Sunday at the UM Oval, Tayler Eubank, left, and Ally Mueller get ready to protest coal with the Blue Skies Campaign.

Here’s a couple pictures of demonstrators getting ready to march downtown Missoula to protest coal and its transport by train. I’ll add a link to the story once it’s up. *And here it is!

– Keila Szpaller

*Added!

Blue Skies Campaigners Cassie Sheets and Lowell Chandler offer a message to U.S. Rep. Dennis Rehberg, U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, and Wells Fargo Bank.

If staff members of Montana's delegation to Washington, D.C., aren't in their downtown Missoula offices Sunday, Blue Skies folks will post pictures of the event on the legislators' FaceBook pages so they still get the message.

Why? Because you get to knit and play Sudoku!

Just kidding. It’s your patriotic duty, according to a couple elections judges who love the work.

Here’s that story. This year, some 600 judges are needed, and the county is 175 short. Call 258-4751 ASAP to help.

As for being short, we were short on space yesterday, so the story got cut. Here’s the rest of it, for your reading pleasure:

And if there’s a shortage (of judges), it won’t be because of Lynn Solomon, a “big fan” of being an election judge. Solomon has been a judge for three rounds of elections, and a friend of hers just signed up for the training, too. Elections are significant, and she likes being involved.

“I feel like I’m playing a part. It’s this good mix of fun and sort of service at the same time,” Solomon said.

The social part of it includes seeing neighbors vote, even unknown ones, like the man with the Dalmatian in the blue house, say. Once, Solomon met another judge who was “more Betty White than Betty White,” and she’s bonded over ballots with a woman from Bonner who was her counting partner.

“We don’t have much in common, but by the end of the night, I gave her a hug when I said goodbye,” Solomon said.

She and Sharkey agree it’s a good way to give back to the community, and at least in this case, it brought up the (Mike) Mansfield memory for Sharkey.

Only one thing he said still stands out for her, though. Sharkey said the Montana Senator talked about having a little child who had an accident sit on his lap: “(Mansfield) said, ‘I’ve been for flood control ever since.’”

– Keila Szpaller

First things first: There’s nothing like starting off a Missoula City Council meeting with the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts. Super cute.

Secondly, the loan forgiveness to the North Missoula Community Development Corporation passed, but I didn’t get to hear the whole conversation. I was pretty bummed because I wanted to hear from all the new councilors, but I had to leave before they got hot and heavy into their discussion.

I did, though, hear one encouraging thing that makes me think conservative folks around Missoula should be pleased as punch with Councilor Adam Hertz.

When Hertz, one of the new folks, saw the matter wasn’t going to go back to committee, he pitched an amendment. It shaped the finance deal so that if NMCDC pulls in more money than the plan projects, the city gets to recoup some dollars.

Other councilors agreed, including Councilman Bob Jaffe, who proposed the loan forgiveness.

It was a small but I think important move. In the past, it seems like a lot of hollering came from folks in the minority, but not as much action.

This piece of work might not have any impact on the city budget in the end, but it means that a conservative viewpoint helped shape the final product. Yes, of course it’s very small potatoes for folks who didn’t want any portion of the loan forgiven.

I hope to hear Councilors Caitlin Copple and Mike O’Herron talk about these things in the future, too.

What else? Oh, I am always curious to know how Councilman Jon Wilkins will vote ’cause he seems to be in touch with regular folks. So when I saw he had voted yes to forgiving part of the loan after questioning the sales commission, I wanted to know why.

Wilkins said he never thought those types of homes and the limited number of folks who can get into them were a good idea, but the development in general, with the cooperative grocery store and common space, is positive for Missoula.

“Everything else that’s going on over there that they’ve done have been good things. And I hate to jeopardize the whole dang thing,” Wilkins said.

He also said he was persuaded because $200,000 was supposed to be a grant to NMCDC in the first place. And the city years ago asked it to be a loan instead so another organization could get a grant.

