July 30, 2021

Two groups sue Forest Service for Red Lodge timber plan they say will destroy lynx habitat

Two conservation groups are suing the United States Forest Service for what they say is a failure to follow several federal laws and jeopardizing lynx habitat.

Lynx remain on the endangered species list.

The two groups, Alliance for the Wild Rockies and Native Ecosystems Council, previously sued the Forest Service in 2015 for the Greater Red Lodge logging project and won when a federal judge said the forest service had violated the law by not considering the potential impacts to the lynx critical habitats.

Now in court filings, the groups allege the Forest Service has not only disregarded several key federal laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act, but has unlawfully redrawn maps of lynx habitat without review and comment for the purpose of logging more than 1,000 acres in the Custer Gallatin National Forest, directly adjacent to the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Area.

The project area encompasses West Red Lodge Creek, Nichols Creek and Willow Creek, approximately 21,871 acres. The lawsuit said the area provides habitat for grizzly bears, moose, elk and lynx.

Read more: https://dailymontanan.com/2021/07/26/two-groups-sue-forest-service-for-red-lodge-timber-plan-they-say-will-destroy-lynx-habitat/

Now for the obligatory cat photo:


The sun was low and this Canadian Lynx moved through the shadows as he approached the shore of a frozen lake in southern Yukon. They are nocturnal animals and rarely seen. (Photo by Keith Williams/Flickr, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

July 30, 2021

Congress approves $521 million to pay National Guard after Jan. 6 attacks

Congress on Thursday overwhelmingly passed $521 million to reimburse the National Guard for providing 26,000 troops to protect the Capitol after the Jan. 6 riot — an unexpected expense that was poised to result in training cutbacks for Guard units across the country.

The National Guard Bureau used its budget to pay for the mission at the U.S. Capitol, covering the costs of state National Guards deploying support to Washington, D.C., for riot response and President Joe Biden’s inauguration. The Capitol was attacked by supporters of former President Donald Trump on the day Congress met to certify the winner of the 2020 election.

Most troops returned home after several weeks, but some remained on Capitol Hill through May as concerns about security remained.

While those unexpected costs dragged on, Congress did not approve more money to backfill the National Guard’s operational budget, leaving a shortfall for the final months of the budget year.

Read more: https://dailymontanan.com/2021/07/29/congress-approves-521-million-to-pay-national-guard-after-jan-6-attacks/

July 30, 2021

New report questions the necessity of ICBM silos in Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota

A massive recent report by the Federation of American Scientists calls into question whether ground-based nuclear missiles, like the ones siloed in Montana, are still necessary to the country’s safety.

The question of nuclear missiles is not new, but lead author Matt Korda, a research associate at the Nuclear Information Project of the federation, said the issue needs revisiting since the war system that was created at the beginning of the Cold War has outlived the Soviet Union, and the world’s political system has rapidly changed.

Korda explained that new security threats have presented themselves, which means that America’s defenses must adapt. For example, terrorism from small groups instead of threats from countries are a reality that was unlikely during the height of the Soviet-America conflict. Also, economic inequality and social unrest within the country have also changed the conversation. Furthermore, global warming and the effects of climate change and the new threat of pandemics mean that America must re-think its priorities.

The report, “Siloed Thinking: A Closer Look at the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent,” is a 120-page comprehensive study of the political theory behind the ground-based system, which mainly spans across three states, Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming. These ground-based, stationary missiles make up one-third of the nuclear arsenal of America, often referred to as the “triad,” which also includes a fleet of submarines with nuclear capabilities as well as bombers in the Air Force, which can be equipped with a nuclear payload.

Read more: https://dailymontanan.com/2021/07/28/new-report-questions-the-necessity-of-icbm-silos-in-montana-wyoming-and-north-dakota/

July 30, 2021

Cheney Opponent Smith Says Visit With Trump Went Well

One of the Wyoming Republican U.S. House to visit with former President Donald Trump this week said his meeting went well.

Cheyenne businessman Darin Smith, one of at least two primary challengers to U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney to meet with Trump, said he met with the former president in New Jersey on Tuesday.

“I think it went great,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “We discussed the election, the endorsement, and I gave him the pitch as to why I think we are the campaign to defeat Liz Cheney and take America back.”

Smith is the first candidate from the crowded Republican primary race to confirm he met with Trump, who has announced he will make an endorsement in the race in the next several months.

Read more: https://cowboystatedaily.com/2021/07/29/cheney-opponent-smith-says-visit-with-trump-went-well/

July 30, 2021

Wyoming looks to store, divert more water as Lake Powell dries up

As Lake Powell dropped to its lowest-ever level Friday — a decline that has forced dam tenders to unexpectedly release 125,000 acre-feet of water from Flaming Gorge Reservoir — Wyoming stood behind five projects that could divert tens of thousands more acre-feet from waterways in the troubled Colorado River Basin.

Powell’s surface elevation dipped to 3,555.09, lower by 12 hundredths of an inch than the previous post-completion nadir of April 8, 2005. The new benchmark is “probably worth noting,” Wayne Pullan, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Region 7 director, said in a press call Wednesday.

“The fact that we’ve reached this new record underscores the difficult situation that we’re in,” he said.

Friday’s mark amounts to a 150-foot drop in the storied Utah-Arizona reservoir over 24 years, a decline that’s spurred action to preserve irrigation flows, millions of dollars in hydropower revenue and myriad necessities for 40 million people in the West.

As the BOR began its “emergency” release of 125,000 acre-feet from Flaming Gorge Reservoir on July 15, a coalition of downstream water users called for a moratorium on new dams and pipelines.

