Welcome to Friday! Here are the topics that caught my eye for today’s column:

• Boldman’s DUI Footage
• Roberto Orozco-Ramirez
• Daines to China
• Reclassification of Marijuana
• One More Time

BOLDMAN’S DUI FOOTAGE:

The Helena Independent Record (IR) is reporting (Paywall) that Montana State Senator Ellie Boldman, from Missoula, is fighting the release of video footage from her 2025 DUI arrest in Helena that has been requested by Republican political consultant Jake Eaton. 

Eaton asked the Helena Police Department last March and November to release the full case file, which would include the video, investigation notes, the citation, and Sen. Ellie Boldman’s mugshot. The mugshot and citation have already been released.

Now it appears a judge will decide if the information can be released. 

I think when an elected official gets a DUI, they should resign immediately. Do not pass go, do not collect $200, do not return to the office. I said this when Boldman, a Democrat, was charged with DUI, and the same thing when Superintendent of Public Instruction Susie Hedalen, a Republican, was charged with DUI. (Source)

They should release all the videos and information on both, and others in the future. Maybe it will embarrass them enough to quit drinking and driving. 

ROBERTO OROZCO-RAMIREZ:

Roberto Orozco-Ramirez is a man from Friod, Montana, who had been in the USA illegally. According to an affidavit from a border patrol agent at the time of his arrest, Orozco was previously removed from the United States in 2009 and is accused of illegally re-entering the country.  

More background information can be found HERE. 

The Daily Montana reported on April 16, 2026, that Orozco-Ramirez had his criminal proceedings dismissed, according to court documents. The Daily Montana also reported that it was not immediately clear what would happen next, though he is not listed on Cascade County Detention Center’s jail roster, where he had been held. 

According to my check of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Online Detainer Locator System, Orozco-Ramirez is in ICE custody in the Northwest ICE Processing Center located in Tacoma, Washington. 

Back in January, I wrote that while it is a sad deal for his family and community, the bottom line is, if the affidavit is true, Orozco-Ramirez was in the United States illegally. He was removed in 2009 and came back in illegally. He broke the law. Due to these past poor decisions, he may not be granted entry into the USA for a very long time. 

DAINES TO CHINA:

Several sources, including Reuters, are reporting that U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) will ​lead a five-member bipartisan ‌delegation to China next week, the South China ​Morning Post reported on ​Friday, citing sources.

U.S. President ⁠Donald Trump is ​scheduled to visit Beijing on May ​14 and 15 to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping ​during his first ​visit to China in eight years, ‌a ⁠closely watched trip which was postponed due to the Iran war.

Now that Daines is a lame duck Senator, he has plenty of time to run errands for Trump. 

RECLASSIFICATION OF MARIJUANA: 

The Associated Press and others reported that President Donald Trump’s acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, on Thursday signed an order reclassifying state-licensed medical marijuana as a less-dangerous drug, a major policy shift long sought by advocates who said cannabis should never have been treated like heroin by the federal government. 

The AP also reported that the order does not legalize marijuana for medical or recreational use under federal law. But it does change the way it’s regulated, shifting licensed medical marijuana from Schedule I — reserved for drugs without medical use and with high potential for abuse — to the less strictly regulated Schedule III. It also gives licensed medical marijuana operators a major tax break and eases some barriers to researching cannabis. 

Read the DOJ press release HERE. 

ONE MORE TIME:

They say milk is good for your teeth. So is minding your own business. 

## HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND ##