Monthly Archives: September 2011

Those poor downtrodden college Republicans are at it again, this time with a bake sale at U.C. Berkeley where white males were charged more for baked goods. To illustrate their belief that white males are the most oppressed minority in our culture.

I guess that must be true, seeing as how there are so few white males in positions of power these days. And having to accept a dollar for every seventy-seven cents a woman earns, on average, after they graduate is a burden nobody should be forced to bear.

Mike Ryder
Louisville Continue reading →

To the editor:

The front page article in last Sunday’s Camera titled “Naysayers persist in America” seemed to miss a key point .

The piece noted and attempted to explain the increasing denial of climate change among Americans,

But there was no mention of mainstream media’s influence on the way Americans perceive this issue.

For over 20 years there has been a coordinated effort between Republican leaders and Mainstream Conservative Media (Fox News/Clear Channel Radio among others) to deny and cast doubt on the science behind Climate Change.

It seems clear they broadcast their message of denial to benefit the Oil industry (among other polluters),who also happen to make the largest donations to the Republican Party.

This campaign to influence public opinion serves only the immediate interests of the GOP and Oil / Media companies while putting our country and planet in peril.

Matt Fitzrandolph
Boulder Continue reading →

Wednesday’s Boulder Camera editorial by Erika Stutzman, “Support for Shooting Ranges,” lauded Mark Udall’s efforts to promote a bipartisan proposal in Washington that would modify the long standing Pittman-Robertson Act and facilitate the building of sport-shooting ranges in Colorado. It is good that public attention is turning to this important issue. Owing to recent population growth along the front range, the reduction of available shooting venues, and antiquated regulations that govern “dispersed” shooting in the National Forest, the pursuit of recreational shooting has become increasingly problematic. Witness complaints from residents of Allenspark, Nederland, and the Lefthand Canyon area about life-threatening stray bullets and forest fires and intolerable levels of noise. Also dig back in your memories to reports of a man shot in the buttocks in Johnny Park, a tragic shooting death at the Rampart informal shooting site, a fire caused by shooting at the old Allenspark dump, and numerous fires associated with recreational shooting in the Lefthand Canyon area this past spring. It would be a tragedy if the Udall Amendment were perversely used to help fund the shooting range

currently proposed by the Forest Service at the Allenspark Dump, where nearby residents would continue to be exposed to the risk of escaping bullets; and where noxious environmental wastes from the dump could easily be dislodged by construction activities, enabling their migration to the Middle St. Vrain Creek, which supplies water to Longmont and Lyons.

To their credit the Boulder County Commissioners, the US Forest Service, other land-management agencies, representatives from adjoining counties and interested parties have agreed to work together in a group effort to find an acceptable resolution. This is a great collaboration that should be encouraged. With increased funding available through a modified Pittman-Robertson Act, additional public resources and a political will, it just might be possible to develop a suitable venue(s) that would satisfy the interests and needs of recreational shooters. In its deliberations the coalition needs also to consider the rights of other recreationalists, nature lovers, land owners and residents. The trajectories and sounds of bullets carry a long way, and those engaged in the search for safe, sustainable shooting venues need to keep that in mind. The US Military and the Department of Energy have established guidelines for safe, environmentally sound and non-intrusive development of shooting ranges. Let’s hope our government leaders follow the best practices known.

David Pinkow, Boulder
For the Glacier View Neighbors’ Association Continue reading →

When I first learned about the transitional housing project proposed for north boulder I was really excited and curious to learn more. I found on the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless site two interviews with past residents who share how hard it is to be on the streets and how relieved they were to get into the transition program. http://www.bouldershelter.org/about.residents.html I am proud to be part of a community that can address the emergency needs of the homeless, but more importantly, can try to help people get their lives back on track. The transitional housing does this and it makes sense to be near other community services. I hear the need for safety from residents in north boulder. I wonder if they have ever talked with someone trying to survive, and trying to start their life again after life happens. I know I have had tremendous support from family and friends in my life at critical times. Not everyone is so lucky. Check out the web site videos if you can’t go meet someone in person.

Kim Decker
Boulder Continue reading →

While I’m all in favor of moving toward renewable energy, there is an issue with municipalization all property owners should consider: When a tenant does not pay their water/sewer bill the City of Boulder bills the property owner, putting a lien on the property if necessary to ensure payment. I would expect them to have the same policy if they municipalize the electric grid. Xcel, on the other hand, does not do this. We once had a tenant skip out on a $200 water/sewer bill, but left an $800 Xcel bill. If we as landlords are going to end up paying these charges, we’re going to have to increase tenant deposits to compensate, requiring them to come up with hundreds or even thousands more to move into a new place. This will affect even condos, which typically don’t have separate water bills.

