Front page, my first time covering national news, and my first press conference – although I did get to interview Stone afterward to get a lot more useful detail.

Scotts Valley survivors of SFO crash describe wreck, confusion

By Ketti Wilhelm

Santa Cruz Sentinel

Posted:   07/09/2013 07:19:34 PM PDT

Click photo to enlarge

Elliot Stone (center) and his fianc Elena Jin (right) make their way to a press... ( SCS )

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SCOTTS VALLEY -- Elliot Stone has had a lifetime of training in martial arts, but none in emergency medicine. Still he was one of the first responders to reach four victims who were torn from the Asiana jumbo jet Flight 214 as it crashed at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday.

The plane came in for a landing flying too low and too slow. The landing gear crashed against the seawall, ripping open the back of the airplane and scattering people onto the runway, while the rest of the plane careened down the tarmac.

Just seconds came between Stone's realization that something was wrong and the impact. He was seated next to Elena Jin, 23, his fiancee from Santa Cruz whom he had proposed to a day earlier at their hotel in Suwon, South Korea.

"All that went through my mind was grabbing her arm, looking in her eyes and saying, 'This might be it,' " he said.

When the plane finally stopped, Stone, 25, said he and his friends and family were able to escape quickly.

Stone, the owner of Elite Martial Arts Academy in Scotts Valley, and a group of nine people including family and clients, had been in South Korea for 10 days on a vacation and to compete in an international competition in the Korean martial art of ho kuk mu sul.

He said he's been studying the art since he was 7, and credits it with helping him to remain calm in any situation.

WHAT IF

While in Korea, he tested for his fourth-degree black belt in the sport. One of his students, David Schimmel, 19, of Scotts Valley won first place in the competition.

On the trip back, Stone and the rest of the group, including Brian Thomson, 45, Elliot's parents, Walter Stone, 64, and Cindy Stone, 63, and his brother Oliver Stone, 29, all of Scotts Valley, and Elena's 16-year-old sister, Alisa Jin, of Santa Cruz, were seated in the middle of the plane above the wings.

"One of the things that causes me extreme anxiety is the what if," Walter Stone said about his whole family being on one ill-fated flight.

After the crash, some of the group escaped on inflatable chutes, while Elliot Stone and others had to climb out over piles of rubble and luggage, through holes in the warped, Fiberglass walls of the fuselage, jumping about 5 feet from the tilted wreck to the ground. All were lucky enough to walk away from the crash with just a few scratches and bruises.

Stone said it only took a minute for the group to reunite on the ground. They hugged and ran away from the wreck, still stranded in the middle of the vast runway. He called his grandmother so she wouldn't worry when the crash made the news. Then they went looking for people they could help.

Looking back down the path the plane had slid along, Elliot Stone said they saw a woman covered in blood, stumbling toward them, calling out for help from about 500 yards away. He, his father, brother, Schimmel and Thomson ran toward the woman and realized three more were still in the wreckage, at the end of the runway closest to the water of the San Francisco Bay, where the plane had first hit the tarmac. They split up and each stayed with one of the injured women, at least two of whom were flight attendants.

When an ambulance had not arrived about 25 minutes after the crash, Elliot Stone said he called 911. As soon as police arrived, the men were told to stop and wait with the other survivors.

"They were yelling at us, 'Go back! Go back!' " Stone said. "But we were finding people."

WAITING AND WONDERING

About 90 minutes later, a bus took them to the United Airlines terminal, where they waited another six hours.

"The biggest thing we noticed was just the lack of protocol," he recalled. "It wasn't necessarily individuals' faults, it was just they didn't know the protocol or there was no protocol. No one was directing the show."

When Elliot Stone and the rest of the uninjured passengers were ushered to the airport, he said they were shuffled around between rooms, told to write their contact information on a list, and not allowed to leave or informed about what was happening. He called CNN and told his story to Wolf Blitzer while he waited.

"It makes sense that if they were ruling out terrorism or something they wouldn't let us go, but it seemed pretty straightforward what happened," he said.

