Monthly Archives: October 2009

After several months of careful consideration and research, the YWCA of Boulder County Board of Directors unanimously agreed to move forward in acquiring programs provided by Access Counseling, dependent upon receiving sufficient funding opportunities. Upon multiple discussions regarding our respective … Continue reading →

It’s sad that we should have to fight the very people we voted into office to represent us with the intent of making single payer health care with a public option a reality. Mr. President, I still believe in you. Continue reading →

I hear on cable news that some congresspersons are willing to vote for a health care reform bill with a so-called public option if states are able to opt out. They want an option to opt out of an option. Say again? Continue reading →

State employees and all government employees have become a privileged class. They get paid better than others doing the same work in the private sector, they have better health insurance and retirement and they get to work with their friends and family because they seem to “cluster”. And then they bellyache about having to take a few days off without pay to help balance the state budget while many other citzens are struggling to even find a job. This just goes to show how twisted the thinking of government employees has become. Continue reading →

As women of color, we believe that if politicians do their job, if they take seriously their responsibility to the long term health and well-being of their constituencies as a whole, race does not come into play in the equation of proper representation. Continue reading →

I give BVSD kudos for giving students a snow day on Wed. as well as Thurs. The primary issue here is the safety of the students. Though only a few inches had fallen on Wed. morning, all forecasters were calling for heavy snow throughout the day; by Thursday morning there were 17 inches on the ground in Boulder. The roads were slushy and slippery on Wed. morning, and by afternoon the driving was difficult with heavy snow falling. Continue reading →

As someone who frequently attends city council and planning board meetings, and like the majority of Boulder citizens, I also seek elected officials who have integrity, are decent communicators, use their intelligence, are diplomatic, and above all – are for the people. Council or planning board members should never make key development decisions on behalf of developers, any one group, or organization that hand out money – that’s being bought! Continue reading →

To the parents complaining about the Boulder schools being closed;
I’ve live here nearly 10 years and schools have only been closed twice before for snow, and never two days in a row…the streets near my house are NOT bare and wet…I could barely find my car, and had to dig it out and put some non-clumping cat litter down to get in and out of my parking spot…I spun out once and slid several times…..yes I do know how to drive…and it continued to snow ALL DAY…we live in Colorado…so what? What does it prove to send students to school in dangerous conditions? Not all families have four wheel drive vehicles with heated seats, not all parents can drive their kids to school. Without the school buses on the roads, things were safer for everyone… less traffic..more room for essential personnel, like police officers and fire fighters, and hospital staff…every year there are students in BVSD who wait outside in sub zero temps for over an hour for buses, and not all of them have boots, gloves, coats….most of the time the schools are open and it’s tough on them… I’m grateful that this one time… they didn’t have to be out in the weather…believe it or not folks…you are not the only people that BVSD has to think about…are you the same parents that send your kids to school with a fever or bad cough..dosed-up on medication, spreading what they have to everyone else.. and endangering themselves with compromised immune systems? For your career? How much non e-business got done yesterday anyway? So you had to spend a couple of extra days at home with your family….I’ll bet you’re tough enough to survive it… after all, this is Colorado….did your boss really yell at you? Or are you the boss? Continue reading →

Obama being honored by the Nobel Peace Prize has puzzled many, including Michael Steele, head of the Republican National Committee, who asked: What has he done? Continue reading →

As of yesterday morning just a few inches of snow had fallen.
Decisions were already made to close schools. A local business vendor closed their business and announced they would be closed the following day as well.
Is this because the snow truly makes it impossible for us to carry out our daily work, or is it just the inconvenience that we don’t care for? Continue reading →

The different views on the council really ought to be debated between the individuals sitting on the council, not within any one individual. For this reason, I am supporting Macon Cowles, Joytsna Raj, Tim Plass and Matt Appelbaum for City Council. They have consistency, for the most part, in their stands on the issues that matter. They will complement each other synergistically to create optimal decisions. Like the Nobel Peace Prize, I hope I am right, and I think there is good experiential evidence that they will produce. Continue reading →

Two issues are much in the news these days: the cost of health care reform and the obscene compensation going to CEO’s, bankers, and investment brokers. These two problems have a common solution – a return to the income tax philosophy of 1950-1963. The 50′s and 60′s, that was when single income families of white and blue workers alike could afford a home, good health care, and a college education for the kids, and that was when the top income tax rate was 91%. Today our top rate is 35% for income above $372,000. Let’s just add a few more lines to the tax table ending at 91% for income above $1.5 million (the same as 1960 adjusted for inflation). Continue reading →

On election day, we have the opportunity to extend term limits for our newly elected District Attorney, Mr. Stan Garnett. In just a few short months, Mr. Garnett, who came to the office with years of both prosecution and private practice experience, has already shown us that he is not afraid to make tough decisions and hold people accountable. Continue reading →

This Boulder City Council election IS a potential crossroads. We have endorsed Fenno Hoffman because we can vote to make Boulder more livable and IMPROVE our quality of life, or we can vote to maintain our currently unsustainable “suburban” footprint. We can strive to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, or we can ignore regional sprawl, build no affordable housing, suffer our diminishing quality of life, accept Boulder’s above national average carbon footprint, and spend the rest of our lives behind a steering wheel. We can do better! Continue reading →

Months ago, it seemed that the Meadows Branch library might be closed to save money in the City Budget. What a relief to see that the branch will remain open and that no library hours will be cut in next year’s budget. Continue reading →

Halloween has a hollow ring this year for this professional medium. The
exploitation of ghosts – souls who are stuck in their death transition,
usually because of trauma – seems to have reached all-time lows. “Our
hotel’s ghosts” are being paraded as historic relics, or as prey you
should pay a “ghost hunter” to track for your entertainment. My partner
Peter MacGill and I have helped hundreds of souls complete their
de-incarnations in our space clearings, and the quality most useful in
our being able to sense ghosts is empathy. No fancy dancy electronic
equipment is needed. They respond to us because we care about them.
We’re not there to gawk, like a crowd gathered around the scene of a
tragic accident without helping! Continue reading →

From my reading of our history, I’m guessing that when the first boatload of Pilgrims sat foot on Plymouth Rock, they started arguing about separation of church and state. Debates continue to this date about crosses (symbols) on public property, religious sayings on currency, and religious proslytizing in public schools. Continue reading →

What is happening in this city? Like Bonnie Oriel (letters to the editor 10-19-09) and Renee St. Aubin (10-26-09), I also witnessed contractors chopping down mature trees but my experience was on the west side of the South Boulder Creek trail a month ago. Twenty large trees are now gone. Continue reading →

Trick of Treat Boulder. Once again in the dark of night your city was taken from you. Just past the bewitching hour of 12:00 am as the snow fell the ghost and goblins on your City Council treated the five young developers from Southern California by approving the Boulder Junior Academy area plan. Continue reading →

How could this have happened? How could the city of Boulder provide vague instructions to a contractor that led to the destruction of old growth trees? How can a city council that chides other municipalities on their lack of environmental protection, have such loose communication internally that 7 perfectly healthy large trees were destroyed. I heard the chain saws that morning. It never occurred to me that the city government was at work removing our neighborhood barrier between our families and the noise, pollution and ugliness that is now a constant (day and night) on Foothills highway. Continue reading →