Wyoming News Reader

WyoFile editors scour hundreds of sources every day for important and interesting news about Wyoming. Here is their latest selection.

• Sage Grouse Ruling Challenged in Court--San Jose MercuryNews
  March 9, 2010
  - CHEYENNE, Wyo.—An environmental group is challenging plans by the Interior Department to classify sage grouse as merely a candidate for protection under the Endangered Species Act and not list the bird as threatened or endangered.The department announced Friday that federal protection as an endangered or threatened species is warranted but precluded by higher priorities—species deemed in more dire need of protection right now.Western Watersheds questioned that finding in a supplemental complaint filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Boise, Idaho."The sage grouse is, in our judgment, as qualified as any species on the candidate list for the protections of the act," Jon Marvel, director of Western Watersheds, said Monday. "Of course they should be acting on all of these species, and why aren't they?"
• Wyoming Gov Race Favors GOP - POLITICO.com
  March 8, 2010
  - Wyoming is one of 19 Democratic-held governorships that are up for election in 2010; 12 of them are now open-seat races, after Freudenthal’s announcement and New York Gov. David Paterson’s announcement last week that he will not seek a full term.Republicans were quick to note the political landscape in Wyoming, where Obama suffered his worst defeat in 2008, losing 65 percent to 33 percent.“Washington, D.C., Democrats had high hopes that Dave Freudenthal would run for another term, which would have required him to challenge state law and overturn the will of the people of Wyoming,” said Republican Governors Association spokesman Tim Murtaugh. “Freudenthal is the latest in an increasingly long line of Democratic governors declining to seek reelection, which means Wyoming now becomes a prime pickup opportunity for us.”
• Lost Springs, Wy.,Census Recounts Population 1 Towns--New York Times
  March 8, 2010
  - Will this year's counts straighten out such things? They aren't holding their breath in Lost Springs, Wyo.Last year, a man with the Census came to the town, which is located in eastern Wyoming. ''He seemed very confused,'' said Leda Price, who runs a bar, hunting camp and catering business, ''among other things,'' in Lost Springs. The only other business is a general store across the street that also has a post office. A big annual event in town is a pitch tournament, which recently drew a couple dozen people.Population estimates from last summer repeated the finding of the the 2000 Census: Pop. 1, as it says on the road sign entering town.
• JH Weekly: The JFK Tape (with audio clip)
  March 8, 2010
  - Jackson Hole, Wyoming - Before 1963, no American president had ever visited Grand Teton National Park. That changed when a DC-6 carrying President John F. Kennedy landed at Jackson Hole Airport on Sept. 25 of that year. He would be assassinated two months later.Though many today still remember Kennedy’s visit, the occasion may come as news to a number of Jackson Hole residents. The moment is a footnote in American history.But recently an audio tape has surfaced that brings JFK’s historic visit back to life. The recording contains Kennedy’s voice and documents his first impressions of Jackson Hole and the Tetons.
• New Wyoming Wind Tax Now Law--Gillette News Record
  March 8, 2010
  - CHEYENNE— Wyoming will have more authority over the siting and development of wind farms and the state will begin taxing wind energy production under bills that Gov. Dave Freudenthal signed into law on Friday.The $1 per megawatt hour tax on wind energy generated in the state goes into effect in 2012. The wind industry fought the tax bill unsuccessfully this session. Industry lobbyists had urged lawmakers to study the issue more and warned that higher taxes would discourage development.The governor also signed a bill to extend the state’s permitting authority over wind farms and their related collector transmission lines. The third bill he signed sets a moratorium on the use of eminent domain powers to take private land for collector lines until June 30, 2011.
• Sage grouse will get limited protection - The Denver Post
  March 5, 2010
  - Federal authorities today embarked on a compromise effort to protect the sage grouse as a "candidate" species under the Endangered Species Act.Short of designating the sage grouse as threatened or endangered, the compromise crafted by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar embraced the latest science indicating that grouse need help to avoid extinction in the face of energy development, grazing and house-building.This approach "gives an open window" of "several years" for public and private land users to take action "making sure the grouse doesn't have to be put on the endangered species list," Salazar said. "We believe we can do that."