The Boeing 777 had taken off in Shanghai and stopped in Seoul before crossing the Pacific on a flight that Stone described as uneventful, until the end. The crash landing injured at least 180 of the 307 people on board and killed two 16-year-old Chinese girls who were on their way to a summer camp in Southern California.

Stone said he thinks one of the deceased was among the four women he and his family and friends found in their initial search for survivors.

Despite the ordeal, Stone said thinks he will fly again.

"We'll get there when get there," he said. "It shouldn't stop us from living our lives."

My second city council of the week: Capitola. The meeting ended around 11:30 p.m. so this online version is much more detailed than the one that ran in the paper on June 28.

Capitola City Council approves upscale senior living project

By Ketti Wilhelm

Santa Cruz Sentinel

Posted:   06/27/2013 11:43:08 PM PDT

CAPITOLA -- The Capitola City Council approved a 23-unit housing complex for seniors at 1575 38th Ave. with a 4-1 vote late Thursday.

The project has been in the works since 2011, and originally was denied by the Planning Commission, which gave a directive to reduce the mass, scale and height of the proposed building. The building has since shrunk by a factor of three from its original 67-unit size, and has gained approval by the commission, but the community remains divided over many aspects of the development.

"The principle decision is whether or not we're going to overturn the Planning Commission's decision," said Vice Mayor Sam Storey of the Commission's 3-2 vote to allow the project to go ahead.

The council's approval means the zoning for the property, which is currently the site of Capitola Freight and Salvage, will be changed from neighborhood commercial to planned development, allowing for less setback from the street and a higher overall height for the building.

For a property to be zoned for planned development, it has to have a unique characteristic that warrants the change.

"It is upscale senior housing in Capitola, and we do not have that," said Councilman Ed Bottorff.

He said one of the reasons the Planning Commission denied the project originally was lack of parking.

With the new design, he said, "I think there's overkill on the parking."

Nathan Schmidt, the project's transportation planner, said the project is designed to allow 1.4 parking spaces per unit, and he expects fewer than half of those spaces will be used regularly.

"I'm not a fan of (planned development zoning)," said Mayor Stephanie Harlan, the lone dissenting vote. "I've seen it before and it's a way to get around the rules."

Harlan called the change "spot zoning," saying that the purpose of zoning is for residents of an area to know what type of development they can expect around them and changing the zoning for one property violates that understanding.

Harlan also expressed concern that vehicles would still overflow into the spaces at King's Plaza Shopping Center, located across the street from Villa Capitola, on 41st Avenue.

George Ow, owner of the shopping center, spoke in support of the project. Ow was opposed to the development in its first iteration.

The center's delivery and garbage pickup areas face the Villa Capitola site, raising concerns about potential noise disturbances.

"I think we can all agree that there is a need for more senior housing in Capitola and that demographic data show that that need will increase," Maureen Romac, one of the owners of the property, told the council.

Richard Grunow, community development director for the planning commission, said the new design, with a lower overall height and increased setback from the street, addresses the concerns that led to the agency's original denial of the project.

In addition to parking, the council debated landscaping, the revised size of the project and even the length of time residents will be allowed to have a live-in caretaker at the property without the project crossing the line from senior housing to assisted living.

"It seems like cruel and unusual punishment for a person who's starting to fall down to be told you have to move," said Santa Cruz County resident Charles Houdleston, 71.

Susan Sneddon, Capitola city clerk, said her office has received 38 letters and emails about the Villa Capitola project -- an unusually large volume.

While most of those letters are from seniors and family members of seniors expressing support for and interest in the project, the city also received a letter signed by 21 residents of Bulb Avenue, the street behind the proposed development, in opposition. Their concerns, as stated in the letter, are "privacy, shading, noise, traffic, parking and incongruency with the surrounding neighborhood."

Romac said she and her husband, Steve Thomas, co-owner of the property, have collected 180 signatures from supporters, including those of 20 residents of Bulb Avenue.

Kimberly Frey, of Bulb Avenue, spoke in opposition, saying the development will reduce the amount of sunlight on her property and allow residents of the nearby Villa Capitola to peer into her windows.

