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Thursday, August 17, 2006
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Mount Antero
Finally, proof (click on the thumbnail) that Coyote Gulch made it to the top of Mount Antero on Sunday. We received the photos tonight from our new friend Eugene. He brought his two sons and a working camera to the top.
10:14:35 PM 
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NSA Wiretapping ruled illegal
TalkLeft: "The NSA's broad wiretapping program that sweeps into its perview non-terrorism suspects, including journalists, lawyers, and scholars, was declared unconstitutional by U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor of the Eastern District of Michigan. The opinion appears here [pdf]. It was a resounding defeat for the Bush Administration."
Blogs for Bush: "The war on terror may be fought on many fronts... but it's being lost here in the courts..."
"2008 pres"
6:49:54 PM
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Amendment 42
Denver Business Journal: "The coalition opposing Colorado's minimum-wage ballot issue, Amendment 42, formally registered with the state Thursday under the name 'Respect Colorado's Constitution.' The coalition, which is backed by business and community groups leaders, hopes to defeat the proposal to cement a minimum-wage mandate in the state's Constitution and index it to inflation...
"The coalition says it currently has the backing of such groups as the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Downtown Denver Partnership, the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, the Colorado Restaurant Association, the Colorado Hotel & Lodging Association, the Colorado Retail Council and the National Federation of Independent Business."
"denver 2006"
6:46:55 PM
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Giuliani for president?
The New York Sun: " If Rudy Giuliani does run for president in 2008, the Palmetto State is everything that's supposedly going to trip him up in the primaries: It's Southern (Mr. Giuliani's a Yankee), it's religious (61% evangelical, the sixth highest concentration in the nation), and it's predisposed to go with the guy whose 'turn' it is (think Bob Dole in 1996)...
"The 2000 election, Mr. Giuliani said, had taught him just how important politics really is. While the election had seemed a relatively frivolous one at the time, suddenly - on September 11, 2001 - it mattered a great deal who was in the White House. 'Sometimes, elections are more important than we realize when we're in them,' he said. While he tied that argument to the 2006 midterm elections, the real message was clear: The coming presidential election isn't about the Confederate flag, it's not about Roe v. Wade, it's not about whether New York's former mayor has had some marital troubles - it's about who will lead America in the War on Terror. Some conservatives might not see eye-to-eye with this Blue-stater on social issues, but this is a new world we live in."
Thanks to Andrew Sullivan for the link.
"2008 pres"
6:25:04 PM
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Accounting reform for Denver?
The Cherry Creek News: "Mayor John Hickenlooper and Auditor Dennis Gallagher announced their agreement on a proposed financial charter reform measure on Thursday, jointly meeting with the media on the steps of the Denver City and County Building. The proposal - which updates the century-old financial operations in the City to increase accountability, establish a Chief Financial Officer under the Mayor and enhance the oversight role of the Auditor - resulted from five months of in-depth analysis by the City's Financial Management Task Force and collaboration between the Mayor's Office, Auditor's Office and City Council. If approved by City Council, the charter amendment could go before Denver voters this November...
"By bringing all financial functions within the administration under a new Chief Financial Officer, the City will be able to: Improve efficiency of its operations, reducing redundancies and expediting processes; Generate more accurate financial information in a more timely manner, which will enable better decision-making; Correct the weaknesses in financial controls identified repeatedly by the City's outside auditors, thereby reducing the risk of mistakes or fraud within the City's financial systems; and Create new safeguards in our system by replacing the Auditor's role in administrative financial processing with a more important ability to audit the City's financial activities.
"By creating a strong performance auditing function with the Auditor's Office, the proposal will: Provide the Auditor's Office with the ability to suggest improvements for any agency in the City; Enable the Mayor or City Council to ask the Auditor's Office to explore areas of concern and make recommendations; and Identify areas of efficiency and/or cost savings within the City's operations; Enable City Council to set the procedures for performance audits; Enhanced Checks and Balances.
