Coyote Gulch

 



















































































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  Tuesday, December 18, 2007


Proposed Initiative 36
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Don't miss this video about Proposed Initiative 36 from clmcdermid's sockpuppet over at SquareState. She's also posted it at The Uptake. It's really well done so click through.

"denver 2008"
9:44:25 PM     


War on terror

Andrew Sullivan: "Here's a really helpful and deeply chilling open-source recreation of the chronology that led the United States both to legalize and authorize torture and to destroy the most glaring evidence - the CIA torture tapes. Imagine if the same people had been successful and destroyed the Abu Ghraib photographs. Bush would still be denying that any abuses had taken place at all."

"2008 pres"
7:19:36 PM     


Colorado to streamline water court?
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Here's the San Luis Valley view of the task forced tacking a streamline of Colorado water court procedures from The Valley Courier. From the article:

Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey this week appointed Water/District Judge O. John Kuenhold of Alamosa to a newly created Water Court Committee of the Colorado Supreme Court. The chief justice signed an order earlier this month authorizing the establishment of the committee and on December 11 appointed 21 members including Kuenhold, a water and district judge in the 12th Judicial District serving the San Luis Valley. The judge will serve on the committee through August of next year.

"Water resource and usage issues are of utmost importance to all Coloradans," Mullarkey said. "I have empowered a committee of the court to review water court processes and identify ways in which we may improve them." Mullarkey added she was confident this committee would work hard in the coming months to identify the issues most critical to the fairness and efficiency of the water court process and make recommendations. The committee is charged with: reviewing the water court process; identifying possible ways through rule and/or statutory change to achieve efficiencies in water court cases while still protecting quality outcomes; and ensuring the highest level of competence in water court participants. The committee cannot alter or impair existing water use rights of any agencies or individuals. Mullarkey's order requires the committee to make its recommendations to her by August 1 of next year. She will then make the report available to the Colorado General Assembly and Governor Bill Ritter...

Attorney David Robbins who serves as counsel for the Rio Grande Water Conservation District will also serve on the 21-member committee. Other members include the new State Water Engineer Dick Wolfe as well as recently retired State Engineer Hal Simpson; Justices Greg Hobbs who will chair the committee and Michael Bender; Water Referee Lain Leoniak; State Court Administrator Jerry Marroney; Retired Water Judge Rebecca Kourlis; Casey Shpall from the Office of the Colorado Attorney General; Deputy Director for Water from the Colorado Department of Natural Resources Alexandra Davis; Water Division II Division Engineer Steve Witte; Colorado Water Conservation Board Executive Director Jennifer Gimbel; Water Engineer Doug Clements; Robert Sakata and Bill Trampe, water rights owners/users; and water attorneys Sherry Caloia, Mark Hermundstad, Andy Jones, Michael Shimmin and Jim Witwer.

Thanks to SLV Dweller for the link. More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

"colorado water"
7:17:38 PM     


? for President?

Chris Nolan (via Spot On): "There's a lot being made lately about Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's inability to attract 'professional' women to her cause. There's also a lot been made about Sen. Barack Obama's ability to talk to feminists. And then there's the whole idea of 'change' which gets a lot closer to women's problems voting for Clinton than anyone wants to admit."

"2008 pres"
7:05:03 PM     


Coffman decides to 'decertify' Sequoia voting machines

Secretary of State Mike Coffman has refused to certify several manufacturers of voting machines for this year's elections including those owned by the City and County of Denver, according to The Denver Post. From the article:

Colorado's looming primary and presidential elections were thrown into turmoil Monday when many of the state's electronic voting machines were deemed unreliable and unsecure by Secretary of State Mike Coffman. It's not yet clear if the move means counties will need to purchase new equipment or if they can work with machine-makers and the secretary of state to reassure voters and the state that the equipment works. It is clear that Coffman's decision to "decertify" machines made by three of four manufacturers -- Sequoia Voting System, Hart InterCivic and Election Systems and Software, or ES&S -- will have far-reaching impact, Coffman and others said. The decision affects voting systems in 53 counties across the state, including four of the largest: Denver, Arapahoe, Jefferson and Boulder. Exactly how counties will respond remains to be determined. Denver's options include holding an almost entirely paper-ballot election, using about 900 Advantage machines that have "grandfathered" certification, or using its nearly 1,200 Sequoia machines pending some sort of rule change or successful appeal, said Clerk and Recorder Stephanie O'Malley...