In other action, the council approved an experimental, one-day closing of the Esplanade to motor vehicles, scheduled for Oct. 13.

Watsonville City Council approves wastewater treatment experiment with UCSC

By Ketti Wilhelm

Santa Cruz Sentinel

Posted:   06/25/2013 09:45:48 PM PDT

WATSONVILLE -- The Watsonville City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a lease for WaterLab, an experimental, wastewater treatment facility to be run by UC Santa Cruz at the city's Water Resource Center.

The project, which is being designed, built and will be run by UCSC students, will be used to test various processes for purifying sewer water into drinking water and other experiments.

"We'd like the students to be experts in advanced water treatment, so that's why we're building this facility," said Brent Haddad, professor of environmental studies and director of WaterLab.

"This facility will be capable of producing drinkable water, although there's no intention of anyone drinking it."

The water used for experimentation by WaterLab will be purified by the city's water treatment plant after WaterLab has conducted its tests.

Haddad said the project will help prepare students for careers in water resources, an expertise he said will be in demand.

"Why Watsonville?" Haddad asked. "You have tomorrow's water challenges today."

Those challenges, Haddad said, include huge agricultural demands on the water supply and the need to protect the Monterey Bay marine ecosystem.

"I appreciate the fact that you have done your research and noticed what a resource you have here," Councilwoman Nancy Bilicich said.

UCSC will pay the city a one-time, $18,000 fee to use the space for five years. Haddad said the project is funded by grants and likely will earn at least $50,000 in grant money yearly.

Kevin Silviera, Watsonville's wastewater division manager, and Haddad have been collaborating on the project since 2009.

Haddad said WaterLab also could work to reduce the cost of desalination.

"The technologies used in water reuse and (desalination) are very similar," Haddad said. "At this time they're very energy intensive so if we can take a crack at that, that would really be a service."

In other action, the council ratified all two-year, union contracts with employees established in the budget passed earlier this month.

The agreement continues past concessions made by employee unions, saving the city more than $1 million. Those concessions include continuing furloughs that began four years ago, reducing hours and pay by 10 percent. Police will forgo raises and take eight days of furlough each year.

The council also rejected a claim by former Councilman Emilio Martinez and his wife, Kathleen Morgan-Martinez, alleging harassment, threats and "systematic silencing" during Martinez's time on the council.

Follow Sentinel reporter Ketti Wilhelm on Twitter at Twitter.com/KettiWilhelm

Finally back to covering politics! This was an advance for a Watsonville City Council meeting, which I also covered.

Watsonville City Council to vote on UCSC sewer water experiment

By Ketti Wilhelm

Santa Cruz Sentinel

Posted:   06/24/2013 06:22:57 PM PDT

WATSONVILLE -- The Watsonville City Council will decide Tuesday whether to approve a deal with UC Santa Cruz to establish an experimental wastewater treatment laboratory at the city's treatment plant.

The laboratory, called WaterLab, would occupy extra space at the city's award-winning Water Resource Center. The lab, which would focus on teaching and research on sustainable water treatment processes, would be the first such partnership between the city and the university.

"It's going to put Watsonville on the map for innovative water technologies and seeing how they can be applied in the real world," said Steve Palmisano, director of Watsonville's Public Works and Utilities Department. "It's a great bridge between the academic world and the real world."

Built in 2010 for $10 million, Watsonville's Water Resources Center stands out with its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The experimental lab would be designed, built and operated by UCSC students, said WaterLab's director, Brent Haddad, a professor of environmental science and director of UCSC's Center for Integrated Water Research.

"I'd like to be able to demonstrate that these advanced water treatment techniques exist and are reliable," Haddad said. "The best way to do that is to show the world that students can build them and they will work."

About 300 students have been involved with the project, Haddad said. It's open to students of all majors who are interested in sustainable water supply. He hopes to have the lab operating this summer, if the lease is approved.

While the technology needed to purify wastewater for a variety of uses already exists, Haddad said, every system is different, such as how dirty the water is and how clean it needs to become.

