Monthly Archives: January 2011

We have finally entered the 21st century-we can now openly discuss “the love that dares not speak its name”.

I agree totally with Erica Stutzman’s editorial (Sun., 1-29-11) but I sincerely hope that heterosexuals can also qualify for Civil Unions. Many Boomers have enjoyed “shacking up” for years and are still facing problems with insurance, hospital visits, probate, children.

This addition may well help the bill to pass. Anyway, Rush Limbaugh’s four marriages have totally destroyed the sanctity of heterosexual marriage for me….

M.C. Hollis

Mary C. Hollis
Boulder Continue reading →

Charlie Danaher in the Sunday Camera says “changing our behavior for the better requires a complete and honest assessment of our choices, and then fails to be complete and honest in his assessment of his own arguments against electric cars and the ecological snobbishness of some of their owners. He also doesn’t seem to notice how much he’s looking down his nose himself. I’ve noticed this kind of holier-than-thou attitude from him before, and it certainly doesn’t contribute to a complete and honest assessment of anything.

In his critique of electric vehicles, for instance, he factors in the costs of converting natural gas into electricity, etc., but completely ignores all the government subsidies and other costs of extracting and converting oil in the ground or under the sea into gasoline, which we’ve seen some ramifications of recently in the Gulf. I guess “complete and honest” only applies to facts that support his point of view. That doesn’t seem to be clear thinking to me. It seems to be an excuse to feel superior, or maybe a symptom of Prius-envy.

Stan Hartman
Boulder Continue reading →

With the violence and uncertainty in the Middle East in the headlines today, how can we as Americans be surprised at how things are unfolding?( or more accurately ,unraveling).

In the years since President Reagan began his campaign against working Americans and unions, America has seen the goodwill towards Americans being equally undermined, as our military presence has increased and our exports have decreased.

The President Bush 41, and subsequently 43 have carried on the Republican tradition of corporate welfare and the funding of the Military Industrial Complex ( or M.I.C …of which President Eisenhower warned us in his farewell address) take a larger and larger role in International affairs.

This clearly must stop.

As Egyptians are being tear gassed in the streets of Cairo and Alexandria, they are aware that the tear gas canisters are labeled : “Made in the U.S.A.”, and are also aware that drones killing Afghans and Pakistani civilians are marked in a similar fashion.

Is that what America has come to?

In the last 10 years, 40,000 factories on American soil have closed their doors, Americans have lost jobs, homes, and now weapons and crowd-control supplies are our largest export.

The days of instant communication and social networking are here, and unless Americans change our ways to mend fences and make friends instead of merely focusing on killing our “enemies”, we will surely end up on the trash heap of failed empires.

BTW, Muslims and Mexicans aren’t our “enemies” . No matter what right wing pundits would have you believe.

Tommy Holeman
Niwot Continue reading →

I’ve been a supporter of Open Space since I moved here in 1970, but my faith is shaken in the management of these precious resources. I’m just heartbroken at the prospect that I may not be able to take my well-trained dog on the Saddlerock Trail and Tenderfoot/Chapman Loop. It’s been a favorite hike of ours for many years. It’s very puzzling, since it’s been so rare that we ever encountered anyone else on those trails. At most on a beautiful weekend day we might cross paths with one or two small parties. I can’t understand the rationale for this prohibition for the life of me. Could the Daily Camera do a brief story explaining their thinking?

Jennifer Peters Johnson
Boulder Continue reading →

Our congressional leaders are haggling over whether or not to repeal the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act (PPACA) passed in 2010. While lacking a reasonable plan of their own, the Republicans and Tea Partiers voting to repeal say they are doing what their constituents want. The latest poll, however, shows only 18% of Americans in favor of repeal, i.e. throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

Our health care non-system is abysmal. Considering life expectancy, infant and maternal mortality statistics, and other factors, the World Health Organization ranks the USA 37th in the world, just ahead of Slovenia. The PPACA is far from perfect but at least it does provide some important regulations for the insurance industry. When these changes take place, these companies will no longer be able to discriminate against applicants with pre-existing conditions. Nor will they be able to boot out costly families or decline care to adult children covered by their insured parent(s) to age 26. A vote to repeal would reinstate these egregious policies.

