PBS Documentary On Small Town Divisions

8 July 2005 - 6:00am

"The Fire Next Time" deals with how talk radio divided a small town already suffering from economic and community woes dealing with land use.

"In 2000, as loggers and mill workers faced lost jobs and rising living costs, right-wing extremist John Stokes bought a local radio station and began broadcasting messages blaming environmentalists and government officials for their woes. He announced the addresses of local environmentalists on his station, leading to death threats against them. In a particularly emotional passage, the daughter of a local activist learns how to shoot a gun after the lug nuts on her wheels were loosened, almost causing her to crash. Local politicians were also targeted; the mayor of Kalispell had three nail-induced flat tires in the period of one month."

Full Story: A Community Divided
Source: AlterNet, July 7, 2005
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Even if the report overestimates the costs by a factor of two and underestimates the tax-benefit by a similar amount, the conclusion would be pretty much the same: destination resorts cost local government and taxpayers money.