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Thursday, May 24, 2007
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? for President?
Political Wire: "Rudy Giuliani and John Edwards 'traded bare-knuckled jabs yesterday over whether President Bush's war on terror is the nation's top concern or just a political bumper sticker,' the New York Daily News reports."
"2008 pres"
6:11:03 PM 
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Immigration
Captain's Quarters: "The amendment offered by Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman to the immigration reform bill has gone down to defeat. As I noted yesterday, the bill would have removed the loophole that allows for 'sanctuary cities' and require local law-enforcement agencies to cooperate on illegal immigration."
North Denver News: "U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) announced today that an important provision he had originally introduced earlier this year to help curb identity theft has been included in The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 (S.1348)."
"2008 pres"
6:01:15 PM
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Iraq
Josh Marshall: "President Bush, yesterday: 'Now, many critics compare the battle in Iraq to the situation we faced in Vietnam. There are many differences between those two conflicts, but one stands out above all: The enemy in Vietnam had neither the intent nor the capability to strike our homeland. The enemy in Iraq does.'
"There are so many problems and distortions with this statement that it is difficult to know where to start."
TalkLeft reminds political junkies to keep their eyes on the prize.
"2008 pres"
5:49:37 PM
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? for President?
Political Wire: "The new Diageo/Hotline poll finds Sen. Hillary Clinton leads the Democratic presidential race with 31%, followed by Sen. Barack Obama at 21%, Al Gore at 13% and John Edwards at 10%. On the Republican side, Rudy Giuliani tops Sen. John McCain, 26% to 17%, with Newt Gingrich at 10%. Key general election matchups: Clinton 43%, McCain 40%; Giuliani 43%, Clinton 41%; Obama 40%, McCain 36%; Obama 40%, Giuliani 39%; Edwards 42%, McCain 37%; Edwards 40%, Giuliani 40%."
"2008 pres"
6:48:45 AM
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? for Denver City Council District 3
JoAnn Phillips has picked up the endorsements of three of her opponents from the May 1st election, according to the Rocky Mountain News. From the article, "Jo Ann Phillips, a candidate for Denver City Council in District 3, was endorsed by three former candidates for the seat Tuesday. Phillips is in a runoff against Paul Lopez for the west Denver council seat. Mark Roggeman, Kathy Sandoval and Antoinette Alire endorsed Phillips. They were part of a crowded field of seven that ran for the seat earlier this month."
Here are background pieces for JoAnn Phillips and Paul Lopez from the Rocky Mountain News.
"denver 2007"
6:33:23 AM
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Groups appeal Forest Service decision to allow drilling in HD Mountains
According to the Durango Herald several groups, including the Archuletta County Board of Commissioners, have filed an appeals to the Forest Service's decision to allow oil and gas drilling in the HD Mountains. From the article, "A coalition of local environmental groups, the Archuleta County Board of Commissioners and others filed an appeal Monday challenging the U.S. Forest Service's move to approve new gas wells in the HD Mountains. 'We are concerned that the Forest Service's decision will not protect the health, safety and welfare of Archuleta County residents from potentially adverse impacts of gas development near the Fruitland outcrop,' said Bob Moomaw, chairman of the Board of Commissioners. A second appeal was filed on behalf of Petrox Energy Corporation of Plano, Texas, one of the six leaseholders in the area under consideration. Petrox representatives could not be reached for comment after business hours Tuesday. On April 5, the Forest Service approved drilling as many as 30 gas wells in the Archuleta County section of the Fruitland outcrop...
"One of the local appellants, Bill Vance, raises hay and grain on 80 of his 360 acres that are surrounded by the HD Mountains. 'My biggest concern is that a drop in the water table will cause my domestic water wells to dry up, as well as the springs that supply water for irrigation and livestock,' Vance said.
"The appeal asserts that the Forest Service violated management standards in its forest plan, that the decision would harm air quality, violating EPA standards set to protect Mesa Verde National Park and the Weminuche Wilderness, and that the Forest Service did not adequately prove mitigation measures were feasible and realistic. Earthjustice, an environmental law firm, represents the local appellants. The Forest Service has 45 days to respond. Also among the appellants are hunting outfitter Mike Murphy and Fort Lewis College professor emeritus of archaeology Jim Judge. Drilling along the outcrop in La Plata County led to hazardous levels of methane gas in some homes along the Pine River Valley north of Bayfield in the early 1990s, resulting in the demolition of at least four homes, according to a news release from the appellants."
