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Monday, July 18, 2005
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HB 1177
 Craig Daily Press: "During a tour of the Western Slope last week, Gov. Bill Owens signed legislation aimed at guiding water negotiations between the state's river basins. On Tuesday, Moffat County commissioners discussed the legislation and its potential impact in Northwest Colorado. House Bill 1177, also known as 'Colorado Water for the 21st Century Act,' establishes nine roundtables tasked with negotiating interbasin water discussions. The roundtables will represent nine river basins. Northwest Colorado is represented by the Yampa-White Basin Roundtable."
The article is a month old. Thanks to Howling At A Waning Moon for the link.
Here's a cool website from the U.S.G.S. called Water Watch. They map, "...real-time streamflow compared to historical streamflow for the day of the year (United States)." Thanks to Adding Understanding for the link.
Category: Colorado Water
6:21:51 PM 
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Western Strategy?
Daily Kos: "We're not going to win Idaho next time, on any platform. But we can start chipping away. A 'Western platform' is the future of the Democratic Party, and one that I embrace to my very core -- fiscal and personal responsibility, rugged individualism, freedom to live one's life without government intrusion into the doctor's office or the bedroom. The intersection of libertarianism, good government, and economic populism."
Western Democrat: "Imagine that, a screaming (literally) liberal plays well in the West. How does that work? The beltway GOP can't figure it out out. But, Dan Popkey of the Idaho Statesmen Journal puts it well: 'Howard Dean gets Idaho's independent values.'"
Stygius: "Tom Tancredo hypothesizes on bombing Mecca."
Mt. Virtus: "When you're a United States Congressman, you have to take special care what sort of public pronouncements you make, as they are taken to have much greater weight and significance than utterances from your average 'shock jock.' Not best known for his great tact, Colorado's own Congressman Tom Tancredo crossed a line while recently on a radio talk show...Unlike Durbin, Tancredo holds no leadership position on Capitol Hill. Unlike Durbin's party, the GOP should have no problem giving out a reprimand to one of its own for such a knuckleheaded statement. Although I respect Tancredo greatly for his integrity and frequently agree with him on the issues, this is a no-brainer: he needs to make a serious, full, and unwavering apology."
5280 Weblog: "Tancredo sees line, crosses it."
Political Wire: "'South Carolina is becoming a popular destination for Republicans considering a presidential bid in 2008,' the Charlotte Observer reports. 'The reason? It'll be the site of the first Southern primary that year.'"
Political Wire: "Sen. Russ Feingold's (D-WI) travel schedule 'is moving into high gear, even as he plays down the possibility of running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008,' the Green Bay Press-Gazette reports. In recent weeks, the senator has traveled to Pennsylvania and Tennessee and 'earlier this year he made speeches and met with political activists in Alabama and Florida.'"
Oval Office 2008: "Although remaining coy about his own presidential ambitions, Virginia Democratic Governor Mark Warner appeared to outline the beginnings of a national agenda at a recent speech to the National Press Club."
Category: 2008 Presidential Election
6:01:45 PM
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Biden for President?
Oval Office 2008: "Delaware Democratic Senator, Joe Biden, 'hasn't a snowball's chance in that hot place of securing the nomination or winning the election' in 2008, writes Rob Klaus in the Delware Coast Press. By 'that hot place' I assume Klaus means either Hell or, possibly, South Carolina."
Category: 2008 Presidential Election
7:22:13 AM
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More Water Storage?
 The Denver Post editorial staff weighs in on last week's proposal to solve Colorado's looming water shortages [July 18, 2005, "Cooperation key to future water supply"]. From the article, "Last week, mainstream environmental groups released a thoughtful report on how Colorado can craft a comprehensive strategy to meet Front Range water needs. The stretch from Greeley and Pueblo is home to about 80 percent of the state's people, and those communities should cooperate, not compete, on water issues.
"The environmentalists emphasize the need for more conservation. They calculate that intensive conservation efforts over the next 25 years could save 200,000 acre-feet of water annually, enough to supply about 1 million new residents.
"But for the first time, the organizations - Trout Unlimited, Western Resource Advocates, and the Colorado Environmental Coalition - acknowledged a need for more water storage. The groups prefer that Colorado expand existing dams and reservoirs before building new ones. They also say future projects should be smaller than the huge dams that were built in the past."
Category: Colorado Water
7:02:57 AM
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Referendums C and D
Here's an article from the Rocky Mountain News about Referendum C [July 15, 2005, "C is for clash in fight over budget fix"]. From the article, "Referendum C is the cause of the latest civil war for the Colorado Republican Party, pitting conservative against conservative and turning allies against one another. (Bill) Owens, touted in 2002 by National Review magazine as the nation's best governor for his tough fiscal policies, believes the money is essential for higher education, transportation and other state agencies that suffered deep cuts because of the recent recession. Republicans who oppose the measure say it will bloat government instead of teaching it to get by with less. Sen. Norma Anderson, R-Lakewood, who supports Referendum C, said divisions in the party were apparent long before lawmakers argued on how to fix the state budget. She said it hasn't helped that conservatives label colleagues they disagree with as 'RINOs,' Republicans in Name Only."
The Rocky also profiled some state Republican party leaders and their position on the Referendum [July 15, 2005, "Measures hard call for GOP"].
