Stephen Dinan:
"President Obama’s budget would pile up an additional $3.5 trillion in debt over the next 10 years and shows the government’s trust funds running out of money in 2020, Congress’s official non-partisan scorekeeper said Friday.
In 2012 alone Mr. Obama’s budget would leave a $1.3 trillion deficit — $82 billion worse than if none of his policies were enacted. Over the next ten years the deficit would dip to less than a half-trillion dollars in 2017, but would rise again in the later years...." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
March 18, 2012
SandBoxBlogs: Summit Daily News "Contractor's plan for I-70 would require ‘little or no' public funding"
Caddie Nath:
"Toll lanes could be part of I-70's future if one private contractor's plan gets implemented.
Eight months after the private firm Parsons submitted an unsolicited and undisclosed proposal for a project to improve Interstate 70, details of the plan — including new toll lanes and a transit system — are coming to light.
The proposal, presented to the Colorado Department of Transportation in July, indicates the project could generate enough money that little or no state or federal money would be needed to implement it, according to a statement from CDOT.
CDOT reached out to other firms today, asking for statements of interest in submitting competing proposals in the future.
“Through our process, when we receive an unsolicited proposal, we have to go out for comparable proposals,” CDOT spokeswoman Stacey Stegman said. “We're looking at qualified firms to see who would propose to make sure there's interest.”
CDOT has kept the details of the Parsons proposal quiet, saying the specifics are proprietary and can't be made known to the company's competitors.
But with the request for statements of interest today, CDOT released a blueprint of the Parsons proposal, a phased plan which would implement “managed” or toll lanes that would be priced to correspond to the level of congestion. The current lanes on I-70 would remain free, according to the statement.
The plan calls for improvements to be implemented first between C-470 and Silverthorne and later extended all the way to Eagle..." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
"Toll lanes could be part of I-70's future if one private contractor's plan gets implemented.
Eight months after the private firm Parsons submitted an unsolicited and undisclosed proposal for a project to improve Interstate 70, details of the plan — including new toll lanes and a transit system — are coming to light.
The proposal, presented to the Colorado Department of Transportation in July, indicates the project could generate enough money that little or no state or federal money would be needed to implement it, according to a statement from CDOT.
CDOT reached out to other firms today, asking for statements of interest in submitting competing proposals in the future.
“Through our process, when we receive an unsolicited proposal, we have to go out for comparable proposals,” CDOT spokeswoman Stacey Stegman said. “We're looking at qualified firms to see who would propose to make sure there's interest.”
CDOT has kept the details of the Parsons proposal quiet, saying the specifics are proprietary and can't be made known to the company's competitors.
But with the request for statements of interest today, CDOT released a blueprint of the Parsons proposal, a phased plan which would implement “managed” or toll lanes that would be priced to correspond to the level of congestion. The current lanes on I-70 would remain free, according to the statement.
The plan calls for improvements to be implemented first between C-470 and Silverthorne and later extended all the way to Eagle..." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
SandBoxBlogs: Glenwood Springs Post Independent "Glenwood Springs urges denial of Thompson unitization"
What say you?
Are you weary of Glenwood Springs City Councilman Leo McKinney's claims that he and fellow council members are 'the voice of the people of Glenwood Springs' ? Especially when it comes to all of his political manifestos such as MMJ, the response to Katrina, CIRC and the "Strawberry Days Massacre", illegal immigration, plastic bags and water bottles and just about every national political hot topic that comes down the pike?
The great news is that he's up for re-elect next year and you can remove him from office.
Gamba and GarCo BOCC are right. Traffic is a non-issue.
The only thing more denigrating to the people of GarCo than the fear-mongering that Thompson Divide Coalition is whipping into a witch burning frenzy aimed at the gas and oil drilling industry are the politicians who condone that kind of political statement and do so under the false banner of being the voice of the people.
Here's an 'anonymous' tip for you, Leo.