"colorado water"
6:24:20 AM
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Changes to Boulder's water budget methodology?
From the Boulder County Business Report, "The city of Boulder's Water Resources Advisory Board is recommending changes to the city's new water-budget rate structure, including revamping commercial and industrial charges and offering credits to water uses eligible for adjustments that would be retroactive to January. The changes were proposed at a water advisory board meeting May 21 attended by Ned Williams, director of Boulder's Public Works for Utilities...
"The city's new water billing method went into effect Jan. 1 and charges a higher rate per gallon as more water is used. The new structure has become a controversial issue among business owners, landlords and residents. The water advisory board is recommending that rule changes be made to the water budgets as soon as practical to provide for monthly variations in commercial, industrial and institutional water budgets, allow for variation in commercial/industrial/institutional irrigation use for accounts not having irrigation meters, and that the city provide retroactive credits to all users that receive adjustments to their budgets calculated from the beginning of January...
"Advisory board member Jim Knopf said the recommended changes will address the lack of water budgets for city owned right-of-ways (such as sidewalk to curb landscaping); a flaw in the implementation of water budgets for commercial and industrial customers; errors in the use of aerial photography to develop water budgets; a lack of retroactivity in some billing adjustments; and limited communication about some aspects of new water rate system. Of particular concern to some commercial and industrial water users, he said, were water budgets based on yearly use divided by 12, rather than allowing for seasonal ups and downs in water use where some months require more water...
"During a presentation to the business leaders group Boulder Tomorrow on May 17, Williams stressed that people who think the water rate system is treating them unfairly can appeal to have their case reviewed by the city. Williams said the city has received 1,182 appeals from property owners to date and has processed all but 95 of them. Williams added that 89 percent of the appeals for adjustment have been approved, with the two largest types of property adjustment being for irrigable areas, 57 percent, and household size, 17 percent."
"colorado water"
6:11:00 AM
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Immigration
The New Hope Courier: "A planned, much-debated fence along the U.S.-Mexico border designed to keep people from crossing the Rio Grande could exacerbate flooding and skew the national boundary, a binational commission said Wednesday. The treaty declared the international boundary at the midpoint of the river and prohibited construction of anything that could deflect or obstruct the water flow and harm the other side. Russ Knocke, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security , said the fence could be built in several varieties, depending on the land. Some proposed fences -- such as solid steel landing mats -- would be impermeable to water. The United States and Mexico established the commission in 1889 to regulate water use and apply boundary treaties for the shared Rio Grande and Colorado rivers. Together, the commission has built and maintained international dams and reservoirs, hydroelectric plants, water treatment plants and floodway projects."
From today's Rocky Mountain News, "The federal government's plan to slice in half the number of National Guard troops assigned to support Border Patrol operations along the Mexican border is worrisome, Gov. Janet Napolitano said Wednesday. Her concern comes despite assurances from Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Border Patrol Chief David Aguilar at a meeting this week in Washington that only support rolls will be trimmed and not actual on-the-border deployments."
Here's a article about immigrant reaction to the immigration bill being debated in Washington D.C., from the Rocky Mountain News. From the article, "The U.S. Senate compromise announced last week has given hope to millions of illegal immigrants, but it has also caused widespread confusion and raised many more questions than answers. The proposal is being debated in the Senate, but there's no guarantee Congress will pass any legislation, let alone something that preserves the major provisions of the compromise."
TalkLeft: "Credit where credit is due, and today it goes to New Mexico Governor and presidential hopeful Bill Richardson, who says he will oppose the Immigration compromise because it is too onerous for immigrants."
"2008 pres"
6:03:54 AM
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Energy policy: Oil and gas development
From the Greeley Tribune "reg", "An amendment has been made to a U.S. House resolution to conform with a bill regarding the recovery of ground water. The resolution, sponsored by Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., was amended by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Wednesday to conform to Sen. Ken Salazar's 'More Water, More Energy, Less Waste Act of 2007.' The legislation requires the Bureau of Reclamation to move forward with testing new technology that could potentially help recover millions of gallons of groundwater every day...
