New West Missoulians, Winter is right around the corner and we're already gearing up on this year's Snowblog. Leading the page is Bob Berwyn in Colorado and Matt Frank here in Missoula, but we are calling for more writing, photos and yes, even that sweet video you grabbed from the lift. If you're interested in doing some blogging -- in any media format -- from the mountain (or mountains) of your choice this winter, give Matt a shout. He's at - matt@newwest.net And, in case you missed our conference here in Missoula Oct. 6 on Real Estate and Development in the Northern Rockies, we have DVDs available for purchase with audio, video, presentations and attendee listings. Give Sarah Stout a call at 829-1725 or get her on email (sarah@newwest.net) to order. We'll also have full audio from the conference posted on the site shortly so stay tuned for that. In this week's roundup, we've got Wild Bill's pheasant hunting stories, a tailgating story from Making it in Missoula's Big Sis, a hilarious video from a Helena student who has made it big on YouTube and Greg Lemon's incredibly thorough and thoughtful coverage of the Ravalli County Commissioners denying a mega subdivision just south of Missoula. Enjoy and as always, shoot me a line with comments, suggestions, concerns and whatever else you might want to chat about. Best, Courtney Lowery Missoula Editor Ravalli County Denies Mega Aspen Springs Development By Greg Lemon It took nearly seven hours of deliberation Monday night, but the Ravalli County Commissioners were finally able to make a decision on the fate of the Aspen Springs mega subdivision near Florence: It's not going to work. The denial of the 671-unit, 390-acre subdivision actually came in the wee hours this morning as Greg Chilcott, commissioner chairman, continued to push the board to a decision. On a vote of 2-1, with Betty Lund opposing, the commission decided to deny the subdivision based upon concerns about impacts on local services and public health and safety. After the meeting, developer Perry Ashby looked tired and frustrated. Essentially, the commissioners are having trouble embracing a new concept, Ashby said. "We put a lot of effort into this thing and I was looking for others to be visionary on this," he said. Aspen Springs is one of three similar developments coming down the line in Ravalli County, one of the fastest-growing counties in Montana. Ravalli has no county-wide zoning regulations to help manage the growth. Michael Franti and Spearhead Bring the Conscious Funk By Kerry McMannis In the first leg of their Yell Fire! world tour Michael Franti and Spearhead rocked our little hamlet of Missoula. "It's inspiring to go to a place that's not a big city, be there on a Tuesday night, and fill the house," Franti said, "I find it really inspiring." The inspiration was flowing both ways. Helena Student Film Garners YouTube Fame By Courtney Lowery Capitol High School senior Nick Andrews has a phenomenon on his hands -- his banana hands. Andrews' positively hilarious short film above has seen time on the "Today Show," and ink in the Chicago Tribune and locally, the Helena Independent Record featured the young cinematographer. His hit, "My Hands are Bananas," has so far netted 513,068 views, 2,096 comments and been "favorited" more than 4,000 times on YouTube. Watch it and you'll see why. I'm still chortling. Tailgating in Many Forms By Big Sis TAILGATE As a noun: 1a. A hinged board or closure at the rear of a vehicle, such as a pick-up truck, that can be lowered during loading and unloading. 2a. One of the pair of gates downstream in a canal lock. As a verb: 1b. To drive so closely behind (another vehicle) that one cannot stop or swerve with ease in an emergency. 2b. To participate in a picnic that is served from the tailgate of a vehicle, as before a sports event. *from American Heritage Dictionary Other than the downstream gates on a canal lock, I explored all of these definitions of "tailgate" this weekend. Here's a run-down of the outcome. The Moral Hazard of Federal Pork By Jonathan Weber A friend of mine, who normally would vote Democratic, asked me the other day whether a Jon Tester win over Conrad Burns in the Montana Senate race might indeed cost our state money. Burns, with his seniority and his seat on the appropriations committee, is good at bringing home the bacon, my friend pointed out, and as a rookie Tester would have no such clout. Burns himself has certainly made a point of this, and it's true: the election of Tester would likely reduce the flow of federal dollars into Montana. Personally, though, I don't necessarily think that would be a bad thing. Just because the money is coming from the federal government doesn't mean it's well-spent - on the contrary. Yet even in a state where many people profess distrust of the federal government, there is a tendency to view federal money as "free" and therefore something to be pursued regardless of the wisdom of the project. If you want an example of that, consider the proposal to build a new bridge over the Bitterroot River at Blue Mountain Rd., which will be discussed at a public hearing Tuesday. Amy Martin Debuts New CD to Promote Minimum Wage Initiative By Courtney Lowery Missoula activist/musician Amy Martin is touring the state this month to promote her new album and the cause behind it: the minimum wage initiative. Amy's Bind Me to Free is the culmination of a partnership with the Montana Human Rights Network, an 11-song album filled with stories of poverty, war and religion, and meant to promote passage of Initiative 151 this November, which would raise Montana's minimum wage. Preserving Pheasant Hunting By Bill Schneider True confession time. I did something bad. Or at least I thought I did. I don't want to get a bunch of "I know what you did last summer" emails, so I'm coming clean right here and now. I went pheasant hunting on a preserve. It wasn't a big operation with dormitories and hired cooks and a marketing department. It was only a small place purchased by my brother-in-law. Regardless of the size, though, all preserve owners live by the same rules, as do the hunters. During my preserve hunt, I became keenly interested in the biological and economic impact of having 220 shooting preserves in eastern South Dakota, especially since the trend is likely to continue upward and probably will continue to spread to the New West. Authors of the Flathead Has The Write Stuff By Bill Schneider As an aspiring novelist, I know the difference between the protagonist and the antagonist, but the difference between a characteristic and a characterization? Or thruline and plotline? Well, these seem like things I should know, so I attended the annual conference of the Authors of the Flathead, one of the best and most resilient writer groups in the New West. If you have the same problem I do, a passion to write novels, here's one way to start making the requisite leap from good to very good, fast. After five fiction-filled days, I not only feel more equipped to give Peter Benchley and Tony Hillerman a little competition, but I know about exciting incidents, profluence, and fictive ribbons--even where to sign up for a new class called 'Writing Sex Scenes for the Nervous." (Yes, I need that.) subscriptions: http://www.newwest.net