Month: December 2019

by William Skink

WBUR in Boston is doing a series on midsize western cities and their struggles with housing, and wouldn’t you know it, Missoula is one of the communities they took a look at. Here is an admission that tech and urban flight are significant contributors to skyrocketing housing costs:

The tech sector is booming in Missoula, which has brought new residents and high-paying jobs, Pehan says. But that also means there are more people seeking housing faster than the city can build homes for them to live in.

“Also, folks who can come in and put down a cash offer pay above appraised value for a home,” she says, “and we’re seeing that inflate the market as it inflates appraisals for all the surrounding homes.”

Pehan, who grew up in Montana, says the state — and particularly the city of Missoula — has “changed dramatically” over the past few years. She chalks that up to the idea of “being found.”

“We are on the map as a place that provides just an exceptional quality of life,” Pehan says.

If Missoula is now officially found and development is booming, then why does the private sector need any public money to incentivize development? One of the main arguments with TIF and Urban Renewal Districts is that development wouldn’t happen without public investment. That argument is now gone.

Here’s a quote about urban flight:

The nature of work is also changing, which means people can live and work remotely in Missoula for a company based in a larger city like San Francisco, she says. But these workers are still being paid at a higher cost of living, giving them disposable income that they would otherwise have to spend on rent if they lived in San Francisco.

“I think that we’re seeing a lot of folks fleeing more urban environments to live in a place like Missoula,” Pehan says. “And while their work is not place based, their salary reflects that urban environment. And again, [that’s] something that is dramatically impacting our housing market.”

I agree with the use of the word “fleeing”, but then the question becomes what are they fleeing? One thing they are fleeing is west coast housing costs, which are significantly higher than Missoula’s, which of course makes Missoula a very attractive location for the inland migration set of remote workers.

Another aspect of housing in Missoula is the housing that’s being removed and the housing that replaces it. When you read the next quote, think of the recent vote by Missoula’s City Council to destroy historic houses in order to build condos. Here’s the quote:

Pehan says the city needs to evolve, but in a way that accommodates people of all income levels.

“The reality is, right now in Missoula, you are allowed to knock down a relatively small, affordable home and build a mansion,” she says. “All we’re saying is that in addition to being able to build a mansion, perhaps you should also be able to build a duplex or a tiny home to allow for some more affordable options as well.”

The ability to build duplexes or tiny homes instead of McMansions exists only if the bottomline exists for developers. That means to make housing affordable there has to be some kind of subsidy. That is really the only way affordable housing is going to be built because the Mayor’s office decided AGAINST inclusionary zoning.

At the end of the piece there is some nice perception management around the supposed working class spirit of Missoula:

“At the end of the day, Missoula prides itself in being a working-class community, and we want to maintain those working-class roots,” Pehan says. “In a town our size, that is significant and that moves the needle, and helps us to live our value of inclusivity.”

This is nothing but empty PR rhetoric. When you look at what our elected leaders are actually doing, like begging the state for the power to impose regressive sales taxes and giving 16.5 million to an out-of-state Wisconsin millionaire to help him consolidate his music venue empire, well, the “value of inclusivity” evaporates. The residue left behind is gentrification, income inequality and worsening homelessness.

by William Skink

Political retaliation happens. I know this from personal experience. Thanks to a comment Pete Talbot made late last night (after I don’t know how many bourbons) I was reminded of what I experienced last year at my place of work.

Last November, when the City’s effort to force property owners to pay thousands of dollars for new sidewalks became a PR problem for Council and the Mayor’s office, I wrote and submitted a poem to the Missoulian. I did this as a private citizen, but the retaliation I experienced came from an angry City Council person, and it came while I was working.

Because this Council person is also a board member, her decision to yell and curse at me about my poem, and her subsequent inquiry if I was going to write about this incident on my blog, put my employer in a very difficult position.

You see, there is something called the 1st amendment, and that allows me to express political speech as a private citizen. If I choose to exercise that right, I shouldn’t then face retaliation at work by an elected official who used her position as board member to get access to me and to try and intimidate me.

Her attempt to intimidate me didn’t work, and through a conflict resolution process I received a written apology, which I keep safely locked up with other important documents. I was also asked to sign something stating I wouldn’t discuss this incident. I adamantly refused to sign anything limiting my ability to discuss what happened to me, explaining in a subsequent written statement that I had done nothing wrong and that I had other avenues I would pursue if the conflict resolution process failed.

I’m writing about this now because Pete Talbot is trying to engage in some low-level retaliation against me for writing about Melissa Romano’s political scandal, which emerged when the cover-up of her husband’s drug bust last August finally made the pages of local media. Attacking the messenger is a tactic of last resort, pulled out when nothing else can be used to distract from a scandal.

The Council person who came after me didn’t have to endure a public scandal because I haven’t spoken explicitly about the incident, even as she was running for reelection this year. But nothing prevents me from discussing the incident.

Before the year is over I will receive in the mail copies of my new book of poems, titled MONEY TRUMP MISSOULA. This collection will include the poem that sparked the incident at my workplace, along with my poetic response in a poem titled SIDEWALK POEM PART II: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.

In promotion of my poetry I may want to talk about the reaction a poem I wrote caused. Maybe Aaron Flint would like to have me on his radio show to discuss my creative work and my political advocacy. Sounds like fun.

So, if you’re a political creature out there who doesn’t like transparency and being held accountable for your actions, and you think a little nobody blogger like myself is going to be easily intimidated, think again. My pencil is freshly sharpened and my moleskin journal is at the ready.

Note: this post was mistakenly titled “Political Retribution” when first published.

by William Skink

UPDATE: I was incorrect when I said the Missoulian did not cover this, an article did appear on December 4th.

If Democrats want to win back the OPI office after Melissa Romano lost to the barely literate Republican, Elsie Arntzen, in 2016, then they might want to find a candidate without a drug abusing husband who was arrested for possession of multiple illicit drugs, including meth and LSD, last August.

There are lots of questions raised by the report that Melissa Romano’s husband, Eric Lehman, is facing criminal charges for drug possession. Here is some of that reporting:

The charges against Eric Lehman, who resigned his teaching post at Hawthorne Elementary School as of Nov. 1, said the drugs were found in a bag in his vehicle after a traffic stop and vehicle impoundment in late August in Helena.

Prosecutors told MTN News they’ve been negotiating a plea deal with Lehman, who is expected to plead guilty. An arraignment is scheduled next week in District Court in Helena.

In a statement to MTN News, Romano said Tuesday that it’s been “a very difficult time for our family,” but that Lehman is “taking responsibility for his actions, seeking treatment and making amends.”

The first big question is why the hell was this drug abuser allowed to continue teaching kids after being caught with a smorgosbord of drugs? He was busted in August, but only resigned November 1st? Really? If my kid had this guy as their teacher I would be livid with the school district for keeping him in the classroom.

The second question is how this incident was kept quiet for so long, especially when newspapers are so quick to plaster mugshots of alleged criminals every day on their flimsy corporate pages. Is there some special treatment going on for the husband of a political candidate? The optics aren’t good.

The report I linked to came from KBCK in Bozeman. The Missoulian STILL has not reported on this, though the Missoula Current did, but not at the top of their webpage, where most new news stories appear before dropping down.

What remains of the blogosphere has shown interest because this is a significant story. James Conner has a post up about it, as does Strandberg. Not surprisingly the partisan Montana Post is so far mum on their candidate’s PR problem, probably because they are too busy promoting anti-Russian xenophobia as a cudgel against Gianforte. Pathetic.

Personally, I don’t think Romano has all that much to worry about here. Missoula’s Mayor Engen had a literal intervention due to his alcoholism, and he was able to turn his personal troubles into a successful reelection campaign.

The more troubling part of this story is the seeming cover-up that happened for months to keep it out of the public eye. Poor people charged with crimes don’t seem to have the same consideration given to them that this hubby of a candidate did since his bust in August.

The apparent cover-up could be more problematic for Romano than the actual charges her husband is facing. Regardless, this will now be a very convenient line of attack for her opponents, and will make winning the election next November incredibly difficult.

by William Skink

If you aren’t following the work of Aaron Maté, you should be. His latest piece at The Nation is definitely worth reading. I was interested in this part:

The very fact that Ukrainegate now has Democrats advocating a policy that Obama rejected should be enough to spark consideration of whether briefly not arming Ukraine is really the issue on which to pin removing a president from office. Moving toward impeachment over Ukraine policy also has potential electoral consequences: In 2016, voters rejected the neoconservative worldview that national security bureaucrats like Taylor, Vindman, and Morrison now espouse. Trump, after all, campaigned on improving ties with Russia and falsely presented himself as an opponent of the hawkish legacy that these star impeachment witnesses embody. On this note, the fact that John Bolton may become the Democrats’ next star witness might also hasten some reflection.

The Cold War mindset that liberals have embraced threatens not just their own political fortunes but also global peace. Lost in the outrage over Trump’s potential—and ultimately unrealized—interruption of US military assistance to Ukraine is that Zelensky, the new Ukrainian president, openly campaigned on ending the war with Russia that this military assistance fuels. Zelensky is now under heavy pressure from Ukraine’s far right to abandon his pledge to make peace with Moscow. It does not bode well for Zelensky’s chances if the official opposition party of his US patron is effectively joining hands with his country’s own right-wing forces to continue the war.

How did establishment Democrats turn into hawkish Neocons without hardly anyone noticing? It boggles the mind. And the prospect of John Bolton becoming the Democrats’ next star witness? WTF?!?

These impeachment hearings continue to go off the rails for Democrats, as evidenced by Pamela Karlan’s snark blowback after she said this:

“Contrary to what President Trump has said, Article 2 [of the Constitution] does not give him the power to do anything he wants,” testified Pamela Karlan, a professor at Stanford Law School. “The Constitution says there can be no titles of nobility, so while the president can name his son Barron, he can’t make him a baron.”

While Democrats are busy trying to impeach a president in order to keep their Cold War against Russia proceeding toward mutually assured destruction, Trump is planning to cut food assistance for hundreds of thousands of Americans:

The Trump administration is set to announce a plan that would cut food stamp benefits for approximately 750,000 people, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday.

The plan, which is scheduled to be announced Wednesday, will make it more difficult for states to gain waivers from a requirement that beneficiaries of food stamps work or are enrolled in a vocational training program, according to Bloomberg, which cited sources familiar with the matter.

If there was any class consciousness left in the Democratic party, Trump’s move to cut food assistance would be met with a vigorous response. Will there be a response? I don’t know. Did Democrats make a big deal about Trump’s tax cuts? Not that I can recall.

And remember, Trump’s tax cut legislation included the establishment of “opportunity zones”, which Missoula’s local officials are promoting as a tool for economic development. For more on that, read my post connecting Engen to Trump and Margaret Thatcher.

No, Democrats gave up class consciousness in preference to identity politics a long time ago. They retreated to the coasts where their elitist donor-base resides because they think fly-over country is full of worthless deplorables who are too ignorant and economically squeezed to be of any value to their political ambitions.

So food stamps will get cut and Democrats will keep self-destructing because they’re more invested in attacking Trump over withholding lethal military aid to a corrupt nation than they are with helping the disenfranchised citizens in their own country.

For an example of the delusional thinking reflected in this sham impeachment, here is a sliver of Pamela Karlan’s testimony:

“America is not just ‘the last best hope,’ as Mr. Jefferies said, but it’s also the shining city on a hill. We can’t be the shining city on a hill and promote democracy around the world if we’re not promoting it here at home.” –Karlan

Yeah, promoting Democracy. Is that what Obama was doing in Ukraine, promoting Democracy? And were Democrats promoting Democracy when they rigged the primary against Bernie Sanders? Were they being supportive of Democracy when they argued in court they have every right TO rig the primary? Yep, that is what DNC lawyers were arguing, and they won. From the link:

“People paid money in reliance on the understanding that the primary elections for the Democratic nominee—nominating process in 2016 were fair and impartial,” Beck said. “And that’s not just a bedrock assumption that we would assume just by virtue of the fact that we live in a democracy, and we assume that our elections are run in a fair and impartial manner. But that’s what the Democratic National Committee’s own charter says. It says it in black and white. And they can’t deny that.” He added, “Not only is it in the charter, but it was stated over and over again in the media by the Democratic National Committee’s employees, including Congresswoman Wassermann Schultz, that they were, in fact, acting in compliance with the charter. And they said it again and again, and we’ve cited several instances of that in the case.”