I certainly realize that there’s no such thing as a free lunch: When people don’t pay their bills we all end up paying more via higher prices. But at least this method of compensation is fair because the cost is equally distributed among all users of a particular service. Until such time as the City of Boulder rescinds their policy of holding property owners responsible for the acts of their tenants, I will be a staunch opponent of municipalization. I encourage all other property owners, whether you’re a landlord now or just want to allow for the possibility in the future, to vote no on 2B and 2C. Oh, and sign up for Windsource: If every resident of Boulder did this the cost for each of us would decrease, use of only renewables would be guaranteed (which is more than the City can promise), and there’d be no risk of rates going up to finance a fiasco.

Scott Raney
Boulder Continue reading →

David Brooks (The Lost Decade, 9/29/11) was on the mark about the current crisis resulting from a complex interplay of forces, and people’s tendency to focus on only one of those forces as the single key to resolving the crisis.
But I feel compelled to challenge one of his examples. He claims that the federal stimulus failed to stimulate demand enough to raise consumer and corporate confidence, and hence government spending is incapable of doing that. This is, at best, a misdirection. In the case of other more ‘conservative’ writers it is a deception.
As pointed out by Paul Krugman and others, the federal stimulus was barely enough to make up for the cuts in government spending at the state and local levels. So there was no net government spending increase during the ‘stimulus’ period!
We do not know whether an increase in government spending would have helped overcome the problems we’re facing. My main reasons for wanting strong governments are to protect us from assaults from outside and inside our country, and to provide a counter-balance to the short-sightedness of individuals and corporations.
It’s perfectly logical in the short term for individuals and corporations to hoard their resources when the future looks dark, but when an entire society does that it becomes a needlessly damaging self-fulfilling prophesy. We need a powerful force to remind us that we’re not that far away from better times, if we’ll just show some optimism about our industriousness and the power of our desire for a better life. The only force up to the task is our (non-profit) federal government, if we’ll let it.
Of course the deficits during the downturns should be paid for by surpluses during the growth periods, but to make our government behave like an individual or corporation is surely a path to destruction.
Not just destruction of the federal government, for which some are striving, but of the whole society which makes our well-being possible.

Kevin Raeder
Boulder Continue reading →

I just got a phone call from a young woman for the Smart Energy “Coalition,” urging me not to give our elected City Council a “blank check” on Boulder’s proposed municipal power utility. She didn’t seem to understand that the real “blank check” is the 20 year “franchise” Xcel wants Boulder to give it and the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. The PUC is political appointees who often ignore their underfunded staff, so regulated businesses largely tell it how to rule; and it’s often unresponsive to public needs. Boulder City Council is elected and responsive and we wouldn’t be locked in for 20 years.

The caller was paid; neither voter nor volunteer. Was she paid by Xcel Energy? No, she was paid by “a citizens’ group.” Funded by? She didn’t know. Was it Xcel? It was “a citizens’ group,” etc. “citizen’s” was enough for her. Xcel is hiding behind her, preying upon her naivete.

Has she heard of the many successful munis across the country including ones in nearby Front-Range cities? It’s not rocket science, any more than sewers or water are, which Boulder has run successfully for many years. Munis are often more efficient and reliable than commercial operations, and cheaper because they don’t have to make their owners rich.

Xcel lost my trust by charging “Windsource” subscribers for wind generators they didn’t build, while at the same time getting PUC to approve and make Colorado subscribers pay for a new coal-fired plant. The Boulder muni plan will allow us flexibility to reconsider technologies as different options appear or grow cheaper, a really exciting option, while Xcel has re-committed to coal as its base; dirty, inefficient, and not scalable to demand.

Register to get your mail-in ballot NOW. Yes on 2B and 2C.

Andrew Goetz
Boulder Continue reading →

The Republican Party has an historic opportunity to nominate and elect the first “African American” president in our country’s history. Obama is Irish, like me, so he doesn’t count.

Obama is a mere academic. Hermann Cain is an economic wizard, who might be helpful in fixing the economy. Obama’s brain has never been used, but his teleprompter is very smart. Cain is a conservative, who accomplished most of his life goals by the time he was 30. Obama still doesn’t know where money comes from.

Hermann Cain is the right man, at the right time. I believe that he will win in a general election. I believe he can work without a teleprompter. I believe he doesn’t look like an alternative energy salesman, or a lawyer, or a politician.

Hermann Cain has some rough-edges. I believe he is perfect for the job, of replacing the dumbest kid that ever lived in the White House. I think that just about covers everything.