Haddad said the system that students have designed for WaterLab is a five-step process to produce drinkable water. The first step is slow sand filtration, which removes many impurities. Then it goes through a process to remove elements such as phosphorus and nitrogen. Next are advanced filtration, reverse osmosis and, finally, ultraviolet radiation to prevent microscopic organisms from reproducing, which effectively kills them in about an hour.

After those steps are complete, WaterLab will test the results to see if the water is, in fact, potable, and then it will be treated again in the city's normal plant.

"There aren't a lot of plants that have a goal of potable," Haddad said. "When you look to the end of the 21st century, that's going to be a big need."

WaterLab will also be used to test other experimental processes apart from the five being implemented to make wastewater potable. Haddad said the project is trying to run the lab without grid-provided electricity.
In addition, the lab will be off the financial grid.

"There will be no out of pocket costs; it's basically self-funded," said Kevin Silviera, Watsonville's wastewater division manager. UCSC will pay the city a one-time fee of $18,000 to lease the extra space at the Water Resources Center, at 500 Clearwater Lane, for five years.

As global need for freshwater increases, the technology of turning sewage into drinking water could become indispensable, and public opinion will be playing catch up.

"The public perception has always been that we don't want a toilet-to-tap system," Silviera said. "The science is there, no problem, but there's just a lot more work to do make that palatable. No pun intended."

The City Council is scheduled to vote on the lease agreement at its 6:30 p.m. meeting Tuesday, at the Watsonville Council Chamber, 275 Main St.

Follow Sentinel reporter Ketti Wilhelm on Twitter at Twitter.com/KettiWilhelm

There's nothing like writing a happy ending like this one. (And getting to do some follow-up work — see my previous post.)

Former Harbor teacher missing in Minnesota, found alive By Ketti Wilhelm Santa Cruz Sentinel Posted:   06/13/2013 04:50:01 PM PDT Click photo to enlarge Contributed Mari Ruddy, 48, was reported missing from her St. Paul, Minn., home Tuesday.... ( SCS ) 1 2 » EDINA, Minn. -- Mari Ruddy, a woman with Santa Cruz County connections who had been missing in Minnesota since Tuesday, was found unconscious but alive on Thursday, according to police there. Ruddy has Type 1 diabetes and her family worried that she did not have her pump, insulin or other supplies with her when she went missing early Tuesday afternoon. A missing persons report was filed that night, according to St. Paul police. Late Thursday morning, a man noticed Ruddy reclined in the driver's seat of her car in the parking lot of a park in Edina, a first-ring suburb of St. Paul, according to Kaylin Martin, public information officer for the Edina Police Department. The man said he thought she was napping but called police when he saw her there four hours later, at 2:45 p.m. "There's no foul play suspected," Martin said. But some questions remain unanswered. "We are not 100 percent sure (how long she had been unconscious in her car)," Martin said. Ruddy was taken to Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina, where she remains. Hospital officials could not comment on her condition, but a statement was posted from Ruddy's family early Thursday evening on the website findmariruddy.com that she was stable in the intensive care unit. The website, which was established to coordinate volunteers to search for Ruddy and spread the word about her disappearance, first displayed this post that Ruddy had been found on Thursday afternoon: "Mari has just been found unconscious, but alive. We will provide more details as soon as we can. Privacy is requested until more information can be shared. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts." Ruddy is the founder and director of TeamWILD, a company that supports and coaches people with diabetes who want to be physically active. She is an avid cyclist and triathlete. According to her LinkedIn profile, Ruddy worked as a Spanish language teacher at Harbor High School from 1988 to 1994 and was an assistant principal at Aptos High School from 1994 to 1998. She worked at Watsonville High School as a conflict resolution consultant from 1999 to 2001 before moving to Denver. She has lived in St. Paul for less than a year. Follow Sentinel reporter Ketti Wilhelm on Twitter at twitter.com/KettiWilhelm

Mari Ruddy, former Santa Cruz County teacher, reported missing in Minnesota

By Ketti Wilhelm

Santa Cruz Sentinel

Posted:   06/12/2013 08:04:34 PM PDT

Click photo to enlarge

Contributed Mari Ruddy, 48, was reported missing from her St. Paul, Minn., home Tuesday.... ( SCS )

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ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A former Santa Cruz County teacher has been reported missing from her home in St. Paul, police say.