Go online and google up the instructions on how to set-up mass email. Then solicit 'the voices of Glenwood Springs' for anyone interested in giving you an email address that they are willing to communicate with you from.
Then.....instead of stealth confiscating their voices....just simply ask them for their opinion.
It's a new and brave world out here.
Come to think of it, how tough would it be for all councilman and commissioners to do same?
Just say NO to the Thompson Divide Coalition and say YES to environmentally conscious EnCana, SG Interests and Antero.
John Stroud:
"...Council was split on the wording, but ultimately voted 4-3 to forward the letter as written by Councilman Leo McKinney.
“I believe it is one of our responsibilities as elected officials to be the voice of the people in our community in places where they don't have a voice,” McKinney said...." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
Are you weary of Glenwood Springs City Councilman Leo McKinney's claims that he and fellow council members are 'the voice of the people of Glenwood Springs' ? Especially when it comes to all of his political manifestos such as MMJ, the response to Katrina, CIRC and the "Strawberry Days Massacre", illegal immigration, plastic bags and water bottles and just about every national political hot topic that comes down the pike?
The great news is that he's up for re-elect next year and you can remove him from office.
Gamba and GarCo BOCC are right. Traffic is a non-issue.
The only thing more denigrating to the people of GarCo than the fear-mongering that Thompson Divide Coalition is whipping into a witch burning frenzy aimed at the gas and oil drilling industry are the politicians who condone that kind of political statement and do so under the false banner of being the voice of the people.
Here's an 'anonymous' tip for you, Leo.
Go online and google up the instructions on how to set-up mass email. Then solicit 'the voices of Glenwood Springs' for anyone interested in giving you an email address that they are willing to communicate with you from.
Then.....instead of stealth confiscating their voices....just simply ask them for their opinion.
It's a new and brave world out here.
Come to think of it, how tough would it be for all councilman and commissioners to do same?
Just say NO to the Thompson Divide Coalition and say YES to environmentally conscious EnCana, SG Interests and Antero.
John Stroud:
"...Council was split on the wording, but ultimately voted 4-3 to forward the letter as written by Councilman Leo McKinney.
“I believe it is one of our responsibilities as elected officials to be the voice of the people in our community in places where they don't have a voice,” McKinney said...." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
SandBoxBlogs: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel "BLM approves Oxbow coal lease addition"
Sincere congratulations to Bill Koch on this.
Dennis Webb:
"The Bureau of Land Management today approved a coal lease modification that it says will allow continuation of mining adjacent to an existing federal lease at the Elk Creek Mine in Somerset.
The action adds about 159 acres to a lease owned by Oxbow Mining, LLC, and will prevent bypassing of about 555,000 recoverable tons of federal coal, the BLM said in a news release...."
(Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
Dennis Webb:
"The Bureau of Land Management today approved a coal lease modification that it says will allow continuation of mining adjacent to an existing federal lease at the Elk Creek Mine in Somerset.
The action adds about 159 acres to a lease owned by Oxbow Mining, LLC, and will prevent bypassing of about 555,000 recoverable tons of federal coal, the BLM said in a news release...."
(Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
SandBoxBlogs: Denver Post " The merits of methane harvesting "
Allen Best:
"Energy analyst Randy Udall, who has been working the numbers of coal-mine methane for a decade, calculates just 5 megawatts of electricity generated from coal-mine methane emissions, at a capital cost of $10 million, would offset more carbon than all the solar so far installed in Colorado as of 2010, which has cost roughly $700 million. Total methane harvesting from coal mines near Paonia could produce 20 megawatts, using fairly simple technology, say advocates, and, with more challenge, up to 50 megawatts.
