Coyote Gulch

Friday, December 23, 2005

NSA Wiretaps illegal?
TalkLeft: "The Office of Legislative Affairs for the Justice Department wrote this letter (pdf) Thursday to leaders of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in an attempt to justify the President's orders directing the National Security Agency to conduct warrantless electronic surveillance in the wake of 9/11."

TalkLeft: "Patriot Act extended for one month only."

Western Democrat: "Even though Tom Tancredo of Colorado is the big cheerleader on conservative immigration policy, the West is not a hotbed of anti-immigrant sentiment. The make-up of Tancredo's Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus is mostly Southern congressmen. When you look at a recent Survey USA poll on how people feel about immigrants, you see why those Southern congressman want to join that kind of caucus."

Today's Daily Kos has a primer on evolution.

Captains Quarters: "Former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle writes an op-ed in today's Washington Post (which the Post covers as a news item on page A04, just in case its readers miss it) claiming that the declaration of war granted to Bush after 9/11 specifically limited his war powers. It's a must-read, if only to demonstrate that either the Democrats have to be the worst historical revisionists still received by polite society or have been truly clueless about the nature of the war on Islamofascist terror since its start."

Category: 2008 Presidential Election

5:35:32 AM

Cache la Poudre National Heritage Area

The Greeley Tribune editorial staff weighs in on the Poudre Heritage Area. They write, "With its abundance of ducks, geese, bald eagles, deer, foxes, coyotes, frogs, beavers and other creatures, the Poudre River supports one of the most diverse wildlife habitats in the southwestern U.S.

"It's hard to imagine a riparian area thriving in the midst of a region that is rapidly changing from rural to urban. That's why it's imperative that the Poudre River corridor between Fort Collins and Greeley maintain its wild and historic nature.

"Fortunately, Congress established 23 National Heritage areas in the U.S., including the Poudre. The 45-mile stretch of river snaking through Larimer and Weld counties was among the first heritage areas formed west of the Mississippi River..

"Former Colorado Sen. Hank Brown authored the original legislation to interpret the Poudre's cultural, historic and natural resources in a western water development theme.

"We support legislation recently introduced by Wayne Allard, R-Colo., and Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Colo., that would extend authorization for the Poudre Heritage Area. The bill would keep intact the Poudre Heritage Alliance, a group of area residents, until an official commission could be named. The commission would ultimately work with the National Parks Service to manage the corridor."

Category: Colorado Water

5:15:46 AM

Vote Centers in Denver?
The Denver Election Commission will be holding hearings on their plans to adopt voting centers over traditional precinct voting, according to the Rocky Mountain News [December 23, 2005, "Public input sought on voter-center plan"]. From the article, "Traditional precinct-based polling places have always been used in Denver elections, with the exception of two vote-by-mail contests in 2001 and 2003. The commission is moving to vote centers as a cost-cutting measure. Plans call for having up to 35 vote centers by the August primary. Alton said that suggested locations for vote centers, and concerns about those locations, will be among the topics discussed at the meetings. All of the meetings will be on the second floor of the Denver Election Commission, 200 W. 14th Ave. The meetings will be at 3 p.m. Wednesday, 5:30 p.m. Jan. 10 and 3 p.m. Jan. 18."

Meanwhile several Republicans are attempting to move a citizen initiative about campaign financing to the ballot for November, according to the Rocky Mountain News [December 23, 2005, "Campaign initiative under way"]. From the article, "Their proposal would: Strike campaign finance limits to candidates, unless the state legislature sees a need for limits; Allow corporations to donate to candidates; Require that campaigns during an election year report all financial activities every 48 hours; Require the secretary of state to immediately post that campaign finance activity in a format that lets voters easily figure out where the money is coming from."

Coyote Gulch recommends RSS 2.0 for the format.

SoapBlox Colorado has an early rundown of the 2006 State Senate races.

Category: Denver November 2006 Election

4:53:40 AM

Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District reduces in-stream request

Developers of a kayak course on the Gunnison River have agreed to lower their request for in-stream flows at the high end, according to the Denver Post [December 23, 2005, "Accord reached on kayak course"]. From the article, "The park's developer, the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District, has agreed to reduce its request. Originally, the district had asked for flows that ranged from 270 cubic feet per second to 1,500 cubic feet per second. Under the settlement, the district has agreed to divert flows between 270 and 1,200 cubic feet per second. State water planners initially recommended a flat 250-cubic- feet-per-second decree...In addition to reducing the diverted flows, the district also agreed not to call for the recreational-in-channel diversion when the Gunnison Tunnel and Redlands Canal calls for its water rights."

Here's the coverage from the Rocky Mountain News [December 23, 2005, "State, district reach deal over Gunnison white-water course"]. They write, "The case, the subject of a Colorado Supreme Court ruling last March, has garnered widespread attention in Colorado because the Gunnison River course was one of the first created under a groundbreaking 2001 law authorizing local governments to claim recreational water rights. The Colorado Water Conservation Board, charged with managing the state's streams and administering the 2001 law, has fought several proposed white-water courses, saying that some either claim too much water in the stream, threaten the state's ability to deliver water owed to other states, or could hamper the ability of others, such as cities and farmers, to claim additional water in the future. But communities that have sought to build white-water courses have argued successfully that this new use of water is justified and provides a secondary environmental benefit to the stream...The settlement comes nine months after the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that the Upper Gunnison District had a legitimate right to claim recreational flows in the stream and to determine the amount of water it needed for its course. But since that decision, the legal wrangling has continued as several other communities, including Silverthorne and Steamboat Springs, sought water for their white-water courses, too."

Category: Colorado Water

4:37:25 AM

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