March 22, 2012

SandBoxBlogs: KPHO News 5 "ICE releases 4 DREAM Act protesters"

(See related story here)

Jason Barry and Steve Stout:
"PHOENIX (CBS5/AP) -Four undocumented students who were arrested while protesting Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's immigration policies have been released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"Upon further review, ICE has determined that these individuals do not fall under ICE's enforcement priorities, and the agency has lifted the previously lodged detainees," said ICE spokeswoman Amber Cargile on Wednesday night.

They were released at approximately 8:45 p.m. Wednesday.

"It was definitely worth it. We are proving to our community that when community stands together, we can do all of this," one of the students said as they were being released. "We're out of jail, we're safe, we're not getting deported ... we did it."  

The four adults arrested Tuesday were placed on 24- to 48-hour holds Wednesday during their initial court appearances. They all pleaded not guilty.

Two juveniles also arrested have been released.

Meanwhile, a group from outside Arizona is claiming responsibility for organizing this week's west Phoenix protest that led to the closure of an intersection and the arrests.

The Arizona Republic reports the group called Dream Activist is an online organization based in several states. The group has organized acts of civil disobedience in more than six cities in recent years.

Officer James Holmes with the Phoenix Police Department said all six were arrested for disorderly conduct and obstructing a thoroughfare....."  (Read more?  Click title)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Pueblo Chieftain "Gessler defends turning to feds for voter review "

Pete Roper:
"Secretary of State Scott Gessler won't release the names of the 4,500 people his office has identified who were registered to vote in Colorado but may not be U.S. citizens. Not even to the county clerks who have asked to see the names of those registered in their counties.

"I'm not going to cast a shadow of suspicion over those people until I know whether they registered and voted illegally," Gessler told The Pueblo Chieftain editorial board Wednesday. "I believe I'm on strong legal ground in not releasing those names."

That said, Gessler added that he eventually wants the federal Department of Homeland Security to review all Colorado voter registrations to check their citizenship....."  (Read more?  Click title)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Westword "Feds may investigate collaboration between school resource officers and ICE in Colorado"

Anyone who follows local avatars in commentary cannot possibly ignore the accuracy of many of their predictions.

http://sandboxcommentators.blogspot.com/2012/02/sandbox-comments-glenwood-springs-post_4442.html

"Bullying our Schools and Demonizing Local Law Enforcement"


Now, the question is:

What about the overwhelming majority of regional citizens who will suffer the actions of these activist groups?  What about the safety, social health and well-being of our regional law enforcement?

Betcha that there will not be one positive vote for the 'Strawberry Days 'Massacre' to be thrust in our faces again by CIRC and other activist groups.

But, it sure looks like avatar predictions are about to come true:

Melanie Asmer:
"Immigration advocates are hopeful that a new agreement between the Roaring Fork School District and three local police departments will put an end to the controversial collaboration between school resource officers and federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. But they also fear that the agreement doesn't go far enough -- and they've asked the federal Department of Homeland Security to investigate.

A letter provided to Westword confirms that the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, or CRCL, received a complaint about the issue. It says the complaint will be forwarded to the DHS Office of the Inspector General to review. If that office declines to investigate, it will be returned to CRCL for an "appropriate response" -- which could include an investigation to "find and address problems in DHS policy."

Westword has contacted DHS to ask whether the CRCL has decided to investigate. Brendan Greene with the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition and Rebecca Wallance, an attorney with the Colorado ACLU, say the CRCL has agreed to do so.

What happened in the Roaring Fork Valley could have "national implications," says Wallace. She's been involved in the issue since October, when she sent a letter to the Roaring Fork RE-1 school board urging members to adopt a policy banning school resource officers from collaborating with ICE.

The issue first came up last year, when a local student advocacy group called the Asociacion de Jovenes Unidos en Accion, or AJUA, raised concerns about a school resource officer named Alvaro Agon. The group objected to the fact that Agon had once worked as the Carbondale Police Department's liaison to ICE.

"We have some cases documented of him questioning students about their parents' status," Greene told Westword. "We have instances of him deporting family members of parents and students at the schools. Then, those same children have to see him at school in the following days.... It makes them not feel safe at the school."

The Roaring Fork school board agreed to look into implementing a policy. Months later,it ended up with a memorandum of understanding, or MOU, that urges the Glenwood Springs, Carbondale and Basalt police departments to use "extraordinary discretion" when assigning duties to school resource officers "where a student's family immigration status may come into question as these assignments may diminish the necessary trust the SROs have worked so long to build with the student and the family."

Alex Alvarado of AJUA says he's disappointed that the MOU doesn't go farther. "We felt it could be more binding," he says. "Our goal was to have a written document that would strictly remove ICE from the schools."

But though he feels AJUA was wrongly cut out of the process of crafting the agreement, Alvarado says he's proud that the group's advocacy caused a change. "To have the police departments and the school board write something that agrees with what we've been saying -- that officers that work with ICE will lose the trust of the community -- that's awesome to see," he says. "As students, we feel happy that the police departments and the school district recognize that."..."  (Read more?  Click title)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Aspen Daily News "Aldrich family drops lawsuit against CDOT"

Chad Abraham:
"...Paula Aldrich, George’s mother, said that she and George Sr., his father, “had a 25 percent chance of winning the case and to add insult to injury we would have been liable for [Colorado] lawyers.