"The bill, as amended, would examine the viability of recovering 'produced water' by requiring the commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, the director of the U.S. Geological Survey, and the director of the Bureau of Land Management to evaluate the feasibility of recovering and cleaning 'produced water' for use in irrigation and other purposes, all while protecting and conserving the water quality and natural surroundings. It also would require those agencies to study ways to increase the efficiency of energy production by reducing the quantity of produced water that must be treated or re-injected. The measure also would create a grant program to provide a maximum 50 percent federal match of up to $1 million to construct, but not operate, test project sites. Those sites could be in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada or California. The quality and volume of the recovered 'produced water' would depend upon the technology to be tested under the bill. Having been approved by committee, the resolution now goes on for consideration by the full Senate and then back to the House."
"2008 pres"
6:01:02 AM
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Colorado Water Workshop
Here's a report from the second day of the Colorado Water Workshop in Gunnison, from the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. From the article, 'Rich Ingebretsen is trying to spread a message many Colorado River Basin water managers don't like: 'Lake Powell is going away.' His argument goes like this: Silt will clog Lake Powell, rendering it useless, and global warming is going to ravage the West with higher temperatures and inadequate precipitation so much that Lake Powell by even the Bureau of Reclamation's estimation will be empty 15 percent of the time and only 40 percent full most of the time. So, the Salt Lake City physician and founder of the Glen Canyon Institute argues, drain Lake Powell and turn it into 'Glen Canyon National Park.'[...]
"[Eric Kuhn, general manager of the Colorado River Water Conservation District] said Ingebretsen vastly overstated the severity of global warming's future effects on Lake Powell. There's no doubt that temperatures will rise, but climate models can't predict future amounts of precipitation that will feed the river and Lake Powell, he said. But Ingebretsen is adamant. Inspired by childhood memories of Glen Canyon and parts of it, such as the famous Cathedral in the Desert, temporarily exposed in recent years because of the lake's record low pool levels, Ingebretsen is vocal about his vision of an irrelevant Glen Canyon Dam. Global warming, he said, will dramatically increase evaporation on the lake. Already more than 40 million acre-feet of water have vanished that way, he said. 'That's a lot of water to just not account for,' he said. 'You'll have more water if you store Powell water in (Lake) Mead,' which is nearing record low levels. Though Lake Powell worked well in the past, global warming will render the lake useless, he said, adding that a better way to manage the Colorado River is to allow reserves for both the river's Upper and Lower basins to be stored in Lake Mead."
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
"colorado water"
5:54:22 AM
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CWCD funds Fountain Creek task force and Round Mountain well for Westcliffe and Silver Cliff
Funding has been approved to continue the work of establishing a 'vision' for the future of Fountain Creek, according to the Pueblo Chieftain. From the article, "A $75,000 grant that will ensure continued funding of the Fountain Creek Vision Task Force was approved Wednesday by the Colorado Water Conservation Board. The money will fund the Keystone Center's efforts to facilitate a vision statement and strategic plan among government agencies and landowners affected by Fountain Creek. The recommendation for the grant came through the Arkansas Basin Roundtable, a second collaborative effort to find agreement on controversial water issues...
"There are preliminary efforts toward setting up a watershed authority, although members of the task force aren't clear about what its role would be. The group has worked with a sense of urgency, as projects that could impact water quality and quantity are already planned in Fountain Creek. Two participants, Colorado Springs Utilities and the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District, are moving ahead independently with a plan to hire a coordinator for Fountain Creek technical issues, contributing $300,000 annually. Those factors played a part in a recommendation to provide funding by CWCB staff...
"The CWCB also approved $120,000 from the same fund for a plan by the Round Mountain Water and Sanitation District to drill a well to provide water to Silver Cliff and Westcliffe in Custer County. The well is part of a larger plan the district has been working on to upgrade its water supply for current and future growth. Brown and Miskel both praised the Round Mountain project as the type of activity envisioned by state lawmakers last year when they approved using mineral severance taxes to fund projects recommended by grass-roots roundtables in each of the state's river basins...
"colorado water"
5:42:14 AM
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Iraq
Click on the thumbnail to see a graph of attacks on U.S. forces, Iraqi forces and Iraqi citizens. Thanks to Juan Cole and Andrew Sullivan for the image.
"2008 pres"
5:33:06 AM
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© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/14/09; 9:15:33 PM.
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