Now, a reversal was on the table. Wilkins said the vote he cast surprised even him: “It shocked me at the end, and I came home thinking, did I do the right thing or did I not? I guess I’m even questioning myself today. But it’s the right thing.”

I’m still curious about other questions coming up about the project, but we’ll leave them for another day.

– Keila Szpaller

Tonight, the Missoula City Council takes up forgiving a portion of a loan for the Burns Street Commons.

It’s a new council, and I’m pretty interested in the discussion ’cause I don’t feel like I can predict how some of the new folks will vote or the questions they’ll ask. Anticipation!

The deal seems to be raising more and more questions, and of course housing development is complicated to begin with. Here’s a note about the project that I got this weekend from an interested party, and it’ll be interesting to hear the response:

The Burns Street Condo project is being marketed as townhouses.  The listing information on the units states “PER HUD THIS IS NOT A CONDO, IT IS A TOWNHOUSE FOR LENDING PURPOSES.”

However, the basis for this “per HUD” is an email from a staffer of Max Baucus, who no longer works for Baucus … .

The project is legally described as the Burns Street Condominiums, and … zoning or a legal description can’t be changed by an email from some congressman’s staffer.

I also called and emailed HUD and they have no record of this project having a special exemption that overrides its legal description of being a condominium project.

…  I am pretty sure that all the units that have sold, have been sold as townhouses.  This is because financing for condominiums is so difficult until over a certain number have been sold.  But, these “townhouse” sales probably have no legal standing.

That’d be troubling if it’s really the case. Obviously, there’s more to know, and I’m looking forward to the conversation this evening.

– Keila Szpaller

If you missed it yesterday, a district judge ruled the state must provide salary data to a private think tank in Bozeman.

In her decision, (District Judge Dorothy) McCarter noted that the Montana Supreme Court has interpreted the public’s right to know broadly, “stressing that all citizens have an absolute right to observe and examine the operation of agencies of government and that this right is limited only by the constitutional right to privacy.”

The decision isn’t a surprise, but I think part of the judge’s rationale raises some questions. The Department of Administration estimated it would take 30 hours and $723 to offer up the data in the format requested.

Here’s what McCarter wrote, according to the story:

“Although it may be argued that in some cases that information requested by a member of the public in a particular format is too burdensome for the agency in time and money to be reasonable, the court does not believe (the) Policy Institute’s request is that oppressive, particularly since the Policy Institute is willing to pay for the cost of production,” the judge wrote.

Emphasis added. I’m wondering whether using the rationale that the institute offered to pay undercuts the Montana Constitution’s strong protections for public access to government.

Should public information be available only to people who can afford it? Does charging make sense when public money already supports the data systems that are storing and organizing the information? And when so much data can be transferred in the blink of an eye onto a data stick or via email?

There’s no toner cost. No paper cost. Sometimes, I’m sure there’s staff time, but shouldn’t providing information to the public be part of the cost of doing business?

Another thing that troubles me is whether the potential high costs end up chilling requests for information. And do government officials use cost as a way to stymie people already making demands?

When Matthew Koehlor, executive director of the Wild West Institute, asked for information from the University of Montana about the proposed biomass plant, for instance, the UM attorney told him fulfilling the request would cost thousands and thousands of dollars.

I doubt it ended up being that much.

Koehler isn’t one to be dissuaded, and he wasn’t in that case, but I guess that’s beside the point.

I must say, this all reminds me I have some requests for information I need to get out soon.

– Keila Szpaller

Missoula Police Department Chief Mark Muir talks today with a Missoula City Council committee about how police handle rape investigations.

Reporter Betsy Cohen will be reporting live into a feed on Missoulian.com. It’s called “Scribble,” and if you head to our main page, it should be listed as the main story of the day.

We’re using #Missoularapes as the hashtag.

If you want to listen live, go to this link (thanks, City Clerk Marty Rehbein):  http://www.mcat.org/MCAT_ch11_stream.php

Councilman Jon Wilkins is the chairman of the Public Safety and Health Committee, and he scheduled four hours for the meeting about rape investigations. I don’t think it will take that long, but we’ll see.