David Thomas
Lyons Continue reading →

To the editor:

RTD is considering cutting service of the SKIP and other Boulder routes. I urge Boulder
citizens to contact RTD asking the agency to retain full service of this invaluable
community resource.

I live one block off the SKIP route and keenly remember the day these friendly
green buses made debuted in summer 1997. In positive ways, the SKIP has changed
both Boulder my Newlands neighborhood. By offering convenient service on clean,
comfortable buses, the SKIP (and its siblings HOP, etc.) popularized riding the bus for all
kinds of people at all hours. The SKIP is as least as important to transit as walking and
cycling in Boulder. That’s saying a lot. In snow and ice season it indispensible especially
for K-12 and college students.

The SKIP has acted as a second car for my family. Both my kids took the SKIP to
attend Centennial Middle School and Boulder High. When I worked in the Holiday
neighborhood the SKIP was my commuter line. Now I use it to connect to the BX to
reach my job as executive director of Urban Land Institute Colorado in downtown
Denver.

My family also uses the SKIP and HOP for weekend errands and nighttime
entertainment. My daughter, now a sophomore at CU, put a premium on renting a Martin
Acres house near Broadway. Her priority is to have access to the SKIP and continue to
live without a car (forever, she says!). Thanks to good local transit, my 16-year-old son
and his neighborhood friends have been in no hurry to get learner’s permits.

The Neighborhood Eco Pass program has flourished thanks to convenient services like
the SKIP.

The SKIP has also exerted a positive influence on shaping development patterns in
Boulder. The award-winning Holiday neighborhood and other walk/transit-friendly
infill development in North Boulder rely on the SKIP to ensure mobility. Recently the
Springleaf townhouse development at Broadway and Quince has marketed proximity to
a busy SKIP stop as an amenity (“Spring Leaf’s location will encourage you to leave the
car at home!”)

This is completely consistent with RTD’s new Transit-Oriented Communities (TOC)
program. RTD should tout this as a pilot for future anti-sprawl development around
FasTracks and bus rapid transit (BRT) stations.

Cutting the SKIP’s frequency will greatly reduce the route’s convenience and hurt
ridership. This is just as density is building throughout the route, especially in North
Boulder but also in central Boulder where I live. The SKIP bisects the always growing
CU campus and adjacent student neighborhoods. Rather than cutting SKIP service, RTD
should be expanding SKIP-like services into corridors throughout the region. You could
easily imagine a Colfax SKIP, Denver Broadway SKIP, a Tech Center SKIP, or one for

central Golden or the Union Corridor.

RTD’s mission is not just to provide bus service for riders but to relieve congestion and to
shape compact development around transit. The SKIP does all three admirably. It should
be a model for the system, not a chopping block victim.

RTD faces difficult funding tradeoffs. But cutting thriving routes will only damage the
system’s ridership and credibility. To continue to increase it credibility, ridership and
customer service, RTD must build on successes like the SKIP.
More information is available at rtd-denver.com (click on “proposed service changes).
Citizens please consider attending a public hearing on the cuts on Monday, Oct. 3, at 7
pm at East Boulder Rec Center.

Michael Leccese
Boulder Continue reading →

State Representitive, Cory Gardner has once again voted with special interests to destroy the EPA’s ability to protect the people. He has voted for a train wreck for the American people when it comes to safety in our jobs, safety in our water, land and air.

His yes vote for the Dirty Air Train Act will only protect short term polluter profits of only a few companies, while putting millions of Americans at risk.

He wants to block the clean air standards that we now have. This means that tens of millions of Americans will be exposed to more dangerous toxic air pollution. Mercury, arsenic, smog and soot will lead to 125,000 premature deaths in those communities destroyed by short sighted greed of the mining industry.

Our clean air standards can produce huge economic savings. Pollution control technology will save the public’s health and our environment.

This blatant assault on our clean water and air protections will be voted on in the next few weeks.

Don’t let special interests rewrite all the rules. It is time to make waves and fight for your health.

Ruth A. Remple
Longmont Continue reading →

Yesterday, September 27th, President Obama was in Denver discussing the American Jobs Act. One of the things mentioned was the elimination of tax breaks for oil and gas producers. Although I am very excited that this is part of the bill that we are trying to pass in order to help solve our economic and unemployment issues, we also need to think of other things to fight against fossil fuels, like renewable energy and getting rid of dirty coal. Growing up I was always proud to be born and raised in the great United States of America, but our role as leaders has faded. Sweden currently gets over 35% of their energy from renewable resources. If they can do it, so can we. In the country where the American Dream was born, we are full of endless possibilities. We need action now in order to combat dirty coal and other nonrenewable energies. Let’s move towards a greener future!

