Month: June 2023

by Travis Mateer

The crappy white building with the red “Soul Massage” sign is where commercial sex was available until the AMAZING Missoula County Sheriff’s Office busted ’em. Who could have known that more than “souls” were being massaged inside this unassuming structure?

How about the business that shares a dirt road with this dirt-bag-looking dude and his Asian partner who were peddling flesh for Missoula customers?

I took a look online and Hollywood Sheds shares more than a dirt road, this business actually shares an address with “Soul Massage”. Isn’t that interesting?

I reached out to Hollywood Sheds to, first, confirm they are open and, second, try and get in touch with the landlord. Was I successful?

As you can see from the the email, no, I was not. Darn.

My point is when it comes to sex crimes, the stuff that makes a headline or two rarely gets any substantive follow-up from local media. Take, for example, the case of J.D. Partain.

I don’t have to say IF the accusations are true in this case because J.D. Partain openly admitted to his premeditated plan to record his adopted daughter undressing in her room. Here’s the quote (with my emphasis) from my article, which I posted all the way back in December of last year:

I know there is interest in this case because I can see that my article keeps getting clusters of views over the past six months as the JOKE of our criminal justice system allows Partain’s lawyer to keep kicking the legal can down the road. Imagine being the adopted daughter who was violated by this sick fuck as the weeks turn to months? Disgusting.

It’s too bad J.D. Partain doesn’t understand there are legal ways to get his rocks off, but perhaps the illegality of his actions is part of the allure. This is NOT uncommon among repressed Christians. Maybe the solution is to immerse Christian culture in PRIDE month! I’m sure my INCLUSIVE former landlord, the ZACC, would by happy to oblige.

Here’s the ZACC using negative attention by “the trolls” to sell their drag show. What fantastic marketing!

I picked up my middle kid the other evening at his Middle School dance. On the way home he told me some of the things that he DID NOT like, and he listed Zoophiles, Pedophiles and Furries in that order. What would LIBERAL culture warriors recommend in this situation? Should I sit him down and force him to watch bestiality porn?

Did I imagine I’d be having this kind of conversation with my 12 year old when I first became a father 14 years ago? No, but this is the world we live in, and I won’t shy away from equipping my kids with information about what kind of agenda is targeting them.

If you appreciate my uncompromising approach to covering local issues, Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF) is one way to support my work, while making a donation at my about page is another.

Thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

Children believe the most incredulous fables, like how back in the day some guys who didn’t like taxes and fealty to a remote crown engaged in an uprising that freed the new world for a journey toward a democratic utopia.

Sorry to burst your bubble, kids, but the price-makers and interest-takers are masters at morphing their disguises, so here we are again, wondering how the esoteric tax bill is going to bend us over and fuck us after the last round of reappraisals hit two years ago.

Before getting to the local taxing situation, which is guaranteed to make your blood boil, I suggest listening to a FASCINATING episode of Deep Dives with Monica Perez. This conversation about the coronation of King Charles with “Parallel Mike” is incredibly interesting, and helps to validate my own interest in the Monarchy we Americans like to think we broke away from those many years ago.

The most galling aspect of that conversation, at least for me, is how the vast land holdings of the crown have been maintained in perpetuity over the centuries. It’s not even possible to put a value on all this land because, until somewhat recently, aristocratic land ownership wasn’t even registered, and even now that register is voluntary.

To get an idea of what I’m talking about, this Guardian article is a good place to start. From the link:

Half of England is owned by less than 1% of its population, according to new data shared with the Guardian that seeks to penetrate the secrecy that has traditionally surrounded land ownership.

The findings, described as “astonishingly unequal”, suggest that about 25,000 landowners – typically members of the aristocracy and corporations – have control of half of the country.

The figures show that if the land were distributed evenly across England’s population, each person would have just over half an acre – an area roughly half the size of Parliament Square in central London.

Ok, now that you’ve been properly primed by our royal forbearers, let’s take a look at the gentle way Missoula’s Clerk and Recorder, Tyler Gernant, is preparing homeowners for the shock of what’s coming later this month. From the link:

“This year you’ll be getting a reappraisal notice that we’ll go out at the end of this month,” began Gernant. “On that reappraisal notice, you’ll see two very important numbers. One of those numbers is probably pretty exciting and the other one may not be as exciting. The first number is your market value that’s going to be listed. The other number is your estimated taxes and your estimated taxes are based off of last year’s mills levied by all local government taxing jurisdictions, and that number will probably be pretty scary this year. There’s a very specific reason for that because residential market values in Missoula County have gone up by an average of 37 percent over the last two years.”

For new readers, or anyone outside Montana who stumbles across my humble blog, the ZOOM part of Zoom Chron is a reference to Missoula’s status as a Zoom Town. And what is a Zoom Town? I’ll let a mortgage website define it for me:

Before getting to another quote from the Don’t Panic! article on tax-ageddon, I’d like to share WHY property values are reappraised every TWO years now, instead of every six years, and that’s because of the housing crash of 2008 and the timing of HIGH values that stayed on the books for YEARS, despite the crash in value that reckless fiscal policy produced. So now, every two years, you get the reappraisal letter in the mail, and this year it’s going to be PAINFUL.

But DON’T PANIC, they say, as one of our most fiscally UNsound County Commissioners tries to lighten the burden with his fun little caveat (emphasis mine):

WTF is this bullshit? An elected cry-baby who nearly ALWAYS deflects criticism by scapegoating the State is now using the State cap-requirement as some sort of positive caveat to the pain coming for local property owners and the renters they will be passing the pain along to?

If I had any extra money to play around with, I’d be looking for companies selling pitchforks and kerosene to invest in.

One suggestion for our Clerk and Recorder as he prepares for a HOT summer at the County Courthouse, I’m not sure the proverb told to the KGVO audience (and Pachyderms) is going to be well-received by many people, so perhaps find something other than saying this (emphasis mine):

Gernant related a story about how to take the property tax increases in stride, in which a man and his son were looking at the father’s property tax bill.

“As he sat at his kitchen table with his dad who was looking at the property tax bill, and writing out the check for the payment and he looked at the bill and being a kid, said ‘Holy cow, that’s a lot of money! Why do we have to pay that much?’ And his dad responded with something that clearly stuck with him his whole life and has stuck with me as well, which is, ‘Son, we live in the greatest country club in the world, and I’m proud to pay my dues’.”

On that note, if there’s anything left after the tax man cometh, Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF) will happily receive your support, or you can make a donation at my about page. Unlike your tax bill, money directed my direction is VOLUNTARY and based solely on the relationship between the value you find in my coverage, and what you can afford.

Thank you for the support!

by Travis Mateer

When it comes to influence, it’s important to NOT underestimate people, even if they have “little fingers”. I think Martin “Gomer” Kidston understands this, considering his terrible reporting keeps my ten little fingers busy archiving what’s REALLY going on in Zoom Town.

The toy figure pictured above (which I will transform into art) was purchased earlier today at Secret Seconds, a great store that helps fund services for YWCA families. Or at least they used to, before customers got scared away by the location next to the Poverello Center and the sprawling encampment that ANYONE now sees as they come to downtown from the west.

Here’s an image from some footage I took on May 26th. It’s much worse now.

While this conversation about urban camping rages on, and a critical lack of funding is constantly being referenced by elected leaders, the Missoula Current piece that boggled my brain for this bonus post today is about the change-a-roo of plans to renovate a shitty motel just a couple hundred feet from the tent city that has ballooned at this location after Russell Street was cleaned up.

Some of the fun of this article includes the fact our CITY Council member, Heidi West, is ALSO a County Planner. I don’t think I knew that before today, so thanks Gomer!

From the link (emphasis mine):

An old West Broadway motel once eyed for renovation to provide transitional housing for homeless veterans in Missoula will be removed and replaced with a new facility, county officials said this week.

The Poverello Center in 2021 purchased the Clark Fork Inn using $1 million provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The city and county of Missoula each contributed $835,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding as well to help the Poverello secure the property and cover renovations.

But while the original plan envisioned rehabilitation, the project’s architect determined that new construction was the better and more cost-effective solution.

Did you know that EXPANDING projects makes them more “cost-effective”? I’m sure somehow this claim is technically accurate, but that doesn’t make some of the stuff that comes next any less galling, even IF we are talking about serving Veterans (emphasis mine):

“It was deemed more economical to take down the L-shaped building and construct 16 new units that would also better accommodate residents,” said county planner Heidi West. “That will allow room for a community kitchen, laundry and other shared facilities.”

The change in plans adds an estimated $2 million to the project’s initial $4.7 million cost. But the county in 2022 applied for and was awarded a $600,000 Community Development Block Grant, which will help cover the remainder when local ARPA contributions are included, West said.

