Monthly Archives: October 2010

As a volunteer at Community Cycles I have had a first-hand opportunity to see how this non-profit organization changes lives for the better. Community Cycles’ mission is to educate and advocate for the safe use of bicycles as an affordable, viable and sustainable means of transportation and personal enjoyment.

One of the most successful programs that Community Cycles runs is the Earn-A-Bike program. Earn-A-Bike allows individuals to work at Community Cycles’ bike shop in return for a bike. Individuals in the Earn-A-Bike program basically receive an old bike in return for their help. They then rehabilitate the bike with the skills they have learned working in the shop. Upon completion of the program they not only have earned a bike, but have gained many of the skills needed to keep it running. This is a great program that keeps hundreds of bikes out of our local landfill each year.

Recently, I saw an individual that had completed the Earn-A-Bike program. He had his bike with him, and I told him it looked great. His response is the kind of thing that makes volunteering at Community Cycles a great experience. He looked down at the bike and then back up at me and said: “It’s so much fun to ride. It makes me feel fantastic and free.” I couldn’t agree with him more.

Riding a bike is fun, healthy and liberating. This is at the heart of what I have found Community Cycles to be about. Yes, Community Cycles promotes cycling, helps people learn cycling skills and maintenance, helps the environment by recycling bikes and getting more people interested in cycling as a method of transportation, however, beyond that, it empowers people to make positive changes in their lives.

Community Cycles always needs volunteers, new and used bikes, bike parts, and almost anything cycling related. If you need a bike, Community Cycles also sells nicely rehabilitated bikes which help fund its community programs. I encourage you to learn more about Community Cycles by going to WWW.CommunityCycles.Org. I also encourage you to go ride a bike.

Matt Geraghty
Community Cycles Volunteer
Boulder Continue reading →

Voting yes on open space proposition 1B makes good business sense. Studies have shown that communities with open space command higher property values. Open space helps to create a higher quality of life in Boulder that attract higher-quality businesses and professionals to locate here. The argument that open space depletes county property tax rolls is misleading. Most open space properties are farms and ranches that are zoned agricultural and account for a small amount of county property tax. The higher overall property values that open space helps to create actually provides much greater tax benefit to the county.

Furthermore, Yes an open space proposition 1B makes good business sense now. With both land prices and interest rates low, these funds have a great opportunity to make a difference protecting Boulder county’s heritage and rural landscapes. Boulder can get maximum effectiveness from these funds to complete vital links in the Boulder Open Space network with willing sellers. Your vote is important. Please vote yes on open space proposition 1B.

Michael Banks, MBA
Boulder Continue reading →

Please vote “Yes” on 3A, the BVSD education funding initiative. With the current economic conditions, many tough choices have to be made. But giving our children the short end of the stick is not the place to save money.

Education cuts means that schools eliminate programs, shorten academic years, and lay off teachers – leading to more crowded classrooms and poorer learning. That is precisely the wrong direction when it is so inescapably clear that our future economy will depend on a well-educated work force competing globally.

Are the schools run perfectly? No. Is every teacher terrific? No. But there are lots of capable and well-intentioned people, both inside and outside the system, who are working to improve our schools. Let’s not make it even more difficult to attract and retain good teachers and staff by underfunding our children’s future.

While the State of Colorado seems bent on relentlessly cutting education, Boulder does not need to plunge blindly down that dead-end alley. 3A will restore much needed funding to help our schools do their best to educate our children.

Sandy Dunlap
Boulder Continue reading →

In this political season, religion is taking on even more importance than it usually has. The Tea Party, which seems to be a rather incongruous melding of laissez-faire capitalism and fundamentalist Christianity, has a religious agenda, and the proposed “personhood” amendment is nothing but religion codified.

The reason that our Constitution forbids the establishment of a state religion and permits everyone to practice his own religion freely is that when our nation was founded, memories of brutal religious repression (some of which took place in the Colonies) and destructive religious wars (e.g., the Thirty Years’ War) were still fresh. Our Founding Fathers wanted to avoid such strife in their new country, and so far they have largely succeeded. But people like Ken Buck and Dan Maes who want to bring religion into our government threaten to destroy this tradition.

Here is the fundamental principle of religious freedom: No matter what my religion is, and no matter how fervently I believe in it, I have no right to impose it on you — and vice versa. Accordingly, no law is legitimate if it is based solely on anyone’s religion. If your religion calls on you to perform or eschew particular actions, you are free to follow those strictures, as long as your actions do not infringe on the freedom of other people. But to make me to conform to your religious doctrines if I don’t believe in them is antithetical to American principles.

Vote No on the personhood amendment and vote against Ken Buck and Dan Maes to preserve American values and religious freedom.

William Terry
Longmont Continue reading →

To the editor:
I have received numerous phone calls this election season reminding me to vote my values. These calls define values for “people of faith” as opposition to health care; opposition to spending by the nation to help revitalize our infrastructure and economy; opposition to regulation of businesses and Wall Street to protect citizens, investments, and our economy; and opposition to stem cell research and family planning.
I will take their advice and vote my values. My values are similar to a person of faith who wants to help those in need and has the best interest of the overall nation in mind. Thus, I will vote for those who do not oppose the above. I like to vote an Independent ticket with a mix of parties, but in the today’s political climate, I will vote a straight Democratic ticket. I urge everyone else to choose the positive caring path, not the hateful path advocated by the “values” promoters, by voting a straight Democratic ticket.

Bob Woodruff
Boulder Continue reading →

In light of the funding crisis, the University of Colorado Board of Regents is being forced to consider drastic measures that can only harm the university. Raising tuition and firing staff hurts students, for it makes us less able to attend the university and reduces our quality of education. Colorado is already 48th in the nation in state funding per resident student. We can’t cut more. We, the people of Colorado, need to demand more money from the state with our votes.
Raising the tuition by 9.5% makes it difficult for students to attend the university, especially when the tuition can be raised 9.5% every year according to Colorado law. If tuition increases, students will need to work more to pay for school, which will take away from studying. Being a student, I do not want to have to work excessively at an extra job, for attending classes and studying is already a full time job.
Firing staff reduces the quality of education due to the increase in the size of classes. Teachers become over-worked and have less time to give valuable feedback. We cannot fire teachers if we want to preserve higher education.
The amount of money that the university receives from the state is not enough for basic operations. The $159 million given to the university by the state does not cover 96.7% of the university budget, and state funding could fall to $80 million in the next fiscal year. It is difficult knowing that my school may have to make drastic cuts to my valuable education. We need to elect Coloradan lawmakers who will support funding for the University of Colorado so that the burden of deficit is not placed on our community.

Will Hauptman
Freshman at University of Colorado
Boulder Continue reading →

To Open Forum

I know that I’m not alone when I find myself surprised, and saddened, at the willingness of so many people to overlook just what it is that we get when Republican policies prevail. We don’t have to guess; we know.

What we get is slimy lending practices, billions of dollars in bad mortgages bundled among good ones and sold to unsuspecting buyers. We get businesses closed, jobs lost, homes foreclosed. We get poisoned land, water, and air. We get a nation strapped financially and diminished in its standing among the community of nations. We get unending war.

How do today’s Republican leaders speak of these matters when they ask to be returned to power.? They don’t, of course They speak of “patriotism.” They promise “freedom solutions.” They shout, “Give us back our country.”

As for actions to accompany these fine words, the answer is always the same.They will give us more of what got us here. They will push for lower taxes, deregulation, and smaller government. In those three goals, they say, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, they have the cure for all that ails us.

If people decline to look back, perhaps they can be persuaded to look ahead and ask, Where does it end?

When do you stop cutting taxes — when government can no longer offer basic services, defend our country, or find lenders? When do you stop deregulating — when there’s nothing left to steal? (Reagan and Bush taught us clear lessons about deregulation.) And when is small government small enough — when it’s stripped of all work but war?

Yes, I exaggerate — I think. But the questions remain: How far down their unchanging road would Republicans like to take us? And what damage would our country suffer this time?

Good questions, those. But questions that seem never to be asked.

Roy Davison
Boulder Continue reading →

In response to Tom Sheffield’s letter in support for Emma Hall for Boulder County Coroner. Mr. Sheffield says he is dismayed by the Longmont Times Call’s endorsement of Dan Pruett for Coroner. Is he equally dismayed at every other endorsement that Dan Pruett has received. Emma Hall has not received one endorsement. The reason is she has no real experience. His assertion that Dan Pruett “lacks compassion” is a complete lie. Dan Pruett had worked with families for the last 20 years and as Sheriff Joe Pelle stated in his endorsement for Mr. Pruett “He is a soft spoken kind person who is excellent with families, his staff and the public”. For this highly paid position ($87,000 per year) the people of Boulder County deserve someone who has dedicated his life to the profession, not someone who barely has the credentials of an entry level death investigator. As for his assertion that it takes a “woman’s touch” to do the job well let’s just let that sexist statement pass. Mr. Sheffield obviously knows nothing about the Office of the Coroner and if he is any indication neither does Emma Hall.

Gordon Johnson
Lyons Continue reading →

Although Jared Polis was given the opportunity and privilege to represent the people of the 2nd Congressional District, he ignored his responsibility and voted for the Pelosi agenda, which included:

* the failed and wasteful Stimulus Bills;
* the unpopular Health Care Law which has caused uncertainty in the market place and on main street;
* Cap and Trade, a very costly law impacting every citizen if passed by the Senate; and
* new Financial Regulations which further negatively impact our economic recovery.

Since Jared had his chance and failed, we now need someone who can repair the damage. A vote for Stephen Bailey will provide for new leadership and he will improve our country by:

* creating an environment for New Jobs;
* growing the Economy;
* restoring Fiscal Sanity;
* ending Corruption, Bailouts, and Earmarks; and
* protecting Health Care Quality and Access.　

Several news sources have provided data and statistics which give the impression that only a Democrat can win the 2nd CD. Stephen Bailey, an excellent and superior candidate, has an opportunity in this election to defeat Polis even though the Republicans and other parties are outnumbered and Polis has raised nearly $600,000 as of late July (with more than half from his own pocket) compared to Bailey’s approximately $65,000.

Democrats, Republicans, and Unaffiliated voters in the 2nd Congressional District can cause a “seismic political shift” when they compare the candidates and replace the incumbent with Stephen Bailey, the one clear and sensible alternative. First visit www.StephenBaileyforCongress.com for details, then vote for Stephen Bailey on November 2nd.

Judy Stevens
Boulder Continue reading →

I must say the endorsement of Dan Pruett for Boulder County Coroner really surprised me. As I researched candidates, I found he had to be convinced to run by the Sheriff because of Mr. Thomas Faure Meyer retiring and no-one was actively pursuing the vacancy.

The Times-call should be more responsible and do more research into the candidates. Emma Hall brings a lot of field experience and training to the position as well as something Pruett doesn’t seem to have, compassion. Along with being a native of Boulder County, she has the formal training in Forensic Science as well as Criminalistics. She also brings a broader knowledge of the office of the Coroner which includes Crime Scene Investigation, Evidence Analyst, Pathology Assistance, Death Investigation, as well as a background in Field Training.

Dan Pruett also stated in the Daily Camera that he will “probably call Denver Coroner’s Office for pathology services in Boulder County”, he stated that Denver could use the extra money. I contacted Dr. Amy Martin, Chief Pathologist at Denver County Coroner’s Office was not aware of any discussions occurring. Dr. Martin stated this type of relationship is very common throughout the country and would be interested in discussing with whoever wins. Jefferson County also offers this service to other counties in the region. It would seem to me, Pruett would prefer to work with an organization he already has a working relationship with.

Emma Hall is clearly the superior choice for Boulder County Coroner with her formal background, field experience and more importantly care and compassion which is needed to help people cope with these types of losses. It takes a woman’s “instinct and touch” to make a difference. Even Denver County knows this – Dr. Amy Martin is at the helm there. Hall is the Best Choice.

Tom Sheffield
Longmont Continue reading →

I see on the campaign website that the SECURITIES INDUSTRY & FINANCIAL MARKETS ASSOCATION
Has contributed $350,000 to oppose amendments 60,61 and 101.
This is an association based in New York City, with foreign affiliates. What is their interest in Colorado taxes and
spending? Could they possibly be receiving Colorado tax money? So much money has been spent opposing these
proposals, that I suspect the proposals may be good for Coloradans, if not for Colorado government agencies.

Andrew Cherrington
Longmont Continue reading →

In his letter on the “economy” (10/28 Camera), Albert Petersen displays the typical Liberal mindset regarding the unwashed masses. In trying to put down the Tea Party movement, he seems to believe that we the people aren’t smart enough to read and understand the 21 pages of our clearly written and carefully crafted Constitution. Thus we must turn to Congress to tell us what it REALLY says!

This is that same Congress who recently stampeded into passing some 2,300 pages of misleading and confusing rhetoric leading to Obamacare, written by who knows what entity, and much too involved for even the Congress to bother reading first! Every day since, we are learning more and more of the far-reaching, disastrous content and overwhelming costs of this extremely complicated bill. And THEY could tell us what our Constitution says?

Mr. Petersen also seems to believe that business corporations should exist only for the purpose of providing jobs. Forget about the work to make and sell products, which is the reason for the jobs. Corporate leaders are first concerned about survival of the corporation as a profit-making institution. Healthy corporations automatically produce job opportunities, but with so many misleading signals, confusion and uncertainty about tax policy, etc. coming out of this Congress, they are unwilling to risk the corporation’s survival. So they do indeed hold onto cash, exactly the same as wise private citizens are trying to do today.

