Bankhead gets her wish. Sort of.

By DARRELL EHRLICK | Editor-in-Chief

Happy Wednesday folks! When United States Senate candidate Alani Bankhead said she wanted political action committee spending out of politics, she probably wasn’t banking (literally) on what happened: The PAC that had spent millions on her campaign announced it is ceasing to financially support her campaign, saying there’s no viable path for a Democratic Senate candidate to win. We would guess the Dems see it differently, but the news comes as a blow to her campaign war chest.

Next, employees of Glacier National Park have voted to unionize, joining other national parks, including those of Yellowstone National Park, which have already made the decision. They say that cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Governmental Efficiency worried them all.

Also, five former county attorneys from Montana as well as the American Civil Liberties Union filed a brief in support of Gallatin County Attorney Audrey Cromwell, saying her office is right to protect private information.

Misty Ann Giles, who has been at the helm of the State of Montana’s Department of Administration under Gov. Greg Gianforte, has announced that she is leaving for a job in the private sector and will transition out of office by the end of August. She’s been a fixture in the Gianforte administration and will be replaced by former longtime legislator Mark Blasdel, who has been leading Gianforte’s economic development projects.

Democrats are fleeing from the candidacy of Graham Platner in Maine, who stands accused of sexual assault after Politico reported allegations made by his ex-girlfriend. The accusations, which he’s fought off even previously, could tank his bid to unseat embattled Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins. The allegations have drawn national focus because Collins’ seat could determine the balance of power in America’s upper chamber.

Numbers from June show that the American workforce softened in June. In the past few months, job growth has exceeded 100,000. Last month, it hit just 57,000, and the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2% — still a solid, good number. But, it’s the worst jobs report in a year.

Healthcare advocates are worried by new Medicaid rules proposed by the Trump administration that redefine those who are eligible for the program and those who are classified as “medically frail.” The administration has made it more challenging for those who claim to be medically frail, and therefore will need to go through work or volunteering verification. That has led those advocates to worry that those who are truly vulnerable, sick or frail may be booted from the health insurance program.

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Today, we feature two stories from our friends at the Flathead Beacon, the alma mater of the amazing Micah Drew. The first story is about a family that prevailed in a whistleblower lawsuit against the Flathead School District in which a family alleged successfully that their son, Clifford Nance, was discriminated against because he and his father reported a sexual assault. They only asked for $1, but they simply wanted the district to change how it handles whistleblowers.

As we were reading about the Nance verdict, we came across Julie Laing. We went down that rabbit hole, and now we have a three-page shopping list. However, there are plenty of good reasons to enjoy the Beacon, but the recipes are top notch, and come from Montana. Check out this recent recipe for smoked cherries … we’ll let you know how that turns out mixed with some good, smoky bourbon.

For some reason, after reading Julie Liang’s recipe about smoked cherries (please see Good Reads, above), I started thinking about how often cherries have been used in popular music. I am not sure if another fruit is more mentioned.

That led me to think of today’s song for “The Hook,” Perez Prado’s “Cherry Pink (And Apple Blossom White).” If you haven’t heard it, don’t worry: It’s why we have this feature. It’s a great example of one of those songs that has been largely forgotten, even though it topped the popular music charts in 1955, and was one of the top 10 best-selling hits of the year. One of the reasons it’s forgotten is because it’s an instrumental song at about the time when more and more vocal artists were replacing the big band sound in terms of record sales.

But Prado wasn’t a big band, although he had one. He was part of a Latin-mambo dance era that Americans were briefly enamored of, kind of like the trend of hula-hoops or chipmunks who seemed to sing by using the trick of speeding up tape. We’re including this song because something needs to get us through Wednesday, and dancing is just the thing. In fact, we suggest you bust out your sick dance moves for all your coworkers or children. We believe in you.

But a number of mambo songs hit the charts, and were helped by Desi Arnaz, the one-time husband of Lucille Ball, who starred in “I Love Lucy,” where he played her husband, Desi, a band leader and mamboteer.

Latin influenced music styles dominated more than just mambo songs. They were becoming more mainstream. At about the same time, Bo Diddley would change how rock and blues sounded when he adopted the clave rhythm used by Caribbean and South American guitarists, most notably in the pounding song, “Bo Diddley.”

However, Prado’s music is often found in second-hand stores and discount bins. I guess that’s understandable. How many times have you said to Spotify: Get me a mambo, stat! Also, this was Prado’s biggest hit, though he’d be more remembered for two others, “Patricia” and “Mambo No. 5,” which was briefly resurrected into a smash hit when Lou Bega remade the song in 1999.

If you have a song that you’d like to share, or would like to get in touch with us, please send us a note at [email protected]

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