See you there.

– Keila Szpaller

Do you know what the down side is of living in Missoula?

There isn’t one anymore. Not for me.

Well, I exaggerate, but today, Allegiant announced, finally, finally, that it’s at long, long last, flying to the San Francisco Bay Area.

That’s great news. It means direct flights, and it means cheap flights.

My family lives there, and so far, a good ticket has been in the $350 range.

I’ve driven to Spokane, Wash., in the wee, wee hours of the morning to get on a Southwest flight. I’ve wasted time waiting for a connection in Salt Lake City when San Francisco and San Jose are just a little ways away.

So, I bought some tickets today. Don’t tell my mom. I’m surprising her for her birthday in May. Then, I’m going back for another birthday.

I know that sounds over the top, but let’s just say one of my one-way tickets cost $19. Yeah.

So I know Missoula still has down sides. Like a lack of great jobs that pay great salaries. But there was a little bit of good news on that front this week, too.

Here’s that story, 25 jobs coming to Missoula over the next two years with an average salary of $35,000.

So back to Allegiant, yes, I know there’s a downside to flying into Oakland, and the flights are limited. But I’m in a Pollyanna mood right now, I’m sticking with it for at least the next 12 hours, so you can find complaints elsewhere.

For the time being.

Yay Allegiant!

– Keila Szpaller

The Missoula Police Department is reviewing an estimated 50 sexual assaults from the last two years to collect data and make sure the cases were properly closed.

The department re-opened two cases as of the latest report and gives a full account Wednesday to the Missoula City Council Public Safety and Health Committee. Chief Mark Muir cautioned that outcomes in those cases could be the same even though investigators are taking more steps.

After that story Sunday, a couple licensed clinical psychologists commended Councilwoman Cynthia Wolken in a letter for her “commitment to investigate crimes against women, including cases of rape.” I’m sure that goes for rapes against men, too.

In the letter, Drs. Frances Buck and William Hahnstadt ask the Missoula County Attorney’s Office to take a hard look at its work responding to these crimes as well:

Due to the attention, requests for investigations, and hearings now being conducted, it appears that the Chief of Police and the UM administrators are willing to evaluate their organizations’ roles and operations in responding to assaults.  We commend them.  However, the DA’s office should also be a focus of comprehensive review.  No matter what the University or police do, the District Attorney’s office holds the final card in decision making.

As an aside, Muir set a goal to improve data collection on all violent crimes back in August. Recent news about rape in Missoula and the chief’s attempt to gather related data put the project on the front burner.

Here’s a related guest editorial from Councilors Wolken, Caitlin Copple, and Marilyn Marler.

I’ll post in full below the entire letter from the psychologists; it was copied to the Missoulian. It will be clunky, but you’ll be able to read it all, and I don’t have to scan it.

Frances Marks Buck, Ph.D.

William A. Hahnstadt, Ph.D.

Licensed Clinical Psychologists

1018 Burlington Avenue, STE 106

Missoula, MT  59801

1/22/12

Dear Councilwoman Ms. Wolken:

We read in the Missoulian with interest your commitment to investigate crimes against women, including cases of rape.  We applaud your efforts to examine these issues.

As concerned citizens and professionals, we believe there are a number of issues that should be investigated:  1) Timely and thorough investigations of reports made to police by women who have been assaulted or raped are critical; 2) The responsibility of the District Attorney’s office and ADA’s to charge and prosecute perpetrators must be reviewed.  It is not simply an issue of police investigations and their findings.  The prosecutors, while stating the opinion that they don’t file charges because of the “burden of proof legally,” often appear more concerned with wanting to “win in court,”  outcome statistics affecting them personally and the DA’s office, discomfort facing some criminal defense attorneys, and not wanting to follow through with the effort entailed in preparing for and prosecuting such cases than their mission to protect and serve.  3) How well is the Crime Victim’s Office following through with their designated mission of advocating for victims?  In the published articles, the involvement of this office is notably missing.