Like the majority of Americans, I feel that further health care insurance and pharmaceutical company reform is needed. To obtain better access and affordability we must include a Public Option or an opportunity to buy into Medicare. Medicare’s operating expenses are about 3% compared with 20-30% for most insurance companies. Pharmaceutical prices must be controlled, so that all Americans can have access to needed medications. Ours is the only industrialized country where insurance companies are allowed to make a profit selling basic health insurance to its citizens.

Howie Wolf
Boulder Continue reading →

To the editor:

I listened with great interest to the President’s State of the Union address the other night and I was especially interested in his push to improve our infrastructure. I can especially appreciate the focus on improving the roads and highways we drive on every day. So while we’re at it, I’d like to see another element added into the equation: let’s also add a no-nonsense, life-cycle budgeting process for these infrastructure projects so that we are truly responsible stewards of our tax dollars. By providing a full life-cycle budgeting process to account for the true costs of infrastructure projects, from start-to-finish, we can budget for the FULL costs of our infrastructure improvements which will in turn lead to more cost-effective projects overall.

What life-cycle budgeting does is to calculate the entire cost of a project over the life of the project – like construction, labor, maintenance and repairs. During these tough economic times, I don’t see why governments wouldn’t want to use these tools to save money and to use our tax dollars more wisely.

John Platten
Boulder Continue reading →

BVSD’s efforts to improve school lunches are to be commended, yet the district must make school lunches not only “healthy” but also “cool.” Despite laudable goals and incredible effort, program participation hasn’t reached a sustainable level. The continued social stigma associated with school lunches may hold the key – this stigma is associated both with food quality and also with socio-economic status as related to school lunch consumption. Although a difficult issue to face, school lunch stigma is real. Over the years and due to the historically poor quality of school lunches, lower-income students, through reduced priced lunch programs ultimately became the only regular consumers of school lunches. This, combined with the intensity of adolescent peer influence, has made “school lunch” not “cool.” The remaining stigma is so strong, and peer perception so important, that a recent NYT article reports some reduced-price-eligible students simply don’t eat at school, preferring to go hungry than to be labeled poor. BVSD has notably recognized this pressure, and responded, by no longer segregating lunch lines by payment type. Still, this hasn’t proven enough. Outreach focused on healthy food might convince parents of the program’s incredible strides, but key is reaching kids. Information about healthy foods just isn’t going to persuade adolescents primarily concerned about peer perceptions. As an anecdotal example, I can beg my middle-schooler to buy school lunch, explain the innovative new approach, and talk up the importance of supporting local efforts. He gets it, but in the end, also daily faces a mid-day cafeteria full of peers that want nothing to do with school lunch. Peer pressure is real and it’s strong. In this way, making school lunches not only “healthy” but also “cool” will aid both students on reduced price lunches and other students working to support BVSDs new lunch initiatives.

Lori Hunter
Boulder Continue reading →

A recent Daily Camera article (‘Boulder’s Chautauqua looks ahead to 2020’, 1/28/11) called attention to the parking and other overuse-related problems at Chautauqua. Given the overcrowding, and its mission of ‘Ensuring Chautauqua’s Sustainable Future,’ it’s baffling that the Colorado Chautauqua Association (CCA) is planning a 7,000 square foot (!) conference center next to the Chautauqua Auditorium. (Source: CCA’s 2020 plan at http://tinyurl.com/65u24zf). (For comparison, a typical single-family house is about 2,000 ft2).
If you question whether Chautauqua is the right place for a conference center, prefer a picnic shelter to a large new building, or wonder where those 200+ conference attendees are going to park – contact a City Council member, attend a public hearing, or let CCA know your concerns.

