Opinion
Heads probably turned as we entered the early 1900s red brick town house in Warrenton, Virginia on a warm September morning. It happened to be the headquarters of the Fauquier County Republican Committee. Its chairman, Greg Schumacher, was welcoming me along with his Democratic counterpart, Max Hall. This isn’t the first time these two have met. In fact, they’ve been meeting regularly this year to get to know each other despite the heat of Virginia’s upcoming state legislature elections. Greg and Max had already collaborated on letters to their local paper about issues they felt important to democracy: urging neighbors not to tear down others’ political s...
Editor, I also noticed nobody filed to represent Ward 2 in the coming election and now see 2 candidates. I do not live in Ward 2 however I recognize the importance of the group working together for the good of the community as a whole. One man and one woman are candidates. One offers us his time of ...
LEWISTON, MAINE — Eighteen killed, 13 injured in a rampage by a guy with an assault rifle. The shooter: a certified firearms instructor and a member of the US Army Reserves. The community locked down until he’s placed in custody. Press conferences; school classes cancelled; politicians falling al...
As the first snow is falling, and freezing temperatures hit, we are getting pummeled with another huge energy rate increase, thanks to the five Republicans on the Montana Public Service Commission. On Wednesday, the Commission unanimously approved a 28% rate increase from last year, the majority of which ...
Editor, The Polson Loaves & Fish Pantry and all its volunteers, staff, and clients would like to thank St. Joseph Medical Center and Polson High School for their joint effort from the Pirate Football Game with STUFF THE TRUCK. St Joseph Medical Center paid for entry to the football game if people atte...
Don’t let all the bad news get you down. True, we’re facing lots of crises, some of which even carry a risk of human extinction (nuclear war, climate change, maybe even AI). But there is hope, and you can start experiencing it simply by chatting with your neighbors. A few months ago, I w...
Montana collects $2.1 billion in property tax, with allocations as follows: 56% to schools, 28% to counties, 11% to cities/towns, and 5% to special districts. The 6 statewide university mills stay at the state, while the 95 statewide school mills are redistributed to local community schools, accounting for 3...
Hunting season has arrived! As hunters flock to the hills in pursuit of Montana’s treasured big game species, we want to take a moment to acknowledge the good work that was done in this spring’s legislative session for hunters, landowners, and conservationists alike. Wildlife issues have...
The Legislature’s major zoning reforms to increase the supply of affordable housing in Montana have made a lot of news, but there was also another significant pillar of our pro-housing work during the session: cutting red tape. Excessive government regulations have been one of the barriers to ...
Editor, Hopefully our nation of voting citizens will decide against falling into a Trump style autocratic system of government and opt to retain our democratic system of government. As a nation, we are right now close to making that decision. For a democracy to work and operate well requires patience a...
