Month: August 2023

by Travis Mateer

What you are looking at is A NATURAL PLACE FOR MUSIC ON THE BANKS OF THE LEGENDARY BLACKFOOT RIVER! Why am I yelling this? Maybe a more professionally produced image will clarify why VOLUME will be an important concept for today’s article.

I have a lot of ground to cover, so let’s get straight to my theory on the nature of Nick Checota’s freshly-announced deal with Live Nation Entertainment.

I suspect the bigger player with musical acts on tight, exclusive performance contracts (Live Nation) heard some kind of GROOVY pitch from Nick that went something like this (and this is entirely speculative) “Hey guys, I’ll audition Logjam for your portfolio if you give me premium Cannabis placement at shows and venues in states where it’s legal.”

Is this scenario plausible? I think so. And imagine the opportunity that would exist if the Federal Government finally took Cannabis (and its plethora of products) off the schedule I list. Having a relationship with an international concert promotion company could be VERY lucrative for an ambitious Cannabis entrepreneur.

Concerts can’t be lucrative, though, if people are overdosing and fighting from over-indulging in drugs and alcohol, so this is where a thing called SECURITY comes into play.

In Zoom Town proper (downtown Missoula), private security is being tasked with an increasing role in protecting municipal infrastructure, county infrastructure, private businesses, and the people who move through these spaces.

Some of the people who move through these spaces are frequently on drugs, like meth, and that results in them having not-good interactions with anyone they come across. I’ve been running into one of these people recently, and trying to ascertain what he might be actually experiencing is quite difficult.

What this individual is telling me, and WHO he claims is allegedly feeding him information, is so troubling that I called the private security company allegedly having these interactions with him. I can’t imagine a security company would be telling an active meth user bad things about a guy who runs a competing private security company, but I wanted to make sure someone got a heads up about what this drug user was saying on the streets.

As I scanned the guy’s Facebook page, I found a really sad example of the mental health issues he’s dealing with, which just highlights how careful professionals need to be when interacting with someone like him.

13 years ago another unstable person had some interactions with the PUBLIC security we call police. It didn’t end well. From the link (emphasis mine):

The family of a Montana man who killed himself earlier this summer say they believe he was driven over the edge by authorities who recruited him as a drug informant.

Family members told the Missoulian that 21-year-old Colton Peterson was given a deadline by the Missoula Police Department to hand over other marijuana growers’ names. Peterson shot himself on July 27, less than two hours before the deadline expired.

Frank Peterson, the father, and his mother, Juliena Darling, say the family tried to explain to police their son was nearing the mental tipping point and shouldn’t be pressured into snitching on other drug dealers.

“The bottom line is that the police are not trained to know if someone is suicidal,” Darling said. “They should have called me in to talk with Colton when they had him. They should have called a mental health professional. But they didn’t because they wanted information, and I don’t think he had any.”

After my kangaroo court appearance on Thursday, I took a walk and ended up talking to someone who claimed to be at the bonfire the night Joey Thompson was, according to her, murdered. Here’s the story I was told.

Joey was allegedly in a vehicle with Dylan Seat and Kasen Konop for a beer run, but Joey wouldn’t pony up money, since he was already drunk, so Kasen punched him, a knife was pulled, Joey got stabbed, and then they left Joey behind. The woman telling me this said Dylan and Kasen returned to the bonfire, then left shortly afterward. Not long after that people heard several gun shots.

I was then told that people returned to the area the next day, wrapped Joey’s body in a rug, then took him to Superior, Montana, where he was dumped in the river.

This is the second person who has told me a gun was involved in the death of Joey Thompson, but so far law enforcement has said there’s NO FOUL PLAY suspected in this case. Really?

I wonder, have they even talked to this kid?

The lack of professional investigations in suspicious deaths like Joey Thompson and Rebekah Barsotti (and so many more) have all kinds of consequences that can’t be easily quantified. For example, in May, the Rolling Stone highlighted how a P.I. has been exploiting tragedy for his own gain, the same P.I. who I spoke with last year, as did the woman who is now trying to use the courts for her own vindictive purposes against me.

Yes, those in the middle of dealing with tragic deaths must ALSO be on guard for the kind of people who come out of the woodwork to “help”, like the person who deeply entangled me in the Barsotti case, and is now “helping” the mother of Joey Thompson.

While desperate families look for help anywhere they can find it, I’m looking for the financial help of individual donations to continue my local coverage of local issues. Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF) is one way to support me, and making a donation at my about page is another. I haven’t seen a donation come in for awhile, so help me break $2,000 today!

