Montana's Mining Future on Ballot Measure
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Mining is such a major part of Montana's legacy that the words "gold and silver" in Spanish are still emblazoned on the state seal. But mining's golden days are long gone. The industry has diminished over the years amid declining prices and tougher environmental rules, and now accounts for only about 3 percent of Montana's economy. The mining industry hopes a Nov. 2 ballot measure will change that.
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Last August, Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kerry pledged to boost funding for the national park system by $600 million a year by raising fees on mining companies. The National Mining Association immediately denounced the proposal, saying it would cost Nevada, a key battleground state, 44,000 jobs.
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When Congress targeted Nevada as the nation's nuclear waste dumping ground, the state didn't have the political power to say no. Twenty years later, the most ardent foe of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump is about to become Senate majority leader. Nevada Democratic Sen. Harry Reid's new job, which gives him control over what legislation reaches the Senate floor, could deal a crippling blow to the already stumbling project.
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By Shanna Hogan, The Tribune, Mesa, Ariz.  Sep. 5--Conservationists spent more than a year gathering 300,000 signatures to get an initiative on the November ballot that would preserve 694,000 acres of state trust land.
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The success of last week's primary election using touch-screen voting machines heartens officials in other states, where e-voting has been problematic. Still, the Silver State may be in a unique situation.
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By Erica Meltzer, The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson  Sep. 6--Pima County will not oppose a Canadian company's efforts to mine copper at Rosemont Ranch in the Santa Rita Mountains.   At least for now.
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Environmental groups say the vote on three key amendments will determine whether they can support the Democratic-backed measure
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By ERICA MELTZER, ARIZONA DAILY STAR  Pima County is taking the State Land Department to court in an attempt to overturn a decision allowing mining in Davidson Canyon.  Last month, the Land Department rejected an administrative appeal filed by the county in December.
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Montana voters on Tuesday approved 62% to 38% a ballot initiative to allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes by patients with chronic illnesses, including HIV/AIDS or cancer, while voters in Oregon rejected 58% to 42% an initiative to expand the
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By SEAN WHALEY and MOLLY BALL  By SEAN WHALEY and MOLLY BALL  REVIEW-JOURNAL  CARSON CITY - Voters in November will be allowed to weigh in on government's authority to seize private property, but not its ability to tax and spend.
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The vote by the shareholders of world number four gold miner Harmony on the group&#39;s bid for rival Gold Fields on late Friday morning is crucial to the continuation of Harmony&#39;s daring bid.
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Determined to keep its promise to the state's public employees, teachers, police officers and firefighters, the Montana pension system may venture into a high-stakes corner of the investment world: hedge funds.
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By Robert Gehrke, The Salt Lake Tribune  Sep. 15--The Bush administration expressed reservations Thursday about  key provisions of a bill, already opposed by environmental groups, aimed at  shaping the explosive growth in Washington County.
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Mining is such a major part of Montana's legacy that the words "gold and silver" in Spanish are still emblazoned on the state seal.
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Six months after a half-ton boulder loosened by a strip-mining operation tumbled down a hill and crushed a 3-year-old boy in his bed, the governor signed tougher new safety legislation Thursday as the youngster's parents looked on.
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MISSOULA, Montana  - Montana's state legislature  is targeting the big-box megastores that have taken the place  of the old Western general store, weighing a special tax to  offset welfare costs for low-paid employees of the retailers.
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Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) put forward legislation last night that would allow voters to decide in a referendum whether Maryland should legalize slot machine gambling at five racetrack and non-track locations, a compromise that legislative leaders said could finally resolve an issue that has divided...