• Gov. Dave won't Seek Third Term--AP/Casper Star-Tribune
  March 4, 2010
  - Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal said Thursday he will not seek re-election, ending speculation that the popular Democrat might try to overturn a state law that would have prohibited him from pursuing a third term.The decision by Freudenthal, 59, opens the seat in a heavily Republican state. While several prominent Republicans have announced they will seek their party's nomination for governor this fall, Democrats in the state have been waiting to see what Freudenthal would decide."I've certainly communicated to them over time that they shouldn't be counting on me running," Freudenthal said of the state Democratic Party. "And I'm hopeful that they'll find qualified candidates."Freudenthal won two elections as a Democrat by taking his no-nonsense, conservative message door-to-door across the state, a proven strategy in sparsely populated Wyoming. He said he started the process of deciding not to run over the Christmas holiday, and his wife and grown children agreed with his choice."I don't have a terribly intellectual explanation, as much as a sense that it's the right decision, both in a personal and a professional sense, for myself and for Nancy and for the state," Freudenthal said.Freudenthal said he wasn't worried about the prospect of challenging the state's term limit law. The Wyoming Supreme Court already has held that the law was unconstitutional for state legislators.Freudenthal, whose office door in the state Capitol bears the painted sign "Gov. Dave," has enjoyed considerable popularity since narrowly winning his first election in 2002. He won re-election in 2006 with 70 percent of the vote even though registered Republicans in the state outnumbered Democrats by more than 2 to 1.
• NYTimes Editorial on Sage Grouse
  March 4, 2010
  - There is a compromise solution that could give the grouse a fighting chance. And that would be for the service to place the sage grouse high on its list of 270 or so “candidate species.” That acknowledges that the species is in trouble, asks federal and state land management agencies to work harder to protect the bird’s habitat, and holds out the promise — or threat — of more stringent protections if these agencies fail to do so. For this to work, it will require good-faith efforts from the states and federal agencies. Gov. Dave Freudenthal of Wyoming — more than half the remaining grouse population is there — has designated “core areas” for the sage grouse, restricting development. These could be expanded. The Bureau of Land Management, which governs development, has altered its plan to allow only one well pad per square mile in Wyoming. It is studying the impact of drilling and wind power on the grouse.
• Powell's Northwest College to Stop LDS Student Pitch--Salt Lake Tribune
  March 4, 2010
  - The president of Northwest College in Powell says he'll keep religion out of his recruitment efforts after a recent mailing to Mormon high school students raised ire on campus.Paul Prestwich wrote an e-mail to students and faculty members on Tuesday saying religion won't be the focus of the school's formal recruitment efforts in the future.Prestwich, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sent about 1,000 letters to LDS teens last month touting the benefits that the school and community offer students of that faith. The letters were written on school letterhead and were accompanied by a letter on church letterhead from Fred Hopkin, president of the Mormon church's Cody Wyoming Stake. Some students and faculty members were angered by the mailing, saying it inappropriately blurred the separation of church and state.
• Bill to up workplace safety fines dies in state Senate - Wyoming Tribune Eagle Online
  March 4, 2010
  - "I think it sends a message that we don't care about worker safety," said bill sponsor Rep. Mary Throne, D-Cheyenne. "No one (in industry) is against this bill because they recognize the importance of safety -- except 15 members of the Senate."The Senate voted 15-15 on House Bill 93, which was one of a few measures the governor's Workplace Safety Task Force recommended to deal with Wyoming's worst-in-the-nation record for workplace fatalities.There are 17.1 deaths per 100,000 workers in the state; the national average is four per 100,000
• Judge Ed Grant To Replace Boomgaarden at Lands --Gov. Freudenthal Press Release
  March 1, 2010
  - CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Gov. Dave Freudenthal is pleased to announce Ed Grant, a retired Wyoming District Court judge, will succeed Lynne Boomgaarden as the Director of the Office of State Lands and Investments.The Office of State Lands and Investments manages nearly four million acres of state trust lands and minerals for the benefit of Wyoming public schools and institutions, and administers numerous grant and loan programs for the benefit of Wyoming's communities and citizens.
