People
Disbelieving Tyler
Time for Hamilton to Pedal Off
The other day I was lounging by the pool at RallySport and two guys were discussing the latest doping scandal to degrade the Tour de France, which is now in its fifth day.
"Yeah, and now they're saying Tyler's implicated too!" one of them remarked.
"What a drag," said the other one, more in sadness than outrage -- as if Boulder rider and 2004 Olympic gold medalist Tyler Hamilton, already serving out a two-year suspension for blood doping, had gotten caught up in some unfortunate, and unfair, turn of events.
When, it made me wonder, will local Hamilton fans admit the truth -- that the guy is guilty as hell?
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Plane Talk
Fireworks, Real Estate, Frogs and Famous Football Players: All in a Morning’s FlightIt was way too early in the day to be talking, but listening, especially in the close confines of the airport gate and jam-packed airplane, was unavoidable.
My 7:40 flight out of Glacier Park International Airport was sold out. The gate agent began offering the standard $400-flight, usable for up to one year, and by the time we were boarding, she'd upped the ante to "breakfast, lunch, dinner, and $400 flight to anywhere in the U.S....please?"
A woman standing at the gate with her two children announced over her shoulder to her travel friends, "they're paying for hotel too, so we're staying until tomorrow. I'm fine with it-- we get another day in Montana!"
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tiny car, big west
Munchkin-Sized “Smart Cars” to Hit U.S. Cities; Will They Work in the West?The Smart Car, a tiny little munchkin that's been cruising the streets of Europe since 1998, is coming to America. German-American carmaker DaimlerChrysler will introduce the Smart Car to the American market in 2008 in the hopes that soaring gas prices, waning interest in SUVs and concerns about global warming will jumpstart its popularity here.
The Smart Car is a bug-like two-seater that's only nine feet long from bumper to bumper. It's become trendy in big European cities for its ability to squeeze into parking spaces and navigate the narrow, winding streets.
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Blogvertorial
A Year-Round Recreation Destination
The Bitterroot Team aspires to build a family-friendly recreation venue that is accessible to and benefits all members of the Missoula and Bitterroot Valley communities. Bitterroot Resort is designed to be a year-round recreation destination with alpine, snowboard and cross-country ski venues, signature golf, fly-fishing, mountain biking, ice skating and other amenities existing alongside a four-season resort village and residential community.
Bitterroot Resort has recently submitted a special use permit application to the forest service requesting 1,680 acres of federal land, adjacent to the Maclay Ranch in the northern Bitterroot Valley, be designated as part of a destination ski resort. This proposal represents only a small portion of the envisioned 12,800 acres of potential skiable terrain on Lolo Peak and Carlton Ridge.
Show your support and sign the Bitterroot Petition online.
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Got Scholarship?
Kuna Athlete Wins Prestigious National AwardKuna is getting some time in the national spotlight thanks to teenager Austin Andrus, who was honored as one of America’s 25 best and brightest high school athletes by the National Milk Mustache "got milk?" Campaign and USA Today's 9th annual Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year (SAMMY) Award. The prestigious SAMMY awards are distributed annually to the best of the best high school seniors in academics and in sports.
Andrus and his 24 co-winners beat out more than 51,000 students from across the nation for the honor. Each national winner received a $7,500 scholarship and appeared in the pages of USA Today last week in a milk mustache ad.
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AP Gives the Numbers
U.S. Population Rises to Almost 300 Million Fueled By ImmigrationAs of midday Sunday, there were 299,061,199 people in the United States of America, according to the Census Bureau's population clock which estimates on annual numbers for births, deaths and immigration. The AP reports that by this fall, the U.S. population will hit 300 million, fueled by immigration. [more]
NPR Reports
The Downsides of Whitefish’s Booming Real Estate MarketTonight on NPR's Montana Evening Edition, Whitefish, Montana's painfully high (or beautifully high, if you're selling) real estate market will be featured. MTPR's website gives a pre-cap of tonight's report:
"What was once an ordinary working class town now offers some of the most expensive real estate in Montana. In our continuing series on poverty in the state, reporter Kevin Maki visits Whitefish, a community where affordable housing is frequently out of reach - even for many of her long time residents."
The real eastate market has been on fire here for a number of years. A February Daily Inter Lake article reported that more than a billion dollars in commercial and residential property changed hands here last year, fueled by factors like population growth, investment buying and limited land supply. That was a 25% increase from just 2004.
I also read the other day that Northwest Montana houses 25% of the state's realtors. My hairspray, power-skirt-suit and Bluetooth earpiece phobias aside, that's an overwhelming statistic.
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Let the Debate Begin
PSC Candidates Toole and Taylor Face off on DeregulationAll together now: "I hate deregulation."
Both candidates in Montana's Public Service Commission race are claiming credentials as the anti-electric deregulation candidate. "We [legislators] were steamrollered," says Mike Taylor.
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Alternatives to Dying Out
A New Publication for Eastern Montana’s Wide Open Spaces
There's about to be a new magazine in town-- or should I say, in 'the country.' Alternatives, an online publication based out of Plentywood, Montana, will explore topics like alternative energy development, eco-tourism, health and fitness, obesity and other issues facing communities in the vast, open spaces on the east side of the Great Divide.
Montana is a big state. 56 counties make up 147,046 square miles. An estimated 935,670 people live here. Montana is to the road tripper of the West what Ohio is to the road-tripper of the East, which is to say, if you’re just driving through, it will dominate your day, your life and your entire conscience until you cross out of its borders.
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Final Stretch
Tester Rallies Last-Minute Support in Missoula
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jon Tester spoke to a crowd of about 50 Missoula residents at the Missoula County Courthouse Monday afternoon. Citizens showed up to rally for Tester before the primary election tomorrow. "Get out and vote tomorrow," Tester said. "I think this primary is going to make a lot of difference on who represents Montana's values in Washington, D.C." Tester said he is the best candidate to vote for because he "can go head to head with Conrad Burns on a number of issues but particularly ethics, and we can win... "I'll be representing Montanans and Montana interests when I'm back in Washington, D.C." Tester thanked the people of Missoula, saying, "It's because of you that I'm here today and it's because of you that we're going to win tomorrow."
Photo by Chris Lombardi
