Gas prices coming down, sort of
Inter Lake editorial
If there's a silver lining in the recent maelstrom surrounding markets, finance and the economy, it might be found at the gasoline pump.
In case you haven't noticed, prices at the pump are down - way down.
Locally the price of a gallon of gasoline has dropped as low as $3.23, and AAA expects that gas prices will continue to decline in Montana, possibly down to as low as $3 a gallon by Thanksgiving. That's welcome news for motorists who faced prices more than $1 a gallon higher just this summer.
Perversely, the economic meltdown around the world is helping lower the price of oil and thus the cost of gasoline.
AAA attributes the slide in petroleum prices to several factors, ranging from a stronger dollar in Europe to declining demand for gas to a restoration of U.S. refining capacity after the big hurricanes.
Whatever the reasons, all of us who have felt the pain at the pump are feeling better when we fill up.
The election, not just the campaigns, is well under way for many local voters.
Several thousand people requested absentee ballots in Flathead County - and Monday was the first day ballots were available. That means many people are voting right now.
To help people make their decisions, the Inter Lake has accelerated its pre-election coverage. Preview stories on local races and ballot issues have been published for the past two weeks.
But don't worry if you missed them. Those stories will continue to be available online at www.dailyinterlake.com until after the election.
IT SOUNDED worse than it really is. When people heard the news that Glacier Park International Airport will be closing its main runway for part of each week in August 2009, they may have seen tourism drying up at the busiest time of the year.
But that certainly won't happen. In fact, the runway will remain open four days a week, from Friday morning until Monday night, and airlines will have plenty of time to fill those flights with passengers. In addition, traffic to the Flathead will partly be satisfied by visitors arriving in Missoula and driving north in rental cars.
In any case, the inconvenience is unavoidable. Runway construction needs to be done during a warm month, so there are no realistic alternatives. The runway will only be down for 12 days anyway, and then it will be ready to go for another 20 years.