I know my University degree is in English, but these numbers don’t really seem to be economical at all. Is there anything else in the article that might disabuse me of skepticism? Not that I can find. What I DO find is this final claim to be a little disingenuous, considering the location we’re talking about (emphasis mine):

“This will help eliminate the stressors for veterans who may need mental health support or who suffer from traumatic stress,” city grants administrator Tracy Pohndorf told the Missoula Current last year. “The move elevates the Poverello’s ability to help veterans thrive and heal as they transition from homelessness to stable housing.”

This MIGHT be accurate if the entire area around the Poverello Center wasn’t a lawless dystopia causing businesses to flee amid customer fear and staffing problems as a DIRECT result of what’s happening in this part of Zoom Town.

Due to recent stabbings (plural), Secret Seconds has had to go on lock down several times. My understanding is the STRESS of this location has caused one team member to recently quit. While things were far from perfect in years past, what’s currently happening is on a level never before seen or experienced, which is why our City Council is in such major damage control mode.

Not far from Secret Seconds, I stopped by Lion’s Park to see how things are going next to the Youth Homes facility that houses vulnerable youth. Not surprising, it’s not good.

If a Veteran at this new, upcoming facility for the Pov’s Veteran program wants to have some reflective moments at the park, or along the river trail, I’m not sure this will be a conducive environment for that kind of use if Missoula’s priorities continues to be WE CAN HAVE IT ALL AND DON’T TELL US OTHERWISE!

On the HAVE IT ALL front, there’s that new group exploring redevelopment of the ill-fated Fox Theatre Site, and the “due diligence” involved in buying a recreational mountain–a recreational mountain for the homeless? Maybe, so stay tuned, and consider supporting Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF), or making a donation at my about page.

Tomorrow’s post about the looming tax bill is already scheduled, and with all the worry about the average 37% increase in taxable property value this round of reappraising is about to drop on beleaguered tax payers, I understand if you wait before making that donation to see if tent housing in Zoom Town might not be the best option for YOU.

Thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

Maybe it’s just me, but I REALLY don’t like the secular preachers of community organizing, mostly because I regret my time as a progressive thinking ideas like harm reduction and housing first were worthy of BIG GOVERNMENT support.

Before getting to the Missoulian article that inspired this post, allow me to quote myself from a 2022 post where I describe some of my thoughts on Hyper-Localism:

A few months ago I started thinking of my focus with this blog as hyper-localism because, despite being a big picture thinker, I realized that larger scale forms of organization are more vulnerable to infiltration and co-optation. I also think it’s where one can have more impact.

My disgust for national politics is something young progressives would probably like to fix, since they’re saving the world from climate change and all, so let’s take a look at who this host organization is and what they’re up to. From the Missoulian link (emphasis mine):

Kris Marion was tearful and her earrings jiggled as the Wisconsin agriculture organizer discussed the impact of the Small Town Summit Monday afternoon in Missoula.

The event, hosted by the United Today, Stronger Tomorrow conglomerate of organizations, brought together more than 250 small-town activists over three days in downtown Missoula. With a focus on progressive policy issues in rural locales, the summit offered workshops like: “Getting Men Out of the ‘Problematic’ Pipeline” and “Attacks on Queer People in Our Turf.”

The summit was the first UTST organized, and the leaders selected Missoula for its regional accessibility in the Mountain West. The idea was to guide organizers forward in their work and shift narratives around small, rural places.

Sorry, UTST, I don’t need nationally-trained twerps coming to this town to shift my narrative. But I’m sure the director of this project, Paul Getsos, enjoys winding up organizers and setting them loose to find those poor people who need trained organizers to help them talk well…and then vote Democrat?

One of the things organizations like this can do that’s important is pay people money. Since I’m not immune to the need for money, I’ve been close a few times to doing work like this. I even interviewed for a position at the North Missoula Community Development Corporation.

If this dude and his org are adamant about moving into Montana, I could potentially help them identify some meaningful work to do on the streets. May I suggest a workshop on how to process emotions without stabbing your homeless brethren? Because this is getting ridiculous.

From the link:

The officer asked Doe to describe how the incident started. Doe stated that earlier, near the alleyway on the east side of Hawthorne to the north of Cedar Street, he was speaking with a friend when he was approached by the suspect who engaged him in a hostile verbal conflict. The suspect male made the comment that Doe was the “next to get the knife” or something similar.

