Saturday, September 9, 2006

Inside the beltway Whiskey Bar: "The scene reminds me of the old World War II joke about the worker in a defense plant who's asked what he's building. 'The front ends of horses,' he replies, 'to be shipped to Washington for final assembly.'" Thanks to NewMexiKen for the link. 9:07:24 AM

ABC Path to 9/11 controversy Jesus' General: "If God didn't want us to make a buck off of 9/11, he'd have made those planes hit something we don't care about like New Orleans." 9:02:58 AM

Referendum I and Amendment 43 Colorado Confidential: "Colorado is being watched politically on a number of issues, with gay rights being at the top of the list. On one side you have Coloradoans For Marriage, a group that is attempting to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman on this year's ballot. On the other, there is Referendum I, a measure that would allow gay and lesbian couples to have legal protections through domestic partnerships, rather than marriage. And now, national organizations-and their local counterparts-are chiming in. Just yesterday, an executive director with Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), a national GLBT support organization, mentioned Colorado in a weekly newsletter sent out to supporters." "denver 2006" 9:01:06 AM

Incumbents in trouble? New West: "Right and left, incumbents around the country find themselves in trouble. In these uncertain times, an anxious public, far from going with the safest and most tenured representative, has demonstrated a willingness to shake things up. So it went, too, with Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney in Georgia and the citizen verdict was the same for incumbent Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski, the former U.S. senator who shockingly finished third in a three-person Republican primary." "denver 2006" 8:59:05 AM

Energy policy MakesMeRalph (via SquareState.net): "It's a sad day." [ed. Ralph is commenting on the Roan Plateau drilling plan and he includes some great photos.] "2008 pres" 8:56:40 AM

Referendum I: Domestic partnerships? Rocky Mountain News: "Since January, the Gill Action Fund has given more than $370,000 in cash and staff time to the issue committee for Coloradans for Fairness and Equality, the group sponsoring Referendum I and opposing Amendment 43, records show. Referendum I would allow gay couples to register as domestic partners and obtain many legal rights and responsibilities given to married couples. Amendment 43 would define marriage in the state constitution as a union only between a man and a woman. Both measures go before voters Nov. 7." "denver 2006" 8:32:15 AM

Beauprez for governor? Rocky Mountain News: "Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez said Friday that he favors scrapping Colorado's gasoline tax and replacing it with a statewide sales tax to fund road improvements... "Everyone, including Democratic candidate Bill Ritter, agrees Colorado needs a more sustainable source of transportation funding because state and federal gasoline tax revenues are shrinking as Americans drive more fuel-efficient cars. Initially, Beauprez suggested a penny-on-the-dollar statewide sales tax, which would generate an estimated $670.5 million - or 30.5 percent more than the $513.6 million in state gasoline tax revenues projected for the 2005-06 fiscal year by the state budget office. When told that a 1 percent sales tax would be a tax increase, Beauprez spokesman John Marshall said the penny-per-dollar figure was calculated a year ago when a sluggish economy was generating less revenue. He stressed that Beauprez wanted to keep the sales tax switch "revenue neutral" - to simply replace the gasoline tax that he would kill. Currently, that means the proposed transportation sales tax would only need to be a fraction of a penny (0.77 percent), to generate $516.3 million a year... "Beauprez, though, said he likes the sales tax because 'it's easy to implement, and I think it's very, very fair and equitable.' Even people who don't drive and tourists who fly to Aspen and shuttle to a resort rely on the transportation system to move labor and goods, he said... "In a meeting with the Rocky Mountain News editorial board Friday, gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez offered his views on a variety of issues. "- On voter registration: 'Why wouldn't you require proof of citizenship for the right to vote? We let somebody dummy up anything they want to for the right to vote.' "- On the state budget: 'You can't continue down the path of K-12 (education), Medicaid and corrections taking more and more of the budget.' "- On holding a constitutional convention to reform the state constitution: 'It's clearly an option. If you're going to go there, you better have some sense of what you're going to get. You start building a consensus.' "- On Gov. Bill Owens: 'Bill has done some very good things. There's a whole lot more that needs to be done.' "- On the need to place underprivileged kids in preschool: 'Six years of (elementary) education doesn't make up for the deficit they experience in the first four years of life.' "- On opponent Bill Ritter's approach to education: 'Bill is beholden to the Colorado Education Association. He can't buck the system.' "- On the need for education reform: 'There's a reason why people are clamoring for more private school options.' "- On tax credits for education: 'For every $2 you direct to a targeted education initiative, we'll give you a $1 tax credit. I think the money would pour in.' "- On encouraging parents to read to their children: 'Drag parents back into the game of being what they've always been, the primary educators of their children.' "- On providing early childhood education: 'This challenge can be met in community partnerships that already exist.' "- On Ritter's record as Denver district attorney: 'There's a broad perception Bill Ritter has been soft on crime. The prevailing philosophy was hug a thug. It's disgusting.' "- On the governor's race: 'This is as tough a political year as we've seen. It's messy for Republicans. We're polling somewhere from 4 to 8 points (behind Ritter).' "- On withdrawing his support of Amendment 38, which would make it easier to place measures on the ballot: 'I was wrong. We ought to be asking ourselves if the ease of the initiative process in Colorado is the way we want to continue to do business. The guy with the biggest checkbook often controls the outcome.' "- On potentially having Democrats control both the legislature and governorship: 'Do you want to hand the reins over to one party? The state likes divided government. If ever there was a reason to be concerned about divided government, now is the time.' "- On whether he will campaign with President Bush: 'I'm quite certain you'll see the president in Colorado.'" "denver 2006" 8:30:03 AM

