Freudenthal receives extremist letter
Gazette News Service | Posted: Friday, April 2, 2010
CHEYENNE — Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal is among dozens of governors in the country to receive letters demanding that they leave office or be removed.
Chris Boswell, the governor’s chief of staff, said Friday that state police intercepted the package when it arrived earlier this week.
At least 30 governors have received the letters from a group called the Guardians of the Free Republics.
The FBI said it expects all 50 governors to eventually receive the letters and warns that the letters could provoke violence.
The letters say the governors will be removed from office within three days if they don’t leave office, according to an FBI and Department of Homeland Security internal intelligence note.
Boswell declined to comment on whether the letter prompted extra security for Freudenthal.
Democrat Massie tosses name into race for state schools chief
JEREMY PELZER Casper Star-Tribune | Posted: Tuesday, April 6, 2010
State Sen. Mike Massie
LARAMIE — State Sen. Mike Massie kicked off his campaign for state superintendent of public instruction Tuesday, ending months of speculation about the Laramie Democrat’s political future.
At a media conference, Massie said that as the state’s top K-12 education official, he would fight for more classroom time for teachers, to reverse the state’s high dropout rate and to revamp the PAWS test, Wyoming’s primary student assessment exam.
Massie’s day job is executive director of Child Development Services of Wyoming.
Republican incumbent Jim McBride is seeking a second full term as state superintendent. He is facing a rare primary challenge for an incumbent, as two Cheyenne educators have entered the race: Laramie County School District 1 superintendent Ted Adams and Cheyenne assistant junior high principal Cindy Hill.
Massie also said that, if elected, he would push for major changes, if not outright abolition, of the Proficiency Assessments for Wyoming Students test.
“I would favor reviewing it with the idea that if you don’t scrap it, it would be totally revised,” he said. “I think we’ve had it around long enough to indicate that it’s taking up too much classroom time, so we need to reduce that. And we also understand how it’s not really providing us with information about individual student progress.”
Massie also said he supports charter schools and getting the most out of Wyoming’s state education funding, which has increased markedly in the past few years.
Massie said he had disagreements with McBride’s performance as state superintendent.
“It seems right now that the department’s focus is more back in Washington, D.C., and working with federal administrators as well as with Congress, and applying for additional federal money,” Massie said. “Along with that additional federal money will come the national standards as well as requirements on how we assess teachers. And I don’t believe that’s where our focus should be.”
McBride said that such a perspective was “rather misguided,” given the state Department of Education’s need to work closely with Washington to receive the approximately $200 million in federal education funding given to Wyoming each year.
McBride said he raised the issue last week in a meeting with Wyoming elementary and middle school principals.
“I said to them, ‘Would you like to develop a plan to transition away from all federal dollars? Would you be willing to take a 10 percent budget cut to do that?’ ” McBride said. “And not a single person in the room was willing to support that.”
McBride said he and Massie spoke by phone Tuesday morning before Massie’s announcement.
“I think Mike Massie has been a great legislator and a great senator,” McBride said. “He’ll be a strong competitor, and I like him a great deal. So I think we will have a fair competition that will ultimately come down to credentials and issues, and I think that’s the way it should be.”
Massie, 56, was born in Akron, Ohio, and moved to Laramie in 1979. He and his wife, Ruth, have a daughter in graduate school in Boston and a son with Angelman Syndrome, a rare neuro-genetic disorder that causes developmental delay.
Massie has a bachelor’s degree in secondary education and a master’s degree in history from the University of Wyoming.
Massie is the first Democrat to publicly announce a run for statewide office this year. He also was considering a run for governor, and his announcement leaves the Democrats without a single publicly interested gubernatorial candidate.
Massie, who has served on the Senate Education Committee while in the Legislature, said he chose to run for state superintendent because of his “passion” for education.
“I did look very closely at running for governor — especially late last year — and decided that I need to follow my passion,” he said. “If I’m going to go through a seven- or eight-month campaign, it’s got to be with fire in the belly — and that’s what education does for me.”
OFFICE OF GOVERNOR DAVE FREUDENTHAL
April 8, 2010
Governor Hosts Community Conversation in Douglas April 27: Wind Projects and Power Transmission Are the Topics
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Wind projects and power transmission lines are the topics for a question and answer session in Douglas with Governor Dave Freudenthal later this month. The "community conversation" on wind development and electrical transmission line siting will begin at 6 p.m. on Tuesday evening, April 27, 2010,at the Douglas High School Auditorium.
"I’ll be there to hear from people and to answer questions," Freudenthal said. "There is a lot happening with wind development in Wyoming, and I want to hear what people have to say."
"These are complicated subjects, and folks are entitled to a straightforward conversation on what we can all agree are difficult, sometimes polarizing issues, related to wind development opportunities and electrical transmission line siting," Freudenthal said. "People need to know where the State stands on a whole range of issues relating to wind power and electrical transmission, ranging from sage grouse to property rights."
Some developers say Wyoming is "anti-wind," Freudenthal said. On the other hand, some property owners are concerned about private property rights in the face of wind-related development.