"The proposal not only retains the appropriate checks and balances inherent in the City's century-old financial systems, but it also modernizes and improves them by: Replacing the Auditor's administrative processing role with a true and robust audit function and full authority to look at any transaction with the City at any time; Retaining the Auditor's role in contract review, while also ensuring efficiency by establishing appropriate time limits for review; Preserving the Auditor's role in applying prevailing wage enforcement; and Creating a new Audit Committee of outside experts chaired by the Auditor with two appointees from each of the three branches of Denver City government to provide additional insight and guidance with respect to these new auditing activities."
"denver 2006"
6:19:20 PM
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Deslination
This article from the San Diego City Beat has a nice primer on desalination. From the article, "There are two ways to get pure water from seawater-distillation and reverse osmosis. Distillation involves boiling contaminated water and capturing the rising steam, which is pure H2O. Because of the amount of energy required to boil water, distillation has never been a cost-effective way to produce drinking water on a regional scale. Reverse osmosis (RO) involves pushing water molecules over a membrane through which salt molecules cannot pass."
"colorado water"
7:28:36 AM
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Schweitzer for president?
Blue Oregon: "Of all the 2004 victories in the West, there was none sweeter than the victory in Montana. Despite Kerry's statewide loss to Bush by over 20 points, Brian Schweitzer swept to victory in the governor's race. He had massive coattails - Democrats won four of five statewide races, the State Senate, and the State House."
"2008 pres"
7:16:58 AM
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Grand Valley Lake?
Coyote Gulch loves big dam projects. It looks like Grand Valley Lake isn't going to happen. According to the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, "The proposed Grand Valley Lake isn't likely to be built, according to Colorado River Water Conservation District officials. The proposed reservoir, which supporters call the 'next great Western water project,' would sit atop East Orchard Mesa, contain 195,000 acre-feet of water and cost $580 million. Supporters say the reservoir would serve municipal and industrial water needs. But there is no need for such a reservoir to be built, River District spokesman Chris Treese told The Daily Sentinel's editorial board Wednesday. 'You have supply. Where is the demand?' he said. Grand Valley municipalities are served by their own utilities and the Ute Water Conservancy District, all of which, he said, have sufficient water rights and supplies with little need for additional water. The industrial demand and revenue source for such a project doesn't exist, he said."
"colorado water"
7:13:48 AM
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Fountain Creek management
Colorado Springs and the Lower Arkansas River Valley Conservancy District have taken a step or two backward in their negotiations over the management of Fountain Creek, the Southern Delivery System and the Preferred Options Storage Plan, according to the Pueblo Chieftain.
From the article, "The president of the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District said Wednesday that Colorado Springs is dragging its heels to address problems on Fountain Creek and gave his most pessimistic assessment to date of ongoing negotiations. 'The reason things have not moved forward is that Colorado Springs has not gone forward on the agreement we've worked so hard on for the last 18 months,' said John Singletary, Lower Ark president. Colorado Springs and the Lower Ark - along with seven other entities - have been meeting since early 2005 on the Preferred Storage Options Plan, which would enlarge Lake Pueblo and Turquoise Lake and formalize the Bureau of Reclamation's authority to enter long-term contracts with Aurora. The Lower Ark - created by a vote in five counties in 2002 and not a part of earlier PSOP negotiations - had stepped in to express concerns about water quality and the economic viability of the region in the face of continued water transfers...
"Colorado Springs also is seeking the Lower Ark's support for its Southern Delivery System, a plan to build a $1 billion pipeline from Lake Pueblo to deliver up to 78 million gallons of water per day. Singletary said the Lower Ark would support SDS only if Colorado Springs began working toward improving Fountain Creek water quality so that it is comparable to water released from Pueblo Dam...
"A second issue is the creation of a stormwater enterprise in Colorado Springs. In November, the Colorado Springs City Council voted 7-2 to pass a resolution to create the enterprise, but has delayed implementation because of pressure within the community...
"Singletary also said the Lower Ark district has supported the Arkansas Valley Conduit, despite continued grumbling that it is holding up PSOP negotiations. In fact, the Lower Ark District supports the request of the conduit committee to apply water from dried-up lands in Crowley County to the conduit. 'We shouldn't see any more Fry-Ark water at $9 an acre-foot going to Colorado Springs,' he said. 'The Fry-Ark Project was intended to help the lower valley.'"
"colorado water"
6:59:29 AM
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© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/14/09; 8:28:06 PM.
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