March 8, 2020

Montana politics: Green Party in, Senate candidate out, GOP files ethics complaint

There was a flurry of activity on Montana's political scene Friday, with the Green Party qualifying for the ballot, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate dropping out on the presumption of Gov. Steve Bullock's last-minute entry, and the state's Republican Party filing an official ethics complaint against the governor — one quickly termed "frivolous" by Bullock's spokeswoman.

All of this comes in advance of Monday's 5 p.m. filing deadline for candidates in a year that will see nearly every major statewide office on the ballot.

Green Party

The Montana Secretary of State's Office announced mid-afternoon Friday that more than 11,000 signatures in Gallatin, Lewis and Clark, Missoula, Silver Bow and Yellowstone counties were submitted to qualify the Green Party for the 2020 ballot, with more than 5,000 accepted — a number that exceeds the required minimum number of 5% of voters in at least 34 legislative districts.

A day earlier, Eric Fulton of Whitefish filed to run in the U.S. Senate race and is the only Libertarian to file as of Friday, according to data from the Montana Secretary of State website. Fulton's LinkedIn profile lists him as board chairman of Treasure State Internet and Telegraph. In 2014, Fulton was chair of the Gallatin County Young Republicans; the Bozeman Daily Chronicle noted he ran for a state House seat the same year as a Republican. State records note a Democrat represented the district in 2015.

Read more: https://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana-politics-green-party-in-senate-candidate-out-gop-files/article_47ba6e66-2d89-5b70-83ba-66d350540666.html

March 8, 2020

Billings City Council Approves Subway System To Connect All The Subways

On Saturday, Mayor Bill Cole signed the official documents that approved future construction for Billings’ first public transit subway system.

According to meeting minutes, the weekly City Council meeting was not originally intended to propose the construction project. Due to a city clerk not realizing the meeting had not begun yet, they accidentally recorded several council members having separate conversations before the meeting actually began:

Mike Yakawich to Frank Ewalt: “I know it’s not much but my New Years resolution is to eat at every Subway restaurant in Billings. There’s just so many Subways!”

Kendra Shaw to Denise Joy: “…so what are we going to do about all those tunnels downtown? We have to do something with them!”

Mayor Bill Cole: “Ok guys let’s get started….hol up. You two (pointing to Shaw and Yakawich), say that again. I think I might be on to something.”

Read more: https://www.thebillingsbeet.com/local/2020/subwaysubway

March 8, 2020

Bills on abortion, voter crossover die in second-to-last week of Legislature

CHEYENNE – With just a week left in the state Legislature’s budget session, a handful of bills that drew long discussions in the Capitol were killed by the quick-moving process of the second-to-last week.

The bills covered a wide range of issues, from reproductive rights to train crew requirements to firearm protections. Here is a rundown of the bills that failed to receive a hearing by the Thursday deadline:

48-hour waiting period on abortions: A bill that would have required women to wait 48 hours to have an abortion after meeting with their doctor failed to receive a committee hearing in the Senate this week. House Bill 197 would have placed Wyoming among several states that have imposed some sort of waiting period on abortions. During a House committee meeting that lasted more than an hour, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Richard Tass, R-Buffalo, argued the bill provided “a gift of time for the baby.” HB 197 was never heard by the Senate Labor, Health and Social Services Committee and will not be considered by the full Senate.

Two-man train crew requirement: An effort to regulate train crew sizes also failed to receive a Senate committee hearing. House Bill 79, proposed by Rep. Stan Blake, D-Green River, would have required a minimum of two crew members on all trains operating on Class 1 railroads in Wyoming. The companies that operate those railroads in Wyoming, Union Pacific and BNSF Railway, strongly opposed the bill during a House on the legislation, while a handful of railroad workers testified in favor of the proposal, arguing the key issue with the bill was public safety. During the 2019 general session, a similar proposal received a hearing in the Senate Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Committee but was rejected by a 3-2 vote.

Read more: https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/local_news/bills-on-abortion-voter-crossover-die-in-second-to-last/article_21f2f00f-2bb7-5c6e-9be6-33c1a0240be5.html

March 8, 2020

A 9-year-old autistic student was handcuffed at a Casper school. Now the feds are investigating.

A 9-year-old Casper student with high-functioning autism was restrained and handcuffed last year, resulting in an investigation by the federal Department of Education into how the student was treated in the months leading up to the incident.

The investigation, conducted by the federal Office of Civil Rights, spans six different allegations, according to a letter sent by federal investigators to the student’s mother. They include failing to respond to harassment by other students; disciplining the student differently than others; and for restraining the student too often.

The complaints were made by Sara Harris, the student’s mother, in November. Her son was a 9-year-old student at Pineview Elementary. In October, before Harris made her complaint, Pineview officials called the police on her son after he became disruptive and allegedly made threats against himself and others, according to a police incident report.

The student was bear-hugged by the officer, who took him to the ground. The student repeatedly asked the officer to taze him and to take him to jail, according to Harris and the police description of the event. After Officer Davis Romero told the student he was going to jail, the student calmed down, according to the report and the mother. As he was leaving, Pineview Principal Chris Carruth-Britt told the student he wasn’t going to jail.

