March 25, 2012

SandBoxBlogs: Glenwood Springs Post Independent/Kathleen Parker "Moderately speaking"

Kathleen Parker:
"LAS VEGAS, Nev. — As the sun rises and dabs Caesars Palace with morning rouge, irony struts down the strip of casinos, shops and nightclubs.

What better place to contemplate moderation, the topic of a panel and my purpose for being here, than in the epicenter of human excess? The Black Mountain Institute (at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas) posed this question to a panel of three, which also included Norm Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute and Fox News' Juan Williams: “Is moderation possible in American politics?”

The implied consensus would seem to be: Probably not. Or at least not without massive reforms and/or a renaissance of civic duty. The hyper-partisanship we at least say we love to hate isn't likely to recede, given the rewards.

Although the discussion was aimed at politics, the question can't be considered without also contemplating the broader culture. Conveniently, the Vegas strip provides an apt metaphor for both the culture and the political medium. Call it the American Id-eology: Ids all the way, supersized. We are, in a word, immoderate...." (Read more?  Click title)

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

SandBoxBlogs: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel "Police: Doctors wouldn’t sign off on assault case'

Paul Shockley:
"Court records involving a woman who reported an assault indicate doctors at St. Mary’s Hospital refused to review the case because they didn’t want to be called to court.

The reported refusal, outlined in a Grand Junction Police Department officer’s arrest affidavit in the case against 27-year-old Darnell Washington, drew the ire of a Mesa County judge and District Attorney Pete Hautzinger during Washington’s initial court appearance...." (Read more?  Click title)

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

SandBoxBlogs: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel "Shooter mistakes mohawk for fowl, runs afoul of the law"

Paul Shockley:
"Derrill Rockwell told police he grabbed his rifle, the .22-caliber he kept handy to kill rodents around the house, about 5 a.m. Oct. 5 and walked outside to confront it.

The bird.

Possibly, he told police, the same fowl he suspected of harassing his cats recently around his home near Orchard Mesa Cemetery.

It was red, sitting at the top of a hill about 90 feet away from Rockwell.

“His intent was to spook it away,” Deputy District Attorney Jason Conley told District Judge Richard Gurley on Friday.

Rockwell shot once but said he didn’t see the bird fly away. Soon after, he heard a woman’s voice, moaning in pain. Rockwell discovered a 23-year-old woman, with a large red mohawk, with a gunshot wound to the head.

“In 15 years in law enforcement, this was one of the more interesting cases I’ve worked,” Grand Junction Police Department detective Sean Crocker told the judge Friday...."  (Read more?  Click title)

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

SandBoxBlogs: Steamboat Today "Casino is being explored near Hayden airport"

Casino development has been talked about in Glenwood Springs, Snowmass Village and is happening out in Dinosaur.

Maybe, because Steamboat Springs is rapidly becoming a better revenue generating ski destination than Aspen...the Crown Family will finally give serious consideration to the Snowmass Village concept.

They even have the shell already in place.  Base Village. 

Matt Stensland:
" — Steamboat Springs Olympian Johnny Spillane and four local business partners are exploring the viability of building a casino, hotel and entertainment venue on land near Yampa Valley Regional Airport.

The partnership faces many hurdles along the way, including winning the support of surrounding communities, finding an American Indian tribe to work with, jumping through the federal regulatory hoops and getting approval from the governor.

“We’re still definitely in the process of gathering information,” said Steve Hofman, one of the group’s partners. “If we reach the point that we say that the project’s not viable, we’ll say that.”

Spillane discussed the idea Thursday with Hofman, a Steamboat resident who spent much of his career in Washington, D.C., and was a U.S. assistant secretary of labor under former President George H. W. Bush.

Meetings have been held with business leaders and council members in Hayden, Craig and Steamboat, with the goal of soliciting feedback before plans went “too far down the road,” Spillane said.

“We’re going out of our way to do this slowly and to do this right,” he said...."
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"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Coloradoan "SXSW recap: Could Fort Collins become another Austin?"

David Young:
"Throughout the recently completed South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, the phrase "Keep Austin Weird" kept appearing on t-shirts, bumper stickers and signs.

The slogan reflects the unique culture that the city has established, based in large part to music, which it prides itself on. In essence, Austin wants to be different, and it is. Walking down Sixth Street during SXSW is unlike any other experience. It is part concert, part party, part conference and part parade. It is "weird."

Fort Collins could be considered weird in its own right, but what would it take for Fort Collins' music scene to become like Austin's? While it likely never will reach the magnitude that Austin has, Dani Grant, SpokesBUZZ cofounder, said it will take a complete buy-in from the entire city to reach the next level for the local music scene. SpokesBUZZ is a nonprofit organization aimed at helping local bands...."
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"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandboxBlogs: Glenwood Springs Post Independent "CMC bachelor degrees opening new doors"

Congratulations to the CMC First Generation!

John Stroud:
"GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado — Colorado Mountain College might not be home to iconic marble and granite academic halls lining grassy, tree-lined quads. But the hometown community college now does have something in common with the big college campuses.

Starting in the spring of 2013, CMC will begin graduating its first-ever bachelor degree students.

The current 2011-12 academic year is the first time CMC has offered bachelor's degree programs at its numerous locations throughout north-central Colorado.

Strictly a two-year junior college up until now, CMC earned approval in 2010 from Colorado higher education officials and the state Legislature to begin offering limited four-year degrees...."
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"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Summit County Citizens Voice "Morning photo: Going mobile"

All credit Bob Berwyn:
"SUMMIT COUNTY — I’ve been exploring the capabilities of the iPhone camera the past few weeks, as well as experimenting with just a few of the apps. There’s a whole new burgeoning field of mobile photography developing, and it’s easy to see why — the lens on the camera is darn sharp, and the apps enable some instant creativity and interpretation of the images. As well, iPhones, and similar devices, are changing the game of journalism. Live video streaming from Cairo, face-to-face interviews with sources around the globe … it’s a brave new world...."  (Read and see more?  Click title)