Eighteen recently enacted tax breaks may be suspended under Referendum C, according to the Rocky Mountain News [July 15, 2005, "Ref. C divisive issue for GOP"]. Here's the list: Business personal property tax credit, Rebates part of a tax on business owners, Kicks in at $257.7 million, Estimated cost - $112.4 million; Colorado capital gains modification, Tax break on sale of Colorado property or assets held for five or more years, Kicks in at $394.1 million, Estimated cost - $56.8 million; Income tax modification for interest, dividends and capital gains, Up to $1,200 for individuals and $2,400 for joint filers, Kicks in at $491.3 million, Estimated cost - $49.8 million; Reduced motor vehicle registration fees, Kicks in at $463.4 million, Estimated cost - $38.3 million; Earned income tax credit, Income tax break for low-income people who work, Kicks in if TABOR refunds top $75.8 million in 2006-07, Estimated cost - $36.9 million in '06-07; Child care tax credits, Extends a larger credit for child care to a wider group of taxpayers, Kicks in at $407.2 million, Estimated cost - $28.6 million; Tangible personal property used for research and development, A 50 percent sales tax credit for research and development purchases, Kicks in at $457.8 million, Estimated cost - $15.5 million; Interstate commerce sales and use tax exemption, Sales tax refund for truckers, Kicks in at $491.3 million, Estimated cost - 4.9 million; Income tax deduction for charity, Tax credit for charitable donations over $500, Kicks in at $107 million refund level in '06-07, Estimated cost - $3.4 million; Pollution control provisions, Exempts some pollution control equipment from state taxes, Kicks in at $491.3 million, Estimated cost -$2.1 million; Income tax credit for foster parents, Up to $500 per foster care home, Kicks in at $255.4 million, Estimated cost - $200,000; Health care shortage area tax credit, Temporary tax break for health care professionals who live in understaffed areas, Kicks in at $400.1 million, Estimated cost - $200,000; Income tax credit for contributions to the Colorado Institution for Telecommunication Education, Kicks in at $446.8 million, Estimated cost - Less than $100,000; Individual development accounts, Allows creation of tax-free savings accounts for college, buying a first home or starting a business, Kicks in at $266.7 million. Estimated cost - Less than $100,000; Tax credit for donations to Colorado high technology scholarship program, Kicks in at $463.4 million, Estimated cost - Less than $100,000; Agriculture value-added development fund program, For farm co-ops or business projects, Not projected to kick in until 2007-08. Estimated cost - $600,000; Income tax credit for cost of health benefits, Up to $500 to offset health costs for low-income workers, Not projected to kick until 2008-09, Estimated cost - $3 million; Expanded capital gains tax breaks, Not projected to kick in until 2009-10, Estimated cost - $33 million.
Here's an article from the Denver Post about the opposing sides in the state Republican party around Referendums C and D [July 18, 2005, "Referendums open GOP rift"]. From the article, "U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez and former University of Denver president Marc Holtzman oppose the referendums on the November ballot, hoping to appeal to conservative voters - considered key to either candidate winning the party's gubernatorial nomination nine months later. Their stances against budget reform place both men at odds with Gov. Bill Owens, business leaders and the measures' powerful Republican backers. Especially intense is rhetoric being hurled against Owens by Holtzman, who accuses the governor, his one-time close friend, of selling out by promoting reform of the revenue-limiting Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, or TABOR. Warring over budget measures is distracting Republicans from what should be their main priority: the 2006 election, party leaders say."
Category: Denver November 2005 Election
6:35:24 AM
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November 2006 Issues
David Harsanyi looks at the issue of abortion and how it is playing out for Bill Ritter and Rutt Bridges in his column in today's Denver Post [July 18, 2005, "Dem voters will have clear choice"]. He writes, "Democrats, on the other hand, fancy themselves the party of 'choice.' Which is true ... unless you happen to choose capitalism. So, how exactly do we define 'choice'? Does it mean allowing mothers to choose to terminate a pregnancy, but prohibiting mothers from choosing which school their kids can attend?"
Dan Haley suggests a couple of possible issues for November 2006 in his column in today's Denver Post [July 18, 2005, "Hot issues may shape '06 campaign"]. From the opinion piece, "Two very divisive issues - gay marriage and immigration - could be headed for Colorado's ballot in 2006. Not only will they stir up a lot of noise, they'll also help define the races for governor and Colorado's legislature. Republicans, with an eye on polling, think the issues will break in their favor. Voters in 11 states in 2004 decisively (often overwhelmingly) approved ballot measures banning gay marriage, and many pundits credit the initiatives with luring more conservative-minded voters to the polls to cast votes for President George W. Bush. (Bush won nine of the states, and increased his 2000 vote total by 12 million votes.) But the two explosive issues could backfire just as easily."
The Rocky Mountain News has a short roundup of fundraising news this morning [July 18, 2005, "War chests mounting for 2006 political races"].
Here's the coverage from the Rocky Mountain News [July 14, 2005, "Candidates for state, federal races release finance reports"]. From the article, "In the Democratic race for governor, Bill Ritter raised the most money last quarter, but Rutt Bridges raised more money per day after jumping into the race."
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
6:20:57 AM
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© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/14/09; 7:39:56 PM.
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