The male briefly separated away, but then looped back at which point he pulled out a knife from around his back and began charging at Doe telling him that he was going to kill him. Doe fled on foot to the north falling to the ground in the trees and bushes near the sidewalk just north of the intersection.  

Doe described the suspect as swinging the knife at him in a clear attempt to stab him with it and vocalizing that he was going to kill him. Doe stated that he was on his back kicking at the male to fight him off. The male eventually stopped trying to stab Doe and proceeded to flee east on Pine Street.

How does UTST define the problems facing the “intermountain west”? Here’s a screenshot of their VISION (emphasis mine):

I wonder, are homeless encampments along a river an issue that could be seen as related to clean water? And, if so, would a UTST organizer have been in SUPPORT of Monday’s emergency actions, or against it?

I have come to believe that having political ambitions beyond one’s local community is antithetical to actually helping that local community, and this applies to BOTH political parties in Montana. To exemplify what I’m talking about, let’s take a look at two Attorney Generals.

Did Steve Bullock, when he was Attorney General, abdicate his duty to provide oversight of Lake County in order to get his shot at being Governor? It’s hard to read this old Indy article (PDF) about the Coyote Club and NOT come to that conclusion. Here’s a relevant portion from the article:

This article provides important historical context as ANOTHER Attorney General considers how to sideline justice for families dealing with incompetent or complicit Sheriff Office investigations in order to possibly take a shot at a higher political office.

I hope THIS Attorney General, pictured above, understands there are things I am HOLDING BACK on writing because I’m hoping the state of Montana is taking some cases more seriously than it appears they are. I hope I’m wrong, but people like Andy Yedinak aren’t giving me much to be hopeful for.

I’ll leave it there, for now. If you appreciate my coverage of LOCAL issues, Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF) is one way to support me. You can also provide a donation at my about page.

Thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

Is being homeless in a public park now illegal? What about watching sunrises in a park? Maybe we need a system reboot, like one council person suggested. Or maybe we should fund homes, not sweeps.

But what about the kids in summer camp programs? And the young woman working at Secret Seconds who regularly picks up poop and vomit? And the mom with the kid who knows what to do when she finds syringes?

I know, tell them the answer is simple: the ONLY answer to “houselessness” is housing. I agree, and am in total support of JAIL housing and NURSING HOME housing and LOONY BIN housing while we tear down every institution and rebuild this entire clusterfuck of a nation from scratch.

Sound like a plan?

Near the end of the six hour meeting I found out there WAS a plan to address all this, but guess what? According to Mayor Hess, “Our long term plan failed at the ballot box last year…”

https://vimeo.com/833562708?share=copy

While a totally ineffective labor personality (I wouldn’t call him a leader) tried to help the naysayers of this 90 day measure by depicting the removal of the Russell Street encampment in the most dire terms he could muster, it’s hard to say how many people actually support this emergency measure compared to how many oppose it because, frankly, it’s hard to say how many conversations we are even having.

One guy (who I couldn’t understand at all) wanted to make a SECOND comment, but was told no by our Mayor, so the man finally left after flipping Mayor Hess the bird. Was that before or after the commenter who got feint from a medical condition?

You gotta love us, the public, for doing our part sending the civic choo-choo train off the rails. Mayor Hess must have sensed the public’s desire to comment would be prolific, so there was almost NO time restraint imposed. Did I exploit this latitude graciously provided by our Mayor? No, I kept my shit tight, and as focused as possible.

One of the things I appreciated about our Mayor’s attempt at candor last night was the admission that the Authorized Camping Site (ACS) was a failed experiment where stuff like human trafficking had been occurring. In one of my comments (I made three) I conveyed this appreciation, since I had just been talking with someone about local homeless services and human trafficking earlier in the day.

At the end of the night everything passed with ease, and if it wasn’t 1:30am I might try to anticipate what this will mean in the weeks and months to come, but Heidi West asked too many questions, and thanks to the lengthy conversation about when the sun makes the outside bright enough to be considered DAY, I just don’t have anything left in the tank.

When I regain my cognitive abilities I’ll check local media and see what THEY made of the urban camping conversation. I’m sure it will be as helpful as Jim Nugent’s guidance “from above”, whatever that means.

If you appreciate my ability to sit through 6 hours of City Council without stabbing myself in the leg with my pen, Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF) is waiting for your support, or you can make a donation at my about page.

Thanks for reading!