Coyote Gulch

Friday, December 16, 2005

Open-sourced campaign
Western Democrat: "Pete Ashdown has a great idea. Ashdown, the internet executive who plans to take on Orrin Hatch next year, has introduced his own campaign wiki, giving anyone with an internet connection a chance to contribute to his effort, and creating what can be called 'The first open-sourced campaign.'"

How about it all you candidates for next fall?

Category: Denver November 2006 Election

6:24:40 AM

Southern Delivery System

Here's an editorial from the Pueblo Chieftain on the subject of moving Colorado Springs' lawsuit over the Southern Delivery System to Pueblo County.

They write, "That suit was an obvious pre-emptive move on the part of Colorado Springs, which wants to build a giant water pipeline from Pueblo Reservoir north 43 miles to Colorado Springs. Pueblo County commissioners, in an effort to make sure residents here are protected, updated this county's 1041 land-use regulations, so called for the number of the bill which created county authority for such protections statewide...

"Digging up land for the pipeline would be only part of the damages of the Southern Delivery System, however. Resulting huge increases in return flows down Fountain Creek, plus increased stormwater runoff, would portend even more environmental and property damages as the Fountain flows through Pueblo County."

Category: Colorado Water

6:09:30 AM

Fountain Creek and growth

Growth is providing uncertainty for planning solutions on Fountain Creek, according to the Pueblo Chieftain. They write, "El Paso County growth is making it more difficult to solve problems on Fountain Creek and it will take more cooperation to make a breakthrough, those at a forum on Thursday agreed...The group invited Colorado Springs Utilities representatives to share their viewpoint of problems on Fountain Creek that have resulted in two lawsuits and potential difficulties for the proposed Southern Delivery System in recent months. Colorado Springs also is forming a stormwater enterprise and raising its sewer rates 19 percent next year to deal with problems...

"Bill Alt, a Pueblo County landowner on Fountain Creek, advocated building more detention ponds along the creek to reduce flows...Detention ponds, drop structures to slow flows and better planning will be part of the stormwater utility, McCormick said. He could not give specifics, but said other city officials would be able to provide more specific information. Chief Executive Officer Jerry Forte is scheduled to speak to the group next month."

Category: Colorado Water

6:01:44 AM

Colorado River Water Users Association Annual Meeting

Here's a short report from Las Vegas and the Colorado River Water Users Association annual meeting via the Rocky Mountain News ["December 16, 2005, "Inaction vexes water expert"]. From the article, "Western water providers, long isolated from thorny growth debates, must manage water and population pressure together or face voter initiatives that seek to regulate both, a prominent Arizona water official said Thursday...new rain and snowfall models show the river's supplies becoming increasingly strained by population growth. Already some 25 million people in the West rely on the Colorado River. But new streamflow studies indicate the river doesn't generate as much water as was once thought. Reservoirs such as Lake Mead and Lake Powell, built to store and manage the scarce resource, are likely to drop more each year because of the demands of a growing population, even if the current drought ends."

Here's another story about the annual meeting from the Salt Lake City Tribune. They write, "Supply and demand are becoming increasingly out of whack where the Colorado River is concerned. Cities such as Phoenix and Las Vegas continue to expand at a mind-boggling rate, adding thousands of new residents every month. But the amount of water the river delivers in a given year - around 15 million acre-feet - remains unchanging and finite. Given that growing discrepancy, some are now calling for a new paradigm in approaching growth issues in the region. Essentially, an attorney and a law professor told the Colorado River Water Users Association conference on Thursday, that the time may have arrived to label these and other Western boomtowns 'mature communities' that need stabilization and enhancement - as opposed to continued immigration from the outside. "

Category: Colorado Water

5:46:18 AM

Immigration Reform?
Here's a report from the Denver Post about progress (or not) concerning HR 4437 (The Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005) [December 16, 2005, "Immigration debate illuminates rift in GOP"]. From the article, "The bill is aimed at shutting down illegal border crossings. It would order businesses to verify the legal status of their workers and would boost penalties for illegal presence in the United States from a civil offense to a criminal misdemeanor...Hard-liners like [Tom] Tancredo say that a wave of illegal immigration is straining the nation's resources and breeding a tolerance of illegality. But the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business interests, usually reliable GOP supporters, feel that the bill burdens employers. The bill faces overwhelming opposition from Democrats."

Here's the coverage from the Rocky Mountain News [December 16, 2005, "Debate on immigration bill in Congress pleases Tancredo"]. From the article, "Although he has flirted with a possible presidential contest in 2008, [Tom] Tancredo often is written off as a loud-mouthed, back-bencher who wields little power. But on Thursday, he had a direct line to Republican leadership because without the support of his hard-line immigration caucus, it was unlikely they could pass anything to appease an increasingly vocal part of the Republican base."

Meanwhile Jim Spencer reports that Governor Owens has waded into the middle of the immigration issue [December 16, 2005, "Gov. Owens closes door to nativists"]. He writes, "What you saw in Owens' endorsement of a quick-turnaround, privately administered visa program was the influence of the economically conservative right wing of the Republican Party, said Frank Sharry, director of the National Immigration Forum. Economic conservatives believe in free enterprise and a global economy. Socially conservative members of the GOP want wholesale removal of illegal immigrants and quotas that sharply restrict legal immigration. They want the Mexican border sealed with troops and technology. State Rep. David Schultheis of Colorado Springs is one of them."

TalkLeft: "I wonder what former President Ronald Reagan, so famous for his 'Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall' statement at the Berlin wall, would think of his fellow Republicans in Congress last night passing a border bill that will result in five fences being built along 698 miles of the Mexico -United States border in an effort to block illegal immigration and drugs from entering the U.S."

New West: "Can the West squeeze its way into '08 primary?

Andrew Sullivan: "This is such a great, great day. Iraqis turn out in massive numbers to move their country forward; and America regains her honor by finally, unequivocally reasserting a ban on torture and adherence to the U.N. Convention on Torture. I'll have more to say tomorrow. But the sight of so many Arab and Kurdish Muslims having a chance to actually determine their own future is inspiring. We have so much more work to do; but now we can hold our heads up in pride. The heroes within the military and CIA and diplomatic services who resisted and finally overcame the Cheney-Rumsfeld axis of brutality deserve congratulations. John McCain has served one more mission in defense of his country's ideals. One particular vote of thanks to Ian Fishback, the young man who risked his career to end un-American abuse and torture of defenseless detainees. He's now training for the Special Forces - to go on and fight our enemy, with dignity, humanity and honor. May God protect him and all those who are protecting us. This was a fight for their honor too. And a tribute to their service and to the men and women who preceded them."

Bull Moose: "Yes, yesterday was a day of democracy for Iraq and a day of pride for America."

Category: 2008 Presidential Election

5:17:59 AM

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