That's an important point to digest. In terms of reducing the risk to our climate during the next century, just a few megawatts planned at the West Elk Mine could have as much impact as all the solar panels erected on rooftops at DIA and everywhere else in Colorado so far. As Udall puts it, renewable energy is the means, not the end unto itself. The goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
This bill's politics has the bewildering aspects of a Mobius strip. Introduced by one of the most conservative members of the legislature, Rep. Randy Baumgardner, R-Hot Sulphur Springs, House Bill 1160 passed the House by a 34-29 vote. Only Rep. Wes McKinley, the self-described cowboy from southeast Colorado (that's what it says on the legislature's website), bucked fellow Democrats to join Republicans, who were unanimous in support
Now, in the Senate, it is sponsored by Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village, whose base includes some of the most diligent global warming warriors in the state.
Udall has to be considered one of those warriors, and it's a further irony that he is aligned in this case with Bill Koch, owner of the West Elk Mine and a member of the family that has been stirring the undertow of opposition to climate-change action. However, there's no evidence that Koch has been involved in this case.
Are you confused? You're not alone. Del Worley, general manager of the Glenwood Springs-based Holy Cross Energy, an electrical cooperative that provides electricity to the Aspen and Vail areas, says he's baffled. "The politics are mind-boggling to me," he says. "If you're truly trying to stop global warming, this is one of the best bills out there. It's not a giant resource, but why waste it? It should be a no-brainer."...." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
"Energy analyst Randy Udall, who has been working the numbers of coal-mine methane for a decade, calculates just 5 megawatts of electricity generated from coal-mine methane emissions, at a capital cost of $10 million, would offset more carbon than all the solar so far installed in Colorado as of 2010, which has cost roughly $700 million. Total methane harvesting from coal mines near Paonia could produce 20 megawatts, using fairly simple technology, say advocates, and, with more challenge, up to 50 megawatts.
That's an important point to digest. In terms of reducing the risk to our climate during the next century, just a few megawatts planned at the West Elk Mine could have as much impact as all the solar panels erected on rooftops at DIA and everywhere else in Colorado so far. As Udall puts it, renewable energy is the means, not the end unto itself. The goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
This bill's politics has the bewildering aspects of a Mobius strip. Introduced by one of the most conservative members of the legislature, Rep. Randy Baumgardner, R-Hot Sulphur Springs, House Bill 1160 passed the House by a 34-29 vote. Only Rep. Wes McKinley, the self-described cowboy from southeast Colorado (that's what it says on the legislature's website), bucked fellow Democrats to join Republicans, who were unanimous in support
Now, in the Senate, it is sponsored by Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village, whose base includes some of the most diligent global warming warriors in the state.
Udall has to be considered one of those warriors, and it's a further irony that he is aligned in this case with Bill Koch, owner of the West Elk Mine and a member of the family that has been stirring the undertow of opposition to climate-change action. However, there's no evidence that Koch has been involved in this case.
Are you confused? You're not alone. Del Worley, general manager of the Glenwood Springs-based Holy Cross Energy, an electrical cooperative that provides electricity to the Aspen and Vail areas, says he's baffled. "The politics are mind-boggling to me," he says. "If you're truly trying to stop global warming, this is one of the best bills out there. It's not a giant resource, but why waste it? It should be a no-brainer."...." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
SandBoxBlogs: Coloradoan "Double trouble from Colorado pine beetles"
"BOULDER (AP) -- University of Colorado researchers say mountain pine beetles that are devastating forests across the West are now breeding twice in some years.
Researchers say the beetles usually lay their eggs in late July or August. The larvae then burrow deeper into the bark, where they spend the winter...." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
Researchers say the beetles usually lay their eggs in late July or August. The larvae then burrow deeper into the bark, where they spend the winter...." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
SandBoxBlogs: Vail Daily News "In search of his father, a spy"
Caramie Schnell:
"In circular fashion, the film begins at the end — of his father's life, that is. Elusive even in death, William, 76, went on a night-time canoe ride and disappeared. His body was found nine days later in a tributary of the Potomac River. That was 15 years ago.
