Coyote Gulch

Saturday, February 14, 2004

2004 Presidential Election
Mayor Hickenlooper is denouncing efforts to ban gay marriage, according to the Denver Post [February 13, 2004, "Mayor: Don't ban gay marriage"]. This is not a fight that the Mayor had to be part of and is therefore showing great political courage coming out on one side or the other of a very controversial issue. From the article, "The mayor, who has picked several gay and lesbian leaders to serve in his new administration, said he plans to speak against the amendment at a rally on Valentine's Day. 'I don't think that it's government's role to dictate to religious institutions what they should or should not allow,' Hickenlooper said. 'But in the context of government, same-sex couples in committed relationships should be entitled to equal rights such as the ability to visit a loved one in the emergency room,' he said. By staking a position on a controversial issue roiling national politics, Hickenlooper is joining a political fight he could avoid because it has no immediate effect on city policies. The Democratic mayor is also putting himself at odds with many of the state's high-profile Republican leaders. Against the advice of some aides who told him to avoid the fight, Hickenlooper plans to attend the rally on the steps of city hall and speak out against U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave's effort to amend the Constitution. Hickenlooper acknowledged that his stance carries risk for his relationship with powerful legislators in the Colorado statehouse and in Colorado's congressional delegation. But the principle of equal rights outweighs the political risks, said mayoral spokeswoman Lindy Eichenbaum Lent."
In 5280's last issue John Andrews called the Mayor "a breath of fresh air." I wonder if he'll change his mind now.
Will Parker suggests that we can use the Internet as a Distributed Fact Checking Engine.
8:21:24 AM

Colorado Water
Well the recent drought that we're still in or just barely out of has made watering restrictions a year to year thing for Metro residents, according to the Rocky Mountain News [February 13, 2004, "Water surcharges possible"]. Basically if it snows a lot this spring we're OK if not we don't have enought water in the reservoirs. From the article, "The agency expects to determine what, if any, watering restrictions will be necessary in late April, spokeswoman Trina Mcguire-Collier said. The utility's reservoirs, now about 73 percent full, are normally about 83 percent full this time of year. But weather forecasts are providing little guidance, indicating that spring snows could be near average or fall short."
8:10:08 AM

2003 Denver Mayoral Transition
Mayor Hickenlooper has appointed Nancy Severson, an attorney and former hospital executive, to head up Environment Services [February 14, 2004, "Attorney will head Denver health agency"]. From e-mail from the mayor's office, "Mayor John Hickenlooper held a news conference in his office Thursday to announce Nancy Severson as his appointee for Manager of Environmental Health. Acting Environmental Health Manager Dr. Chris Veasey will be retiring after nearly 18 years of dedicated service with the City and County of Denver and 20 years with the U.S. Air Force. Denver's Environmental Health Department includes health promotion services, as well as animal control/shelter, environmental protection, environmental services, HIV/AIDS resources, medical examiner/coroner services and public health inspection." Here's the coverage from the Denver Post [February 13, 2004, "Environmental health chief named"].
8:00:42 AM

e-mail John: