Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Caucus roundup Here's a short report about last night's caucuses from the Denver Post. From the article, "Throughout the state, hundreds of party members came out to community centers, schools and private homes to discuss candidates and vote for delegates to the county, state and congressional assemblies. Hard numbers weren't available Tuesday night, and preferences won't become apparent for a couple of weeks. In the first two weeks of April, counties around the states hold their assemblies. The state assembly for both parties is held May 20. The candidates who make it through the state assembly are listed on the primary ballot in August. Turnout for the state caucuses has been low over the years, and Tuesday appeared to be no different." Category: Denver November 2006 Election 7:11:56 AM    comment []

Can CU compete in science? Our new friend, Steve Ludwig, is certainly going to field questions during his campaign about the departure from CU of Nobel winner Carl Wieman. Here's an editorial from today's Denver Post on the subject. They write, "Carl Wieman's departure from the University of Colorado is a blow to the state's image as well as to its higher education system. The 2001 Nobel Prize winner in physics brought CU, and Colorado, considerable international prestige. CU has other science stars, including three other Nobel laureates, but Wieman's loss should be a wake-up call... "Bluntly put, CU can't adequately support Wieman's science education efforts. The University of British Columbia promised $10.3 million over five years for the work, more than twice the $5 million CU put up for a similar project. CU's inability to compete stems from the severe financial struggles of the past few years, when recession- driven budget cuts hit higher education particularly hard... "A big problem is that American schools largely cling to old-fashioned ways of teaching science. Studies show that most people can't grasp complex concepts just from lectures. Wieman's project envisions a more interactive, hands-on approach, which helps people learn faster, remember better and participate more in the classroom. "Wieman's move clearly illustrates Colorado's competitive disadvantage in higher education, a problem that policymakers need to be considering carefully." Category: Denver November 2006 Election 7:07:59 AM    comment []

Reform, don't kill direct democracy The Rocky Mountain News editorial staff is urging rejection of State Senator Ron Teck's proposed ballot issue reforming citizen initiatives and amendments. From the article, "It should be more difficult to amend the state constitution than it is to pass a statute by citizen initiative. "But a proposed amendment by Sen. Ron Teck, R-Grand Junction, that may reach the November ballot would erect barriers that make it too difficult for citizens to exercise self-government. It would also insulate lawmakers from a legitimate, grass-roots check on their power that has been enshrined in Colorado politics for nearly a century. "Yes, the threshold for amending the constitution should be raised, but not by the stunning margin Teck is seeking. "Currently, citizen-inspired initiatives need only a simple majority of votes to either enact a statute or amend the constitution. "The concern, and it's not a trivial one, is that the state constitution, which is supposed to articulate broad principles of governance, is getting cluttered with policy details that have no business in this basic document. The poster child is Amendment 14, passed with 52 percent of the vote in 1996, which bans the use of leghold traps on wildlife. "Teck's Senate Concurrent Resolution 3, which passed a preliminary vote in the Senate on Tuesday, would require constitutional amendments to receive 60-percent voter support before taking effect. Initiated statutes would continue to require a simple majority. "Since 1990, roughly a third of the constitutional amendments put on the ballot by citizens have passed. Yet of those, we can identify only two that garnered at least 60-percent support. They were term limits on elected officials and campaign spending caps. "In short, a 60-percent threshold is tantamount to barring grassroots amendments altogether, since it's not clear either of the successful measures would have taken the amendment path given such a barrier." Category: Denver November 2006 Election 6:51:26 AM    comment []

Steve Ludwig for CU Regent At-Large? Steve Ludwig, candidate for C.U. Regent At-Large, sent email with his website URL. He writes, "While not given a lot of attention by the media, this race and election is critical to the future of Colorado and the United States. "How the University fares impacts how Coloradans fare for jobs, healthcare, and quality education. How CU fares in competing for world class faculty and students impacts how the United States remains competitive with India, China, and other global powerhouses that are ramping up their higher educational infrastructures at lighting speeds. "Now, that might sound like a bunch of clap trap from a wonky candidate -- and well -- it is. But, the sad thing is that it's true." Mr. Ludwig has a weblog here and an RSS Feed. The RSS Feed is not rendering correctly this morning, however. I'm sure he'll get the Knowledge Messenger kids to fix it. We can't find a way to deep link to the weblog articles. We'll look over the website more later and report back when he's got everything up and running. Category: Denver November 2006 Election 6:36:03 AM    comment []

© Copyright 2006 John Orr. Last update: 4/2/06; 8:58:59 AM.