Sorted by date Results 647 - 671 of 1188
US Bank sells “Simple Loans” with 70-88 percent interest in Montana. People take these loans to buy snow tires, cover a mortgage payment, or pay medical bills. Montana law caps predatory payday loans at 36 percent interest. But federally-insured banks are exempt from state laws, and can charge whatever they want to. These are the kind of bad loans that people never get out of, being offered by one of the biggest national banks. High interest rates leave customers reeling for another loan, trapping them into a cycle of debt. I’m sorry, but i...
SEELEY LAKE - I am so glad that the main street businesses in Seeley Lake are booming. Profits are so high that business owners can afford to alienate huge percentages of their customers by endorsing one political candidate over another and supporting controversial ballot initiatives with signs at the entrances, parking lots and even at the cash register. Why, business is so good, that petitions calling for the removal of specific public employees, for acts of God unrelated to their work, is totally acceptable. My management degree was only a m...
If the United States of America was being attacked by air or by sea, we and our military would immediately respond to protect our sovereign nation. Our military needs to also respond to the invasion of the caravans coming by land to our border. We know they are not coming to embrace our constitution, our rule of law or to honor our flag. They are coming, burning our flag and bringing their flag to plant on American soil as conquerors. They are trying to deceive us by bringing some women and children, appealing to our generosity and our compassi...
Back on Oct. 11 my daughter, her friend and her friend’s mother were involved in a car accident in Missoula. Their injuries were severe and the recovery will be long. We personally want to thank everyone who expressed their concern. We are truly grateful for all the love, support and prayers our families have received during this time. Thank you from the Harman/Garland and Mocko Families Seeley Lake, Mont....
Missoula County is facing challenges within the sheriff’s office, issues that reflect on accountability to the public and ethical failures of leadership. These are systemic failures that impact public safety and our pocketbooks. Leadership weakness reminds how important are the qualities of character and independence from political influence. Travis Wafstet is the candidate for sheriff who has the management experience and integrity to lead the department back to its public service roots. In the past four years the sheriff’s office has suffered...
I am not generally that politically active but this year I feel compelled to react to House District 92’s race between Lee Bridges and Mike Hopkins. Some political views between the two are similar. Woman’s rights and reproductive rights, job training and the preservation of our environment are top priorities for both candidates. But there are some huge differences like gun rights. Hopkins is a strict believer in the Constitution, he will protect your rights, all your rights. He has an A rating with the NRA. Bridges says she has guns and may...
In addition to helping write and pass a responsible, balanced budget, fighting against the $300 million in tax increases that will be proposed next session and passing property tax relief for Montana Seniors, there are a number of other topics we need to tackle in the next Legislative Session. We need to reach an agreement that would allow us as a state to get resources on fires as soon as they start without having to wait for someone in Washington or Helena to sign all the correct paperwork. While I am pleased that Democrats, this campaign...
Anger and fear have come to dominate American politics since 2016. Sadly, American politicians are capitalizing on anger and fear in order to manipulate voters and garner support. I touched on this in my admonishment to House District 92 Republican Representative Mike Hopkins a few weeks ago in this newspaper. I had a great deal of respect for Mike until he wrote a letter wherein he took advantage of a bad situation in Missoula to try and churn it into avoidance of votes for Democrats and promote actual votes for Republicans, as though...
The corporations that are Big Tobacco and those corporations’ surrogates know a higher tax on tobacco means fewer people using the product. That means less profit for them. This is the reason for their opposing I-185, the initiative to continue Medicaid Expansion in Montana. But Big Tobacco doesn’t say that in their ads. In their millions of dollars campaign of lies and distortion they claim to be concerned about the state budget, veterans or constitutionality. These are not the concerns of tobacco corporations. I-185 will diminish their pro...
My church, First Congregational, has been banking with US Bank for decades. We have also been at the forefront of protecting Montanans from predatory loan products, like payday and car-title loans. In Montana, we won, through a citizen vote, an interest rate cap at 36 percent for payday loans in 2010. Since then, Montanans save an estimated $37 million annually. It has come to my attention that US Bank has started offering small dollar bank loans that look awfully similar to payday loans. People are often strapped enough for cash that they need...
I’d like to submit my endorsement for Lee Bridges for House District 92. Lee has worked construction for many years. When the shop she worked for closed down she bought the equipment she needed to continue in her chosen trade and opened her own custom sheet metal shop. Lee has experience as a volunteer fire fighter and a long standing community council member. She knows the issues us regular people face day to day. She cares about people and has knocked thousands of doors and held meetings in the community’s in House District 92 to talk to and...
Over the past decades, campaigns have gotten increasingly vicious, claiming unsubstantiated falsehoods to sway voters. Timing is everything and deceptive ads appear in the last days and hours before the election to influence voters. It’s gotten so out of hand that Montana has enacted the Clean Campaign Act. Part of the reason I’ve chosen to run is to change the level of civility we have in our government. In general, we need to improve how we treat each other. We’ve lost sight in this country of the fact we are the employers of the peopl...
As people of faith, we believe we have the moral obligation to take care of our neighbors. Often that means helping individuals by donating clothes after a house fire or providing dinner after the loss of a loved one. However, sometimes we have the rare opportunity to help thousands of our friends and neighbors across the state. We have that chance now by voting for I-185. This ballot initiative will help us live fuller, healthier lives in three ways: First, it increases the tax on tobacco products. Every year, we lose 1,600 Montanans to...