• Barrasso-Obama Exchange on Health Insurance Plan --E.J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post
  March 1, 2010
  - At the health summit, the most revealing exchange was between the president and Sen. John Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican who is also a physician. Barrasso's central concern is that the health-care system doesn't operate enough like every other market. He seemed troubled less by the many Americans who lack health insurance than by those who abuse the insurance they already have.Addressing Obama, Barrasso suggested that we might be better off if people were insured only for catastrophic care. "Mr. President, when you say [people] with catastrophic plans, they don't go for care until later, I say sometimes the people with catastrophic plans are the people that are [the] best consumers of health care in . . . the way they use their health-care dollars.""A lot of people" with insurance, he added, "come in and say, 'My knee hurts, maybe I should get an MRI,' they say. And then they say, 'Will my insurance cover it?' That's the first question. And if I say 'yes,' then they say, 'okay, let's do it.' If I say 'no,' then they say, 'Well, what will it . . . cost?' And 'What's it [going to] cost?' ought to be the first question. And that's why sometimes people with . . . catastrophic health plans ask the best questions, shop around, are the best consumers of health care."Obama played the old TV character Columbo, who thrived on posing seemingly naive questions: "I just am curious. Would you be satisfied if every member of Congress just had catastrophic care? Do you think we'd be better health-care purchasers?"Barrasso answered in the affirmative, though he didn't propose that senators dump their present coverage. Obama came right back: "Would you feel the same way if you were making $40,000 . . . because that's the reality for a lot of folks. . . . They don't fly into [the] Mayo [Clinic] and suddenly decide they're going to spend a couple million dollars on the absolute, best health care. They're folks who are left out."Obama concluded: "We can debate whether or not we can afford to help them, but we shouldn't pretend somehow that they don't need help."
• Supreme Court hears both sides in open records case - Wyoming Tribune
  March 1, 2010
  - Last spring, the Wyoming Tribune Eagle asked to see recommended budget cuts from two state agencies and the governor.Whether the governor and the agencies erred in denying the requests and citing the privilege brought the lawsuit before the Supreme Court.Though the state's Public Records Act is silent on the issue, Attorney General Bruce Salzburg argued that recognition of "a deliberative process privilege" has long been a matter of common law in other states.It fosters frank discussion between agency employees and executives, such as the governor, Salzburg said.Though "there's nothing about the documents (requested) that are embarrassing to anybody," he added, "the fear of embarrassment stifles candor."Cheyenne attorney Bruce Moats specializes in open records law and represents the newspaper."When government lives in a fish bowl, the government is better," Moats said.
• Gov. Assails Property Tax Ruling for Future Development : Cowboy State Free Press
  March 1, 2010
  - The decision to which Freudenthal referred is one adopted by several Wyoming county assessors to tax property which is awaiting use for economic development–land and improvements such as the business park in Cheyenne that is awaiting the building of the world’s largest supercomputer by the National Science Foundation.That ruling by the county assessors has cost Cheyenne LEADS, it’s local economic development agency, some $75,000 a year in property taxes. “The thing that worries me about the way they’ve done this is the property for local economic development groups is they’re going to hold off (buying land or improvements for economic development),” Freudenthal said.
• Saga of the State Liquor Warehouse--Joan Barron, Casper Star-Tribune
  February 28, 2010
  - A legislator once said that the liquor dealers are the most powerful lobby in the Legislature. The reason, he said, is that they have the support of the bankers who are holding their loans.
• Cynthia Lummis Justifies "Green Fees" Bill
  February 28, 2010
  - Without this bill, millions of taxpayer dollars will continue to flow to environmental lawyers and their sometimes radical agenda with no oversight. It’s time to shine some light on the hijacking of the equal justice law by some groups and the environmental litigation industry that supports their "stop everything" agenda. The Open EAJA Act will help restore taxpayer trust in the system by bringing the Equal Access to Justice Act out of the shadows and into the bright light of transparency.
