Wednesday, June 7, 2006

Stem cell research Science Blog: "After more than two years of intensive ethical and scientific review, Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers at Harvard and Children's Hospital Boston have been cleared to begin experiments using Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT) to create disease-specific stem cell lines in an effort to develop treatments for a wide range of now-incurable conditions afflicting tens of millions of people." "2008 pres" 6:43:59 PM

Holtzman for governor? Mt. Virtus: "Apparently the Holtzman campaign doesn't have much of a case to make an appeal with the Secretary of State. As the campaign's top deck starts to disappear below the water line, inquiring minds want to know: are there enough lifeboats on the RV?" "denver 2006" 6:41:46 PM

Fiorino for governor? Elevated Voices: "Fiorino thinks that he is entitled to the same news coverage as Bill Ritter, Bob Beauprez and Marc Holtzman. He's wrong. You hear this complaint every election cycle from different candidates running for office, and it's complete nonsense. Just because you figured out how to register your name as a candidate doesn't mean that all of a sudden everybody has to take you seriously." Here's Mr. Fiorino's website. There's no email list and no RSS feed. No tip jar. No calendar of events. Very hard to keep up with the candidate. "denver 2006" 6:24:43 PM

New national energy policy? The Cherry Creek News: "Colorado Congressman Mark Udall (D-Eldorado Springs) joined a bipartisan group of senators and U.S. representatives on Capitol Hill today in introducing a congressional resolution calling for a new national renewable energy goal of producing 25% of the nation's energy supply from the nation's farms and rural communities by 2025. The resolution builds on a broad and politically influential coalition including agriculture, industry, and environmental leaders, as well as several governors and state legislatures." "2008 pres" 6:15:29 PM

Hog-wild New West: "Irises, named for the ancient Greek goddess of the rainbow, grace many landscapes in the Rockies, and why not? The many types and colors are enough to keep anyone entertained throughout the growing season, and those with roots and shoots that grow underground are easily grown. Many of us go hog-wild tucking irises into every available corner of the yard." "flora" 6:03:32 PM

R.I.P. Billy Preston Rest in peace - Billy Preston. 7:20:09 AM

Unity'08 The Moderate Voice: "Whether a third party is practical, viable and can do more than defeat one of the big parties by sucking away people that would vote for it are separate issues that can be debated later. But, for NOW, one thing is certain: there is LOTS of 'buzz' in centrist circles across the country about finding ways to short-circuit polarization - even if this means looking at a third party alternative. One of the highest-profile groups is Unity08, which seeks to offer an alternative ticket." "2008 pres" 7:14:10 AM

Ritter or Beauprez for governor? Apparently Bill Ritter's campaign reads Coyote Gulch (or the Montrose Daily News). We reported yesterday that Bob Beauprez was snuggling up to rainy side voters by coming out against transmountain diversions. The Ritter camp called Beauprez on it since he supported Referendum A in 2002. From the article, "Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter attacked Bob Beauprez on Tuesday as a hypocrite, saying his Republican rival flipped his position on water. The Beauprez camp called the charge a 'pretty transparent' political attack. The salvo came after Beauprez was quoted Monday in the Montrose Daily Press as saying, 'Nobody has convinced me we need transmountain diversions.' That was a change in position from 2003, when Beauprez backed Referendum A, which would have built reservoirs and transferred water to the Front Range, Ritter said... "Beauprez's campaign manager, John Marshall, said, 'Referendum A had absolutely nothing to do with' transmountain diversions. 'For a Denver lawyer to jump in and make those kind of allegations makes it clear that he doesn't understand Colorado water,' Marshall said." Ouch. Marshall is correct. Referendum A was an attempt to set aside $2 billion for "unnamed" water projects." State voters didn't go for the "trust us" message from state officials. "denver 2006" 6:59:18 AM

Tancredo for president? Tom Tancredo won a presidential straw poll of Michigan voters, according to the Denver Post. From the article, "Rep. Tom Tancredo's calls to strengthen the southern border are resonating loudly near the northern one, where some Republicans have named him as their top choice for U.S. president. Tancredo, R-Colo., won a straw poll of Republicans in Macomb County, Mich., on the 2008 presidential race. Tancredo won 60 of the 327 GOP delegates, about 18 percent, in the key Republican county, a suburb of Detroit, beating 13 others, including Sen. John McCain of Arizona, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and even Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, son of former Michigan Gov. George Romney. The win did not signify an earnest drive to put Tancredo in the Oval Office, however. 'The participants that voted for him in the poll stated they were doing so to show their displeasure with the immigration policy that's being discussed in Washington,' said Saul Anuzis, chairman of the Michigan GOP. 'It was less a vote for who they wanted for president and more of a protest vote.'" "2008 pres" 6:46:58 AM