Paul Komor
Boulder Continue reading →

Editor:
Thanks to the Camera, I’m made aware that it has been 25 years since the heart-rending disaster at Cape Canaveral as
the Challenger exploded shortly after blastoff. Memories spill back from that tragic day. At Kohl Elementary School in Broomfield (where I was employed as librarian), it started not as a “tragic” day, but as a jubilant one.
Like many other students and teachers at schools around the nation, those at Kohl Elementary were glued to a classroom TV set on January 28, 1986. Interest was especially keen because a Kohl teacher, Ruth Weissmann Schricte, and one of her students, Bobbi Winterowd, were actually at Cape Canaveral. They were among the lucky group of Boulder Valley students sponsored by Ball Aerospace to be present for the Florida launch of the Challenger. (I, Kohl’s librarian, was watching from a
set in the library.)
For several years Schrichte’s 6th grade students were immersed in a study of rocketry, making their own rockets with the essential “ingredients” loaded into them to make possible an exciting “blast-off” from the school playground. So , while teacher Schricte’s students were well prepared for a rocket blast-off, they were certainly not prepared for the Challenger version. How would such a tragedy affect such young people?
Also among the spectators at Cape Canaveral were the husband and daughter of the teacher/astronaut, Christa McAuliffe. Before blastoff the press apparently asked McAuliffe’s young daughter something like “how do you feel,” or “are you proud” that your mother is going on a mission into space? I no longer remember in what publication I read the daughter’s reply: “I don’t want my mother to go into space.” The girl’s honest child-like utterance has haunted me ever since, and I have often wondered about lives of Christa McAuliffe’s family.

Joyce Robertson
Boulder Continue reading →

Daily Camera:

Thank you for your coverage of the debate on cutting federal spending.

Many of our leaders agree that this action is necessary, yet much of the
debate is focused on cuts to domestic programs. . In an era when our
states are facing terrible financial problems, I hope that our
representative and senators will take a hard look at Pentagon spending.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who also is a former Chairman of
the Pentagon’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, and many members of Congress from
both parties have said that cuts in Pentagon spending must be on the table
to address the budget deficit. Last year, Reps. Barney Frank and Ron Paul
got the signatures of more than 50 members of Congress on a letter
supporting cuts to Pentagon spending. Credible proposals have been put
forward to cut up to $1 trillion in Pentagon spending over the next decade.

I hope that our representative and senators will look seriously at these
proposals.

Sincerely,

Michael Neil
Denver Continue reading →

Several people have tried to discourage people from questioning or having any opinions over the CU’s rebranding effort just because of the lack of fact. It is precisely because we don’t have all the facts that questions are being, and should, be asked. If we had all the fact, why would we need to ask any questions at all?

The issue isn’t whether or not CU’s rebranding effort is worth $780,000; it probably is. The issue is why wasn’t this money spent on a local design firm? Crispin Porter + Bogusky is just down the street. Or how about Egg Strategy? In other words, there are plenty of shops in town.

Here’s another question, how much of that budget was spent on flying, dining, driving, and housing to bring designers from the California to Colorado, or sending CU administrators to California? Couldn’t they have saved that money by hiring a local firm? In this regard, isn’t CU branding itself as being wasteful with money? Isn’t CU branding itself as an institution that doesn’t support local businesses? What good is a good new logo if CU ends up tarnishing its relationship with local businesses in the process?

We are asking these questions because the CU administration has yet to provide answers. CU has the right to spend its money however they want. We as a public, as members of a democracy, have a right to ask questions, and to have an opinion about it, especially when we don’t have all the facts.

Young B. Kim
Boulder Continue reading →

This is laughable… Our Boulder leaders thinking they get the economy. As a Boulder native of 60+ years I have watched our Boulder Government consistently kick the Golden Buffalo, Shackle Government projects, Hamper businesses and property owners like no other town in the USA. Entire Departments in our government spend most of their time Restricting every project that comes along than they do performing their jobs! The Planning Department found time to give us cartoons of the things they prevented! Folks these things would have never happened anyway… Flagstaff and the Flatirons were off limits when I was born. … 25 years for a hotel, 20 years for a condo project ad nauseam. Anyone with a reasonable plan faces a huge battle in getting anything approved! If they finally do… There will be huge additional costs associated with any project. If Boulder wants to make a sustainable government, Cut 1/2 of these jobs and lets folks move ahead with reasonable plans .
This remains a town that is more worried about traffic tickets than sales tax receipts. Most of the fun public events have vanished, Parades on Pearl, the Pow Wow, Coors Classic, Kinetics, Halloween etc etc… It is just getting boring folks.
I hope Boulder finally gets it some day and elects a more reasonable bunch of leaders as it remains the Economy Stupid! Please keep my notes in mind the next time you vote!

