Friday, October 20, 2006

Lousianna Purchase Today is the anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase. Much of eastern Colorado was acquired for $.04 an acre back in 1803. Thanks to NewMexiKen for the reminder. 7:17:08 AM

Amendment 43 Colorado's catholic bishops are hoping that voters will pass Amendment 43, according to the Rocky Mountain News. From the article, "Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput and Colorado's other two bishops have asked priests throughout the state to read a letter from their pulpits this weekend urging Catholics to support Amendment 43, which would define marriage as between a man and a woman in the state constitution. In the letter, Chaput, Bishop Michael Sheridan of Colorado Springs and Bishop Arthur Tafoya of Pueblo also urge the defeat of Referendum I, 'which begins the dangerous process of establishing domestic partnerships as an equal and parallel institution to marriage.'" "denver 2006" 7:01:23 AM

Amendment 41 The Denver Post editorial staff is urging voters to approve Amendment 41. From the editorial, "Amendment 41 would create an ethics blueprint for state and local government. The measure would ban lobbyists from giving gifts or meals worth more than $50 to state and local officials and employees or members of their immediate families.The measure also would close the 'revolving door' that allows just-retired lawmakers to lobby former colleagues by requiring a two-year cooling-off period. Amendment 41 is a proposed constitutional amendment. We'd prefer that these ethics provisions be passed into statute by the legislature, but relevant bills have been killed - and quickly - in recent years. We urge voters to approve 41. Opponents have raised some theatrical concerns - that the ban could prohibit school scholarships for children of janitors and other non-policymaking employees, for one example, or criminalize an auto dealer's recreation league sponsorships, for another. We're confident no one will interpret the amendment in that way, and even if they did, 41 creates an ethics commission that would surely reject such frivolous claims. It's essential that voters not demonize lobbyists or interfere with their legitimate work. Interest group representatives play an invaluable role in the process of government, providing information and perspective. They are often more familiar with state and local issues than part-time lawmakers and harried government employees. We know there's a likelihood lobbyists will find loopholes in Amendment 41, but it still would create an obstacle to abuse and temptation and bring clarity to proper behavior. If approved, state lawmakers will polish it with implementing language. Their best efforts will reduce the prospect of frivolous or over-reaching claims. Most states don't crack down on gift-giving until beset by scandal. With Amendment 41, we say, why wait?" "denver 2006" 6:56:37 AM

Ritter for governor? The Greater Denver Ministerial Alliance has endorsed Bill Ritter for governor, according to the Denver Post. From the article, "The Greater Metro Denver Ministerial Alliance - an influential group of African- American leaders who had been heavily courted by Republicans this year - on Thursday endorsed Democrat Bill Ritter for governor. The announcement was a coup for the former Denver prosecutor, who had angered those same black ministers in recent years by refusing to prosecute police officers involved in fatal shootings of civilians." "denver 2006" 6:52:09 AM

Monsoon brings a bit of relief from the drought This year's Southwest Monsoon helped out southwestern Colorado, according to the Durango Herald. From the article, "The wetter-than-average season, several sources say, is taking the area further from the heart of a drought. 'The rains have helped us replenish the reservoirs as we go into the winter,' said Pat Page, chief of the water management group at the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation office in Durango. As of Oct. 1, after plentiful rainfall throughout the summer and early fall, all the nearby reservoirs showed increased levels and capacities. Since the monsoons began, Vallecito Reservoir has added 20,000 acre-feet, causing the reservoir's elevation to rise more than 12 feet. Navajo Reservoir received an additional 53,000 acre-feet, rising 4 feet. Lemon Reservoir pulled in 8,000 acre-feet and rose 17 feet... "Durango's average rainfall through September is 14.12 inches, but it had received 16.46 inches through this September, said Dan Cuevas, a technician with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction. October's average rainfall is 1.87 inches in Durango, but as of Wednesday, Durango already had received 3.76 inches of rain this month." "colorado water" 6:42:12 AM

Amendment 40 Here's an article about Amendment 40 from the Durango Herald. They write, "Conservative activists are out to impose term limits on the one branch of Colorado government that has escaped them - the courts. Amendment 40 on the November ballot asks voters to limit the terms of the 26 judges who serve on the state's two highest courts. 'There is a lot of concern among citizens that courts often go beyond their proper power to interpret the law, acting as a super-Legislature,' said John Andrews, the amendment's chief proponent. 'If judges want to function as legislators, then it's reasonable to expect they should be term-limited like legislators.' Legislators are limited to eight years each in the House and Senate. The governor is limited to two four-year terms. But judges aren't the same as legislators, opponents say." "denver 2006" 6:36:31 AM

Colorado Springs Independent: Endorsements in statewide races The Colorado Springs Independent has endorsed John Suthers, Cary Kennedy and Ken Gordon in their statewide races. "denver 2006" 6:32:33 AM

Ritter for governor? The Aspen Daily News has endorsed Bill Bitter for governor. From the editorial, "Of the two candidates vying for Colorado's highest-ranking post, we believe that Ritter is clearly a cut above his Republican challenger, 7th District Congressman Bob Beauprez. Putting Ritter in power likely would mean a Democrat-dominated legislature, with Gov. Owens on his way out because of term limits. Our biggest knock against Ritter is that he, like Beauprez, opposes abortion. Even so, we must hold him accountable when he says that as governor he won't let his pro-life position influence his decision to select court judges... "But the driving issue for our decision to support Ritter is the difference between the two candidates on immigration. Beauprez seems to think that simply sending home the 12 million illegal aliens who live in the United States could solve the immigration issue. Amnesty is not part of his playbook, and Beauprez's campaign has devolved into desperation mode, as evidenced by his attempt to make us afraid of every immigrant who lives in Colorado. Ritter, on the other hand, realizes the issue is not that simple, and we support his pledge for a guest-worker program to help Colorado employers fill their jobs with immigrants." "denver 2006" 6:28:07 AM

