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| Sep 02, 2010 - 07:46 PM |
Queen City News - Helena's FREE Weekly Newspaper |
Helena, Montana |
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The 2012 gubernatorial campaign has started with the recent announcements of two Republican candidates for that office. Former State Sens. Ken Miller of Laurel and Corey Stapleton of Billings say they will run for the GOP nomination to replace two-term Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who can’t run again because of term limits.
Miller, who vied unsuccessfully for governor in 2004, announced his plans this past week, saying that he considers his life experiences, legislative history, optimistic attitude and supportive family his greatest strengths.
“After the Facebook page went up, the phone calls and emails from supporters wanting to help was incredible,” Miller said. He said he has not yet filed the paperwork needed to raise money, but is working on developing grassroots support and the organization needed to run for the open governor’s seat in two years.
Miller indicated that Schweitzer’s policies have resulted in “out-of-control spending” and that he can’t sit on the sidelines while state government continues on such a course.
“The current governor claims to be fiscally responsible, but he’s increased the budget by more than 50 percent,” Miller said. “Now we’re looking at a huge $400-million projected budget deficit.”
He runs the Laurel Furniture Outlet with his wife Peggy. The couple has two children, Max, a senior at MSU-Bozeman, and Kyndall, a senior at Laurel High School.
For more information, see http://www.facebook.com/KenMiller2010.
Stapleton made his plans public earlier this week and said he is the first candidate for governor to file paperwork for that office. He was in the Navy for 11 years before serving in the legislature from 2001-2008, where he sponsored bills to develop the Otter
Creek coal tracts and to shut down the Montana Department of Revenue's faulty computer system known as POINTS.
The self-described conservative chaired the GOP’s 2005 legislative campaign committee, where he helped craft the “Handshake with Montana” policy platform. The state subsequently was the only one in the country where Republicans regained control over a legislative body in the 2006 elections, Stapleton noted. He was Senate minority leader in the 2007 legislative session.
Stapleton works as a financial advisor in Billings, and he and his wife Terry have four children. For more, see www.coreystapleton.com.
Lakeside fire contained
The 855-acre fire near Lakeside was fully contained Monday, according to officials, with evacuations called off and most power restored to people living in the York and Canyon Ferry Reservoir areas.
Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton said that a downed power line was probably the culprit behind the fire, which began this past Friday afternoon. It burned on BLM land, along with some private ground, mainly between Jimtown Road and the Missouri River.
Another fire Monday afternoon near Canyon Ferry Road burned through about 40 acres of grass and was thought to have been caused by a hay baler.
Three initiatives approved
The Secretary of State’s office announced Monday that it has approved enough signatures for three ballot measures to come before voters in the November 2 general election.
The three certified for the ballot are Initiative 161, which changes how hunter-access programs are funded; Initiative 164, which limits interest, fees and charges on certain loans and contracts to 36 percent; and Constitutional Initiative 105, which prohibits any new tax on the sale or transfer of real property.
In addition to those three certified initiatives, the ballot will also contain CC-2, which is a call for a Montana constitutional convention. The Montana Constitution requires such a proposal to be submitted to Montana voters every 20 years.
Additional information on each of these measures will be in the Montana voter’s pamphlet available in October. Meanwhile, see the Secretary of State's Web site at sos.mt.gov/Elections.
Committee OKs Kagan
U.S. Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan made it through the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday on a mainly party-line vote of 13-6. Crossing the aisle to vote with his Democratic colleagues for the U.S. solicitor general was U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
Kagan’s nomination now goes to the full Senate for a vote, probably in August. If confirmed by that body, she will be the third associate justice on the nation’s high court, which would be a record.
Unemployment edges up
Montana's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased slightly by 0.1 percent to 7.3 percent in June, according to the Montana Department of Labor and Industry. The national unemployment rate is 9.5 percent.
The estimates of employment change showed mixed results for June. The estimate for the total number of Montanans who are working, including agricultural, payroll, and self-employed workers, indicated a small job loss of 250 jobs, while the estimate for private payroll employment indicated no change.
Water shortages projected
Montana is one of 14 states at greatest risks of water shortages by the middle of this century, according to a new report released this week by Tetra Tech for the Natural Resources Defense Council.
The report finds that 14 states face an extreme or high risk to water sustainability, or are likely to see limitations on water availability as demand exceeds supply by 2050. These areas include parts of Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Water sustainability is at extreme risk in the Great Plains and Southwest in particular, the report states.
The more than 400 counties identified as being at greatest risk in the report reflects a 14-times increase from previous estimates. For a look at county- and state-specific maps detailing the report findings (including a Google Earth map), go to http://www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/watersustainability and http://rd.tetratech.com/climatechange/projects/nrdc_climate.asp.
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The Queen City News is published every Wednesday in Helena, MT, by Mossback Media, LLC.
Contents are copyrighted and cannot be used in any form without prior permission from the QCN.
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