“We don’t have that type of money, as it took so much to search for him,” she said in an email. “We never thought we would win, we just would have never forgiven ourselves if we didn’t try to seek justice. If you are a parent I am sure you understand.”

Aldrich fell an estimated 100 feet through a narrow gap between the new bridge and the old, historically designated span. CDOT has since installed a sturdy steel-wire safety mesh between the structures...."
(Read more?  Click title)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Aspen Daily News "Woman avoids eviction from housing authority"

So very glad to hear this news!  Good luck to Heidi Mines as she moves forward and a special thank you out to the Aspen/Pitkin Housing Authority. 

Dorothy Atkins:
"The Aspen/Pitkin County Housing Authority (APCHA) board is giving local cancer survivor Heidi Mines four more months to find a job before it decides whether to evict her for non-compliance.

At a meeting on Wednesday, the housing board voted in favor of granting Mines a continuance through July based on the fact that she has recently received promising job offers...."  (Read more?  Click title)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Aspen Daily News/Letter to the Editor "Take a careful look at BRT"

Janine Gunning:
"Editor:

Ironically the new bus rapid transit (BRT) has taken on the logo VelociRFTA. Velociraptors have a predatory claw used to tear into prey, delivering a fatal blow. Putting aside their role as cunning killers, Velociraptor in Greek means “speedy thief.” VelociRFTA is tearing into the midvalley area with a plan sure to disembowel El Jebel. The rush to acquire federal dollars prompted the new El Jebel park and ride proposal.

A failed plan from the start, the proposal has misled residents. There is no scaled drawing to support use of 90 spaces, handicapped parking, entry and exit, proper set-backs, sidewalks, bathrooms, bike racks, commuter bus idling, turnaround and connection to the BRT highway stop without eliminating East Valley Road. The scaled drawing does not exist because it is impossible to achieve without immense community impact. The current lot is three times the size and yesterday hosted 100 cars, five handicapped spaces, port-a-john, bike racks and multiple buses.

The smaller site is not in alignment with growth. Yet, the unincorporated community of El Jebel is being rammed by the town of Basalt which benefits monetarily, while Eagle County commissioners and CDOT ignore their obligation to stop open ticket approvals.

Forty-five million dollars is about to be spent to cut travel time. However, the RFTA website states only five to 10 minutes will be cut from an express trip down the valley. Two BRT stops less than 1 mile apart in El Jebel does not speed up transit.

Of equal importance is that the existing bus stops in our area are not under control, like Catherine Store, El Jebel and Aspen Junction. The lots are unpaved, over crowded and not monitored. RFTA does not manage current use yet is asking for a rash approval. How will all of the lots be controlled in the future? How is it going to be better? The 138-page BRT environmental assessment did not show how it is going to work. Proper use, impact and mitigation measures are seriously tainted.

I’m OK with an advanced BRT system in our valley, but reporting lies as truth and ignoring history is simply fraudulent. Attend the Roaring Fork Valley Planning Commission meeting at the El Jebel Community Center at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 22. Demand that proposed development take responsibility for its impacts and insist this use approval be denied until looked at carefully...."  (Read original letter?  Click title)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Citizen Telegram "Humanitarian Service Award nominees unveiled"

Heather McGregor:
"GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado — The Garfield Humanitarian Service Awards committee announced Wednesday that 16 individuals and one organization have been nominated for the 2012 Humanitarian Service Awards.

A celebratory dinner for the nominees and for those who nominated them, along with friends, family and colleagues will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, April 16, at the Hotel Colorado.

“If you know one of the nominees and have been touched in some way by their humanitarian service, please join us for this wonderful event to honor them,” said Marian McDonough, a member of the awards committee and executive director of Catholic Charities.

The nominees are divided into five categories, and are:

Senior volunteers: John Breckinridge, Niki Delson, Ron Kokish, all with Retired Senior Volunteer Program, and John Neal with Meals on Wheels.

Young adult volunteers: Sarah Rippy with YouthZone and Melea Sheridan with Grand River Volunteer Services.

Staff: Debbie Bath with Access Roaring Fork, Jenny Lang Burns with Mountain Family Health Center, Kelly Keeffe with Aspen-to-Parachute Dental Health Alliance, Kathleen Kline with Colorado Workforce, Barbara Romero and Gyla Stark with Creekside Assisted Living, Patty Schaffner with PALS Mentoring, and Megan Lee Taylor-Alstatt with the Garfield County Sheriff's Department.

Visionary founders: Diane Welter with Your Friends For Life, and Rosie McSwain with Tom's Door.

Organization: First United Methodist Church of Glenwood Springs..."  (Read more?  Click title)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Summit County Citizens Voice "Morning photo: Deception Island"



All credit Bob Berwyn