As the film begins, Carl narrates: “My father was a soldier. He jumped out of airplanes. He lived to serve. People would turn to me and say, ‘You know your dad was a murderer.' My immediate reaction used to be ‘You don't know what you're talking about.' Then I'd find myself thinking, was he? Well, who was he, really?”
Long after the film ends, that's the question you're left to ponder.
The film is a morality tale. It's at once a deep memoir of what it's like to live with someone so ghost-like, and a historical account of the CIA. It weaves the personal with the political, and more than anything, it's an inquiry into the secret actions this country is involved in every day.
“This president (Obama), even though he has his hands full right now, every other night, or whatever, he's approving what's called a presidential finding,” Carl said. “He signs off on a high-level, high-profile, highly dangerous, covert operation; he's using that capability probably more than any president since the Kennedy brothers.”
Carl's father used to tell him “the CIA exists so that the president has an option between lodging a diplomatic protest or sending in the Marines,” he said.
“We're in like 15 to 18 countries, at least, including the ones we already know about,” Carl said. “It's a very seductive tool. The problem is it becomes easy to use, and not that accountable. You're not having to tell the American people anything. And then if anything happens, he can blame the CIA ... I wanted to make it so people would understand the sacrifice people are making, not just the one my mother made, and my small family, but also now. People are lifting off tonight. Helicopter blades are whirling. Men and women are out there, thousands of them, so we at least ought to have a discussion. What is this secret war?”..."
(Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
"In circular fashion, the film begins at the end — of his father's life, that is. Elusive even in death, William, 76, went on a night-time canoe ride and disappeared. His body was found nine days later in a tributary of the Potomac River. That was 15 years ago.
As the film begins, Carl narrates: “My father was a soldier. He jumped out of airplanes. He lived to serve. People would turn to me and say, ‘You know your dad was a murderer.' My immediate reaction used to be ‘You don't know what you're talking about.' Then I'd find myself thinking, was he? Well, who was he, really?”
Long after the film ends, that's the question you're left to ponder.
The film is a morality tale. It's at once a deep memoir of what it's like to live with someone so ghost-like, and a historical account of the CIA. It weaves the personal with the political, and more than anything, it's an inquiry into the secret actions this country is involved in every day.
“This president (Obama), even though he has his hands full right now, every other night, or whatever, he's approving what's called a presidential finding,” Carl said. “He signs off on a high-level, high-profile, highly dangerous, covert operation; he's using that capability probably more than any president since the Kennedy brothers.”
Carl's father used to tell him “the CIA exists so that the president has an option between lodging a diplomatic protest or sending in the Marines,” he said.
“We're in like 15 to 18 countries, at least, including the ones we already know about,” Carl said. “It's a very seductive tool. The problem is it becomes easy to use, and not that accountable. You're not having to tell the American people anything. And then if anything happens, he can blame the CIA ... I wanted to make it so people would understand the sacrifice people are making, not just the one my mother made, and my small family, but also now. People are lifting off tonight. Helicopter blades are whirling. Men and women are out there, thousands of them, so we at least ought to have a discussion. What is this secret war?”..."
(Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
SandBoxBlogs: Fort Worth Star Telegram "PR legend looks back at a storied career in politics"
Dave Montgomery:
"AUSTIN -- Public relations mastermind Julian Read has spent more than 60 years thinking up ways to get positive news coverage for his clients. But sometimes the headlines just seem to fall in his lap.
In the 1980s, he was representing Siegfried and Roy when clueless thieves stole a parked truck in downtown New York City, evidently unaware that the vehicle contained the entertainers' two Siberian tigers.
The truck disappeared when the driver went for a cup of coffee just before the tigers' scheduled appearance on the CBS Morning Show. The animals were found unharmed in the abandoned truck after a five-hour search that threw midtown Manhattan into a tizzy and created far more publicity than Read had been expecting from the brief TV shoot.
