This year, I believe for the first time since 1957, Christmas and Hanukkah begin on the same day. (Hanukkah is the Jewish Festival of Lights commemorating the rededication to Judaism of the Temple in Jerusalem.) This concurrence of celebratory dates reminds me of a childhood Christmas on our family farm. Far more importantly, this conjunction […]
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Here’s an early suggestion for your holiday gift lists. Soldiering for Freedom: A GI’s Account of World War II, by Herman “Obe” Obermayer, was published this year by Texas A&M Press in its military history series. Obe is a dear friend so this isn’t a neutral review. I strongly recommend it, not only as history […]
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The most recent Nobel Prize winner, Tom Schelling, and his wife Alice, are dear friends. He is among four Nobel Laureates who have lectured in my Montana programs. While Tom is among the world’s smartest (and nicest) individuals, modesty occasionally trumps his predictive prowess. Last month, Tom and Alice were at the Elkhorn Ranch for […]
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Gallatin County is asking voters to approve a $20 million bond issue to build a new jail. Supporters argue that the present jail is overcrowded, and all too often we read of an nth-offense drunk driver cited and released because the jail is full. Will a larger jail solve our problems? Here are some points […]
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Bozemanites live in the midst of a fascinating experiment in environmental economics. We are in the vortex of two colliding principles. First, trash flows downhill or downwind toward poverty, and second, economic systems evolve toward efficiency. We are watching these forces play out at the Holcim Trident cement plant near Three Forks, Montana. Holcim Inc., […]
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Gallatin County doubled in population in the past thirty years, making it the fastest-growing region in Montana. While the county’s 2.6 percent annual growth rate falls far short of the 8.3 percent rate of Loudoun County, Virginia, or the 4.3 percent rate of Clark County (Las Vegas), Nevada, it is still enough to cause stresses […]
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A year ago I wrote: “Urban and affluent newcomers to our region bring an utterly different value system for the land. To them, commodity extraction is inferior to the amenity value of land — scenery, recreation, open space, fish and wildlife, wilderness. Rather than the ‘boomers’ decried by [Wallace] Stegner, we now attract landscape architects […]
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High human capital is critical to future success. Forty years ago, Montana’s per capita income ranked in the middle of the states. Now we are near the bottom. Here’s why. Montana’s traditional economic base of agriculture, forest products, and metals has dramatically declined and has no prospects for future growth. This is the result of […]
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This year I can’t ski with Ramona for I was just liberated from a cast. Now while she skis, I sit in the Saddle Peak Lodge with my unactivated season pass and my PowerBook. I read and write. Occasionally I run across a great proposal. Here’s a winner being developed by Prof. Richard Wolff of […]
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Next month I’m addressing 70 Forest Service Snow Rangers. I’m to contrast private ski areas around Big Sky with Bridger Bowl. The result illuminates fundamental transformations throughout the Intermountain West. I’ll discuss important cultural, economic, and environmental changes and identify conflicts. Yellowstone Club The Yellowstone Club is the second most exclusive community in Montana; only […]
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