Flor Hernandez
Denver Continue reading →

Just yesterday as I was riding a bus, my eyes happened to light on one of those red and white “Proposed Service Changes” that RTD issue about every six months. When I looked at it I was shocked at the proposals. A tremendous number of routes are up for severe reductions. This will make it less convenient to use the bus, especially if one has to transfer from one bus to another.

Typical of RTD, public hearings are scheduled before many are even aware of the proposals. One of the first is in Boulder at the East Boulder Senior Center, 550 Sioux Drive Monday, 3 October, at 7pm. Please alert your friends to join us there to prevent at least the worst of these proposals. Grab a copy and familiarize yourself with these threats.

If you cannot make it to a meeting, please submit your comments to service.changes@rtd-denver.com no later than 14 Oct. Or fax a letter to 303.299.2227 .

Frank Hogg
Lyons Continue reading →

To the Editor:

Amy Stein is one courageous person. She stands up against discrimination wherever she sees it, no matter what. Sometimes the consequences are grave, like being publicly called to the carpet ( letter Sept.28th, by Ms. Pollack & Sandler) for stating that Palestinians cannot be categorized as a group as homicidal, genocidal, and that there are many Palestinian peace activists working with Israelis for a lasting peace. It is Amy Stein’s voice that we hear most often in the pages of the Camera denouncing hate crimes of any nature, against any person. She is the one, not our elected officials, who usually stands up to voice the conscience of our community, restating each time that acts of hatred are not acceptable and will not pass without consequence. She is a&nb half of the rights of ALL people, not just on behalf of her own group of origin.

That is why Amy Stein is being honored Next Thursday at the Boulder County Multicultural Awards Ceremony in the Partners category. She is a partner in the work of human rights to every person. She carries out the work of the Anti-Defamation League in an extraordinary fashion. If you read their educational material (Teaching Tolerance)or attend their exemplary programs (No Place for Hate) you would recognize Amy Stein as carrying out their mission of eradicating hate, intolerance, racism, sexism, and all the forms of discrimination, through education and through a personal courage to stand up for what is right, every time, and endure the personal attacks from those who perpetrate stereotypes and stoke the fires of fear and mistrust. Amy Stein deserves this award for just this

reason: she is a true leader shoulder to shoulder with all the other unsung heroes around you, who work every day to uphold the dignity of ALL people.

Ray Stewart
Boulder Continue reading →

To the Editor:
Seeing that the economic collapse was caused by the questionable dealings of high finance, it is completely irrational that average citizens, be they American, Greek, Italian, Spanish, Irish, Portuguese, or Icelandic, be facing austeriy measures when none are being placed on institutions of high finance. What would make sense, in a spirit of “shared sacrifice”, are outside regulation and oversight of the banking industry, a tax on Wall Street transactions, including especially computer trading, renewed tariffs on imported products, and tax breaks for companies bringing jobs back to America, not taking them away. In simple words, put the penalties where they belong.

Robert Porath
Boulder Continue reading →

You get the “power” over the power because you are the owner. You can always buy from Xcel if you want to, but not because you have to.

Last year the folks of Boulder voted 2B in at 69%. This year is the next step which expands our options to do what 2B created, the freedom for our city to deploy the vast local intellectual capital at it’s disposal to design an energy system that watches out for our best short and long term economic interests. Those include lowering the costs of health care due to carbon emissions, bringing in the right kind of jobs, and increasing the disposable incomes of residents resulting from the least possible overall costs for energy fuel and infrastructure.

2008 happened. There is now a window of opportunity to reverse it. We can do this! To understand more and help with the campaign, contact Renewablesyes.org, but put on your seat belt!

My choices on candidates to help this actually manifest are: Dan Ziskin, Suzanne Jones, Tim Plass, Lisa Morzel and Jonathan Hondorf, an easy decision this year. You can’t vote in the Board of Directors at X-cel, but you can put your community members to work!

Lynn Segal
Boulder Continue reading →

Concerning the desirability of GMOs, I would like to offer this statement, which seems obviously true: The optimal environment for a species (e.g., humans) is the environment that designed it. If this is true, GMOs, which have been recently introduced to our environment, are probably harmful.

Marty Miles
Boulder Continue reading →

In 1978, my husband and I had our rehearsal dinner in one of the
upstairs rooms at the Red Lion Inn in Boulder Canyon. We always wanted
to have a wedding there and last Friday, our dream came true when our
son Jonathan and his bride, Becky were married on the lawn of our
favorite restaurant. We had ordered a beautiful day and perfect it was
… but the Red Lion out did themselves proud in giving us and all of
Becky’s Milwaulkee relatives the most Colorado wedding imaginable.
The setting was awesome, the food was superb, the service was
impeccable, the decorations were just what the couple wanted, the
parking was adequate. the planning was so helpful and the charge was
reasonable. The Red Lion saw to every little detail. Becky’s nephew,
the ring bearer “Cooper” (from Milwaukee) carried the rings in a
baseball glove and the groom’s niece “Annabelle” (from LA) danced
across the grass in her bare feet and lovely white dress. All our
Colorado friends and family from near and far were there. Thank you
Red Lion. It was indeed a dream come true for us
Millie and Ivan Miller
Boulder Continue reading →

I was delighted to read in yesterday’s Camera (9/28) that the Boulder Valley School District Board unanimously approved a resolution supporting

Proposition 103 on the November ballot. If passed, State Senator Rollie Heath’s proposal to raise state income and sales tax slightly for a

five year period would collect $3 billion to supplement K-12 and public college budgets throughout Colorado.

I personally collected signatures of registered voters in Boulder so that this initiative would qualify for the November ballot. In Colorado,

142,000 signatures were collected this past summer.

There is a very small budget to promote Proposition 103 and I am very concerned that it may not pass because voters are not aware of the

desperate financial needs in school districts throughout the state of Colorado. I have five grandchildren in local public schools and two

daughters – one a teacher and one a social worker in Boulder Valley Schools. I have heard enough stories about budget cutbacks resulting

in larger classes, elective subjects being withdrawn and teachers not rehired to alarm me about the lowering of educational standards.

I understand that the local School Board has weighed carefully the budget cuts in effect in our schools. I also know that these are hard

economic times and citizens do not like to support proposals that increase taxes even in small amounts for limited periods.

We are talking about the future of our children to acquire necessary skills and maximize their potential in our public schools. I urge all

voters to support Proposition 103 and to tell friends and family to vote YES. For further information, please log on to: www.voteyeson103.com

Joan Graff
Boulder Continue reading →

Let’s cut to the chase. Barely concealed within the rationale of several recent OpEd pieces is an implicit GOP conviction: the wealthy are too important to be taxed equitably. Aligned with the Tea Party’s reverence for corporations and resolve to stiff workers, the top 5% (as a group) is shielded from responsibility to either move the country forward or help dig it out of the recession. After the collapse of the US economy in 2008, no one was tried, no one person fined, and no laws were enacted to prevent future financial machinations. Privilege accompanies upper class membership.

Worship of money is becoming our national religion. In equating wealth to worth, its high priests model an enviable life style which then paves the way for demonization of workers, particularly teachers and fire fighters and all those other “leeches and parasites” whose jobs and pensions are in peril because, for crying out loud, just who do they think they are. Hardly a trust fund in the lot.

The wealthy often pay a lower tax rate than their poorer counterparts because of capitol gains and loopholes favoring those with enough money for tax shelters. It, however, has become a matter of class warfare to suggest that the greatest beneficiaries of economic gain pay commensurately into a system which makes these fortunes possible.

Practically speaking, when the tab for running the nation comes due, someone has to pay for the military, research universities, congress, airports, roads, FEMA, and the myriad agencies which hold the society together. Disproportionately, that bill is coming to a mailbox near you, and, if the Tea Party succeeds, the rich may soon pay no taxes at all. It’s called “less government” and guarantees that while workers flounder, those on top will flourish as never before.

Carol Seideman
Boulder Continue reading →

I received in the mail a note from the Boulder Smart Energy Coalition Issue Committee urging me to vote “No” on issues 2B and 2C. They quote from 2C as follows:

“… [The city can] charge rates that do not exceed those rates charged by Xcel Energy at the time of acquisition…”

The flyer interprets this to mean: At the time of acquisition, the charged rates cannot exceed Xcel Energy’s rates; immediately after acquisition, rates can be increased. This is an odd interpretation, since the clause would thus impose no limit on rate increases: It’s the equivalent of saying that you cannot travel faster than 50 mph until after you start your car.

Another, more plausible, interpretation would be: Rates can never exceed those rates that, upon acquisition, were charged by Xcel Energy.

I’m curious to know which interpretation is correct, and if (purposeful?) misinterpretation of this clause is driving debate over these issues. If the first interpretation is correct, the clause should be reworded to read: “At the time of acquisition,…”; if the second is correct, it should read “…can never exceed those rates that, upon acquisition, were charged by Xcel Energy…”.

Apparently our elementary school English teachers were correct about the importance of linguistic precision!

Tom Margolis
Boulder Continue reading →