Mari Ruddy, who worked in Santa Cruz County high schools for 12 years, was last seen about noon Tuesday at the St. Paul home she moved into less than a year ago.

Ruddy, 48, has Type 1 diabetes and her family believes she may only have enough insulin to last two days. A missing persons report was filed with the St. Paul Police Department Tuesday night. A website, findmariruddy.com, also was launched in an effort to find her.

Ruddy uses an insulin pump and needs insulin to keep herself alive. Her family believes she does not have her blood glucose meter, extra insulin or other pump supplies with her.

The website reports that she left home in her car, a late 1990s or early 2000s model, dark green Honda Civic with a bike rack on the roof and a red bumper sticker with the word "namaste." The license plate number of her vehicle is 102-LNC, according to the website. Ruddy's purse and cellphone were found at her home.

"At this point, it's not deemed to be suspicious," said Howie Padilla, spokesman for the St. Paul police. The missing persons unit is investigating.
The website reports that her family is worried that she may try to harm herself and may be in "a place with spiritual significance, beauty or seclusion."

According to her LinkedIn profile, Ruddy worked as a Spanish language teacher at Harbor High School from 1988 to 1994 and was an assistant principal at Aptos High School from 1994 to 1998. She worked at Watsonville High School as a conflict resolution consultant from 1999 to 2001. About 10 years ago, she moved to Denver, according to her friend Jolene Kemos, and moved to St. Paul less than a year ago. Ruddy and Kemos worked together at Aptos High and remain close.

"She's my mentor and friend and I love her very much," Kemos of Santa Cruz said. "It's beyond belief that she's out there somewhere. She's well loved by many people in Santa Cruz and beyond."

Ruddy is the founder and director of TeamWILD, a company that supports and coaches people with diabetes who want to be physically active. She is an avid cyclist and triathlete.

Information is available at findmariruddy.com. There is also a Facebook group for people who want to help at www.facebook.com/groups/172257126284014/?notif_t=group_r2j.

Broke some news this morning and scooped our local paper, the Missoulian. This is a preliminary story; the full story, along with all of my other stories, is available as a PDF upon request.

Legislature approves guns on university, college campuses

Posted: Wednesday, April 24, 2013 11:56 am | Updated: 12:25 pm, Wed Apr 24, 2013.

Posted on April 24, 2013

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  by Ketti Wilhelm

On the final day of the 2013 Montana Legislative session, both houses passed a bill allowing students, professors, staff and everyone else to carry guns on Montana’s public college and university campuses.

House Bill 240, sponsored by Rep. Cary Smith, R-Billings, passed the House of Representatives with a 61-39 vote and the Senate with a 28-22 vote Wednesday morning.

Under current law, the Board of Regents, which oversees all Montana University System schools, decides whether to allow guns on campuses. If HB 240 becomes law, BOR would no longer have that authority.

Gary Marbut, president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, said banning weapons at colleges and universities violated the second amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

“We think it’s time that campus administrators got drug kicking and screaming into the new century,” Marbut said.

“They can no longer get away with telling students and (others) they have to move to the back of the bus. They can no longer tell people willy-nilly that when you’re on our plantation, we can take your constitutional rights away.”

The bill includes some regulations to when and where guns can be carried. Weapons must be holstered if they are carried outside of a dorm room or other residence. Roommates must give permission for a gun-owner to keep a weapon in their dorm or apartment. Also, guns would not be allowed at campus events where alcohol is permitted.

Opponents of the bill are counting on Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock to veto it.

Sen. Dick Barrett, D-Missoula, said he voted against HB 240 for two reasons.

Barrett said the universities, just like any other property owner or private home owner, have the right to keep guns off their property. He also said more guns make a campus less safe.

“I don’t accept the argument that people would be safer if they could arm themselves and defend themselves,” Barrett said. “I think you have to balance that against the probability that if there are a lot of guns around, one of them will get misused.”

