Jon Tester for U.S. Senate

The Great Falls Tribune reports this morning that BRAC is taking up the Air Force list, with deliberation this morning on the issue of removing fighters from the Montana Air National Guard.

Staff at Missoula county schools are threatening a strike. The union has come back with a plan for a two-year elevent-percent raise. Their threats gained backing from the MEA-MFT, with Eric Feaver coming to Missoula to support the school staff.

Meanwhile, the early chilly weather is helping firefighters. The Bozeman Chronicle profiles Roger “Liberty Tree” Koopman.

Finally, two Health and Human Services employees saved Pica, the Governor’s more elderly dog, while taking an afternoon walk.

Tom Schneider is not running for re-election to the Public Service Commission, leaving an open seat. So far the only candidate showing interest is Senator Ken Toole, who is the chair of the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee.

David Lipson’s Paws Up Resort has now paid $90,000 in fines to the State of Montana and owes an additional $120,000 following a deal with the State to avoid being shut-down. Missoula County is still decidedly unimpressed with the operation.

Finally, a hat’s off to Tech and UM for making Priceton Review’s Best 361 Colleges this year. Maybe UM President George Dennison will be more pleased this year than he was the last time Princeton Review “honored” the school. In ‘99 UM received honors as a party school. There’s no word on the recognition’s details this year.

Jon’s in the next room doing a radio interview right now. He just finished on two points:

• He said that Democrats need to be more aggressive in standing up for what we believe. When we do that, people will listen and respect us.
• Democracy only works when people participate.

Doesn’t get much truer than that.

As you may already know, we’ve still got a few seats left for the Pearl Jam show next week. Last month I ran into some friends who were convinced it was sold out. Maybe now they’ll believe me. Honestly, get your tickets. It should be a great show.

Meanwhile, forget how wet June was, the downpours didn’t come early enough for Big Mountain in Whitefish, where low snowfalls hurt profits a bit. And the rain didn’t stick around long enough in Western Montana, where fire danger is high (”extreme” is the term used by the Missoulian). Forget Lipson, maybe we can change our name to Big Fire Country or the Last Burned Place.

Finally, in a sign of good things to come for Montana, Jared Miller of the Great Falls Tribune looks at the wind farm springing up in Wheatland County. The figures estimate an average of $750,000 in property tax revenue to the county each year for the next 40 years from the project. Miller also notes the benefits from the construction boom to the local economy. During the session, Jon sponsored the renewable energy standard that will lead to more projects like this one, offering us good jobs and tax revenues in rural areas, and cleaner energy for the rest of us.

What else is happening in your Montana morning?

Common Sense: Support Jon Tester for U.S. Senate:

Last Thursday night, I had the privilege of meeting Jon Tester, President of the Montana State Senate and a candidate for U.S. Senate. Jon and his wife Sharla are also organic family farmers.

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While Jon will get elected to represent Montana in the United States Senate, Jon represents our values and will stand up for our interests. Conrad Burns only stands up for the special interests.

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Jon is down-to-earth and knows how to win in Republican territory. He doesn??t speak in long drawn-out sentences with words the average person would have to look up in a dictionary. Jon will seriously cut into Conrad Burns?? base, but he needs our support.

As someone who supports Jon Tester, I??m asking you to visit www.testerforsenate.com today and consider making a donation. As the father of 10 month old Connor, I??m concerned about what the future will bring. Conrad Burns will mortgage my son??s future, while Jon Tester will ensure that Connor has a future. The choice for me is simple: Jon Tester must be elected to the U.S. Senate.

Please also consider forwarding this post to 5 friends who share our commitment to electing progressive Democrats.