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Tuesday, September 18, 2007
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George in Denver details the expected costs of the tax increases and bond issues on the fall ballot. Mr. In Denver writes:
So, the truth or the more accurate estimate of how much property taxes will increase-taking into account both the proposed 2.5 mill increase and the cost of the $550 million bond package-both from the Hick-and Ritter's back door property tax increase (which, incidentally, only affects property that rises in value, like DENVER), looks more like about $100 per year: $36.54 for the state increase; $50.75 for the city mill levy increase and $12.52 for the bond package. (These figures from Chris Barge's piece in the September 11th, edition of the Rocky Mountain News.)
I know, doesn't sound like a whole lot of money to most. For some, it will be a burden.
The problem with the whole mess is, for me, just exactly what all this tax and spend in going to provide and what necessarily it won't provide. What will still linger out there, undone, neglected, while big bucks are spent on projects that, in the Hick's view, will make Denver a great city.
Still thinking about the whole mess.
Category: Denver November 2007 Election
6:21:53 PM 
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Here's an look at marijuana laws and attitudes across the country from The Denver Post. From the article:
Take one swift glance at a U.S. map coded to reflect the widely varying marijuana laws in each state, and drug policy seems to range from irrational to incoherent. But dig into the details of public opinion, user behavior and police enforcement, and a more lucid picture of American attitudes comes into focus: People have learned to live with pot, up to a fine point. As Denver ponders yet another ballot measure on marijuana Nov. 6 - to make pursuit of small amounts of pot the "lowest law-enforcement priority" - many communities may already have reached a complicated compromise that reflects the wisdom of research and the consistency of survey results. In a growing number of states and large cities, possessing and smoking a little pot is either a minor offense or no crime at all, while growing or distributing the drug still gets you in big trouble. Growing or using pot for medicinal purposes is widely accepted, while police and defense attorneys argue the details of what constitutes therapeutic amounts...
"Some laws are just not feasible anymore," said Mason Tvert, SAFER's leader. "Marijuana-possession laws are at the top of that list." Others counter that there's a reason for the status quo. A majority of people "want it to be illegal, but they want it to be a low law-enforcement priority," and it already is, said Colorado Attorney General John Suthers, who opposes the Denver ballot measure...
[Denver police Sgt. Ernie Martinez, who also is state president of the Colorado Drug Investigators Association] said voting forums make it easier to define the city's position. "It's a great educational place. It brings up some great debates, and it allows us to tell our side of the story on enforcement and prevention," he said. And while Tvert disputes nearly every fact offered by the police, he sees each campaign as an open-ended classroom for Americans. "This is not about an end-game with one election," Tvert said. "We're fighting 70-plus years of lies, propaganda and imbalanced laws. ... We're in this for the long haul, and we've come incredibly far here in Denver in just two and a half years."
The Denver Post has a list of arguments from both sides of the issue.
Category: Denver November 2007 Election
6:16:53 AM
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© Copyright 2007 John Orr.
Last update: 10/1/07; 7:47:50 AM.
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