Coyote Gulch

Monday, July 16, 2007

Iraq
Josh Marshall: "...Iraq doesn't really have a government. It's a country that remains under military occupation. And the 'government' is just a group of factions playing a multi-layer chess game, partly under our watch and partly gaming out position for our departure."
"2008 pres"
6:50:59 PM

? for President?
Ed Cone: "Wall Street Journal says Republicans in the South 'look a lot like the bitterly divided Democrats of three decades ago.' Some of the problems are political and seem natural for a party in power. Some stem from bad behavior, like the lead item, a federal grand jury indictment of SC treasurer Thomas Ravenel for alleged cocaine distribution."

From The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, a Chat with Hillary.
"2008 pres"
6:44:18 PM

Inauguration of the Mayor & Municipal Officials of the City and County of Denver

Coyote Gulch was on hand today at the Temple Hoyne Buell Theatre for the inauguration festivities for Denver's Auditor [Dennis Gallagher], City Council [Garcia, Faatz, Lopez, Lehman, Johnson, Brown, Nevitt, Madison, Montero, Robb, Hancock], Clerk and Recorder [Stephanie O'Malley] and Mayor [John Hickenloper]. Council President Michael Hancock ran the show today. After the swearing in Mayor Hickenlooper gave the inaugural address.

The Denver Municipal Band stole the show, along with the rendition of America the Beautiful.

Here's today's post from Councilor Montero's weblog.
"denver 2007"
6:37:01 PM

South Platte River

Here's the last report in The Denver Post's series on recreational opportunities along the South Platte River. From the article:

The late James Michener, in his 1974 novel "Centennial," called Denver's despised rivulet "a sad, bewildered nothing of a river....It is the butt of more jokes than any other river on earth, and the greatest joke is to call it a river at all." Three decades later, Michener would not recognize the South Platte. Dozens of parks flank the metro river. Water quality, while still nasty after a big rain, is improving. Trails carve through ribbons of green flanking the river, offering access to the metro area's former backwater, which now teems with blue heron, brown trout and the occasional fox despite its spitting distance from metro Denver's busiest thoroughfares. With the most bountiful runoff since 1995 elevating the restorative and enhancing work of the past decade - work that finally dignifies the South Platte's long overlooked recreational opportunities - this is indeed The Year of the Platte. And it's only getting better.

Federal funding is close to arriving to revamp Public Service Company's Zuni Power Plant, where an inflatable dam represents the sole mandatory portage along the river in the metro area. Plans are underway with the Army Corps of Engineers to add at least 10 feet of water to Chatfield Reservoir, which would not only provide water storage for communities upstream and agricultural interests downstream but would add water to the river rushing through Denver...

[Former mayor Wellington Webb] funneled about $1 billion in public money into new streets, parks, trails, wildlife and water-quality improvements and economic development incentives in what is known as the Central Platte Valley. The investment was quickly followed by condo developers eager to tap the new river as a frontyard and playground. The city in the late 1990s led the country in what became a national greenbelt revolution. The accumulation of ribbons of green parks and open space along the river's corridor began shortly after the infamous flood of 1965, when heavy rains near Castle Rock fueled a wall of water in the South Platte that devastated the city core and killed more than two dozen people. That flood spurred Congress to finance the construction of the already-approved Chatfield Dam and prodded several municipalities along the river to acquire flood-ravaged land for parks and open space.
"colorado water"
7:10:39 AM

Middle Eastern Policy
Captain's Quarters: "Events over the last few days have indicated that Pervez Musharraf has rethought his hands-off deal with radical Islamists in Waziristan. After the Red Mosque siege and seizure, the Waziris have apparently concluded the same thing. Today they announced that the Waziri tribes would wothdraw from the agreement and, in effect, declared war on Pakistan."
"2008 pres"
6:46:29 AM