Immigration amendment The proposed amendment to deny services to illegal immigrants is the subject of this article from the Denver Post. They write, "A proposed constitutional amendment that would prohibit providing government services to illegal immigrants could force local officials to check IDs at parks and on public transportation, a former county commissioner said Tuesday. James Johnson, now a union official, said that if he were still an Eagle County commissioner he would face the threat of lawsuits filed by anyone even suspecting illegal immigrants were using government services outside of an emergency. One of what could be a record 18 measures on the Nov. 7 ballot, the 'restrictions on government services to illegal immigrants' proposal sponsored by former Colorado Gov. Dick Lamm drew the most energetic discussion Tuesday at the annual gathering of Colorado Counties Inc., an influential organization of county officials... "Speaking before Johnson, Lamm laid out the case for cracking down on the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States, arguing that they drain the economy and health-care and education systems. 'This is not cheap labor, folks. It is subsidized labor,' Lamm said. 'A few people - the employers - get the benefits. The rest of us have to pay the price.' His proposal is intended to deter illegal immigrants from coming to Colorado, although he acknowledged that it could be more of a symbolic message to Congress that the state has grown intolerant of the strains of illegal immigration. State services such as welfare and food stamps are already prohibited for illegal immigrants. Others, such as emergency medical care and K-12 education, would not be affected, as they are federally mandated. Lamm, now the co-director of the Institute for Public Policy at the University of Denver, cited studies indicating that undocumented workers, who often work for cash off the books or shelter their earnings from Social Security, depress the salaries of average workers by 4 to 6 percent and require greater services from the public-education system. 'It's supply-side poverty,' he said'" "denver 2006" 6:44:05 AM

Snowpack Snowpack in the San Juans is at 6% and falling quickly, according to the Durango Herald. From the article, "A warm and dry May further diminished snowpack in the San Juan, Dolores and Animas river basins, bringing measurements to a feeble 6 percent of average yearly volume. The warm month and dry spring brought on the season's peak flow in the Animas, measured in Durango at 3,610 cubic feet per second on May 25. Early peak flow in the Animas mirrors trends across the state. According to a report from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, most streams and rivers have or will reach their annual peak flow volumes early... "Officials in La Plata County share concern over the impacts of the early peak - particularly on agriculture. Although farmers east and southeast of Durango are using water from the Vallecito and Lemon reservoirs now, they shouldn't expect a continuous supply... "Pat Greer, a rancher between Red Mesa and Marvel, says he has not been able to water his 40 acres of feed crops all spring. Farmers and ranchers in Red Mesa southwest of Durango rely on the Mormon Reservoir, which is almost empty. In addition, ditches feeding from the La Plata River - which runs west of Red Mesa - have run dry all spring, said Greer. 'I've lived here all my life, 70-some years, and this is the driest I've seen it,' he said. 'There's just nothing out here.'" "colorado water" 6:31:02 AM

Farm disaster on the South Platte Here's a short article from the Brighton Standard Blade profiling what some of the farmers in the South Platte are doing to cope with their wells being shut down. From the article, "So far enough ditch water and a little rain has kept crops green, but late summer harvests are likely doomed. "colorado water" 6:18:24 AM

First Cloudsat images Scientists are stoked over the the first images from Cloudsat satellite, according to the NASA. From the article, "Mission managers tested the flight and ground system performance of the satellite's Cloud-Profiling Radar in late May, and found it to be working perfectly. The satellite's first images may be viewed at: http://www.nasa.gov/cloudsat ... "Just 30 seconds after radar activation, CloudSat obtained its first image - a slice of the atmosphere from top to bottom showing a warm storm front over the North Sea in the North Atlantic approaching Greenland. Unlike other satellite observations, the CloudSat radar image shows the storm's clouds and precipitation simultaneously. The front's warm air can be seen rising over colder air, with precipitation below. The remaining orbits of the test recorded unique observations of other weather types on a scale never seen before. The radar obtained first-time observations of clouds and snow storms over the Antarctic. Until now, clouds have been hard to observe in polar regions using satellite remote sensing, particularly during the polar night season. The CloudSat observations also provided new views of sloping, frontal clouds and thunderstorms over Africa, both as individual storms and as part of larger tropical storm systems... "The first-ever millimeter wavelength radar, CloudSat's Cloud-Profiling Radar is more than 1,000 times more sensitive than typical weather radar. It can observe clouds and precipitation in a way never before possible, distinguishing between cloud particles and precipitation. Its measurements are expected to offer new insights into how fresh water is created from water vapor and how much of this water falls to the surface as rain and snow. " More Coyote Gulch coverage here. "colorado water" 6:11:03 AM

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