Read more: https://www.wyofile.com/wyo-looks-to-store-divert-more-water-as-lake-powell-dries-up/

July 30, 2021

Judge deems Wyoming's polling-place buffer zones unconstitutional

U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Freudenthal ruled last week that Wyoming’s ban on electioneering within 100 yards of a polling place on election day violates the First Amendment.

Why it matters: The decision likely nets advocacy groups and political campaigns greater leeway in how they interact with the voting public.

The case, Frank v. Buchanan, was brought by activists who wished to campaign and gather signatures in high-visibility areas for voters — in this case, polling places.

Previously, those engaging in electioneering activities had to stand at least 300 feet from those polling places, well out of view of voters. Now, the Wyoming Legislature will likely need to change the law.

Read more: https://www.wyofile.com/judge-deems-wyos-polling-place-buffer-zones-unconstitutional/

July 30, 2021

Colorado AFL-CIO decides to stop donating to Colorado Democratic Party

The Colorado AFL-CIO has decided to stop donating to the Colorado Democratic Party and committees that help elect Democrats to the Colorado General Assembly, what one expert said is a “rare step” for organized labor.

The unusual rift means a union that represents 130,000 Colorado workers and donates more than $100,000 every election year has placed a moratorium on its own donations until next May, sending a message while also leaving itself time to reenter politics before the 2022 primary and general election.

“At a time like this, the labor movement and the Democratic Party should be operating as close partners to meet this moment and address (economic) issues,” Colorado AFL-CIO executive director Dennis Dougherty wrote in an email to fellow union leaders this week.

“But rather than connect to move us out of the clutches of poverty, we have instead been excluded from caucus discussions about policy creation in favor of bringing business and opposition groups to the table, disregarded as allies and relegated to afterthoughts,” he added.

Read more: https://www.denverpost.com/2021/07/22/colorado-afl-cio-donations-democratic-party/

July 30, 2021

Now the creators of "South Park" want to buy Casa Bonita, too

The saga of Casa Bonita continues with a pair of new — and not exactly surprising — heroes.

On Wednesday, Matt Stone and Trey Parker told The Hollywood Reporter they want to buy the legendary Colorado restaurant, which the pair have paid tribute to already on more than one episode of their TV show “South Park.”

Most recently, the “South Park” vaccination special ended with Casa Bonita reopening in its 47-year home on West Colfax Avenue in Lakewood.

“It’s just sitting there. It sucks,” Parker told The Hollywood Reporter. “For a moment, when it was like Casa Bonita is going to close down, we said, ‘We’re going to go buy it.’ And I felt like it was the crowning achievement of my life.”

The restaurant has sat closed to diners since March of 2020, while its owners, Summit Family Restaurants, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy a year later, in April 2021.

Read more: https://www.denverpost.com/2021/07/28/south-park-casa-bonita-denver-sale/

July 30, 2021

Professor: DU Discriminated Against Me Because of Gender, Race, Age

The University of Denver has been the focus of repeated discrimination complaints in recent years. Back in 2018, for instance, the university paid $2.66 million to resolve a lawsuit filed by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which accused DU of paying all of its female full law professors less than the mean average salary of male full professors at the law school. Just months later, business professors complained about their treatment.

The latest claim comes from Dr. Rosanna Garcia, 59, whose EEOC complaint, filed in April, states that "DU, acting by or through its agents and/or employees, has discriminated against and subjected me to different treatment with respect to promotions, teaching opportunities, and other less favorable terms and conditions of employment in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act."

Garcia resigned from her post as Walter Koch Endowed Chair of Entrepreneurship and professor of marketing at the university on June 30, and she offers a simple explanation for her decision: "Bottom line, I was marginalized."

In response to Garcia's charges, a DU spokesperson offered the following: "We care deeply about fairness, equity and opportunity at DU and take any claims of discrimination seriously. The university is committed to working with the EEOC on this matter and we will not comment further at this time."

Read more: https://www.westword.com/news/university-of-denver-gender-race-discrimination-professor-claims-12039412

July 30, 2021

Doug Lamborn Spreads COVID Conspiracies, Refuses to Recommend Vaccine

In a radio interview last Thursday, Colorado Congressman Doug Lamborn pushed an unfounded conspiracy theory as to the origin of the COVID-19 virus, falsely accused Democrats and the top U.S. infectious disease expert of complicity in obstructing investigations, and misrepresented international virological research.

In the same interview, Lamborn disclosed his vaccination status and COVID medical history, while dodging a question as to whether he would recommend his constituents get vaccinated.

Lamborn told KVOR host Richard Randall that he blames the Chinese Communist Party for the lack of transparency in efforts to determine the origin of the coronavirus contagion which caused the COVID pandemic, and he expressed his suspicion that the virus leaked from a laboratory conducting experiments into the virus for the purpose of developing biological weapons.

“Everything points — I don’t know totally for sure, Richard, but I’m so suspicious, based on the evidence, that it did start there at the Wuhan virology lab,” Lamborn opined. “If China played a role through gain of function research, which only has one purpose, and that’s to weaponize biological viruses as far as I know, then they have a lot to answer for to the entire world. And I don’t know why the Democrats in Congress, I don’t know why Dr. Fauci, I don’t know why they don’t want to get to the bottom of it.”

Contrary to Lamborn’s claim, ‘gain of function’ experiments are not for weaponizing viruses. The term ‘gain of function’ generally refers to manipulating a virus to increase its transmissibility or virulence in order to better understand the its behavior and the threat it poses to humans. Those types of experiments have been challenged ethically, and Fauci has maintained that Wuhan lab experiments funded by the National Institute of Health were not categorized as such.

Read more: https://coloradotimesrecorder.com/2021/07/lamborn-spreads-covid-conspiracies-refuses-to-recommend-vaccine/38353/