Blogging and politics
Wall Street Journal: "It's been 10 years since the blog was born. Love them or hate them, they've roiled presidential campaigns and given everyman a global soapbox. Twelve commentators -- including Tom Wolfe, Newt Gingrich, the SEC's Christopher Cox and actress-turned-blogger Mia Farrow -- on what blogs mean to them."
"2008 pres"
6:38:58 AM

Iraq
Political Wire: "President Bush 'may be trying to rally support for his strategy in Iraq, but his efforts are not faring well with the American public,' according to the latest Newsweek Poll. 'Nearly two thirds of Americans believe that the president's troop surge has been a failure, poll respondents said. The survey also found broad public support for cutting the number of troops deployed on the battlefield. But in a bright spot for the president, less than 20 percent favored immediate withdrawal.'"
"2008 pres"
6:36:56 AM

? for President?
From The Denver Post, "Mitt Romney swears a strong loyalty and affection for God, is a leader in his church, has raised five sons with his high-school sweetheart wife, doesn't drink or smoke and is an impeccable capitalist. His visit to the Republican Party faithful in Colorado Springs on Wednesday should seem an easy sell filled with symbolic opportunities. But Romney has a problem in the conservative Christian capital that is Colorado Springs. He is a Mormon, and many conservative Christians view the Mormon faith as a polytheistic cult - and Mormons as heretics."

Meanwhile second tier Republican candidates were in Iowa in an attempt to drum up support, according to The Rocky Mountain News. From the article:

On Aug. 11, the GOP is expected to winnow its crowded presidential field with a nonbinding but closely watched Republican straw poll in Ames, Iowa. Polls suggest that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney could run away with the top spot. Two other national figures, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Sen. John McCain of Arizona, have said they won't try to compete, even though their names will appear on the symbolic ballot. So for the next few weeks, the real fight is down on the bubble, where a bunched-up group of second-tier candidates know they had better edge out one another and break from the pack - or else they might as well pack up their souvenirs and go back to their day jobs...

Brownback and Huckabee are the two candidates who most directly appeal to evangelical Christian voters. Brownback touts his "Kansas values," promises he'd begin each day in the White House on his knees, praying for guidance. He tells crowds he wants to be the president who nominates the U.S. Supreme Court justice who tips the scales against Roe vs. Wade. Huckabee, a former Baptist minister, is appealing to essentially the same base of religious conservatives. Huckabee recently told The Gazette newspaper here that "in many ways, a president is a political pastor. That's what you do - you lead, you shepherd, you guide - but you don't tell people what to do. You encourage them to do things, but they don't have to do it." Besides Brownback, Huckabee and Tancredo, other Republicans hoping for a straw- poll breakthrough include former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas and Rep. Duncan Hunter of California.

Political Wire: "Sen. Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney 'hold the leads in their respective New Hampshire primary races,' according to a new Concord Monitor poll shows. 'But it's not all good news for the top two: The poll finds each would face thornier challenges in the state's general election than others would.' In a Republican primary, Romney leads with 27%, followed by Rudy Giuliani with 20%, Sen. John McCain with 16% and Fred Thompson at 15%. In a Democratic primary, Clinton is in front with 33%, followed by Sen. Barack Obama at 25%, John Edwards at 15% and Bill Richardson with 7%."
"2008 pres"
6:20:05 AM

Colorado Springs streamside overlay zone ordinance

Officials in Colorado Springs are looking at their development rules along streams and waterways, according to The Colorado Springs Gazette. From the article:

A proposal to remove protection for 4,000 acres adjacent to Colorado Springs' streams and creeks ran aground last week when challenged by citizens and City Council members. The council will reconsider the measure Aug. 14 after more public comment is gathered. The proposal would be a major overhaul of the 2002 streamside overlay zone ordinance designed to guide development near streams and surrounding wildlife habitat in a way that's compatible with the environment. The current ordinance includes buffer zones and says what can or can't be built in streamside areas. It also includes landscape requirements and limits on impervious areas. Since the measure passed in 2002, 75 streamside projects have been approved, with half being granted exemptions from some requirements.

