Willow Belden

Wells drilled in the Niobrara shale in southeastern Wyoming aren’t producing nearly as much oil as some had expected. But Anadarko Petroleum, one of the big oil companies exploring the shale, expressed nothing but optimism at a Business Expo in Cheyenne Tuesday.

The environmental group Wyoming Conservation Voters released its legislative scorecard for 2011.

James Barrett, a federal appeals court judge and former Wyoming Attorney General, died today. He was 89. Barrett was an army veteran, earned his law degree at the University of Wyoming, and was appointed attorney general in 1967. Several years later, President Richard Nixon appointed him to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.   Gov. Matt Mead knew Barrett personally and described him as “a friend, who with common sense and compassion, set an example as a judge and a citizen. ”   A vigil will be held for Barrett at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Cheyenne at 8 p.m. on Friday.

A jury in Cheyenne handed down the largest medical malpractice verdict in Wyoming history.  The case centered on Louis Prager, who was rushed to the emergency room after an auto accident in 2008.  The doctor, Brian Cullison, failed to diagnose his broken neck.  As a result,  Prager’s left shoulder remains paralyzed;  he’s unable to work;  and he’s in constant pain.

Wyoming is the worst state in the country for women in the workforce. That’s according to a report in the Atlantic which takes into consideration women’s average wages, their percentage of the labor force and how much they earn relative to their skills and education levels.

Carma Corra with the Wyoming Council for Women’s Issues says one of the reasons women earn less than men is that they tend to hold different types of jobs.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is seeking public input about how to deal with declining mule deer numbers in the Platte Valley and southern Wyoming. Mule deer populations in southern Wyoming have dropped about 30 percent in the past five years.

This summer, Game and Fish held a series of public meetings to try to figure the reason for the decline. Laramie regional wildlife supervisor Rick King says participants noted habitat health as a key factor.

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