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When Data Replaces Engineering
Seattle’s Green Energy Experiment — and Why It Matters for Rural Electric Cooperatives For more than two decades, the Seattle–King County region has been promoted as a national model for aggressive climate policy. Local governments adopted sweeping goals: electrify buildings, transition transportation to electric power, eliminate fossil fuels from public operations, and rapidly reduce carbon emissions. But beneath the political messaging lies a growing reality: the infrastructure required to support those policies has not kept pace with the policy itself. One of the least discussed factors in this gap is the increasing reliance on Geographic Information Systems (GIS)–driven planning models…
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By AmberLi Emery Montana – March 14, 2026 Montana voters deserve straight talk, not slogans wrapped in contradictions. Charles Walking Child, the Helena-area environmental contractor and perennial Republican candidate (2022 U.S. House primary, 2024 Senate run, now back for 2026 Senate), bills himself as a “poor man’s Republican” rooted in Anishinaabe/Blackfeet heritage, constitutional principles, faith,…
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Why It Divides Communities — and How We Work Through It Together Few issues stir stronger emotions in small communities than school funding. When a levy or bond appears on the ballot, conversations can quickly turn tense. Neighbors who normally agree on most things may find themselves on opposite sides of the question. Some worry…
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I’m waiting to see the escort frigates and DE’s show up from these nations.
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Working Together as a Community When a school building measure appears on the ballot in Montana, it is usually a General Obligation (GO) School Bond. A school bond is essentially a long-term loan that a school district takes out to fund large construction or infrastructure projects. Instead of paying for a major building project all at once, the…
local
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When I went to get some repair work done, the person I was consulting advised fixing the structural issues and then putting the same ancient dilapidated siding back on the building. The rational? Property taxes. Last summer, we joked about how much the nice flowers my mother had on their porch raised their taxes. They…
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I spent most of a year away from the school after I finished my term. I attended a couple of board meetings because I was asked – on one hand, there was, at the least, the appearance of an unlawful board meeting . . . unlawful because it appeared to violate Montana’s open meeting law.…
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Historically, independent voters, and voters for minor third parties, do not get a large percentage of votes. Often, they’re considered “spoiler” candidates, who lose the election for someone by dra4wing critical support away during a close race. Or their thought of as simply “protest candidates” with no chance of winning. In Montana, for the presidential…
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Not many years ago, if you were faced with a cluster of unacceptable clowns on your ballot, you could write a name in and cast a protest vote. Hell, I guess you still can – the thing is, your write-in protest vote won’t be counted or reported. With the elimination of subsection 7 last year,…
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I’m having trouble summarizing this one, not least because I lost my notes. In short: The meeting did discuss prayer, but did not discuss a four day week. About prayer: The discussion was specifically with regards to having prayer on the agenda as a part of each school board meeting. The result- no. Community presence…
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The proposed library district has me looking at taxation again. One of the great things about Lincoln County is that, with three high school districts, it’s easy to figure out which communities provide the funds that keep our county going. Market Value Taxable Value Percentage Libby $1,687,186,708 $21,911,499 36.42% Troy $831,354,553 $10,966,329 18.23% Eureka $1,974,407,031…
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Now it takes a single click to get the data. So what does it mean? I measured the record lows back in 1977 – this chart, from the Grave Creek site, shows how the critical snowfall that brings us up to normal or above occurs between the February measurements and April 1. I don’t know…
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The USDA has updated plant hardiness zones, and despite last winter’s impressive cold, we’ve jumped up a zone (to 5a from 4b in 2012; the average low went up by 6 degrees) Hardiness zones are a (partial) climate description that’s been in existence for a bit over a century, though the government didn’t get involved…