Ryan Tefertiller, the city planner overseeing the rewrite, said the council directed staff to revisit the ordinance a year after its passage. During that process, the staff and developers found the ordinance too complicated. Some provisions have never been exercised because of their complexity, he said, such as "density bonus al- lowances" that allow more dense development based on a complicated formula even the staff wasn't sure how to apply. The new proposal would reduce the buffer areas, scale back the protected area from the 500-year flood plain to the 100-year flood plain and expand who can develop by converting some banned uses to conditional uses subject to approval by city officials. Among those conditional uses would be laundries, manufacturing, warehousing, commercial kennels, detention facilities, light industry, truck terminals and large recycling centers. Some of those uses were banned in the past to prevent animal waste, vehicle oil and other contaminants from polluting nearby streams.

"We believe through the planning process these uses can be designed and mitigated in a way where they can have compatibility," Tefertiller told the council. Mayor Lionel Rivera wasn't sure. He said the council has grown more sensitive to the condition of city streams and creeks, which flow into Fountain Creek and on to Pueblo. Repeated sewage spills in recent years have angered Pueblo officials, who might dictate how Colorado Springs Utilities builds a water pipeline from Pueblo Reservoir. The project is needed to assure a water supply for the next 35 years. "Now the council is a lot more concerned about water quality and quantity," Rivera said, noting that neither is addressed in the revision's analysis. "I think it deserves a more thorough look at that."
"colorado water"
6:12:47 AM

Energy policy: Oil and gas development

Here's a look at the Roan Plateau and the controversy about developing it for oil and gas, from The Glenwood Springs Post Independent "reg". From the article:

Two staff members with Trout Unlimited (TU) filled an SUV with journalists to show them what's at stake on the Roan Plateau, and the drive along its ridges had led to the opportunity to fish in the creek. It's one of a couple of creeks on the plateau known to hold populations of almost genetically pure populations of Colorado River cutthroat trout. A sizable population is on Trapper Creek, where the anglers were to visit the next day...

It was a relaxing break for Fisher and Chris Hunt, an Idaho resident and TU's communications director on public lands issues. But Thursday's media tour was being conducted for more serious reasons, the same ones that had U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., grilling James Caswell in Washington that day over his nomination to be director of the BLM. Like Goddard, Salazar and TU object to the BLM letting drill rigs on top of the Roan. Salazar has said he would place a Senate "hold" on Caswell's nomination until the Department of Interior gives Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, a fellow Democrat, the 120 days he has requested to review the Roan plan...

Beyond the Roan's rim, the desert gives over entirely to rolling, lush country full of wildflowers and aspen trees, and valleys running with spring-fed streams. Grouse, red-tailed hawk, elk and other animals make appearances in a place where deer, bear and mountain lion also abound...

The drilling plan for the plateau calls for rigs to operate from ridge tops, to protect watersheds. But Goddard thinks the quarter-mile buffer zones around creeks are insufficient because many of the creeks are fed by springs that are farther away. "All you've got to do is screw up one spring and you've lost the whole creek," he said. Fisher, of TU, shares such concerns. He said a drilling-related spill in Wyoming wiped out one cutthroat trout population. "Poor land management flows downhill," he said. Susan Alvillar, of Williams Production, said the company already has numerous environmental protection programs in place for its drilling, including for protecting against spills. "We've got a myriad of regulations that we follow every day," she said. She said Williams has 14 wells on top of the Roan now, and three rigs that are currently drilling. "We've operated up there since the '80s, and certainly it's on our radar screen that everything that we do needs to be in accordance with all those regulations and make sure that we don't impact any of our precious resources up there," she said. Alvillar said many who work for Williams are avid hunters and anglers who understand the importance of protecting the environment. She also noted that the Roan plan is "very prescriptive" in aiming to reduce the impacts of drilling.
"2008 pres"
5:54:53 AM

e-mail John: