Volume
1: Issue 4
July 28, 2005
July 28, 2005
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Volume
1: Issue 4
July 28, 2005 |
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 News shorts or briefs (which do you prefer?) |
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| Livingston to be the site of new TV series There's more to life than sex in the city, desperate housewives, home shopping, and learning how to weld underwater. Or so the launching of a new weekly comedy series about Livingston would say. "Western Exposure" takes a familiar formula ---the quirky and oddball ways of a small rural town--- and marries it to reality TV. Although the show is fictional, real Livingston citizens will play themselves in a weekly series that shines a comedic light on the humanity and insanity of life in a town with no commercial airport, no Starbucks, no lox, too few cotton sheets, no mangos, and no New York Times on Sundays.  Publicity
still from a new Livingston television show.
This is not the first time that Livingston
has been center stage in television and films. In the early nineties
"The Dung and The Restless," America's first and last ranching
soap opera was filmed in Park County and downtown Livingston. The show
was canceled after 3 episodes, but lived long enough in syndication
to become part of the lore that put Livingston on the map as a
cinematic center.
Auditions were held at the Lincoln School
auditorium last April. Final
cast member names are closely guarded by the show's producers.
Major victory for teen rights At its July 18 meeting, the City Commission struck a major blow for the rights of Livingston's oppressed teen minority. The Commission voted unanimously to turn off the volume on a proposed ordinance that would have extended the current regulations against amplified sound from vehicles. The current ban runs from 10 PM to 7 AM. Ordinance Number 1956 would have extended the ban on "amplified sound which can be heard at a distance of 50 feet from the vehicle causing the sound. . .to twenty four hours a day." Public comment and Commissioners' remarks in the weeks before the veto indicated heightened sensitivity to the needs of teens to roam around in vehicles with the volume amplified for the better part of the day and evening. This landmark decision will spare teens from the onerous restrictions of a society of adults bent on destroying a primary source of teen culture in our region. It will also free them from the unreasonable expectation that civil behavior, reading books, attending movies, tubing on the Yellowstone River, being creative, helping out around the house, tidying up their rooms, solving complex quadratic equations, and learning a new language are just as good as roaming around in vehicles with the volume amplified. Victorious teens celebrated this latest advance in their civil rights by cancelling their hearing tests, posting graffiti on underpasses, skateboarding in the Pamida parking lot during business hours, and roaming around in vehicles with the volume amplified. |
Livingston
demographics
According to the United States census of 2000, there are 6,851 people, 3,084 households, and 1,751 families residing in the city of Livingston. The racial makeup of the city is 96.39% White, 0.31% African American, 0.98% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.60% from other races, and 1.23% from two or more races. 2.16% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. Although aliens (see Volume 1: Issue 3) are not yet listed on the census form, estimates vary between 87 to 123 interplanetary residents. Recent emigrants to Livingston from Bozeman tend to be younger than the median age for Livingston, which is 40, but many retirees are flocking to the area and tilting the balance toward an aging population. Estimates put the median age of Livingstonians at 59 within the next decade. The pressures of an aging population are already being felt around town in longer waits to be seated at Martin's Cafe and an increased demand for pancake suppers. Both Pamida and the Emprire Theater have plans to raise the age for senior discounts to 78. Meanwhile Livingston continues its effort to recruit Pacific Islanders to the area. Aliens hold meeting The Livingston
Enterprise reported recently
that at least one group of aliens has held a meeting. Although the
agenda of the meeting was undisclosed, and much of the content could
not be understood, the event was notable for its insight into the
behavior of these newest of the newcomers. Like many other creatures
coming to Livingston for refuge from the hustle and bustle of more
populous areas, those present displayed an alarming level of lethargy
about working and attending meetings (photo
below).
 In
spite of many alien visitations to Livingston, these newcomers do not
seem to speak any English. Judging from the report in The Enterprise, it appears that
they have picked up a few words such as trash, donut, 49, boom car, and
"the hatch is on."
[For more on the rise of alien visitations to Livingston see Volume 1: Issue 3.] |
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