"There'll never be another day like that," lamented the Fort Worth-born PR executive, recalling the tiger heist over a recent breakfast at Cisco's Restaurant Bakery and Bar, a popular gathering point for politicos..."
Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/03/18/3817566/pr-legend-looks-back-at-a-storied.html#storylink=cpy
"AUSTIN -- Public relations mastermind Julian Read has spent more than 60 years thinking up ways to get positive news coverage for his clients. But sometimes the headlines just seem to fall in his lap.
In the 1980s, he was representing Siegfried and Roy when clueless thieves stole a parked truck in downtown New York City, evidently unaware that the vehicle contained the entertainers' two Siberian tigers.
The truck disappeared when the driver went for a cup of coffee just before the tigers' scheduled appearance on the CBS Morning Show. The animals were found unharmed in the abandoned truck after a five-hour search that threw midtown Manhattan into a tizzy and created far more publicity than Read had been expecting from the brief TV shoot.
"There'll never be another day like that," lamented the Fort Worth-born PR executive, recalling the tiger heist over a recent breakfast at Cisco's Restaurant Bakery and Bar, a popular gathering point for politicos..."
Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/03/18/3817566/pr-legend-looks-back-at-a-storied.html#storylink=cpy
SandBoxBlogs: Craig Daily Press "Journey of the heart: Tour through Israel leaves Craig pastor with ‘great hope’ "
Bridget Manley:
"But if you know the Bible like Len Browning does, you know the significance of this place.
It’s a reminder of the Jewish temple destroyed nearly two millennia ago. The temple housed the Holy of Holies, which is believed to be the place where God himself dwelled.
Seeing the Wailing Wall touched Len in a way he didn’t expect.
“There was a profound, overwhelming sense of God in that place,” said Len, lead pastor at The Journey at First Baptist in Craig. “It was indescribable. … It was significantly more than I had anticipated.”
He was among 15 other pastors and their wives who embarked on a weeklong sojourn in Israel in early February. The tour was designed to familiarize them with the Holy Land, yet what Len took away from the journey cannot be summarized in any itinerary.
He was more than a tourist. He was a pilgrim, walking amid the ruins where his faith was born.
“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” — Genesis 6:5
Before Len embarked on the tour, he spent a few days in New York City, intending to just poke around like tourists do.
Instead, he found himself confronted with reminders of the worst in human nature.
He saw Ground Zero, a gaping void in the city skyline marking a scene of carnage and loss during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
He saw Ellis Island and thought of the cruelty and indifference that made up the darker side of the Americans experience.
He was “overwhelmed with the sense of the depravity of man,” he said. “… It was just an overwhelming sense of what we’re capable of as human beings.”....." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
"But if you know the Bible like Len Browning does, you know the significance of this place.
It’s a reminder of the Jewish temple destroyed nearly two millennia ago. The temple housed the Holy of Holies, which is believed to be the place where God himself dwelled.
Seeing the Wailing Wall touched Len in a way he didn’t expect.
“There was a profound, overwhelming sense of God in that place,” said Len, lead pastor at The Journey at First Baptist in Craig. “It was indescribable. … It was significantly more than I had anticipated.”
He was among 15 other pastors and their wives who embarked on a weeklong sojourn in Israel in early February. The tour was designed to familiarize them with the Holy Land, yet what Len took away from the journey cannot be summarized in any itinerary.
He was more than a tourist. He was a pilgrim, walking amid the ruins where his faith was born.
“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” — Genesis 6:5
Before Len embarked on the tour, he spent a few days in New York City, intending to just poke around like tourists do.
Instead, he found himself confronted with reminders of the worst in human nature.
He saw Ground Zero, a gaping void in the city skyline marking a scene of carnage and loss during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
He saw Ellis Island and thought of the cruelty and indifference that made up the darker side of the Americans experience.
He was “overwhelmed with the sense of the depravity of man,” he said. “… It was just an overwhelming sense of what we’re capable of as human beings.”....." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
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