Coyote Gulch

Friday, December 19, 2003

Smallest Political Quiz Ever
Here's your chance to quickly find out where you stand with regard to your political views. Coyote Gulch came out Left Liberal. And all this time I thought I was a centrist. Stupid questionaire.
6:30:24 PM

Denver November 2004 Election
I'm pretty sure that no matter what I'll still be living in Congressional District 1 after the redistricting battle is over. Many other Coloradans still don't know what district they live in. Republicans have fired another shot in the ongoing battle, according to the Denver Post [December 19, 2003, "GOP asks for federal ruling on remap"]. From the article, "Lawyers for Colorado's leading Republicans appeared in court Thursday to ask three federal judges to review the Colorado Supreme Court's recent striking of a Republican-drawn map of the state's congressional districts. Democratic attorneys asked the judges to refuse the invitation and send Gov. Bill Owens, Secretary of State Donetta Davidson and Republican state legislators on to the U.S. Supreme Court, which usually conducts such reviews. But it is unlikely federal judges in Denver or the U.S. Supreme Court will get involved, said Nate Persily, an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. 'You cannot seek redress from a state court judgment in federal court,' he said. 'You've got to go directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.'"
7:05:57 AM

2003 Denver Mayoral Transition
I finally have a new boss. Mayor Hickenlooper informed City employees via e-mail that he has named Guillermo "Bill" V. Vidal to the post of Manager of Public Works. Here's a story from the Rocky Mountain News [December 19, 2003, "New chief for public works"]. The Rocky also has a short bio. Welcome to Public Works Mr. Vidal.
Here's the coverage from the Denver Post [December 19, 2003, "DRCOG chief takes public works post"]. From the article, "Transportation guru Guillermo "Bill" Vidal will become the highest paid employee in Denver city government after accepting Mayor John Hickenlooper's offer to become manager of public works. Vidal will earn $151,000 a year overseeing streets and bridges, garbage collection, parking enforcement, snow removal and a host of other services."
6:51:09 AM

Colorado Water
The East Cherry Creek Valley Water and Sanitation District plans to spend $127 million to bring more water to it's customers, according to the Rocky Mountain News [December 19, 2003, "Suburbs plan $127 million water system"]. From the article, "But the deal is pricey. To cover the $127 million price tag, the district will double tap fees on new homes during the next 10 years, bumping them from $12,000 to $24,000, according to Dave Kaunisto, manager of the East Cherry Creek Valley Water and Sanitation District. The district will also raise an existing $19 water-replacement fee on the base bills of current residents to $22."
Here's the coverage from the Denver Post [December 19, 2003, "Aurora district to pay $75 million for Brighton firm's water rights"]. From the article, "The complicated deal will include the transfer of 3,000 acre- feet of water now used to irrigate a 20,000-acre Weld County ranch to the East Cherry Creek Valley Water and Sanitation District, along with 2,000 acre-feet sold by members of the Farmers Reservoir and Irrigation Co."
6:41:19 AM

2004 Presidential Election
Here's the second Zogby poll for Georgia. Thanks to the Daily Kos for the link.
Democrats started beating on Howard Dean recently. The perceived front runner for the Democrats is getting hit hard from Joe Lieberman, Dick Gephart, and John Kerry. Calls for party unity are falling on deaf ears as those candidates along with John Edwards and Wesley Clark seek to keep their campaigns relevant only a few weeks from the Iowa caucuses. The rancor amongst the Democrats will help George Bush is his quest for a second term. Now it looks like Ralph Nader might get in to the 2004 election. Nader is blamed by many for taking votes from Al Gore in 2000 that would have put Gore in the White House. The question is whether or not the Green Party will take him back or will he need to build his own third party. From the article, "A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll in October found two-thirds of Americans did not want Nader to run again, and he acknowledged that some of his supporters in 2000 might back a Democrat this time because they were focused on beating Bush. 'There are a lot of people who supported us in 2000 who are anybody-but-Bush adherents, and going back into the fold of (Howard) Dean or the Democrats,' he said. He said Dean, the former Vermont governor who shot to the top of the Democratic field with his heated denunciations of Bush's policies, was 'better than most,' but still did not push Bush hard enough. He criticized Dean's refusal to back cuts in the military budget and said he was 'a pretty conservative governor.'"
6:04:42 AM

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