SWAN VALLEY - I live in the far northeastern corner of Lake County where we are often forgotten about except when we receive our property tax bill to mainly pay for services benefiting Lake County residents in the Mission Valley. Oh that’s right, we have a dumpsite at Porcupine Creek on Highway 83 in the Swan Valley. I don’t know about you but I’m tired of all the fighting that takes place among Lake County residents. It’s bad enough the national political scene is so contentious, but locally there have been years of acrimony with the water c...
I’m really struggling to make a decision on how to vote on Initiatives 185 and 186. I’ve seen the mailers on I-185 that claim it is unconstitutional. If so, why are groups spending so much money to defeat it? Also, considering we think of our form of government as a democracy, telling people that their vote will not count seems a bit insulting. The other problem I have with I-185 is the additional tax on tobacco products. This tax is aimed at a small portion of Montanans (I don’t use tobacco). It seems like it would be too small of a tax base....
As a child immigrant from an archipelago ruled by an oligarchic despot, I’m acutely aware of how precious my vote is. As a U.S. citizen and Independent, I vote. No matter how disgusted or jaded I’ve become with decisions from both parties, I vote. Without fail, in every election, I vote--and for HD 92, I’ve voted for Lee Bridges. Unlike the current and previous incumbents, Lee has lived, worked, recreated and volunteered for over 30 years in the district she would represent, forging productive relationships that would serve her well in represen...
Dear Mike: In your last letter to the editor you accused me and my staff of sending out attack ads against you. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, none of my campaign literature or ads have ever even mentioned you. As you said, like you I am proud that our campaign against each other has been conducted by the highest standards of ethics and civility. Over the last few months we have had many conversations and, although we are opponents, they have never been acrimonious. Your last couple of letters have surprised and shocked me,...
In my previous letter, I talked about what we did in the last legislative session. For the next two letters, I wanted to talk about what I plan to do if re-elected to continue serving you in the Legislature. First and foremost, we need to repair the damage to the State Budget from the Special Session. We need to repair the Health and Human services budget, that’s case management, that’s early intervention, disability services and Medicaid Reimbursement rates. We also need to repair the Higher Education budget. The good news is that the Gov...
I just read Mike Marshall’s editorial from Oct. 18. I was appalled at his armchair political attack on Mike Hopkins. Hey, Mr. Marshall, how about I send 40 people to where your mother volunteers to bust in, climb up on the roof, put up posters, shout obstinacies from a bull horn, shove cameras in her face and protest about something unrelated to her? The Kavanaugh issue the protesters were upset with had nothing to do with the GOP office. The GOP volunteers are there to support Republican candidates locally and statewide. It was suggested t...
Thank you, residents of House District 92! You have graciously welcomed me at your homes and at all the many events I have attended this past year. I am a hardworking, blue collar worker and public servant. I live in House District 92 and have for 35 years, while my opponent does not. I understand our issues and I am proud to run on my own merits, listening to all sides of the issues with everyone in my District, regardless of party affiliation. By listening to everyone, without passing judgment, I find we have much more in common than we have...
I was very disappointed to read the comments of Mike Hopkins in our local newspaper. My previous impression of Mike was that he held himself to higher standards. His comments were disingenuous at best. This is misdirection at its worst and highly divisive. It’s highly appropriate to condemn extremism that causes damage to people or property, such as the damage and injury done by conservative marchers in Charlottesville, Virginia in August of 2017. But Mike is implying that first, all the harm is being done solely by Democrats. Secondly, he i...
The upcoming mid term elections are not about Trump; that is two years hence. In Montana, they are not about who is a Montanan or a newcomer or “the real thing.” They are simply about whether Schumer will dictate the activities of the Senate and Pelosi the House. They are whether the track records of the Republican House since 2010 and the Republican Senate since 2014 under Presidents from both parties have seen the country progress or whether the yet unknown agendas of Schumer and Pelosi will do better with Trump still in the White House. We h...
For nearly four years Missoula County Sheriff TJ McDermott has worked tirelessly to provide our community with a Sheriff’s Office that we can be proud of and trust. McDermott has led his staff to accomplish a lot in his first term. All of the expired and outdated safety equipment left by the previous administration has been updated to ensure the deputies and detention officers may do their jobs more safely. Going forward, this equipment has been properly included in the public safety budget. Working with the Commissioners, Sheriff McDermott i...
I’ve known Lee Bridges for over 30 years, since back in the days when she rebuilt and restored antique motorcycles with her late husband, Partsfather. She’s always worked in the blue collar trades; from wrenching bikes, to building her own shop, to going to Vo-tech for machine shop and then for welding, before getting into the sheet metal trade. All the while Lee’s been working, she’s also been a public servant on the local fire department, Sewer Board and Community Council. She’s been on the East Missoula Sewer Board since it started i...
Absentee ballots are out! Its been a long campaign year and while my opponents’ staffers have now decided to send out attack ads lying about my record, I am still proud that our race for HD92 has for the most part been a really civil race. Campaigns are hard. People on both sides put their heart and soul into trying to get their candidate elected and sometimes they feel like attacking their opponent is the best way to elect their candidate. I am proud that throughout this campaign and the 2016 campaign, I have never put together a single a...