Recent rains help Lake Powell According to the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, the water level in Lake Powell is up 5 feet in October. From the article, "All of the recent rain in Colorado and Utah has dumped 800,000 acre-feet of water into the lake, which has risen five feet this month, though it remains only half-full. 'In the 12 years I've been here, this is the first time I've seen Lake Powell go up in October,' said Gourley, deputy facilities manager of Glen Canyon Dam." "colorado water" 6:23:50 AM

Fry-Ark water and Aurora The Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy Board is hoping to build more stringent conditions into the environmental study for Aurora's 40 year contract for Fryingpan-Arkansas water with the Bureau of Reclamation, according to the Pueblo Chieftain. From the article, "The Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District board wants to see assurances that protect Fryingpan-Arkansas Project water in an environmental study of Aurora's proposed contract for 40 years of storage and exchanges. The Bureau of Reclamation is accepting comments on its draft environmental assessment of Aurora's request to store 10,000 acre-feet annually in Lake Pueblo and an exchange contract that would allow the city to make a paper trade with Reclamation to move the water to Twin Lakes... "[Attorney Lee Miller] said the actions that affect the Southeastern district include: Protection of flows against exchanges at the Avondale gauge; Maintaining the relation of Aurora to the voluntary Upper Arkansas flow protection program; Maintaining minimum flows for sewer discharges at wastewater treatment plants in Salida and Fremont County; Maintaining minimum flows for Pueblo's recreational in-channel diversion; Affirming the provisions of exchange decrees in three separate Division 2 water court cases." "colorado water" 6:14:39 AM

Beauprez for governor? Here's an update about U.S. Congressman Bob Beauprez's attack ad on Bill Ritter that has landed the Beauprez campaign in hot water, from the Denver Post. They write, "Trailing in most polls, Beauprez is already a gubernatorial long shot. If his attack ads against Bill Ritter become mired in sourcing instead of veracity, all bets are off. The FBI has entered the criminal investigation to see how Beauprez's campaign got information for an ad about a heroin dealer who supposedly cut a deal with then-Denver DA Ritter and went on to allegedly sexually assault a child. The feds are involved because the Colorado Bureau of Investigation found that someone looked up the perp's name in the National Crime Information Center database. Headlines in local newspapers Thursday were not about Democrat Ritter's plea bargains with criminal 'aliens' who avoided deportation and then went on to reoffend. Headlines were about possible crimes Republican Beauprez's staff or supporters may have committed while acquiring this knowledge. On Wednesday night, a local TV station asked viewers, 'Why won't Bob Beauprez reveal his source?' Get it? The scandal is no longer what Ritter did. It's what Beauprez did. It gets no worse for a guy needing a comeback. Unless, of course, the candidate himself gets charged with a crime. That almost certainly won't happen. As ham-handed as Beauprez's campaign has been - from picking a running mate who likened gay marriage to men marrying sheep to publicly claiming an inflated abortion rate among African-American women - the congressman cannot be so dumb that he didn't insulate himself from his campaign's dirty tricks." "denver 2006" 6:06:32 AM

Roaring Fork health The Roaring Fork Conservancy has released their 2006 report on the health of the basin, according to the Aspen Times. From the article, "While the overall quality of the Roaring Fork River remains high, several of its tributaries don't meet state standards for drinking water and aquatic habitat, according to the Roaring Fork Conservancy's 2006 report on the health of the rivershed. The report, released this week, offers the latest data from an ongoing sampling program initiated in 1997 by the conservancy, in partnership with the Colorado Division of Wildlife's River Watch program, the state Department of Public Health and Environment and other agencies... "Water samples are collected at 24 points along 70-plus-mile Roaring Fork, from its headwaters on Independence Pass to its confluence with the Colorado River in Glenwood Springs, as well as on its tributaries. Water samples, collected with the help of valley middle and high school students, are tested for various pollutants, including heavy metals and nutrients. The 2006 report identifies four 'impacted streams' in the Roaring Fork watershed that will be the focus of closer scrutiny - Brush Creek, the Crystal River, Cattle Creek and Fourmile Creek. The impacted designation means certain stretches of the streams have pollution levels that exceed state standards; the streams also garnered only 'good' or 'fair' ratings for biological health." "colorado water" 6:00:54 AM

Greenland: Ice losses and ice gains Environment News Service: "Ice losses now far surpass ice gains in the shrinking Greenland ice sheet, NASA scientists reported Thursday. The researchers estimate the annual net loss from the ice sheet equals six years of water flow from the Colorado River, but found the ice sheet may not be melting quite as quickly as other studies have found. The research team reported that Greenland's low coastal regions lost 155 gigatons - 41 cubic miles - of ice per year between 2003 and 2005 from excess melting and icebergs. During the same period the high-elevation interior gained 54 gigatons, or 14 cubic miles, annually from excess snowfall. 'With this new analysis we observe dramatic ice mass losses concentrated in the low-elevation coastal regions, with nearly half of the loss coming from southeast Greenland,' said lead author Scott Luthcke of NASA Goddard's Planetary Geodynamics Laboratory. 'In the 1990s the ice was very close to balance with gains at about the same level as losses. That situation has now changed significantly.' Continued monitoring in the future is needed to determine whether this ice loss is a long-term trend, the research team said. The study was published Thursday in 'Science Express', the advance edition of the journal 'Science.' The study details a dramatic acceleration in the rate of ice mass loss since the late 1990s that is nearly identical to reports earlier this year based on radar measurements of glacier acceleration." "2008 pres" 5:46:06 AM

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