Denver election director Michael Scarpello said it will take awhile for officials to pore through the 179 pages outlining problems with the Sequoia machines used in Denver. On first reading, he said, "it would appear" that Denver's 1,184 electronic-voting machines have been decertified. Denver purchased 240 Sequoia Edge II voting machines in 2006 for $1.3 million, and uses 944 Sequoia Advantage machines bought in 1997 for more than $5 million, Scarpello said. "Decertification, what does that mean? Can they be recertified? Was the reason because of a major defect, or a minor defect that's correctable? I can't answer that question yet," he said. O'Malley, Denver's clerk and recorder, said she still was digesting the findings, but she stressed that her staff already had spent four months investigating potential voting systems. A committee in October recommended that Denver opt for all-paper ballots except in cases such as a voter disability, requiring electronic machines. O'Malley said they hoped to make a decision later this month or in early January.

"denver 2008"
7:12:04 AM     


Energy policy: Oil shale
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From The Rocky Mountain News, "A move to slow oil shale development in northwestern Colorado appeared successful as the U.S. House was expected to vote on a spending bill that removed a 2008 deadline for the federal government to issue commercial leasing rules. U.S. Sen Ken Salazar and Reps. John Salazar and Mark Udall, all Colorado Democrats, placed language in the bill that prohibits the Bureau of Land Management from issuing any final regulations for oil shale leasing or offering any leases during fiscal year 2008. Under current law, BLM must issue leasing rules and move to a commercial leasing program before the end of 2008."

"2008 pres"
7:04:45 AM     


Climate change: The earth is a beautifully complex system
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Here's an article about a new report about the impact of climate change on urban water supplies from The Environmental News Network. From the article:

Warming of the earth's atmosphere will continue to put mounting pressure on America's drinking water sources, leading to diminishing supplies in some regions and flooding in others, according to an analysis released today by the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), a nonprofit organization of the largest publicly owned drinking water systems in the United States. AMWA's report, Implications of Climate Change for Urban Water Utilities, forecasts the likely impacts of climate change on water supplies in different regions of the U.S., such as an accelerated hydrologic cycle of evaporation and precipitation, water contamination, rising sea levels and pressure on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The report is available for viewing and download at AMWA's new climate change webpage, www.amwa.net/cs/climatechange...

This report shows that climate change may pose great challenges to delivering limited amounts of clean and safe water to a rapidly growing population," added VanDe Hei. Among the actions that the report suggests water systems take to prepare for the impacts of climate change are vulnerability assessments to identify short-term adaptation needs; cooperative planning and modeling efforts among utilities to devise strategies addressing likely regional water resource issues; and efforts by utilities to reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions. "The ramifications identified in the report point to at least two key needs," said VanDe Hei. "Scientific research is needed to better understand the impacts of climate change on existing fresh water resources and to help develop and assess the affordability of alternative water sources -- such as reuse, recycling, conservation and desalination...In addition, an increased federal investment in water infrastructure is needed to help offset the costs of new supply development and capital projects to ensure that all Americans continue to have access to safe and affordable drinking water," she said.

"2008 pres"
6:57:52 AM     


Avondale Water and Sanitation ordered to restore portion of Arkansas River
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From The Environmental Protection Agency, "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered the Avondale Water and Sanitation District to restore a segment of the Arkansas River it damaged in Pueblo County, Colo. The Avondale Water and Sanitation District constructed a channel approximately 40 feet wide by 400 feet long through a sandbar in the Arkansas River and illegally discharged the dredged material on both sides of the new channel within the banks of the river. The District also illegally constructed a berm across the existing channel of the river northwest of the Avondale Road bridge. The District took these actions without a permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, despite being informed by the Corps of the need to obtain a permit. The Federal Clean Water Act prohibits discharges of dredged or fill material unless authorized by a Corps permit. The EPA order requires the Avondale Water and Sanitation District to remove all unauthorized material placed into the river and to restore the river to pre-impact conditions."

"colorado water"
6:43:08 AM     


2008 Interior Appropriations Bill
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Here's an article from U.S. Senator Wayne Allard's staff from The North Denver Tribune. They write:

U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.), the leading Republican on the Senate Interior Appropriations committee, announced today that he has secured $7,785,400 in funding for Colorado as a part of the 2008 Interior Appropriations Bill. The bill also includes $300 million for wildfire prevention efforts in Colorado and $229 million in funding for the Payments-in-Lieu-of-Taxes (PILT) program...

The following projects for Colorado were also included in the bill at Senator Allard's request: $1.7 million for the American Water Works Research Foundation in Denver; $590,000 for the State and Tribal Assistance Grants program to fund drinking water upgrades associated with the Arkansas Valley Conduit; $984,000 for the State and Tribal Assistance Grants program to improve wastewater and drinking water systems in Idaho Springs; $393,000 for the State and Tribal Assistance Grants program to upgrade wastewater systems in Bayfield; $344,400 for the State and Tribal Assistance Grants program for drinking water upgrades in Manitou Springs.

"colorado water"
6:38:35 AM     



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