This isn’t the only bill this session aimed at deregulating guns in Montana, Barrett added.

Along with HB 240, another gun bill will soon be on Bullock’s desk. HB 205, sponsored by Rep. Krayton Kerns, R-Laurel, would allow hunters to use silencers and devices to reduce muzzle flash. The Legislature passed that bill and it will now be up to Bullock to veto it, sign it or let it become law without his signature.

It’s not clear which Bullock will do; so far this session the governor has vetoed one gun bill and signed another into law. Bullock’s office did not respond to questions about his plans for the bill in time for this story.

HB 446, sponsored by Rep. Nicholas Schwaderer, R-Superior, classifies shooting a gun as an act that does not disturb the peace, and is no longer disorderly conduct. The bill  became law with Bullock’s signature.

Kerns introduced two other pro-gun bills this session.

One would have removed the need for a concealed weapons permit, but Bullock vetoed it.

Another bill sought to allow concealed carry of weapons in government buildings, banks and places that serve alcohol. That bill never passed the House.

If HB 240 passes the governor’s desk, it will go into effect Jan. 1, 2014.

Missoula CollegeState approves $29M for Missoula College, $2.5M for athletes' two-story study area

Pending governor's approval, state decides to pay cash for new campus

Posted: Tuesday, April 23, 2013 12:50 am | Updated: 12:51 am, Tue Apr 23, 2013.

Posted on April 23, 2013

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  by Ketti Wilhelm

The Legislature wrapped up what will likely be its last full week of the session by approving funding for Missoula College Saturday. Both chambers of the Legislature have now approved the bill, and it will be passed to the Gov. Steve Bullock’s office. 

The Senate voted last week to add Missoula College and a building project for Montana State University-Billings onto House Bill 5, a cash bill. The House of Representatives approved the Senate’s amendments Saturday with a 72-27 vote. 

Both projects were originally attached to House Bill 14, the JOBS bill, but the Legislature batted them around, debating whether to pay with cash or bonding, and finally moved them to HB5 just in time to be approved this session. 

“House Bill 5 is now effectively the JOBS bill,” said Asa Hohman, lobbyist for the Associated Students of the University of Montana.

“It passed as a cash bill, HB5, rather than a bonding bill, HB14,” Hohman explained. “Nothing’s really changed — same buildings, same jobs.”

But two big projects from HB14 — a new Montana Historical Society building in Helena and the MSU-Bozeman Romney Hall classroom renovation project — still don’t have funding, Hohman said. 

Once the Legislature gets HB5 to Bullock, he can sign it into law, veto it, let it become law without his signature or change it, which would require approval from both houses. The Legislature would have to be in session to review the changes, and the governor could call a special session for that purpose. 

April 27 is scheduled as the final day of this legislative session, but the lawmakers might choose to adjourn early if they’ve finished the work on their desks. 

Sen. Dave Wanzenried, D-Missoula and Hohman said they expect this session will end Wednesday.

Wanzenried has been critical of UM for not committing to doing an environmental impact statement to assess the effects of a Missoula College expansion before beginning the project. 

He said he doesn’t expect the governor will change HB5. 

“I don’t think it will be processed in time to go to the governor before the end of this Legislative session,” Wanzenried said. “But given the margins of the votes, I think he’ll sign it.”

Bullock’s office wouldn’t comment directly on his plans for the bill. 

Rep. Bryce Bennett, D-Missoula, said he’s excited the Legislature was able to pass funding for Missoula College this session.

“It’s very exhilarating to finally get this to the governor’s desk,” Bennett said. 

In addition to providing $29 million for Missoula College, the Legislature also approved three other projects for UM in HB5, totaling $15 million. 

Those projects — the Gilkey Executive Education Center, the Athlete Academic Center and updates to Mansfield Library’s learning commons — will be privately funded, according to Kevin McRae, associate commissioner for communications for the Montana University System Board of Regents. 

“But we still need legislative authority to proceed with those projects,” McRae said.  “Because that’s the way the state’s long-range building plan works.” 

The Athlete Academic Center will be a two-story study center for student athletes, added to the Adams Center, costing $2.5 million. 

The Gilkey Executive Education Center, which cost $9.3 million, will be the site for management leadership classes sponsored by the School of Buisness Administration, the new office of the UM Foundation, and Global Leadership Initiative events. 

Montana LegislatureSenate flip-flops on dropping Missoula College over weekend

Posted: Tuesday, April 16, 2013 12:18 am | Updated: 12:19 am, Tue Apr 16, 2013.

Posted on April 16, 2013

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  by Ketti Wilhelm

After cutting Missoula College from House Bill 5 late last week, the Montana Senate put the project back on the bill Monday — a concession in the legislative stalemate that kept the fate of the project uncertain. 

As the legislative session draws to a close, the two houses are divided over how to pay for a new Missoula College building, kicking the item around from bill to bill. The House refused to take on debt to build the college, and the Senate refused to pay cash. 

After the Senate Finance and Claims Committee voted Friday to remove Missoula College and three other expensive building projects from HB5, a cash bill for long-range building projects, the college was left without a bill to carry it over the weekend.

But the full Senate voted Monday to add the $29 million Missoula College and a $10 million Montana State University-Billings science building back into the bill. 

The other two building projects, the renovation of a Montana State University gymnasium and a new building for the Montana Historical Society in Helena, are still not included in HB5.

Sen. Dave Wanzenried, D-Missoula, was the only Democratic senator to vote against putting Missoula College back into HB5. 

Wanzenried said the state’s general fund, which pays for the projects in HB5, may not support those pricier projects without cutting something else. He said he worries about the potential environmental impact of the new Missoula College. 

“Nobody really understands all of the impacts that are going to result,” Wanzenreid said. “Once the building’s put there, it’s going to be there, in comparative terms, forever.”

Wanzenried wants UM to commit to doing an environmental review before he would support funding the project by any means — cash or bonding. 

An Environmental Impact Statement is an in-depth analysis of the effects a project will have on the natural and social environments of an area. This includes air and noise pollution, traffic, animal and plant habitats and open space. 

ASUM President Zach Brown said while he agrees the University should do an EIS, Wanzenried’s demand is out of place. 

“The Legislature’s job, and Sen. Wanzenried’s job, is to fund the project during this session,” Brown said. “It is then the University’s job and the community’s job to decide on the location and work out all those issues about (environmental) impact.”

The Legislature can mandate an EIS at a later time or recommended by the Architecture and Engineering Division of the State Department of Administration, according to Kevin McRae, associate commissioner for communications and human resources of the Board of Regents. 

If either of those happens, McRae said the University and the BOR would readily comply. 

Originally, the funding for Missoula College was in House Bill 14, also known as the JOBS bill, which Rep. Galen Hollenbaugh, D-Helena, introduced on behalf of Gov. Steve Bullock. The House failed to transmit HB14 to the Senate because it hasn’t been able to get the super-majority required to pass a bill that requires the state to take on debt.

Hollenbaugh said unless Bullock asks, he likely won’t revive HB14 now that Missoula College, one of the central projects of the JOBS bill, has a home again. Several more supermajority votes would be needed in both houses to restore HB14.

The Senate’s final vote on HB5 will come Tuesday, Hollenbaugh said.

If the Senate passes the bill, it will go back to the House for confirmation by its sponsor, Rep. Duane Ankney, R-Colstrip. If Ankney accepts the Senate’s amendment, the bill needs to pass the House before landing on the Bullock’s desk. If Ankney does not accept the changes, senators and representatives on a joint committee have to compromise on a plan.

My part in a Friday Kaimin special comprising nine stories about University of Montana's upcoming budget cuts.

Faculty cutsTenured faculty could see workload increase

Posted: Friday, March 29, 2013 12:28 am | Updated: 2:38 pm, Fri Mar 29, 2013.

Posted on March 29, 2013

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  by Ketti Wilhelm

As the University of Montana’s fall budget gets hacked apart, the only certainty is that no one is truly secure. But the future looks different for tenured professors, adjuncts and administrative assistants or secretaries.

The exact amount of the cuts hasn’t been determined, so departments are trying to plan for fall semester without knowing how much money they’ll have to pay expenses — from salaries to phone bills.

Diane Rapp, an administrative associate in the history department, said her department is considering not hiring a replacement for the two tenured professors who will be on sabbatical next academic year — saving about $35,000, a typical salary for a starting adjunct professor.

Another option is cutting office supplies in order to save on the department’s operating costs.

“I personally am worried that our photocopier might be on the line,” Rapp said. “We’d have to go all the way to the University Center just to make a copy.”

At $17,000 a year, the department’s operating budget is already down to the bare essentials, Rapp added.

“There’s nothing left to cut,” she said. “We’ve been living like this forever.”

Rapp said her union, the Montana Public Employees Association, is asking the Board of Regents for a five percent raise this year and another next year. After 17 years working for the University, Rapp makes just under $36,000 a year and said she’s never gotten a raise of more than two or three percent.

Three professors in the history department earn more than $100,000 a year. Rapp acknowledged that lowering professors’ salaries could ease the budget pains, but said she thinks it would only drag down morale, especially considering UM faculty are already underpaid by national standards.

The situation is similar in the geology department, where office supplies and non-tenure track professors face uncertain futures, according to David Shively, a geography professor and president of the University Faculty Association — the union representing tenure-track professors.

Tenured professors enjoy a much higher level of job security, but if budget cuts were especially deep, Shively said they could still lose their jobs.

“Tenure really doesn’t mean a lot if the money isn’t there to pay faculty,” he said.

He stressed that UM is not facing cuts severe enough to warrant firing tenured faculty at this time.

The more likely scenario is that non-tenure track professors will be laid off. Shively said tenure track faculty would be taking over the classes formerly taught by laid-off professors, but some course sections might be dropped as well.

Non-tenure track faculty include adjunct professors whose positions are not permanent; research professors, who mainly self-fund their work through federal grants; and lecturers, Shively said.

An assistant professor can be promoted to associate professor and can then apply for tenure. The application goes through numerous levels of review, from the academic department to the Board of Regents, and the applicant must show quality teaching, as well as research and service on boards or committees while waiting for a promotion to full, tenured professor, Shively said.

This process is part of the reason College of Arts and Sciences Dean Christopher Comer called academia “the most hierarchical organization this side of the U.S. Army.”

Comer said each department has a teaching load for tenure-track faculty, so cuts wouldn’t force professors to take on so many classes that the quality of their work would suffer.

A common teaching load is two courses per semester, Comer said, but loads vary by department. Any course over the department’s standard load must be negotiated with the professor for extra pay.

Some professors take on extra courses without extra pay.

Marketing professor Jakki Mohr said her department’s standard load is nine credits per semester but she volunteered to teach an extra, one-credit course this spring for no extra pay.

With a salary of $139,389, Mohr is the university’s highest paid professor. But that salary isn’t far from the norm for the School of Business Administration, where 18 professors earn more than $100,000.

In addition to teaching an overload schedule, Mohr’s classes are usually at full enrollment. She is internationally renowned as both a professor and an author and has received more lucrative job offers from several European universities.

As for the potential cuts, Mohr said the department is planning to eliminate the course sections that students will miss least.

“It’s belt tightening and we all pitch in to make sure our students feel little impact,” Mohr said. “Unfortunately, I think the people who feel the pain the most are our short-term faculty.”

Dean Larry Gianchetta of the School of Business Administration said, the cuts could mean a total of six to seven adjunct professors being laid off across the school’s three departments and 25 to 30 sections of electives being cut.

The MPEA union contract dictates a strict process for laying off adjunct professors, according to Quint Nyman, executive director of the MPEA, which is the union representing university staff, including secretaries like Diane Rapp, and non-tenure track professors.

Once the department proves the necessity of cutting a position, lay-offs may begin after a 30-day notice is given. They’re based on seniority, so the person who’s been employed by the University longest can’t be cut first. Laid-off employees receive six months of health insurance and are at the top of the interview list for university system jobs for which they qualify.

“I know people are nervous,” Nyman said. “But there’s actually plenty of protection in there for them.”