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Beetles ravaging Mount Rushmore drain budgets as West warms
Posted by Bloomberg: Jennifer Oldham on June 8th, 2014
Bloomberg: Beetles are obliterating forests throughout Colorado and the West, draining budgets as property values decline and threatening tourism at national parks, including the home of Mount Rushmore.
Voters in Colorado communities raised taxes to protect ski resorts that bring in $3 billion annually to the economy. The pine beetles, each the size of a rice grain, have devoured 25 percent of the woods in South Dakota's Black Hills, where the mountain with massive carvings of Presidents George Washington,...
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North Dakota Fracking Boom Leaves Oil Hub a Bust: Muni Credit
Posted by Bloomberg: Jennifer Oldham on February 26th, 2013
Bloomberg: Oil extracted from wells ringing Williston, North Dakota, helped push the state’s surplus to a record $1.6 billion and generate the nation’s lowest jobless rate. Drilling also left the city broke.
While the U.S. Census counts about 16,000 residents, Williston says it provides services to more than 38,000, including workers living in temporary camps, hotels, and even vehicles. Keeping up with the load is spurring budget gaps that will deplete rainy-day funds, according to Standard & Poor’s,...