And of course, our National Defense is not worth what it costs! So we should mimic France and England and severely curtail those costs! Our national defense presently represents 23% of the US Federal Budget, but the Liberal perception seems to be that it overwhelms everything else. Mr. Petersen would have us believe that Americans will further mimic France and England with riots in the street if Congress dares to cut spending other than in National Defense.

While our deficits and national debt soar to unbelievable heights, is it possible that some still actually believe we can borrow our way into prosperity?

Don Lloyd
Boulder Continue reading →

Dear Camera editors:

Do you remember that Boulder was rated this year the best place to live in the U.S. by an organization or magazine? In times past, Louisville was also rated the best place to live in the U.S. or Colorado. My questions are: What would Latinos or Afro-Americans say about these ratings? Would they agree? Which cities would each minority group rate as the best place for them to live and raise a family?

Sincerely,

John C. Lamb, Ph.D.
Lafayette Continue reading →

Thank you for the opportunity to provide some facts about the impact on property tax collections when land is purchased as county open space.

Rural land that has any sort of agricultural use is subject to very low property taxes, so when the land becomes open space there is almost no impact on the tax base. This is because agricultural land taxation is based on the annual productivity of the land rather than the actual value of the land.

Here are some real examples of land recently acquired as open space:

Parcel 1 – About 76 acres of vacant land adjacent to Lyons. The 2009 property taxes were $42.60 or $0.56 per acre.

Parcel 2 – About 800 acres between Lyons and Boulder that includes some irrigated farmland. The 2009 property taxes were $1,621.74 or $2.08 an acre.

Parcel 3 – About 78.5 acres of irrigated farmland a mile north of Highway 66 near Longmont. The 2009 property taxes were $576.74 or $7.33 per acre.

Revenue is actually created when agricultural land is purchased as open space, because it continues to be used for agricultural purposes. A farmer leases the land and makes annual lease payments to the county. In the case of Parcel 3 above, the annual lease payment is $4,700 per year – more than eight times the taxes previously paid on the property.

Furthermore, about one-third of the land Boulder County has preserved as open space is preserved through a conservation easement which precludes further development, but is not an outright purchase of the property. A private individual continues to own and pay taxes on the land.

I hope this information clears up any misunderstanding about the relationship between open space acquisition and property tax collections.

Jan Burns
Real Estate Division Manager
Boulder County Parks and Open Space Continue reading →

Editor,

I am writing in response to the guest commentary by Ron Laughery on Tuesday October 26, 2010. He asserts that anticipated tax burdens will discourage entrepreneurs from starting new businesses. I am also an entrepreneur with a small company and I just don”t see it that way.

Mr. Laughery tells us that he started a successful company, sold it and now has more money than he and his wife will spend in their lifetimes. I’m guessing that any entrepreneur would jump at the chance to be in the 49% tax bracket and end up, at age 56, with enough money for the rest of their life – that is a wildly successful outcome. In fact, most young entrepreneurs starting out are actually just glad to make a reasonable living from their enterprise.

As for being discouraged from starting a business in America, I wonder if Mr. Laughery considered how the government helped his business succeed. Let’s start with the obvious. He had 100 highly educated employees. Did any of them attend public schools? How did he and his employees get to work? Did they drive on highways? Did Mr. Laughery take business trips? Did he fly on planes controlled by the FAA and made safe by the TSA? Was he able to protect his intellectual property by registering patents and trademarks? Did he ever have to seek redress of grievances in a court of law? Was he able to transport goods using ships, trains, trucks? And then the less obvious. Did he ever loose employees to a cholera outbreak? Thank you to the CDC. Did he ever call on law enforcement for assistance? Did he have to hire a private security detail to protect his family or employee’s from being kidnapped for ransom? Where his employees able to get good food that didn’t make them sick? Are his employees able to retire even though they don’t have a company to sell? Will Mr. Laughery be collecting Social Security and Medicare? I could go on and on. I ask you to consider this: if you don’t want to start a business in the USA then where?

While nobody relishes paying taxes and our system is certainly not perfect, I believe we are getting a pretty good deal for our money. I’m not mad at the government. I am grateful for the opportunity to live and work in this great country and that is what I am going to take to the polls on Tuesday.

Judy Amabile
Boulder Continue reading →

In his letter of Oct. 25, D. Trentham spoke of the agenda of the new Republican
Party. The old Republican Party also had an agenda, and it continues today, but almost no one ever talks about
it. The party has done such a masterful job of covering it up, that few voters, today, even know what it is. It is not just low taxes, as many will suppose. Instead, it is to make sure that the very rich remain very rich, even at the expense of the middle class and the environment.

