Livingston’s 9th Street Bridge endangered
June 20, 2008 | Filed Under Breaking News, Seriously/Real Stuff, Around town | 1 Comment
On Thursday the rapid and rising Yellowstone River undermined a pier on the 9th Street Bridge causing it to sag. Island residents were evacuated on foot, wearing helmets and life vests and escorted by emergency crew. Some of the folks who chose to stay on the island were evacuated by helicopter today. It is estimated that about 10 people remain on the island as well as numerous pets and some horses. The bridge continues to drop and the Montana Department of Transportation believes that it will collapse. Search and Rescue boats and Bailey Bridge components were brought in. Flood advisory, hydrology report, and news links follow the slide show.
Today’s pictures:
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) advisories.
Hydrology report/graph for the Yellowstone River near Livingston.
News stories:
- “Livingston bridge expected to collapse” Updated: June 20, 2008 05:28 PM. Reporting from KBZK in Bozeman. “A Livingston bridge that is over 50 years old is on the brink of collapsing. We’re told the 9th Street bridge has dropped 7 inches since this morning.”
- “Livingston bridge closed for fear of collapse” June 19, 2008: “LIVINGSTON, Mont. (AP) - A one-lane bridge that crosses the Yellowstone River here was on the brink of collapse Thursday after being pounded by rising, fast-moving water for weeks, authorities said. Park County officials closed the Ninth Street bridge at about 4:30 p.m. after it began to sag noticeably.”
- Sagging Montana bridge prompts island evacuation
Call for entries from Montana artists - Tacoma Art Museum’s 9th Annual Biennial
June 10, 2008 | Filed Under Seriously/Real Stuff, Around town | Leave a Comment
The Tacoma Art Museum is accepting works from Montana (and other Northwest) artists for its 9th Annual Biennial Exhibition.
HOW TO ENTER: Entry Deadline: Saturday, July 26, 2008, midnight Applications only accepted online at www.callforentry.org Only work created since January 2007 will be considered. Read the complete press release: Rich Text Format | PDF
ABOUT THE BIENNIAL [excerpted from the TAM Web site]:
Artists working in a wide variety of media including traditional forms, craft-based work, and digital projects are encouraged to apply. Artists exploring alternative visual forms such as conceptual, performance, and installation are also encouraged to submit applications.
Above: 9th Annual Biennial Logo, © Tacoma Art Museum
The Qwest story is nothing new
June 9, 2008 | Filed Under Seriously/Real Stuff | 2 Comments
In addition to all of the individual sites where people are expressing their problems with Qwest, there are these telling legal actions going back over several years:
July 2003: “Qwest Communications settled a long-standing consumer fraud lawsuit with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office Monday by agreeing to pay a $3.75 million fine and to better inform customers about their options. The suit, filed in 2001 by then-Attorney General Janet Napolitano, accused Qwest of numerous violations of Arizona’s Consumer Fraud Act, including placing unauthorized charges on consumers’ bills; failing to disclose charges associated with repairs and installation; engaging in false and misleading advertising; and setting up customer service departments that frustrate consumers’ attempts to resolve problems.” The full story.
From Ken Toole’s Web site: [Toole is a Commissioner on the Montana Public serbice Commission. A suit brought by him was settled in April, but you can’t tell that from my Qwest bill.]
- Qwest is a regulated utility and the Public Service Commission sets their authorized rate of return (profit).
- Qwest’s authorized rate of return is currently set at 10.44 percent
- Qwest has been earning far in excess of their “authorized rate of return” for a long time
- 2005- Rate of return approximately 21%
- 2004- Rate of return approximately 21%
- 2003- Rate of return approximately 19%
- 2002- Rate of return approximately 19%
- 2001- Rate of return approximately 20%
“Wednesday, October 31, 2001 — Qwest Communications Corporation agreed to pay a $50,000 penalty to settle cramming complaints as ordered Wednesday by the Public Utility Commission. Cramming occurs when charges for unauthorized services or products appear on a customer’s telephone bill. The agreement is based on 22 validated complaints.” http://www.puc.state.tx.us/nrelease/2001/103101qwest.cfm
October 2001: “Jan Margosian, Oregon Department of Justice spokeswoman, said the department is investigating 573 Qwest consumer complaints. Many of those have included allegations that Qwest employees “crammed” — added services to customer accounts without approval or misrepresented its services. ‘We have a large investigation concerning Qwest and many different aspects of its operations,’ she said.” See the full story.
Numerous other states have had similar investigationsor legal actions (Utah, Minnesota, Washington, etc.)
Business Week, March 2005: “The SEC charges former CEO Joseph Nacchio and six colleagues with massive financial fraud.”
The individuals who complained on various Web sites are fare too numerous to list here. Google “complaint about Qwest.”
To file a complaint about Qwest with the Federal Communications Commission, go to http://esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm. You will get better results complaining to official agencies than you will by talking to Qwest after 30 to 40 minute hold times and being bounced around from department to department. Be aware that the FCC will only ask that Qwest respond to your complaint. They will not enforce anything. (Our government at work, protecting the little guy from virtual monopolies. Maybe that will change when we get rid of Bush and replace him with Barack Obama.)
The best recourse that we have is to cancel the Qwest service and go with another. But then finding an ethical corporation is always a challenge.