Mike Shaw
Nederland
Continue reading →

According to the Boulder County Election Division, 2010 County Issue 1B, a measure to increase sales and use taxes to fund the acquisition of Open Space, passed only by 0.43%. What does this narrow margin signify? Perhaps it’s a result of tough economic times, or perhaps it’s a sign of the increasing apathy residents feel towards Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP). Many of us no longer feel welcome on these public lands thanks to increasing restrictions like those recently submitted to, and unanimously accepted by, the OSMP Board of Trustees.
The Western Trail Study Area (WTSA) process conducted by OSMP was flawed in many ways. If the recommendations are adopted fully, and they show every sign of being so, many residents will find they’re no longer welcome with their dogs on some of their favorite trails from the Sanitas area south to Shanahan Ridge and throughout the Flatirons. For instance, both the Saddlerock Trail and the Tenderfoot-Chapman Loop currently allow dogs under voice and sight control. The recommendations unanimously accepted by OSMP Board of Trustees include a complete prohibition of dogs on these two trails. No, they’re not welcome on leash either. They’re prohibited entirely. I urge residents of the county to inform themselves of the WTSA impending restrictions and get involved before they’re fully adopted and implemented. Search for City of Boulder West Trail Study Area to find the project website and to read the CCG Final Recommendations.

James A. Illg
Boulder Continue reading →

Is Northern Colorado’s judicial black hole expanding? Larimer County gave us The People of Colorado v. Timothy Lee Masters, a murder conviction based in emotion: the first-ever Powerpoint presentation of a 15-year-old’s doodles supporting a purely psychiatric case–scary new legal territory.

On February 4th, neighboring Weld County Judge Hartman could introduce Bronston Rules into a Colorado court. Governing federal courts since 1973, Bronston Rules don’t demand “the whole truth and nothing but the truth.” Half-truth meant to mislead is acceptable if lawyers don’t frame questions to elicit the whole truth. Honesty in interstate commerce has suffered.

Unlike the federal government, States have Police Power, so one of the parties allowed to tell half-truths under Bronston Rules would be the Police, represented by the District Attorney. The policeman indicted for perjury in the Masters case is requesting Bronston Rules for his trial.

More new legal precedent for Colorado?

Ann Malone
Fort Collins Continue reading →

Were the Beatles wrong? Recently, I saw a sign, in front of a popular
grocery store, with the words: “Buy Love For Less”. It was written in
pink and red chalk. Is love a commodity that can be bought and sold? Can
the affection that I have for someone be traded for that of another?

Monsanto is a multinational corporation that is headquartered in Creve
Coeur, Missouri (Coeur is French for heart). It produces genetically
engineered seeds. Will Monsanto begin to produce sticky sprays that
promote attachment between people?

As of this writing, the answer to each question above is no. The ability
to love, laugh, and share comes from within. Somethings can still be given
and received but never bought.

Kristen Marshall
Boulder Continue reading →

Dear Editor,

I am writing in support of a bill called ASSET: Advancing Students for a Stronger Economy Tomorrow, which is expected to be introduced in the state senate in the coming weeks. The bill would allow all of our Colorado high school graduates, regardless of immigration status, to pay in-state tuition in our public colleges and universities. They will not be eligible for federal or state financial aid, and ASSET will cost the state nothing. It will in fact generate money for our institutions of higher learning by allowing more qualified students to enroll.

Our neighboring states including Utah, Nebraska, New Mexico and Texas already have legislation like ASSET in place. As a state, we have already invested in these kids’ K-12 education, and all of us benefit when they have the opportunity to continue their schooling. Colorado has the second highest percentage of college graduates in the nation, but ranks 32nd in sending our own high school graduates to college. Failing to educate our students has implications not just for education, but for our economy.

In these tough fiscal times, ASSET is exactly the sort of policy we need in order to make our state’s workforce more competitive. In order to qualify for ASSET. students must have lived in the state for at least three years and been accepted into college. ASSET is in no way a handout, and would simply make these talented young members of our community pay the same tuition that their classmates pay at our state schools. I hope that our lawmakers will pass this important bill.

