Editorials

GUEST EDITORIAL: Good job, Montana Legislature, on budget-crisis solution

Published on Fri, 11/24/2017 - 4:15pm

Just as some college students seem to work best under the pressure of a drop-dead deadline, the Montana Legislature pulled the equivalent of a caffeinated all-nighter last week and turned in a budget-crisis solution that deserves high grades.

ENTERPRISE EDITORIAL — It’s winter: tap the brakes and turn up the NPR

Published on Fri, 11/03/2017 - 1:50pm

We’ve all been there.

Perhaps on a dark morning or evening, with ice- and snow-covered roads, you’re gingerly making your way down a Park County road when the ominous headlights appear in your rear-view mirror.

Suddenly, there’s an uptick in your pulse as you slow down while approaching a bend in the road, the following motorist approaching too close for comfort. You apply the brakes, hoping not to fly off the road in an uncontrollable pirouette. 

ENTERPRISE EDITORIAL: We heard you

Published on Wed, 10/18/2017 - 3:08pm

Three or four weeks ago, The Enterprise made a business decision we thought was pretty harmless – we decided to stop publishing two full pages of TV guides every week.

The decision was basically a budgetary one – the service that makes up those grids charges too much for them, and it took up a lot of space and paper for a fixture with no advertising support.   

Like any business we have to watch our expenses. We assumed most folks get their TV from cable or satellite sources anyway, and those services already provide on-screen grids and program information.

ENTERPRISE EDITORIAL: A second chance after doing something stupid

Published on Fri, 09/15/2017 - 3:50pm

At some point, everyone does something really stupid in their life.

If you haven’t, you will.

Unfortunately, some of those stupid things become misdemeanor legal matters. And those matters can follow folks the rest of their lives, dogging their steps and preventing them from realizing opportunities long after they have paid their debt to society.

ENTERPRISE EDITORIAL: Thank a firefighter for O’Rea/Fleshman Creek response

Published on Wed, 09/13/2017 - 9:05am

The voice of a 911 dispatcher alerted emergency responders Saturday of a red flag warning, meaning conditions were ripe that day for a wildfire sparked by dry lightning.

Some of us looked up to the darkening sky after the alert was issued, hoping the warning wouldn’t materialize.

Unfortunately, it did.

At about 2:30 p.m. that day, a lightning strike caused a wildfire northwest of Livingston between O’Rea Creek and Fleshman Creek.

GUEST EDITORIAL: Health Department cuts don’t need to be so painful

Published on Fri, 09/08/2017 - 3:18pm

State agencies that have already cut their budgets to the bone are now facing the prospect of lopping off limbs. Last week, the agencies that depend on Montana’s general fund were notified that they have until Sept. 8 to submit suggestions for further reducing spending by as much as 10 percent.

The cuts are needed to make up for a projected $227 million shortfall over the next two budget years. They would be in addition to the $70 million in cuts already made this fiscal year, which began July 1.

GUEST EDITORIAL: The high cost of removing offensive muskets

Published on Wed, 09/06/2017 - 9:19am

There has been a rash of statue bashing — both figurative and literal — of late.

People are upset that there are statues of prominent Confederates and want them removed. In some cases, officials have done just that. We can — and probably will — continue to argue about statues. What’s more, it’s fair to say that both sides can make decent arguments why they are right and the other side is wrong.

But the stink over the musket is just plain dumb.

The musket?

Analysis: The questions remain the same

Published on Tue, 09/05/2017 - 2:56pm

NEW ORLEANS — Every disaster is different. And yet, the questions that result are often the same, or at least similar.

How many people are stranded? How will we save them? Are there enough shelters? And food? And water? How many bodies? How will we find them? Store them? Identify them?

Ray Nagin took a lot of criticism 12 years ago for failing to call for an evacuation until the day before Hurricane Katrina hit.

GUEST EDITORIAL: Cracks in the economic foundation

Published on Fri, 09/01/2017 - 3:39pm

The United States’ lengthy economic recovery and low unemployment rate seem to be promising signs, but cracks in the foundation reveal some concerns for the future.

While the official unemployment rate has hit a 16-year low, at 4.3 percent, the “U-6” underemployment rate, which includes those who would like to work full-time, but have been forced to take part-time jobs, remains stubbornly high at 8.6 percent.

GUEST EDITORIAL: Statue etiquette — and the sins of her father

Published on Wed, 08/30/2017 - 4:03pm

Statue etiquette ain’t so simple.

And no, you are not a total ignoramus if you did not know there was such a thing. 

It is a recent phenomenon.

But, even if you are aware of the new cult of statue etiquette, understanding what is accepted by statue etiquette experts — and what is ridiculed — is quite complicated.

Too complicated, certainly, for Nancy Pelosi.

Back to Ms. Pelosi momentarily, but first a quiz to help the statue-ignorant develop their knowledge.

Which of the following merits ridicule?

A) To cover up a statue that has boobs.