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Who investigates the investigator? Topic turns into political hot potato

By PHIL DRAKE HELENA – The integrity of a confiscated computer, department “wish lists” and questions about who polices the political police were topics that arose Friday as a state committee discussed the Commissioner of Political Practices (CPP) office and possible changes to be made. And it was revealed how this issue has become a political hot potato, with several ...
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News & Headlines

Opinions vary on which GOP prez contender favored in Montana

Posted on January 26, 2012
By MICHAEL NOYES      HELENA –  By all accounts the Republicans will likely have already chosen a presidential candidate by the time Montana voters go to the polls in June.      “Historically speaking, the nomination is usually decided long before Montanans cast a vote,” state Republican Party Chairman Bowen Greenwood said.      That doesn’t mean Republicans [...]Read More>>

Montana ranks 8th for Business Climate Tax Index, report says

Posted on January 25, 2012
By PHIL DRAKE Montana ranks No. 8 for its tax climate for business – dropping a notch from seventh place in 2011 – according to a 2012 report released Wednesday by an organization that monitors fiscal policies. Wyoming ranked No. 1, according to the eighth edition of the State Business Tax Climate Index put out [...]Read More>>

Montana economy to outperform U.S. in 2012, forecaster says

Posted on January 24, 2012
By PHIL DRAKE HELENA – Montana’s economy will outperform the U.S. economy in 2012 with projected annual growth for the state of 2 percent to 2 1/2 percent in nonfarm earnings for the next four years, economic forecasters told an overflow crowd Tuesday. Patrick M. Barkey, director of the University of Montana’s Bureau of Business [...]Read More>>

Some state workers get raises under Broadband Pay Plan, KXLH-TV reports

Posted on January 22, 2012
Editor’s note: I found this story by reporter Marnee Banks of KXLH-TV to be interesting. And it seems to fuel the pay raise/no pay raise debate. To see the full story, click here. By MARNEE BANKS KXLH-TV HELENA – Despite attempts to stop state of Montana workers from getting pay raises, some employees are and [...]Read More>>

Schweitzer ‘inaccurate’ to blame Nebraska for Keystone’s pipeline’s delay, Gov. Heineman says

Posted on January 20, 2012
By JOE JORDAN Nebraska Watchdog  In his first news conference since President Obama shot down the Keystone XL pipeline, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman, pictured at left, told reporters Friday that the president needs to “make a tough call and get (the pipeline) going.” Responding to questions from Nebraska Watchdog, Heineman also urged Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D) [...]Read More>>

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Blog & Analysis

Poll finds majority wants wealthy to pay 30% of income in federal taxes

Posted on January 27, 2012
 A recent Rasmussen Reports poll finds that 55 percent of likely U.S. voters favor President Obama’s proposal that wealthy Americans pay at least 30 percent of their income in federal taxes. But 30 percent seems to be about as far as they want to go. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey also finds that [...]Read More>>

Keystone decision by president debated by House energy panel

Posted on January 26, 2012
A day after President Obama’s State of the Union Address, Republican members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee have posted a news release on their site criticizing him for his Jan. 18 decision to deny a permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline. “Although President Obama stayed conspicuously silent about this shovel-ready project during his [...]Read More>>

2 statutes should be addressed for Political Practice office, memo says

Posted on January 25, 2012
By PHIL DRAKE HELENA – A staff attorney for a state committee which monitors the Commissioner of Political Practices has written a memo stating the panel, which meets Friday, should address two statutes that surfaced during the commissioner’s final days in office. David Niss, staff attorney for the State Administration and Veterans’ Affairs Interim Committee, [...]Read More>>

Journalist Bill Moyers praises president’s Keystone decision

Posted on January 25, 2012
Journalist Bill Moyers weighs in on President Obama’s recent decision to deny the permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline, saying it was a “brave” move. He makes his remarks during a Jan. 20 appearance on the “Real Time with Bill Maher” show. The federal government rejected the Keystone XL pipeline on Jan. 18, saying it [...]Read More>>

Unemployment rate drops in December, now at 6.8 percent

Posted on January 24, 2012
Montana’s unemployment rate dropped another 0.3 percent to 6.8 percent in December, state Department of Labor and Industry (DOL) officials said Tuesday, adding it was the fourth month of deceases. The rate for the United States decreased by 0.2 percent in December and is now 8.5 percent. The unemployment rate drop is due to an [...]Read More>>

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