Erika Blum
Boulder Continue reading →

Dear editor,

No good deed should go unrewarded and that’s why I am writing this letter to your paper. I wish to commend B&D Plumbing and Heating for a job well done.

The story begins three days ago when the water pump to our boiler broke down. We called Precision Plumbing on a Friday to set up an appointment. A Precision service technician arrived at our house this Monday morning. He charged us $178 dollars for a “diagnostic” followed by a recommendation for $2,048 of work (reduced from $4,619) or, better yet, a new heating system ($14,000 minimum for a low-end one, not including any work on our pipes). We said we would “think about it”, and he left. We were still with no heat and now $178 poorer.

We then called B&D Plumbing and Heating. Two of their technicians arrived within the hour and fixed the problem pronto. They replaced a couple of parts on our water pump and the bill came to $172, parts and labor included. We then took off four layers of ski cloths as the house warmed up.

Again, I am very happy to recommend B&D Plumbing. Their phone number is 303-444-7690

Quentin Mckenna
Boulder Continue reading →

As the parent of a 4th grader in the BVSD, I must write and say to Ann Cooper
and her kitchen staff, Keep up the Good Work!

My son is a typcial kid: he loves sugar and chicken nuggets. However, if good
food is what is offered at lunch, he eats what he is served. At school, my son
eats a piece of fresh fruit daily; he likes the salad bar, too. Last night at
dinner, we tallied his fruit & veggie in-take. He had eaten 5 servings before
dinner (and 3 of those servings were served at BSVD).

Please do not go back to canned produce and starchy fried foods. If a good
lunch costs more, I will pay it.

J.M. Eisenlau
Boulder
Continue reading →

Two subjects regarding CU have appeared in the “Letter to the Editor” section in recent weeks: the $800,000 rebranding effort and rising tuition rates. The general consensus on these two issues seems to be this: CU wasted its money paying $800,000 for a new logo and it has no business raising tuition. I would strongly encourage those who have these opinions to form them with research rather than hyperbole. If a little time is taken, I think many opinions would change. The rebranding effort is far too complex an issue for a short letter, but suffice it to say, a very important one for those with knowledge of the difficulties facing the CU system and its challenges marketing itself both nationally and internationally. As for rising tuition as it relates to educational value and wasted spending, it might be good to know a few key things: CU is one of the best educational values in the country, CU has one of the lowest staff to faculty ratios in the country, making it among the most, if not the most, efficiently run Universities in the world, and CU is one of the best tax dollar investments in all of higher education, meaning that for every dollar of tax money put into CU, it spits that dollar and much more out. Before forming a negative opinion about CU, please do a little research on its many great qualities. You’ll be proud.

Jason Katzman
Boulder Continue reading →

I would like to address the recent proposal by the CCG in the West Trail Study Area that would close the Tenderfoot/Chapman loop trail to dog walkers.

While I appreciate the scope, complexity, and focus put into their proposals overall, the loss of the particular trail confounds me. Many have expressed their opposition and distress at this ban. Hundreds have already signed the petition asking that we keep voice and sight access on this and the Saddlerock Trail.

I understand that some people would rather not meet dogs when they go out. But since this is a lightly used trail, due to limited parking, and due to the nature of the loop, one rarely encounters other hikers. In the twenty-five years I’ve enjoyed this trail, I have yet to encounter a conflict.

I propose a timeshare like the successful one at the Betasso Preserve where bikers share access for five days a week with all other users and people can hike without bikes the other two. There could be Dog days and No-Dog days, and given the fact that the Chapman portion is an old road, it seems like a fine opportunity for the bikers to have some access too. This is a compromise that might appease all concerned.

One of the things that makes Boulder the wonderful place that it is, is its reputation for respect for the environment and respect for the concerns, needs, and interests of its citizens – this includes many thousands of dogs and their devoted guardians.

Let’s work to refine the CCG proposal in respect to the Tenderfoot Chapman loop to accommodate the citizens’ interests.

Jill Jones
Boulder Continue reading →