The Billings Gazette (Billings, MT) articles from March 2004

The Billings Gazette (Billings, MT) archives from March 2004

Groups Seek to Add West Nile Virus Concerns to Montana Coalbed-Methane Suit.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Clair Johnson Mar. 1--Conservation groups challenging the Bureau of Land Management's plan to manage coalbed methane development in the Powder River Basin are seeking to add concerns about the West Nile virus to their lawsuit. ...

Investors Get Left Out of Touch America Bankruptcy Hearings.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Jan Falstad Mar. 1--Investors in Touch America Holdings have been told for the third time that their interests won't be formally represented during Delaware bankruptcy proceedings. After a three-hour closed hearing Feb. 25,...

Montana Gubernatorial Candidate Accepted Donations from Power Company.
March 2, 2004... Byline: Charles S. Johnson Mar. 2--HELENA, Mont. -- Although Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Brown recently chided rival Pat Davison for taking campaign money from PPL Corp., Brown has accepted donations from NorthWestern Energy...

Consultant Seeks to Repeal Montana Ban on Cyanide Leach Mining Process.
March 4, 2004... Byline: Jennifer McKee Mar. 4--HELENA, Mont. -- A Whitehall consulting firm, backed by money from mining company Canyon Resources Corp., took the first formal step Tuesday toward repealing Montana's 1998 ban on cyanide leach mining. ...

Montana Power Company 'Significantly' Overcharges Customers, Economist Says.
March 9, 2004... Byline: Jan Falstad Mar. 9--NorthWestern Energy appears to be collecting more from Montana customers than allowed, a consulting economist told members of the Public Service Commission. The increased base rates the PSC approved in May...

NorthWestern Corp. Hopes to Hold Montana's Utility Rates Steady for Five Years.
March 13, 2004... Byline: Charles S. Johnson Mar. 13--HELENA, Mont. -- NorthWestern Corp. doesn't anticipate it will need to raise its utility rates for consumers in Montana and two other state for the next five years if it successfully emerges from...

'Two Girls in Red Dresses' Team in Billings, Mont., Robs Rooms of Monotony.
March 13, 2004... Byline: Linda Halstead-Acharya Mar. 13--Vanessa Olson and Kim Schweikert slipped into the house while the owner was away. Within half an hour, the living room was gutted. Later that afternoon, when owner Tammy Rye returned, she stood...

Top U.S. Interior Department Official Cleared of Some Ethical Allegations.
March 18, 2004... Byline: Mike Stark Mar. 18--A top Interior Department official with ties to oil and gas companies has been cleared of several allegations of ethical violations, but federal investigators didn't rule definitively on questions about his...

Billings Gazette, Mont., Jan Falstad Column.
March 20, 2004... Byline: Jan Falstad Mar. 20--SPORTS BAR ON TAP: The three partners who started the Montana Brewing Co. -- Dan Konen, Mike Schmechel and Dru Cederberg -- are planning a sports bar within dribbling distance of the Brew Pub. Schmechel...

Billings, Mont., Hair Stylist Doesn't Let Success Go to Her Head.
March 20, 2004... Byline: John Fitzgerald Mar. 20--Ever since she started cutting people's hair in her parent's basement, Kori Keller knew one thing -- she loved hair. "You never know what the day will be like," she said from her chair recently at...

Montana Gubernatorial Candidates Make Promises to State's Indian Tribes.
March 25, 2004... Byline: Jim Gransbery Mar. 25--Four candidates for Montana governor Wednesday offered several promises to the state's Indian tribes. One promised a cabinet post for an Native American along with a new tribal representatives council,...

Absarokee, Mont., Residents Bemoan Area's Spotty Cellular Phone Service.
March 27, 2004... Byline: Jan Falstad Mar. 27--Absarokee's self-appointed busybody, Karl Gaustad, and real estate salesman Mike Reynolds stood under Cellular One's tower and tried to call each other on their mobile phones. On this brilliantly sunny...

Red Lodge, Mont., Home Flooring Business Focuses on Happy Customers.
March 27, 2004... Mar. 27--Sandy Brajcich hasn't made many mistakes as the owner of the floor and window business, Covering Broadway, in Red Lodge. Well, she did once order and install the wrong carpet in a woman's house who was out of the country when the...

Billings, Mont., Residents Find Satisfaction, Success in Instrument Repair.
March 27, 2004... Byline: Susan Olp Mar. 27--For Sara and Dan Charney, it's all about the music. During their working hours, the Billings couple repairs musical instruments at Eckroth Music. In their spare time, they play several instruments in a...

Yellowstone Building Blends Old, New.
March 30, 2004... Byline: Mike Stark Mar. 30--Yellowstone National Park's newest building blends contemporary architecture with a nod to the past. Designed by CTA Architects Engineers of Billings, the Yellowstone Heritage and Research Center is loosely...

Billings, Mont., Piano Tuner Continues His Passion of Making Music Beautiful.
March 30, 2004... Byline: Ed Kemmick Mar. 30--In a storage room beneath the stage of the Alberta Bair Theater, Caesar LaMonaca is preparing to tune a 9-foot-long, half-ton instrument, a 1990 Steinway Model D concert grand piano. It is one of two owned by...

Yellowstone to Move Artifacts to New Gardiner, Mont., Center.
March 30, 2004... Byline: Mike Stark Mar. 30--GARDINER, Mont. -- The 5 million objects in Yellowstone National Park's archive, library and museum collection will have a new home this summer. The trick will be getting them there. Construction is...