Later in the hearing, attorneys representing the DNC claim that the Democratic National Committee would be well within their rights to “go into back rooms like they used to and smoke cigars and pick the candidate that way.” By pushing the argument throughout the proceedings of this class action lawsuit, the Democratic National Committee is telling voters in a court of law that they see no enforceable obligation in having to run a fair and impartial primary election.

There’s your Democracy-loving Democrats, America.

by William Skink

Last Saturday a fire broke out at the homeless camps under and around the Reserve Street bridge. The responding fire fighters had to close down Reserve Street bridge for an entire hour as they tried to put out the fire. This incident was only reported by NBC news. Nothing in the Missoulian or Missoula Current. Here’s more from the NBC:

Missoula Fire Department Battalion Chief Troy Ault says several similar incidents happen in the area year-round, and it can be a challenge for their crews.

Ault says there aren’t any fire hydrants in the area. On Saturday, crews had to pump water from two of their trucks to put out the flames.

He also says the area technically isn’t in their jurisdiction, but they still have to respond to the call.

Parts of the land are owned by the city, and others are owned by the state.

The Missoula Police Department said Saturday’s fire was an illegal burn. However, fire officials say the people who started it do not face any repercussions.

How do you like that last part? Start an illegal fire and face no repercussions. Nice.

At what point will things get bad enough out there that Mayor Engen’s do-nothing policy is forced to change? If you didn’t catch Engen explaining his do-nothing policy, here’s the money quote from a NBC piece back in October:

“We hope to have enough resources that folks who want to be housed can be housed. In cases where somebody’s not causing trouble — we don’t have violence, we don’t have crime — until there becomes a really pressing community public necessity for that person to move on, it’s probably going to be where they are going to be,” said Engen.

When Engen claims “we don’t have crime” at the camps he’s either speaking from ignorance or lying. Shopping carts are regularly being stolen from stores, trash is piling up, and now an illegal fire breaks out, requiring our tax-funded fire fighters to go beyond their jurisdictional constraints to spend an hour taming the flames.

I guess all these minor infractions don’t rise to the level of concern for our Mayor. Engen must be waiting for someone to get raped or murdered, then what will happen?

I know what could happen because I coordinated clean-ups in this area for years. The first clean-up was a paid effort by the Montana Department of Transportation, and cost around $18,000 to accomplish. After that I worked with the Health Department and the Clark Fork Coalition to remove tons of trash year after year.

Here’s a Missoulian article from 2016 describing the work being done at the time:

Travis Ross, an environmental health specialist with the Water Quality District, said there were 26 active camps when the state first came in to clean the area in 2011, an effort that cost $18,000.

“At that time it hadn’t been cleaned for a long, long time, maybe ever,” he said. “After that, we formed a coalition to take care of this as a community. We don’t want to see it get to that point anymore. This is public land. It’s a beautiful riparian area, habitat, and we want to keep it that way as much as possible.”

The first year, volunteers collected more than eight tons of garbage. In subsequent year, it dropped to about five, and then last year volunteers collected about 3.2 tons. This year may be even lower.

“So the volume is going down every year pretty steadily,” Ross said.

To effectively manage this area, regular clean-ups need to happen, at least two a year. That’s what I was doing, and it was working. After a clean-up, people would return almost immediately to the area, but at least they weren’t being allowed to build semi-permanent structures. I thought that was a good thing, but maybe I was just being a heartless asshole to these residents. Much better to just let them be, consuming whatever drugs are available and living amongst trash. And when they commit misdemeanor crimes? Just do nothing, because enforcing laws is really mean to those who have so little.

Since a culture of lawlessness and disregard for the surrounding natural environment is being fostered by Mayor Engen’s do-nothing policy, something more serious WILL happen out there eventually, it’s just a matter of time. When that happens the effort that will be required to clean this area will be immense, since years of doing nothing is returning this area back to the deplorable state it was in before I coordinated clean-up efforts.

Sad.