• Dustin Bleizeffer on Coal Bed Methane Dispute--Casper Star-Tribune
  February 28, 2010
  - He said too many coal-bed methane workers are out of work while companies like Yates sometimes wait nearly two years to receive approval from the Bureau of Land Management's Buffalo field office."That's a tragedy, and it's inexcusable," Barber said.But BLM officials say there's more to the story.The coal-bed methane industry holds some 2,125 active permits -- including 235 held by Yates -- but operators have chosen to not drill the wells. It's at least partially a function of low natural gas prices during the past year and a half, according BLM officials.Yates has actually drilled 78 wells that have not yet been completed, according to the BLM.During the past year, many publicly traded oil and gas developers told investors they were holding off on new drilling in the Rockies and even temporarily shutting in hundreds of wells to reserve natural gas production because prices were too low.
• Rashad Hussain, a Muslim and new U.S. envoy, is bridge between two worlds - washingtonpost.com
  February 28, 2010
  - Hussain's father, a mining engineer, moved from Bihar, India, to Wyoming in the late 1960s.
• After All the Fireworks, Gun Bill Dies Quietly in Committee--Casper Star-Tribune
  February 26, 2010
  - Republican Sen. Tony Ross, of Cheyenne, is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a co-sponsor House Bill 113. The bill would have allowed citizens to carry concealed guns on their bodies without a permit.The bill passed the House on Monday and was assigned to Ross' committee.Ross said the bill doesn't have enough votes to pass in his committee. He said he won't spend time on it when doing so would mean essentially killing other bills that have a chance of passing.
• WyoFile "Green Fees" Story Sparks Lively Debate on NewWest.Net
  February 25, 2010
  - Add CommentsBy Jay Greene, 2-19-10WyoFile is non-partisan public service journalism, focused on politics and public policy.That would be non-partisan in the Wyoming sense, eh?By the real mike, 2-19-10I see this as perhaps a case of professional whining in the worst sense. It appears to be that, if Karen were a bit more successful as an attorney and could win a few cases, she wouldn't have to resort to whining so much. It appears that you can spout a lot of "give-em-hell" cowgirl talk, get some traction with less educated rural folk, get them to reach into their limited family incomes to contribute, hire you, and pay you some big bucks (yes, she is paid) to represent them; but, winning their cases in court takes other skills. Perhaps if she came out of denial about the limitations in her own capabilities, spent less time in whiny political demagoguery, and perhaps even went back and got a bit better professional training, she might be able to do a better job, be more successful herself, and not have to harbor quite so much jealousy and pique toward the more successful legal teams who seem to so easily oppose her.By Cowboy Joe, 2-20-10This fund was created to help the little guy hold our massive governement accountable. What Karen fails to state is that these environmental groups and their attorneys wouldn't get one dime if federal agencies were following federal law. What she really wants is federal agencies to skirt federal law so that it benefits traditional uses that she agrees with even if it violates federal law. This is indeed whining in the worst of ways.By Tom Klumker, 2-20-10Karen correctly has brought to light how the radical green groups get much of their funding and just two of these groups (Biological Diversity Center & WildEarth Guardians) have and are filing on over 300 species as I speak and the gov't has only 90 days to consider and respond to such or be sued. These and many other groups are out of control, period.Take for instance, The Biological Diversity Center has on their staff 19 lawyers while having 20 scientist/biologists and 17 administrative staff. 19 lawyers is a huge legal staff compared to the Karen Budd/Fallon law firm of 3 or 4 and they represent a huge segment of the west's resource users. Total the BDC's staff with about 15 other radical and moderate green groups and you have a unrelenting monster on the back of the government judicial system.Maybe Karen overstated the Billions figure but the above green groups have been successful in getting Millions from the Gov't. on these lawsuits, and on the surface it looks like these groups are being very successful in using The Endangered Species Act to have their way with the western resource, and are affecting the economies and life blood of the west. They are out of control in my estimation. One prime example is the huge amount of farmland in California dried up last year due to an endangered fish.There should be some middle ground in this battle but unfortunately the greens have found a way to get their way, sue, sue and sue some more. The Federal Agencies can't even do their jobs because they are tied up in endless lawsuits.