"Let’s get together and talk about it," Freudenthal said. "Maybe we can ask the lobbyists and hired guns to take a seat in the back row, and let the other folks have their say."
The Douglas "community conversation" is the first of several that the governor is expected to host this year. Other local meetings on wind development and power line siting issues are being planned for later this spring and summer.
Wyoming local governments not looking for bailouts
JOAN BARRON Casper Star-Tribune | Posted: Thursday, April 8, 2010
CHEYENNE — Although more local governments are experiencing budget problems, state Legislature leaders say they are not receiving requests for a special legislative session to bail out the cities, towns and counties.
House Speaker Colin Simpson, of Cody, a Republican candidate for governor, said he visited recently with Natrona County Sheriff Mark Benton, who is talking about laying off deputies.
“I understand the difficult position his office is in,” Simpson said Wednesday.
But Simpson said he has received no requests for a special session to allocate more money for the local governments.
Senate President John Hines, R-Gillette, said the requests for a special session he receives are from people who want the state to sue the federal government over the new health care reform law.
They are complaining because Wyoming didn’t join in the lawsuit filed by the state of Florida.
“I have resisted it because there is little we can do,” Hines said.
The decision not to join the lawsuit was made by state Attorney General Bruce Salzburg and had the support of Gov. Dave Freudenthal.
“I told them it’s an administrative decision,” Hines added. “We can’t tell the attorney general what to do.”
Hines said he was surprised that Natrona County’s projected 27 percent deficit is so high. The cities usually have more financial trouble than the counties in an economic downturn, he said.
The Rawlins City Council on Tuesday evening passed a resolution calling on the Wyoming Association of Municipalities to lobby the Legislature for a share of the tax on wind energy that goes into effect in 2012.
As the law stands now, the revenue from the $1 per megawatt hour would go to the counties where the facilities are located and to the state’s general fund.
During his news conference Wednesday, Freudenthal said more money for local governments will be a priority in the Legislature next year if revenues improve.
The problem is a steep decline in sales and use taxes that go primarily to the cities and towns.
“I have sympathy for them, but it is survivable,” Freudenthal said.
He pointed out that the state a year ago cut 10 percent from most of its budgets, agreed to a freeze on new positions and gave up some positions.
Freudenthal said he sees no need for a special session for either state aid for local government or for the Legislature to file its own lawsuit over the federal health care reform law.
He added that the Legislature is free to call itself into session on the health care reform issue to make a “fist in the air” statement.
“That’s OK, but it’s kind of an expensive one,” Freudenthal said.
Wyoming Treasurer Joe Meyer announces re-election bid
Associated Press | Posted: Monday, April 12, 2010
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Wyoming Treasurer Joe Meyer said Monday he will run for re-election.
Meyer, 68, made the announcement in a coarse whisper in his office at the state Capitol. His voice hasn't been the same since he underwent lung cancer surgery late last year.
Meyer said doctors removed the tumor and told him recently there's no evidence the cancer has spread. He said doctors have given him a clean bill of health for his campaign, and he made light of his medical condition.
"I think any politician that can't give long speeches and talk too much probably will pick up another 10,000 votes, so I'm very hopeful," he said.
He also joked about losing his hair.
"I expect my hair to come back at some time, but there have been some advantages," he said. "I'm saving about $50 a month; I haven't had a haircut in about four months."
A Republican, Meyer was elected state treasurer in 2006. He also has served as Wyoming attorney general and secretary of state.
The treasurer's office oversees more than $11 billion in state funds. The state's portfolio has bounced back following losses in the recent stock market plunge. While market conditions account for that, Meyer said, his office can take credit for its conservative approach.
Meyer is close friends with former Vice President Dick Cheney. Meyer joked he may ask Cheney for campaign donations.
"I suspect I could cajole him into endorsing me. We'll see," Meyer said of Cheney. "He's not real into politics now. He's dealing with his grandchildren and writing a book and making lots of money and enjoying flyfishing. That's probably what his focus is."
Meyer said his lengthy government experience is an asset. "I think my experience and situations I've been in for the state of Wyoming will be useful for the next four years."
Other incumbent Republicans attended Meyer's announcement, including Auditor Rita Meyer, who is running for governor, and State Superintendent of Instruction Jim McBride and Secretary of State Max Maxfield, both seeking re-election.
Inventors conference set for Saturday in Gillette
Associated Press | Posted: Monday, April 12, 2010
GILLETTE, Wyo.— U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi is hosting his annual inventors conference this coming Saturday in Gillette.
It's the eighth year the Wyoming Republican has held the event, called "From Your Garage to the Assembly Line."
Enzi and other speakers will discuss securing patents, developing business plans and marketing inventions.
Enzi says, "Wyoming is full of imaginative and creative folks who just need resources to help them expand upon their ideas." He says the conference helps people turn their ideas into "tangible, usable products and inventions."
The conference will be at the Gillette College Technology Education Center. Contact Robin Bailey in Enzi's office for more information or to register.
Sumber:
-www.governor.wy.gov
-www.billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional
