Monday, January 30, 2006

Holtzman for governor? Mt. Virtus: "Last week's rumors were true - the decision was made official this morning: Republican gubernatorial candidate Marc Holtzman has again bolstered his campaign with the announcement that former Speaker of the House Lola Spradley will be his running mate." Colorado Pols: "It sounds like Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter is finally settling on a better message. Ritter has been bogged down by debate over his pro-life stance on abortion, in large part because he has never offered up anything else about him to discuss. The only thing most Democrats know about Ritter is that he is pro-life and is the former Denver District Attorney, but his new message that started a few weeks back continued at a meeting in Pueblo." Category: Denver November 2006 Election 9:27:08 PM

Macintosh NewMexiKen: "Uh oh. New iMac very nice. I may never leave the computer room again." Welcome to the Macintosh family Ken. Be sure to turn on spellcheck for HTML text fields in Safari. 6:12:46 PM

Senate votes to end debate - Alito confirmation vote tomorrow TalkLeft: "By a vote of 75 to 25, the Senate today ended debate on the nomination of Judge Sam Alito to the Supreme Court. The final vote is tomorrow, and over 40 Senators are expected to vote against his nomination.This means Alito will receive more "no" votes than any other confirmed Supreme Court nominee in the last 100 years, other than Justice Clarence Thomas." Opinions You Should Have: "Democrats today said that they would filibuster the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito as long as they can muster the votes to defeat themselves and cut off debate. Their strategy was designed to send a message that they strongly oppose 'this controversial nominee' and will definitely support him. "Sen. Hillary Clinton, upon learning that the Democrats would certainly defeat any attempted filibuster, immediately announced her support for one... "Reporters noted that Kerry had his finger in the wind the entire time he was speaking." Category: 2008 Presidential Election 6:04:24 PM

Holtzman names Spradley as running mate Marc Holtzman held a conference call today after his press announcement that Lola Spradley would join him on the ticket. Coyote Gulch thinks that the conference call technology is a great way to interact with potential voters and supporters of the campaign. The call lasted nearly 30 minutes. Mr. Holtzman and Ms. Spradley both had some brief statements and then they opened it up for questions. Sort of a virtual town hall. We may have to amend the criteria for the Gulchie Awards to include telephone conference calls. Talk about an accessible technology. Category: Denver November 2006 Election 1:06:32 PM

Grand Mesa drilling Longmont Daily Times Call: " Communities in western Colorado, where energy development is booming, have gained support from the state's congressional delegation as they try to keep drilling out of areas that supply their drinking water. "Palisade and Grand Junction are protesting plans to sell federal oil and gas leases in their watersheds at a Bureau of Land Management auction Feb. 9. Democrats Sen. Ken Salazar and Rep. John Salazar have asked the BLM to postpone any action so the potential effects on the springs and other water sources can be studied." Category: Colorado Water 7:28:27 AM

Weld County regulations? Weld County is considering tightening regulations over water and sewer facilities, according to the Longmont Daily Times Call. From the article, "In one of the fastest growing counties in America, private water and sewer providers are vying with municipal water and sewer services to meet the needs of thousands of new homes. "With so many existing water and sewer projects expanding and so many new systems proposed, county officials say big-picture oversight might be necessary to keep water services clean, cheap and orderly. "Weld County attorney Bruce Barker has drafted three potential additions to the county's 1041 regulations - rules named after House Bill 1041, which gives counties control over matters 'of state interest,' such as land - and water-use. If adopted by county commissioners, the new 1041 rules would regulate three aspects of water and sewer service in unincorporated Weld County: control of development of new water and sewage facilities; control of expansion of existing water and sewage systems; and oversight to ensure efficient use of water projects." Category: Colorado Water 7:24:20 AM

Agricultural water to cities Farmers are wising up to Front Range water grabs, according to the Craig Daily Press. From the article, "Keeping water in the hands of family farmers will continue to be an important issue in rural communities, the executive director of the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union said Saturday in Craig. "In a meeting with area farmers and ranchers and state Senator Jack Taylor, Farmers Union director Lee Swenson said growth on the Front Range would continue to put pressure on water supplies in rural areas, including those on the Western Slope... "When municipalities buy the farms or the water rights, they can dry up the farms, Dean said. "But with gas prices and the cost to run family farms on the rise, selling water is one of the last options some farmers feel they have, Dean said. "The Farmers Union would like to see farmers lease their water to municipalities instead of selling it, Dean said. That way, farmers can maintain their water rights and preserve their farms, he said." Category: Colorado Water 7:18:26 AM

