http://www.newwest.net/index.php/city/main/C509/L509/ New West Network: The Voice of the Rocky Mountains en info@newwest.net Copyright 2009 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:38:52 MST Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:38:52 MST http://www.newwest.net/city/article/tornado_blasts_oregon_coast/C509/L509/ Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:38:52 MST Weather is the topic of many conversations throughout Oregon as the week begins, with massive amounts of snowfall dropping in the Cascades and wind and heavy rain blasting the coast. "I was planning a trip to Portland to visit some friends but called it off this morning," Randal Rosbury told me this morning outside of Newport Market. "If I had snow tires, maybe. But it sounds pretty nasty up there." And while there's nothing unusual about snow dropping in the mountains at this time of year, a rare event took place during the weekend in Lincoln City. It was a tornado. And the spinning strand of energy scared the wits out of a collection of Oregonians. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/open_fields_still_closed/C509/L509/ Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:56:07 MST Open Fields was a "major victory" for hunters and wildlife conservation, according to the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) and many other green groups that lobbied for it. It passed back in December 2008, but almost a year later, this innovative hunter access program is still mired in the administrative rule making process. Now, predictably, conservationists who struggled mightily for the program are asking Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack for a little more priority. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/keeping_it_underground_in_oregons_lava_caves/C509/L509/ Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:56:44 MST For the past several days a walnut-sized lump has been throbbing on the top of my skull. This morning when I attempted to shampoo my hair, the scrubbing motion nearly brought me to tears. I can't wear my blue baseball hat without feeling pain. The cause of the hideous and horribly painful lump on this writer's noggin? It came from a sharp-ass rock in a dark-ass cave. A lava cave, to be precise. And despite the injury, I encourage everyone to go check out the lava caves in central and eastern Oregon for themselves. Just try not to be an idiot and get hurt yourself hurt, okay? http://www.newwest.net/city/article/utah_and_oregon_book_awards_announced_and_hooray_i_sold_my_novel/C509/L509/ Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:00:05 MST As I've mentioned on a couple of occasions over the years I've written the Roundup, when I'm not reading other people's books, I'm trying to write my own, and after many, many years of effort, I have some good news: my first novel, The Ringer, will be published by The Permanent Press in 2011.  I am delighted about it.  Now I just need to edit the book and figure out how to convince people to read it.  (Beg?  Bribe?  Cajole?) Check out my new website for more information. • The winners of the Utah and Oregon Book Awards were announced recently.  In Utah, the winners included David McGlynn in fiction for The End of the Straight and Narrow, Stephen Trimble in nonfiction for Bargaining for Eden: The Fight for the Last Open Spaces in America, and in the poetry category, Craig Arnold won the award posthumously for his collection Made Flesh.  Ben Fulton of the Salt Lake Tribune wrote in greater detail about all the winners. Also in the Roundup: Oregon Book Award winners, events at the Center of the American West, and Annie Proulx donates her papers to the New York Public Library. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/feds_grant_30_million_for_central_oregon_geothermal_project/C509/L509/ Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:03:38 MST A Central Oregon geothermal project many years in the making continues to heat up following a recent announcement that nearly $30 million will go toward work near Newberry Crater. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley announced the Energy Department grants would be coming through for seven Oregon projects. An estimated $25 million will be designated to power-producing technology involving water injected into the earth and about $4.5 million on technology to locate geothermal reservoirs at Newberry, according to Wyden. "This funding will literally help to bring Oregon's geothermal energy potential to the surface," Wyden stated in a released statement. "It will create and sustain jobs improving alternative energy technology to better tap into Oregon's unique set of renewable energy resources." We've been covering this story on NewWest.Net for several years, and this is by far the biggest advancement in the project. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/economic_double_bubble_toil_and_trouble/C509/L509/ Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:16:40 MST With slow but steady improvement in the economy's vital signs, two questions are gnawing at analysts' brain pans.  First, is this a sustainable recovery with the power to fuel substantial job growth?  Second, what will happen when the "double bubble" ruptures and some $1.7 trillion in commercial real estate notes come due over the next few years? Most economic prognosticators portend a sluggish recovery with continued job losses throughout 2010.  New job growth will be slow, they say.  Too many businesses are changing fast or forever gone, like GM's Saturn Division.  We can't expect the same jobs to reappear and be filled by the same folks who were laid off.  Plus, globalization and the Internet have changed the game.  Look for new jobs to develop in health care, education, government and within new or fast-changing industries. As for the double bubble effect, commercial real estate values are down about 35 percent since the peak in 2007, according to Moody's.  Unlike residential mortgages, commercial loans are much shorter term--usually five to 10 years.  The first $300 billion in commercial-backed securities will come due in 2010.  Obviously, many businesses are on their knees due to the slowdown.  So there is a shortage of cash to payoff real estate loans, especially where property values have fallen far below contract values, which would cause buyers to bring even more cash to the closing table to accomplish a refinancing.  Meantime, lenders have locked down their underwriting guidelines and all but stopped making commercial loans, despite claims that they are open for business. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/its_wrong_not_to_vote/C509/L509/ Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:09:09 MST Refusing to vote, declining to vote, or not being informed enough to vote is a serious wrong. Ever since our high school civics teachers pounded our heads about the right to vote, we all should know this. But apparently we don't. The turnout in today's election is estimated at 20 to 30 percent. We'll see how it turns out -- Boise in particular has a hot city council race centered around support of a downtown trolley system -- but based on history, that's probably right. "If you don't vote, you can't complain" is a fundamental concept of democracy and fairness. If you don't help to plant the seed, pull the weeds, harvest the wheat and bake the bread, no soup for you. The response that there is nobody you want to vote for is acceptable only if you plan to keep your mouth shut about any civic issue that could have been addressed by electing someone else. And if there was nobody else who came close to your views, you can always run for office yourself. When you fail to participate in a democracy, you are turning your vote over to people who don't have your values and issues in mind -- they have their own. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/weekend_essay_the_global_warming_debate/C509/L509/ Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:55:14 MST The radio news squawk lately has been about Global Warming, the latest in an endless supply of silly partisan battles.  As I hear one team arguing that a new Senate bill will create jobs and save the planet, I hear the other team telling us that same Senate bill will increase our taxes and crush the economy. Since we all side with the home team, it's no wonder polls asking us -- Global Warming, True or False? -- are becoming red and blue in color.  And just like NFL football, I'm tired of the commercials...let's get to the game! We're arguing a pointless debate. Both sides are wrong because the very premise of the debate is flawed. It's not about "if" global warming is real or "who" is to blame.  How can anyone "know" that our planet is warming, let alone "know" humans are the cause of the warming?  To think that we understand how this living system we call earth operates is nothing but over-inflated human ego.  The fact is we don't know what's going to happen.  Every time we think we know what's going on in nature, we get proven wrong.  Let's stop the debate and get to the real problems. This is my breakdown for all the proud-to-guzzle-gas-rednecks and all the entitled-Prius-latte-drinking-hippies....we're going to have too many people on the planet soon and too few resources to keep our current economic system moving. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/choosing_a_fishing_lodge/C509/L509/ Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:00:33 MST So, you've finally decided to take that fishing trip of a lifetime--to Alaska, Canada, Patagonia, the Caribbean or another exotic location. Now, be sure you choose the right lodge. The cost is always key, of course, but hardly the only concern. Regardless of your passion--bonefish, tarpon, muskie, salmon, monster rainbows or pike, whatever--you don't want your long-awaited (and deserved, right?) vacation to turn into a stressful and costly disappointment. If you're a do-it-yourself type of guy, this column isn't for you, but if you decide to stay at a fishing lodge and have a guided adventure, finding the right outfitter and avoiding problems along the way can be challenging. I'm hardly an expert, but I've stayed at a dozen or more lodges through the years.  Along the way, I've picked up a few tips that might be helpful. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/helena_native_born_without_legs_shares_his_perspective_in_double_take/C509/L509/ Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:00:06 MST Helena-raised Kevin Connolly is on the road talking about his new memoir, Double Take.  He'll visit Bozeman today (Country Bookshelf, 7 p.m.), and he'll be in Helena on October 28 (Montana Book Company, 7 p.m.), and in Missoula on October 29 (Fact & Fiction, 7 p.m.).  The 24-year-old Connolly was born without legs, but according to his bio on his publisher's website, he "was otherwise a healthy baby and grew up like any other Montana kid; getting dirty, running in the woods, and getting dirty some more." Connolly began taking photographs four years ago, traveling around the world on a skateboard and "documenting the reactions" people had to him.  The photos in this series became "The Rolling Exhibition," which Connolly's website describes as: 31 Cities, 32,000 photos, one stare." Double Take is getting great reviews; Kirkus Reviews described it as "A courageous, immensely rewarding chronicle expressed in arresting words and pictures." Visit Connolly's website for an entertaining trailer about his experience reading an ebook on an over-sized PC. Also in the Roundup: A Utah State senior wins the national Norman Mailer Award for nonfiction, two forthcoming regional novels, and David Sax finds some good Jewish delis in the Rockies.