Read more: https://trib.com/news/local/education/a--year-old-autistic-student-was-handcuffed-at-a/article_83cc6a5f-9c82-5c56-8282-2e6901df4d99.html#tracking-source=home-top-story
(Casper Star Tribune)

March 8, 2020

Major GOP donor Friess decides against Wyoming US Senate run

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) – Republican mega-donor Foster Friess has decided not to run for an open U.S. Senate seat in Wyoming.

Doing so would shift focus away from his ongoing efforts to promote government spending transparency, school safety and other issues he feels are important, Friess said Monday.

“I believe my most significant opportunity to serve the people of Wyoming is by enlarging the efforts of Foster’s Outriders,” Friess said in a release, referring to his political and civic advocacy organization.

Friess, 79, is a wealthy investor and philanthropist from Jackson Hole who has donated millions to Republicans and conservative causes. He reached his decision after a “listening tour” of Wyoming that included stops in Casper and Cheyenne.

Read more: https://buckrail.com/major-gop-donor-friess-decides-against-wyoming-us-senate-run/

March 8, 2020

Statewide Lodging Tax Becomes Law

A bill creating a statewide lodging tax was signed into law Friday by Gov. Mark Gordon, clearing the way for the tax to take effect Jan. 1.

House Bill 134 will impose a statewide 5 percent tax on the cost of hotel and motel rooms, with money raised by 3 percent of the tax, about $13 million a year, to be used by the state Office of Tourism to promote tourism in Wyoming.

Income from the remaining 2 percent will go to the state’s counties, where an additional 2 percent lodging tax could be imposed with voter approval.

Also signed into law on Friday was House Bill 5, which authorizes digital driver’s licenses.

Read more: https://cowboystatedaily.com/2020/03/06/statewide-lodging-tax-becomes-law/

March 8, 2020

Prison contractor squares off with counseling lobby in Capitol

The Illinois-based company that runs Wyoming’s in-prison treatment programs is battling mental health and substance abuse treatment lobbyists in an effort to lower licensing standards for its counselors.

Debate grew bitter Tuesday night as the state’s mainstream mental health and substance abuse lobbyists accused the prison contractor of seeking to bring in less-qualified staff for profit reasons. The contractor’s representative and its legislative supporters, meanwhile, accused the state’s more established addiction counselors of protectionism and of running a smear campaign.

Critics already question the company’s treatment practices. The Gateway Foundation has faced criticism from former inmates and is named as a defendant in two jailhouse lawsuits. Some complaints focused on a lack of staffing and a subsequent lack of counseling time during months-long in-prison residential treatment programs that are designed to help inmates confront their addictions before achieving their freedom.

At the same time, data shows the state continues to suffer from a dearth of mental health and substance abuse treatment resources. Addiction and mental health woes have helped drive growth in Wyoming’s prison population, growth that officials hope to quell with a series of reforms in recent years.

Read more: https://www.wyofile.com/prison-contractor-squares-off-with-counseling-lobby-in-capitol/

March 8, 2020

Keystone, Vail Mountain to remain open after man with coronavirus skied at both resorts

After a traveler who skied at Vail and Keystone resorts tested positive for the coronavirus, multiple Summit County ski areas have released statements stating that they will remain open and that operations are continuing as usual.

On Thursday, Gov. Jared Polis announced Colorado’s first two cases of coronavirus — an older woman in Douglas County and a man who authorities say traveled to Colorado from out of state and skied at the two Summit County resorts before becoming ill. The 30-something man arrived at Denver International Airport on Feb. 29 before traveling to Summit County and staying at the Slopeside Condominiums in Keystone, the Summit Daily reported.

The patient had been in Italy in mid-February, and a person with him on that trip has since tested positive for COVID-19. He is now in isolation in Jefferson County, while his travel companions — the man’s wife and two friends who live in Colorado — are now in quarantine, Polis said.

In response to the news that the infected patient skied at Vail and Keystone, Vail Resorts — which operates both ski areas, along with Beaver Creek, Crested Butte and Breckenridge — released a statement on Friday just before 11 a.m.:

Read more: https://theknow.denverpost.com/2020/03/06/coronavirus-colorado-keystone-vail-skier/234948/

March 8, 2020

Andrew Romanoff leads Democratic Senate candidate caucuses (Colorado)

Source: Denver Post

Andrew Romanoff claimed to have won a grassroots victory Saturday as he led John Hickenlooper, his better-funded and better-staffed rival for the U.S. Senate, in statewide caucuses of Colorado Democrats.

Romanoff, a progressive favorite, won 55% of the raw vote and Hickenlooper won 31% with 55 of 64 counties, including Denver, reporting late Saturday, according to the Colorado Democratic Party. However, several counties will not report their results or the number of delegates won by candidates until Sunday.

Precinct caucus results will determine the number of delegates that candidates have at upcoming county caucuses. Results there will determine delegate counts at an April 18 state assembly, where candidates will need at least 30% support to have their names placed on June 30 primary ballots.

The caucus is one of two ways to get on the Senate primary ballot — candidates also can do so by gathering signatures — and only about half attempted the caucus route. Low turnout at Saturday’s precinct gatherings amid the coronavirus outbreak had some Democrats discussing whether the tradition should continue.

Read more: https://www.denverpost.com/2020/03/07/democratic-party-caucuses-2020-senate/

March 8, 2020

I know that I haven't been around here as much at night...