There appear to be biases at all levels within the justice system.  1) Rapes by strangers versus acquaintances are viewed differently.  Yet, the highest percentage of rapes is by perpetrators known to the victim. 2) Statistics show that among college students, a certain percentage of males anonymously reported that they had raped an average of five women.  3.) The socio-economic status of the perpetrator influences the process of police to investigate and more importantly the willingness of the DA’s office to file charges and prosecute offenders.  All want to believe that only known criminals, or persons who are not deemed successful within societal stereotypes, offend.  4) There appears to be a bias within the legal system in regard to the percentage of false allegations of rape and assault.  The initial perspective by authorities is that the allegation of rape is false, which then affects proper investigation.  A bias free and open minded perspective at the outset should be the norm; evidence findings then can be used to confirm or not that a crime has occurred.  5) Police and prosecutors focus on the “he said, he said” barriers to charging rape, assault, and domestic abuse.  I’ve been told directly by detectives and a county prosecutor that it influenced their decisions.  Yet, even when there have been sources of outside evidence (witnesses, rape evaluations, corroboratory information), the information is not considered to be “enough.”

Due to the attention, requests for investigations, and hearings now being conducted, it appears that the Chief of Police and the UM administrators are willing to evaluate their organizations’ roles and operations in responding to assaults.  We commend them.  However, the DA’s office should also be a focus of comprehensive review.  No matter what the University or police do, the District Attorney’s office holds the final card in decision making.

Sincerely,

Frances Marks Buck, Ph.D

William A. Hahnstadt, Ph.D.

I am waiting to hear back from seven people, so I thought I’d report a couple things here in the meantime.

1. Do you remember the latest story I wrote about the North Missoula Community Development Corporation? And Councilman Bob Jaffe’s idea to help them out? Well, it involves forgiving a $400,000 loan the city made with Title I funds.

I wasn’t able to reach the grants administrator before the story ran, but I saw her afterward. That’s Cindy Wulfkuhle, in the Office of Planning and Grants. She said the money can be used toward any project for low income folks, and forgiving the loan would totally deplete the account. But she also said she thinks there’s some other ways to help NMCDC without totally depleting the fund.

2. Also, did you know the Missoula County Sheriff’s deputies brought coffee and donuts with them when they went to clear the Occupy Missoula camp yesterday? Check out the pictures on their FaceBook page. I posted one here, with photo credit to the Sheriff’s department.

I don’t know if the guy who got handcuffed got any before he went to jail, but I hope so. I think it’s been at least a year since I’ve had a donut. I’m going to buy donuts soon. Or visit the sheriff’s office.

My phone hasn’t rung yet! Well, I can toss out some papers on my desk, finish reading a study for a story, and do some work on my story list. Ciao for now.

Oh, and if you are in a similar holding pattern and need a break from your current activity, consider emailing a story idea to … keila.szpaller@missoulian.com.

– Keila Szpaller

So I’ve written some stories about paying for sidewalks, and one idea is a local option gas tax, but it requires Missoula County commissioners to put the matter on the ballot, AND I hadn’t talked with those folks yet, so today, I did, and some questions came up about what the law allows and requires, so I called City Attorney Jim Nugent a couple times, and he always calls back right away, but he didn’t, so I found out he was gone, and no one else could help me, SO I decided to dive into Montana Code Annotated all ALONE to try to find the statutes and answer my own questions, and I was filled with trepidation because I was looking BLINDLY, and for some reason, after one false start where I found blank pages and an old website, I actually stumbled across the VERY STATUTES I NEEDED TO FIND.

I’m quite pleased.

I thought I’d celebrate with a run-on sentence and a link to MCA Title 7 Chapter 14. Title? LOCAL OPTION MOTOR FUEL EXCISE TAX!

I’m also certain this success is just beginner’s luck, so have a nice time off, Jim Nugent, and then hurry back to the office, please.

– Keila Szpaller