Coyote Gulch

Friday, August 22, 2003

November 2003 Ballot
The Rocky Mountain News [August 22, 2003, "DPS won't ask for pay hikes"] is reporting that Denver voters will have an opportunity to approve a bond issue for the Denver Public Schools on the November ballot. From the article, "Denver school board members on Thursday unanimously approved ballot proposals asking voters for a $310 million bond issue to build and repair schools and a $20 million tax rate increase to improve educational programs. But they vetoed the idea of including a salary increase for teachers in the tax rate increase, saying the request last week from the Denver Classroom Teachers Association came too late." The Rocky [August 22, 2003, "Denver schools' pitch to voters"] also has a summary of the main parts of the ballot issue.
Referendum A is the subject of this article from the Denver Post [August 22, 2003, "Distrust runs deep on water proposal"]. From the article, "Some opponents say that because Referendum A lacks specifics, trust is key to their support. But their trust waned after Referendum A followed irregular committee routes through the statehouse and one lawmaker reversed his vote after the fact to keep the measure alive."
The Post [August 22, 2003, "Two groups join opposition to video gaming at racetracks"] is also running an article about growing opposition to the ballot issue that would allow Video Lottery Terminals at racetracks. From the article, "Two more groups are lining up to oppose the November ballot proposal that would place video gaming at the state's five racetracks. The Larimer County board of commissioners this week passed a resolution opposing the plan. The board pointed to local repercussions from video lottery terminals at the Cloverleaf greyhound track in Loveland that would outweigh any financial gains. Southern Colorado's Action 22, a group that represents business interests in 22 Colorado counties, also has come out against the plan."
5:54:18 AM

2003 Denver Mayoral Transition
The letter to Mayor Hickenlooper's transition committee, from the Police union, upset many officers that do not agree with some of the statements about the current Chief, Gerry Whitman, according to the Rocky Mountain News [August 22, 2003, "Union's action angers cops"]. From the article, "More than two dozen Denver cops blasted their union Thursday for its push to get Denver Police Chief Gerry Whitman removed from office, an effort that raised the specter of a ticket-writing slowdown. Their complaint: The union's leadership was out of bounds in writing a letter to Mayor John Hickenlooper's transition committee linking Whitman to a number of controversies in the department and implying that officers would be less likely to write tickets, thereby denying the cash-strapped city of revenue, as long as he was still the chief." The Rocky [August 22, 2003, "Officers come to Whitman's defense"] has a list of items presented in Whitman's defense and an editorial bashing the union's letter [August 22, 2003, "Union threats mar police department"]. From the editorial, "The police union seems to have forgotten that the department is a paramilitary organization and officers don't have the right to choose their management."
5:33:29 AM

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