If you need the money for drugs to keep you from losing your shit, like a nice Sativa strain from a local dispensary NOT called Groove, I totally understand. But if you have some spare loot, I’m looking at least a $2,500 dollar retainer to defend myself against a very troubled person.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for the Week in Review on Sunday!

by Travis Mateer

Don’t misinterpret the title of this post, I’m not planning some dramatic departure from my hyper-local calling to report on the happenings of Zoom Town, but I do have some new-found sympathy for what researcher, Whitney Webb, has experienced as the result of getting personally involved with someone she shouldn’t have.

Here’s an example of how Whitney Webb went public with some of the struggles she had been dealing with in private in order to get some agency back from a person trying to undermine her entire being, both personal and professional:

The man Webb got involved with has played, and IS PLAYING, awful games with her behind the scenes, doing things to find leverage for control, even using her own kid. People who lack things in their own lives can be very good at working their way into someone else’s, I’ve discovered.

It’s cool because really this is an opportunity for me to learn more about my own trauma and dysfunctional patterns, like why I tend to gravitate toward people who need serious help, help that they aren’t getting in the usual places, like church or conventional counseling. Thankfully, unlike some people, I haven’t repeated my pattern over and over again, so my goal is to keep two mistakes from becoming three.

Now that I’ve had the lowest moments of my life weaponized against me by someone who knows the court system (and the judge, apparently, who refused to recuse himself), here are some thoughts on the red flags I ignored so YOU, who ever comes next (and who might be dumb enough to try and expose corruption in your own backyard) don’t have to.

I’ll be using bullet points, as they seem to be very effective for a cold, calculated type of communication method. Here it goes!

• People who isolate you from others are not healthy people, and should be avoided.
• Traumatic experiences can provide short-term bonding opportunities, but these experiences will NOT create a strong foundation to build a healthy relationship on.
• Be weary of people who form addictive relationships to trauma and crisis, like that female character in Fight Club.
• Anything you say to someone with a legal background WILL be used against you in a court of law.
• If they’re willing to act outside the law by secretly recording someone, then playing you that recording, then that extra-judicial behavior could be turned on YOU if you’re not careful.
• Anyone who claims to have information that could impact your safety, but then refuses to tell you what that information is, has ulterior motives and is NOT acting in good faith.

After what I had to deal with today, I’m now anticipating civil claims coming about “creative license” over my podcast. If all of that sounds expensive, maybe that’s the point, but I plan on defending myself regardless of cost.

There is information I now have to think differently about regarding a certain case, the supposed risks I was experiencing last year, and the timing of when a damsel in distress switched from one suitor to a sad bastard (me) who was in the middle of his 25 year relationship with the mother of his kids falling apart.

While I think about all that, I have some VERY interesting updates and theories on a couple of subjects I’ve been covering that you won’t want to miss for tomorrow, so stay tuned. I don’t plan on covering THIS part of my Gonzo-styled journalistic endeavor anymore than I feel I have to.

For those who know the cost of what I’ve been dealing with, thank you. It’s kept me from being swallowed by the dark.

Onward!

by Travis Mateer

Why not sell out to the sharks? Society is going to shit, so if you have a Montana gem, I guess now is the time to sell it, right?

Chico Hot Springs Resort has been sold for $33 million to a Maryland-based real estate investment trust, the company announced Thursday.

DiamondRock Hospitality Company purchased the 117-room Paradise Valley resort north of Yellowstone National Park and an adjacent ranch that sits on 595 acres. DiamondRock is described in the press release as a “self-advised” REIT. The company owns 36 hotels and resorts.

Chico had been owned by Colin Davis.

Congratulations, DiamondRock Hospitality Company! Maybe you can talk to Nick Checota’s new daddy, Live Nation, about throwing a BIG fucking concert to celebrate!

And who will be the artists to help the sharks celebrate? Here’s a better question: why bother with messy humans at all anymore when you can just conjure digital slaves to perform like mindless pixel-monkeys?

I ran into one of my favorite professors the other day, the poet Joanna Klink. She was just visiting, and not very pleased with the changing landscape of Missoula. I couldn’t agree more.

Here are a few lines from one of her books of poetry:

The other night I greeted some people on the street and the possibilities that slammed through me were far from dark, but it’s hard to keep the light burning, especially when some people seem so dedicated to see my light put out.

I’ll end this short/sad post with my own poem, but before I do, please consider supporting Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF), or hitting up the donation button at my about page. If a judge doesn’t see what’s going on later today, I’ll be facing some unexpected legal costs.

goodbye Chico Hot Springs
goodbye Holland Lake
I can't afford this buying war
and the time is getting late

goodbye undiscovered heart
goodbye quiet walks
to understand was not the plan
no key fits the lock

goodbye slant street memories
goodbye silly dreams
here's my brilliant takeaway:
nothing as it seems

goodbye old paralysis
goodbye dumb excuse
binding to these creatures 
will only leave you bruised 

by Travis Mateer

How shall our elected leaders keep the decorum muzzle on public animals like me, who persist in howling at their full moon faces while they blink in silent annoyance at the noise?

Would you believe me if I told you the new meat shields being deployed as the rationale for tightly enforcing decorum rules are fucking CUB SCOUTS? I shit you not, people, and with my potty mouth declare THIS IS BULLSHIT!

Maybe I can find a hint of what’s transpiring inside this old cub scout book, pictured above.

The conversation around the proposed amendment to rule 4 on Wednesday morning was no LARPing pantomime. As Councilperson, Gwen Jones, slyly referenced, a member of the public faced FELONY charges not that long ago for his use of the public’s right to comment on elected officials use of PUBLIC MONEY.

After this special, early-morning session of the Budget and Finance Committee, I tried engaging the panhandling first-responders who filed in and took their seat in the back of chambers behind me, but they mostly had their collective game-face on. I guess the indignity of panhandling local officials for MORE money, because the general fund has a giant TIF-created hole in it, takes a lot of energy and concentration.

The Public Safety, Health and Operations Committee got started at 9am, and I ALSO had my game-face on as I waited for our Mayor to turn on my microphone. Listen all the way to the end so you can hear my laugh at the direction from Gwen Jones for the public to call 911 if they see crimes being committed. Because that shit is HILARIOUS!

https://vimeo.com/850980759?share=copy

After making my public comment, I went to see how my windows are coming along at the Mexican restaurant that needed $50,000 in TIF money in order to look fucking awesome. What do you think, Missoula?

I stopped at another business, since I’ll be hopefully needing their services soon, and did my public education spiel about TIF and the drug crisis pretending to be a homeless crisis. Then I moved along to see how my bank project for First Security Bank is coming along, since even BANKS need our public money in order to build-out their bricks-and-mortar banking infrastructure.

One of the points I made in BOTH public comments (you can find public meeting info here) is that our treatment options for addiction services are CRAP across the entire state of Montana, so maybe those crap-options should be assessed before putting another mill (this is a term used for a fiscal bandaid that allows local money-addicts to increase their supply beyond state-imposed caps) on the taxpayers over-burdened backs.

I mentioned specifically the transformation of Recovery Center Missoula into a group-home type model, and how that change, if true, will reduce in-patient options for addicts. Does anyone care? I sure fucking hope so.

I’m glad Cub Scouts were brought into this conversation because it’s good to be reminded that there are people who lack life experiences and therefore need our guidance and protection as they learn about the world they were thrust into.

If you appreciate the public awareness you can glean from my daily posts and Sunday reviews, please consider supporting Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF), or using the donation button at my about page.

Thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

I took this picture on Sunday evening and the billowing stuff in the sky is NOT clouds, but smoke from a fire, something that happens with alarming frequency this time of year in Montana.

For the Week in Review post on Sunday, I showed Zoom Chron readers how the Missoulian does AMAZING reporting about heat being hot, including how those without homes are being negatively impacted.

Well, thanks to Twitter, I see we have MORE amazing reporting from the Missoulian about the summer heat. It’s so amazing I don’t even think you need to read the article because just the image and the headline is enough:

Yes, this bear looks very relaxed, but is it as relaxed as the customers of Lavender Body Work?

A tipster told me this innocuous looking business may fit the pattern illicit massaging going on in Zoom Town. What pattern?

Well, first Soul Massage got busted, then the wheel came off my vehicle while I was driving it, which led to my speculation regarding the type of relaxation methods being utilized at BZ Spa (on a side-note, I’m still driving that loner vehicle–thanks Lithia!).

Since that reporting, I must have inspired some citizen curiosity, because the tipster not only got curious about this business open late on a Sunday night, he even went to check out the rates and it’s only $60 bucks for 30 minutes. What a great deal! And, if this review online is accurate, you even get to use the shower afterward!

I’m sure the owner of this commercial business, Liu Wan, does great work. Here is some of the Montana Cadastral info that’s publicly available:

It would be irresponsible of me to make the leap from these data points that some kind of “happy ending” massage business is going on at this location, so if our over-burdened law enforcement would like to check it out, I say GO FOR IT!

If my local reporting makes YOU happy, Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF) is one way to support my work, while making a donation at my about page is another.

Thanks for reading!