Coyote Gulch

Monday, August 1, 2005

Reuse of Treated Wastewater
Wired builds on the reuse of treated wastewater theme. Tom McNichol writes, "People head to Reno for all sorts of reasons. Some want to gamble. Others are looking for a hasty wedding or quickie divorce. I've come to the Biggest Little City in the World to drink my own pee. Not straight up, of course. First, I'll run it through a new NASA water purification system that collects astronaut sweat, moisture from respiration, drain water, and urine - and turns it all into drinking water."
Category: Colorado Water
7:06:02 PM

BlogHer
Halley Suitt: "The weirdest and most obvious thing is that everyone in the room is trying to treat everyone else with respect and actually as an equal -- not playing "I'm more powerful than you, I'm smarter than you, I work at a cooler place than you" or other forms of grand-standing I see at conferences dominated by men."
6:36:07 PM

Vilsack for President?
Bull Moose: "Strong families, whatever their shape, and strong communities wherever they are, reinforce each other, making everyone stronger still. In other words, as Governor Vilsack spoke last week about growing up in a struggling family that was stretched thin, 'In my case, a Little League coach, a fifth-grade teacher, people from the community sort of kept me on the straight and narrow long enough for my family to come back. But as I grew up, I said to myself, someday I am going to find a place. I am going to find a place where I can have children, where my wife and I will be engaged in their upbringing, where they will not just rely on us but will have a community surrounding them, that when they fail there will be someone there to put their arm around them and say it's okay.'"
Western Democrat: "Vilsack matters, and why it could hurt the West."
Political Wire: "Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack (D) plans to spend his Labor Day at a picnic in New Hampshire, 'fueling speculation about his interest in seeking the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008,' according to the AP. Vilsack will attend the picnic at the invitation of New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch (D)."
Category: 2008 Presidential Election
6:06:56 PM

Bolton
Scott Paul: "It turns out John Bolton is not the first UN Ambassador nominee to consider a recess appointment: in 1999, President Clinton floated the idea of a recess appointment for Richard Holbrooke, one of his UN Ambassador nominees, but Holbrooke refused. No, Bolton has another place in the record books: he is the first nominee to actively campaign for a recess appointment."
Update: I credited the wrong author above. Now corrected (originally I credited Steven Clemons). Thanks to Stygius for pointing out my error.
Thanks to Stygius for the link.
The Moderate Voice: "President George Bush today bypassed the Senate and used a recess appointment to send embattled UN Ambassador nominee to the UN, raising the question: Has George Bush politically 'jumped the shark?'"
Category: 2004 Presidential Transition
5:57:28 PM

BlogHer
Courtney Lowery (from New West) reports on BlogHer, "I tell you, being around so many fascinating, engaged and inspiring people is downright exhausting. I've just returned from Santa Clara, Calif., where I was taking part in BlogHer 2005, a conference built around empowering women in the world of blogging. I am indeed invigorated ... and tired as hell."
More pictures from J.D. Lasica. Thanks to Halley Suitt for the link.
12:37:11 PM

BlogHer
Berkeley Blog: "This conference exemplified the reason for all conferences: to stimulate the exchange of ideas and creation of new ideas, new friendships, and lasting unions of people dedicated to the promotion of ideas. There was no hostility, either overt or subvert, and the diversity of attendees, which included almost every type of human species on our planet, added to the general gaiety. It was a carnival of sorts, for women who blog under monikers such as Arse Poetica and Cross Over (transgender) and Time Goes By, and during the course of the day, layers of knowledge and accomplishment, humor and humanity and invention were exposed like so many facets of a gemstone "
Thanks to Dave Winer for the link.
Halley Suitt: "Jeff Jarvis, I love you man, but this morning you blog about the Blogher Keynote I did with Charlene Li at Forrester and you mention NEITHER OF US, give us no traffic, critique a conference you did NOT attend, give a link to another man who did not attend and then mention Lisa Stone in a dismissive way sans linking her, WHAT GIVES? "
7:13:00 AM

Immigration
Westword profiles immigrants in this story. They write, "Lilian hates it that the Mexican government is living large while the people starve -- but she knows it's not the U.S.'s fault. 'In the Third World, in countries like mine, we do suffer more,' she says. 'But unfortunately, we cannot send the invoice to America and have America be in charge of everything.' She wishes that immigrants could come work here legally and avoid a life in the shadows, a life where they're taken advantage of or stand to lose everything if their deportation day comes. 'In February, Lilian was invited by Citizenship and Immigration Services to share her story with about sixty new citizens at a naturalization ceremony. Nervous, she faced the crowd. 'I was one of you,' she told them. 'A few years ago, I was sitting in that chair being sworn in myself. 'In the Third World, people talk about the American dream, and I'm living it. I'm very fortunate.'"
Category: 2008 Presidential Election
6:52:59 AM

Brown to pitch TABOR fix?
The Rocky Mountain News editorial staff thinks that newly crowned C.U. President Hank Brown should become part of the pitch team helping to pass Referendum C [August 1, 2005, "What's missing from Ref C pitch"]. They write, "Generic ads pushing C with the slogan 'Yes to better roads, better schools, better health care' may work, but they're also predictable. Much more effective - especially with the fiscally conservative and swing voters who hold Brown in particular esteem - would be a TV spot in which the CU president calmly lays out the budget facts for viewers, tells them he's voting for Referendum C and adds that he hopes they will, too. The new CU president has plenty to do without diving into a statewide ballot campaign, of course. Yet it's hard to imagine a better use of his time if he really wants to help his alma mater."
Here's an article from the Denver Post detailing how things are working out in Colorado Springs with regard to Referendum C [August 1, 2005, "Springs' backing of referendums splits GOP"]. From the article, "Colorado Springs, the home of the state's top anti-tax crusaders, has emerged as a battleground for divided Republican elected leaders. Last week, the Colorado Springs City Council voted 7-1 to endorse Referendums C and D in a slap at the region's delegation of Republican lawmakers, who unanimously opposed the budget-reform deal that goes to the state's voters in November. And on Tuesday, Colorado Springs Mayor Lionel Rivera, a Republican, will lead a rally in support of the measures, which will ask voters to let state government keep about $3.6 billion that would otherwise be refunded under the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights. Last spring, Republican state lawmakers from El Paso County opposed the plan as a tax increase. Last week, Colorado Springs City Council members called it a tool to boost the local economy."
Meanwhile Senator Ken Gordon and others are planning to walk from border to border in support of Referendums C and D according to the Denver Post [August 1, 2005, "Measures' backers plan cross-state walk"]. From the article, "Supporters of two budget measures on this fall's Colorado ballot are expected to announce today that they will walk the length of the state. The six-week, 350-mile walk from the borders of Wyoming to New Mexico will include hundreds of people with rallies, concerts and town hall meetings along the way, said Senate Democratic leader Ken Gordon, a walk organizer."
Category: Denver November 2005 Election
6:37:08 AM

Aurora to Recycle Water
Here's an article about Aurora's plans to deliver water in the future from the Rocky Mountain News [August 1, 2005, "Plan eyed to quench growing thirst"]. From the article, "Aurora must expand existing water supplies by nearly 64 percent in the next 25 years to keep up with the flocks of newcomers expected to arrive during that time. By 2030, Aurora will need about 90,000 acre-feet of water, a significant jump over the 55,000 acre-feet its current system delivers, according to a utilities department analysis. To quench that giant thirst, the City Council is eyeing a far-reaching plan to create an extensive recycled drinking-water system, upgrade its delivery system, add storage and buy the rights to other water supplies, largely here in the South Platte River Basin, said Peter Binney, director of utilities. Depending on its ultimate scope, the revamped water system could cost from $300 million up to $1 billion, Binney said."
Category: Colorado Water
6:22:23 AM

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