn Ward. The winner will face incumbent Democrat Rep. Walt Minnick. At a press conference in the state capitol rotunda, Sali said he is supporting Labrador as the “right sort of person” to send to Washington, D.C., someone “with the backbone to make a tough vote.” “The things I’ve seen him do helped me make a decision,” Sali said. He said he admires Labrador for independent thinking. Labrador said it was “a surprise but an honor to have former representative Bill Sali’s support.” http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/whats_next_for_climate_change/C559/C559/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/whats_next_for_climate_change/C559/C559/ Thu, 18 Mar 2010 06:10:06 MST Domestic and international efforts to reduce CO2 emissions are dead in the water. Many will think this is bad news. I don’t. Here’s why. Policies such as the Kyoto Protocol and U.S. cap-and-trade legislation focus solely on reducing CO2 emissions. But these are symbolic acts, mere posturing, while doing little or nothing to achieve their stated goals. Stubborn reliance on this approach is now the main barrier to an effective climate policy. http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/national_broadband_plan_may_speed_things_up_for_idaho_montana/C559/C559/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/national_broadband_plan_may_speed_things_up_for_idaho_montana/C559/C559/ Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:16:26 MST Making Internet connections in Idaho and Montana speedier is part of the goal behind the much-anticipated National Broadband Plan, officially released by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Tuesday. While many are still combing through the 360-page outline of steps to higher-quality Internet access for all Americans, Amalia Deloney, media action grassroots network coordinator for the Center for Media Justice, says the plan’s release is a victory, in and of itself. “Broadband is no longer a luxury, it’s a necessity. It affects everything from education, to employment, to health care, to government services and to democracy. It’s crucial.” A report from the Communications Workers of America finds most Idahoans and Montanans access the Internet at the slowest speeds in the country, with thousands still on dial-up plans. The FCC document calls for increasing the high-speed broadband adoption rate from 65 to 90 percent nationwide, connecting vital institutions like hospitals and schools; and connecting 100 million households to affordable broadband by 2020. http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/colorado_and_montana_novelists_sleep_while_wyoming_writers_roll_on/C559/C559/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/colorado_and_montana_novelists_sleep_while_wyoming_writers_roll_on/C559/C559/ Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:00:49 MST And now the moment we’ve all been waiting for: two weeks ago I asked New West readers to vote on what book I should review next.  I was delighted and relieved when several people voted.  The winner, with four votes, is Staking Her Claim: Women Homesteading the West by Marcia Meredith Hensley.  I’ll review it next Monday.  And since the voting was so tight, I plan to review the runner-up, How it Looks Going Back by Doris Knowles Pulis, in a few weeks as well.  As for the other two books: they’ll go back on my guilt pile, and I’ll get to them as soon as I can.  Every time I open the cabinet where I keep my un-reviewed books, the books scream, “Pick me!  Pick me!” I’m okay with it, but it frightens the kids. • Wyofile has an in-depth feature by Susan Gray Gose on Wyoming mystery and thriller novelist C.J. Box.  Gray Gose writes that Box “cranks out 1,000 words a day,” “publishes two books a year,” and that one of his novels could be adapted into a screenplay soon: “The producers of About Schmidt (the 2002 New Line Cinema comedy) bought the rights to Blue Heaven. While many optioned books languish, this one seems to be moving forward. It’s received financing, and actors Jack Nicholson, Alec Baldwin and Joe Pesci have signed on.” http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/the_next_west_up_in_the_air/C559/C559/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/the_next_west_up_in_the_air/C559/C559/ Wed, 17 Mar 2010 02:51:22 MST In early March, I had the privilege of visiting a project in northern California that felt very much like a preview of the future. If the current ‘New West’ is inexorably giving way to the ‘Next West,’ as so many ‘New Wests’ have done before, and if the region is in search of a new mission statement as a consequence, then clues to what’s coming might be found among the bright green grass of a small ranch in Marin County. http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/mountains_modern_design/C559/C559/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/mountains_modern_design/C559/C559/ Tue, 16 Mar 2010 07:15:20 MST Modern in the mountains: is modern design an appropriate style of architecture in a mountain environment?  Styles in architecture are associated with places, cultures and eras, but in one’s own home, especially in America, style is often thought of as something that can be picked and applied.  Mediterranean design is used for new homes in the Southwest, French Chateau styles are used widely, etc., largely based on an owner’s preference or a developer’s interpretation of what a market segment might be looking for. Style is also a personal choice or an ingrained preference, of course. In many climates more benign than the Mountain West, choice of a particular style might not really make a difference in building performance. The style is mostly icing on the cake, and the cake itself is similar. Heating, cooling, upkeep costs, and durability are more or less the same, regardless of the style of the home. http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/a_tale_of_two_stream_access_bills/C559/C559/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/a_tale_of_two_stream_access_bills/C559/C559/ Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:57:41 MST Water is indeed for fighting in the West. But, the fight is no longer just about who gets to use the water, it’s also about who gets access to the water. This week, the issue is playing out, in very different ways in the legislatures of Colorado and Utah. Montana is perhaps the most famous Western state when it comes to stream access—with one of the strongest stream access laws in the country (strong in that it protects the public’s right to access) but also some of the most high-profile battles over it. (See some of New West’s coverage of the issue here, here and here.) But, Utah and Colorado might be working to replace Montana as the West’s steam access battle ground. In Utah, the legislature recently passed a bill that would drastically restrict public access to waterways that run through private land. This comes after a 2008 Supreme Court ruling that opened those waterways to the public. As the Salt Lake Tribune reports, “HB141 allows anglers and others to wade in public waters crossing private lands only if there is an established 10-year pattern of public use there.” Meanwhile, the debate seems to be going the other way in Colorado. http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/yellowstone_celebrates_15_years_of_trashand_progress/C559/C559/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/yellowstone_celebrates_15_years_of_trashand_progress/C559/C559/ Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:16:43 MST Educating more than one million people a year about being “good stewards” is part of the job at Yellowstone National Park - and it has been that way for the last 15 years. The anniversary of the park’s “Greening of Yellowstone” effort is being observed at a event Tuesday, when the successes and challenges of the project will be discussed in Bozeman. Jim Evanoff is an environmental protection specialist with Yellowstone National Park. He has been with the park since almost the beginning of the campaign and points out that it has taken some time, but one of the park’s biggest victories is all about trash. “Eighty percent of all the garbage we produce in the park is not going into a hole in the ground. It’s either being recycled or composted or not generated to begin with.” For comparison, the average city diverts only about 20 percent of its trash. http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/montana_legacy_project_phase_ii_concludes_transfers_122000_acres_to_forest_/C559/C559/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/montana_legacy_project_phase_ii_concludes_transfers_122000_acres_to_forest_/C559/C559/ Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:00:30 MST The following is a press release the U.S. Forest Service and is part of NewWest.Net’s bulletin board, which offers press releases with a wide variety of views and news about the West. The Lolo and Flathead National Forests are assuming management of approximately 112,000 acres of former Plum Creek Timber Company lands purchased by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and The Trust for Public Land (TPL) as Phase II of the Montana Legacy Project comes to a close today with the official transfer of ownership to the Forest Service.  “It’s such an honor to witness the addition of over a hundred thousand acres of occupied lynx, grizzly bear, and bull trout habitat brought under the umbrella of public land management,” said Northern Regional Forester Leslie Weldon.  “There is significant wetland habitat and a great diversity of plant species on these lands.  Acquiring these parcels allows us to restore whole landscapes, assist wildlife in adapting to climate change by reducing habitat fragmentation and conserving water flows as these working forests are placed in permanent public ownership.” http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/ien_could_quintuple_school_internet_costs/C559/C559/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/ien_could_quintuple_school_internet_costs/C559/C559/ Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:52:51 MST Idaho Internet service providers (ISPs) say that the way that the Idaho Education Network (IEN) is being set up could end up costing schools up to five times what they currently pay to connect to the Internet—ongoing annual costs that would have to be borne by the general fund after a $3 million two-year grant runs out. The ISPs also deny Department of Administration charges that they are coming in after the fact and trying to change the process, saying it was always intended for them to provide the “last mile” between a Qwest-built backbone and schools, and that it is Qwest that is changing the process by building expensive new connections when adequate connections already exist—and risking putting local companies out of business in the process.