Fountain Creek management Pueblo Chieftain: "An online computer model will measure return flows on Monument and Fountain creeks as communities to the north use more non-native water. The model, developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, will help the Colorado Division of Water Resources track an ever-more-complex network of exchanges while deducting Mother Nature's fair share in the form of transit loss. The program was explained Friday by an El Paso County committee studying transit loss on Fountain Creek. The committee has been meeting nearly three years to look at how to account for reusable water - brought in from the Western Slope, groundwater basins or the consumptive use of former irrigation water now being used by Colorado Springs... "The state now uses a USGS model to track flows and measure transit loss from the Colorado Springs Las Vegas wastewater treatment plant to the confluence of Fountain Creek and the Arkansas River. The transit loss is the water that is lost to evapotranspiration, seeps into banks or otherwise leaves the stream. Colorado Springs is by far the largest water user on Fountain Creek, sending an average 46 million gallons daily 40 miles downstream to the Arkansas River. Much of the water is imported from other basins via the city's three pipelines and so the return flows can be reused. Colorado Springs physically recycles some of the water through park irrigation and power generation. Rather than physically reusing the rest of its non-native water, Colorado Springs has obtained court decrees which allow it to release return flows in the form of wastewater in exchange for fresh water supplies from other water rights it owns. The city loses about 7 percent of its water annually to transit loss on Fountain Creek, although the amount varies daily, depending on how high natural flows are, Snyder said. This week, for instance, the loss is about 25 percent because flows in the creek are at a low point... "The new model will track return flows and transit loss from Colorado Springs' Pikeview wastewater treatment plant and other communities on Monument Creek, said Gerhard Kuhn of the USGS, who is developing the model. It will account for flows from the Denver Basin well field which are pumped into the Arkansas River basin, a growing source of Fountain Creek flows as the area to the north of Colorado Springs expands. The model divides Fountain Creek into 33 separate reaches from Palmer Lake to the confluence. The reaches will allow calculation of flows from every tributary and ditch along Fountain Creek, and can be calibrated with USGS stream gauges along the way, Kuhn said. Flows can be tracked along the way from one point to the next, depending on whether the water is to be diverted or used for augmentation. The model will help users maintain control of the water until it reaches the desired point." "colorado water" 7:57:56 AM

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