HB1177 The Pueblo Chieftain asks several players in Colorado water to answer the question, "What's a good water project?" From the article, "On the surface, the task seems simple enough, but even such a simple question can lead to hours - days, months, years - of debate. "The time line, operation and purpose of the statewide Interbasin Compact Committee, designed by legislators to answer such questions, were questioned last week at the Colorado Water Congress. "The committee will meet for the first time Friday, but the process leading up to the meeting was hotly debated during as the Water Congress staged a roundtable of its own. "HB1177, which set up nine roundtables and the statewide committee was seen as a way to resolve conflicts over water projects when lawmakers passed the bill last year." Category: Colorado Water 7:12:01 AM

More water for the Platte River Whooping Cranes and other species that depend on water in the Platte River can breath a bit easier now, according to the Rocky Mountain News [January 30, 2006, "Platte River recovery"]. From the article, "Colorado will ante up nearly $24 million to buy land and secure water for endangered birds and fish that rely on the Platte River in Nebraska. "The hard-fought agreement with Nebraska, Wyoming and the federal government allows water utilities from Denver to Fort Collins to meet their obligations to protect four endangered species on the waterway: three birds - whooping cranes, piping plovers and interior least terns - and one fish - the pallid sturgeon... "The Colorado Water Conservation Board, which is overseeing Colorado's role, approved the financing plan last week and expects the agreement to be signed by the governors of Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming, as well as the U.S. Department of the Interior secretary, in October. "The idea is to lease or purchase some 10,000 acres of land and use water from federal reservoirs in Wyoming and Nebraska's Lake McConaughey, as well as some from Colorado, to replenish the river's flows in a stretch of the Platte near Kearney, Neb. "The flows in that region have been sharply depleted during the past 60 years, thanks in part to heavy urban and agricultural water use in Colorado. "In the late 1800s and early 1900s, spring runoffs from the South and North Platte rivers generated bountiful flushing flows that shaped nesting areas and cleared vegetation from the central Platte River's banks, creating rich, sandy habitat for birds. "The runoff also created a safe resting place for whooping cranes as they made their long migration from Central America to Canada... "The first phase of the recovery effort, 13 years long, is valued at roughly $300 million, including in-kind contributions of water and land. The federal government is slated to pay about $160 million in cash, and the states are paying about $30 million. "The states' contributions break down like this: Water-strapped Colorado is putting in $24 million in cash and about 10,000 acre-feet of water; Wyoming is contributing $6 million in cash and about 25,000 acre-feet of water; and Nebraska is providing about 100,000 acre-feet of water and land." Category: Colorado River 7:03:59 AM

Drought plan for Colorado River? According to KSL.com the Colorado River Compact states still haven't come up with a plan for sharing the river during drought years but they're going to try again today. From the article, "Representatives from the seven Colorado River states will take one last shot at hammering out a drought plan in Las Vegas on Monday. "If the states fail to come to an agreement, the best-case scenario has the Interior Department moving ahead and impose its own water-use guidelines on the states by the end of 2007. "The worst-case scenario is a courtroom standoff that drags on for years, putting water supplies at risk if drought returns... "Coming to a drought agreement may come down to just two of the seven states -- Arizona and California -- coming to a truce. "Nearly 40 years ago, Arizona agreed to give up senior status to more than half its share in exchange for the Central Arizona Project canal. "California has resisted Arizona's attempts to change that agreement, arguing that a deal is a deal. Other states have been willing to talk about ways to postpone declaring a shortage as long as possible, thus protecting Arizona, but only until low water levels put them at risk. "Herb Guenther, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, said Arizona and California settled several key issues late last week about how the river's major reservoirs will be operated but were forced to abandon talks on other points. "Before the full-river issues can be addressed, the lower-basin states -- Arizona, California and Nevada -- must reach an accord. Meanwhile, upper river basin states -- Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico -- also want to begin using more of their own allotments to help handle growing demands. They want assurances that their supplies will be protected from the three lower-river states... 6:53:15 AM

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