Why
do you suppose that Republicans oppose repeal of tax cuts for those making more
than $250K (thus adding $678 billion to the deficit)? If you believe it is “to help small business”, read on.

Why
do you suppose that the Republicans fight so hard to reduce or eliminate
altogether both capital gains and estate taxes? Who pays these taxes?
Only the almost rich and the very rich.

Why
do Republicans support deregulation of business and industry? Because fewer regulations allow the
Enrons and Exons and Gordon Geckos of the world to make more and more money.

Why
do Republicans rail against “big government”? Well, for one thing, it endears them to voters. No one likes big government; no one
likes being told what to do. Big
corporations especially dislike big government because it limits the ways they
can make big money.

Why
do Republicans oppose environmental controls? Because they cut into the profits of big
corporations. Does it matter that
things like climate change might be endangering our children’s children and our
beautiful planet? Nope, not to the
Republicans, it doesn’t.

Why
do Republicans want to privatize Social Security? Because it would transfer billions to large
corporations. But would it not
also threaten the financial security of our senior citizen population? Sure, but so what?

Why
did our Republican-appointed Chief Justice Roberts recently rule that
corporations can make unlimited secret donations to political candidates? Will this not replace government by the
people with government by the corporations? Yes, but that’s OK—corporations will then make more money.

Why
do Republicans worship “trickle down economics”? Doesn’t this really mean that those at the top get a flood
while those at the bottom get a trickle (if they are lucky)?

Are you starting to see a pattern here?
Are you beginning to understand why Bush referred to his supporters as
“the haves and the have mores”?

Yes, we are destroying ourselves, but it is not too late. Educate yourselves.
Take government away from the corporations and the greedy, and give it
back to the people.

Norman Littlejohn
Boulder Continue reading →

Letter to the Editor:

Tough times requires a proven leader

I urge you to vote Matt Jones for the Statehouse District 12.

Matt will hit the ground running and work hard for us at the Statehouse. Matt’s proven leadership as a state legislator will be critical in overcoming the state’s budget crisis. His passion to serve and seasoned judgment will make him an effective legislator for Longmont, Lafayette and Louisville from day one.

I have watched Matt run a clean campaign with his typical passion, stamina and good-humor to fight for the important things in life. As a two time cancer survivor, and dedicated husband and father to a college student, and wildland firefighter, his real life experiences gives him the compassion and tenacity to stand up to tough times and fight through adversity with integrity.

Matt has proven experience in creating clean energy jobs. He is dedicated to keeping our schools funded, performance measures high and college affordable. His personal experience drives him to improve health care access.
Please cast your vote for Matt Jones. Tough times demand proven leadership.
Cindy Domenico
Lafayette Continue reading →

Dear Editor:

I recently stopped to view real estate ads posted on some Pearl Street shop windows . Prices ranged from $2 million to under $200,000. A father and his young sons approached, stopped and looked at the ads, too.

The father said to his sons as they looked at the prices: “Run, run, run away as fast as you can…from Boulder!”

Donna Marek
Boulder Continue reading →

OK, here’s why some of us are science agnostics. Boulder scientists now tell us
that commercial space flight will hasten global warming as a result of carbon
soot deposited in the stratosphere. A year or two ago the nuclear winter
scientists were telling us that nuclear bombs would cause global cooling
because of carbon soot deposited in the stratosphere. To lay eyes, there seems
to be a contradiction here.

The heating side also report that atmospheric circulation would be speeded up by
such soot thereby transporting ozone to the polar regions. Wouldn’t this cure
the ozone hole problem?

Thomas W. O’Rourke
Boulder Continue reading →

Students of political history know that fascism is the joining together of government and industry. Benito Mussolini started the fascist party in 1919 in Italy and it ended when he was shot then hung in 1945. Glen Beck recently called President Obama a fascist but, to be fair, he balanced it out by also calling him a communist. In Jan. of 2010 the United States Supreme Court, by a 5 to 4 vote, ruled that corporations using their right of free speech could spend an unlimited amount of money to support or denigrate political candidates and in their eagerness to rule, the right leaning judges left a loophole that also allowed anonymity. Not surprisingly In this election cycle roughly 10 times the amount of corporate money is spent to favor conservatives/corporatists as is spent on liberals who would be more likely to pass laws regulating unfair, unlawful or dangerous business practices. I would never call a conservative a fascist but I question whether they can stop short of where they are heading. Somebody reassure me!

Tom Lopez
Longmont Continue reading →