April 3, 2012

SandBoxBlogs: RealAspen "Aspen election activist suing Colorado secretary of state over traceability of ballots"

Troy Hooper:
"The challenges mounting on Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler's desk go beyond whether to mail ballots to residents who haven't voted in a while. He has another predicament: bar codes.

Unique identifying numbers, or bar codes, that can trace citizens to how they voted appear on ballots in dozens of counties in Colorado — a revelation that is not only troublesome but possibly illegal.

Ballots are not allowed to have "distinguishing marks," according to state law.

A coalition of Colorado voters is suing Gessler (pdf) and a half dozen county clerks in a Denver federal court, contending the officials are presiding over unconstitutional elections. The litigation stems from a separate dispute over whether cast ballots should be made public so that elections can be verified by someone outside of government. When clerks argued ballots could not be seen by members of the public because it was theoretically possible to figure out how specific people voted in certain elections, the bar code problem became apparent.

"We didn't think the clerks were serious. We thought they were pulling our leg, putting up a smokescreen," said Aspen-based election activist Marilyn Marks. "We didn't think it was true, but it is."

Marks and a handful of other activists across the state soon learned that 46 counties in Colorado use Hart brand ballots that have bar codes affixed to them that are not torn off before they are tallied. Their lawsuit asks the court to prohibit the government from placing identifiers on ballots, or otherwise using mechanisms to track vote choices, both of which the suit says are already against the law.

"We're suing Gessler because he hasn't enforced the law and we think he should," Marks said.

Messages left for Gessler and his spokesman were not immediately returned.

In a letter (pdf) to election activist Al Kolwicz in Boulder last fall, the Secretary of State's Office acknowledged that ballots can be traced in many counties....." (Read more?  Click title)

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SandBoxBlogs: National Journal "Total TV Tab: $87 Million"

Think of how many hungry mouths that would feed......how far it would go in lowering gas prices as a gas credit.....how many homeless it would shelter....and that it would relieve the estimated annual burden on every American household of $1,700 to subsidize the estimated number of illegal foreign nationals on our soil (estimated $86 million per yr).....

Wow.

And that's just the Republicans.

 Reid Wilson:
"The Republican presidential candidates and their supportive super PACs have spent more than $87 million on television advertising since the beginning of the race, according to figures compiled by GOP sources watching the ad buys....."  (Read more?  Click title)

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

SandBoxBlogs: Aspen Daily News "Public defender readies another sanction attempt on Aspen district attorney"

"Now that DA Beeson has thrown his hat in the ring for district attorney in the 9th, please take note that there will be no special treatment given to any news press surrounding his race. His articles, if they are SandBox worthy or chosen in the daily agg run-up; will be put up just like anyone else in a political race. What SandBox Commentators will continue to do, is heavily moderate his articles.  (We are the only news media that provides the courtesy of moderating commentary from the general public on 9th Judicial District and Mr. Beeson's articles. ) "


Chad Abraham:
"
The attorney for a man facing three felonies after allegedly calling in a bomb threat to get into a concert said Monday that she will seek to have the charges dismissed because of an alleged pretrial evidence miscue by the Aspen district attorney’s office.

Asa Robinson’s lawyer, public defender Tina Fang, said she also will be filing a motion later this month to sanction Chief Deputy District Attorney Arnold Mordkin. She alleged that Mordkin only within the past 10 days turned over to her a recorded statement Robinson made to an Aspen police detective in the Pitkin County Jail.

Prosecutors are expected to turn over evidence to defense attorneys 20 days after the filing of charges. After that, when new evidence comes to a prosecutor’s attention it must be turned over to the defense as soon as practical, according to the Colorado Rules of Criminal Procedure.

Robinson, 30, of Glenwood Springs, has been in jail since he was arrested at the Belly Up on Nov. 22. He was advised the next day that he faces felony counts of false reporting of explosives, assault of a police officer and menacing. Police say he called the county communications center to report a bomb in the venue, which was evacuated during a sold-out Zeds Dead show....." (Read more?  Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Customs and Border Patrol "Heavy Equipment Plows Yield Over a Ton of Marijuana at Marfa Border Patrol Checkpoint "

Click title to read up on how creative the Mexican Drug Cartels that pump dope on to the Western Slope of Colorado...all the way up to Pitkin County and Aspen....really are....



SandBoxBlogs: Summit Daily News "Liddick: The shaky moral ground of drone use"

Morgan Liddick:
"The MQ-9 “Reaper” Unmanned Aerial Combat Vehicle she uses as a murder weapon is, on the other hand, all too real. With it, its cousin the “Predator,” and the rapidly-proliferating family of unmanned surveillance aircraft, grim fact has caught up with fiction. So this might be a good time to sit down and think things through.

These machines range in size from the Reaper, which can carry over 3,000 pounds of weapons and fly for 36 hours, to battery-powered surveillance drones about the size of a shoebox. They can go into very high-risk environments — think clouds of toxic chemicals or remote forest fires. They don't get bored. With the right set of sensors, they can see better than a human pilot. And properly equipped, they can — and do — kill.

Internationally, this use of the Predator and Reaper shouldn't surprise. Even when nominal US citizens like Anwar al-Awlaki end up on the business end of a Hellfire missile, we should remember that taking up arms for a foreign entity engaged in hostilities against the United States is an expatriating act — particularly when coupled with other actions indicating the unlikelihood of returning to US jurisdiction...."
(Read more?  Click title)

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

SandBoxBlogs: Aspen Daily News "The new cradle 
of civilization"

Updates:  See related stories and public commentary here, here and here)

Steve Skinner:
"I was just looking over a list of Pitkin County nonprofits and it struck me. In many ways these groups, hundreds of them, account for a significant, if not the biggest, part of our valley economy. For me personally, I have found meaningful work in community radio at KDNK. This was a real relief because the commercial sector was outsourcing, maximizing profits and abandoning creativity.

That kind of thing is what spurs nonprofits to rise and grow in the first place. People are eventually repulsed by outsourcing, maximizing profits and abandoned creativity. Better yet, despite all the distractions, people want more than just stuff, and that’s where the nonprofits often come in. From human health services to Pica protection, thankfully, there is someone on it.

Nonprofits mostly do their special work in the background: protecting kids from abuse, suicide prevention, hospice, solar energy training, after-school programs, veteran’s programs, disabled services, pet shelters, clay, art, justice, environmental protection, writing, music, poetry, theater, volunteer groups, senior support, language assistance and on and on...."  (Read more?  Click title)

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

SandBoxBlogs: Aspen Daily News "Homeless group 
aims to reform 
‘broken’ local
housing rules"

"They are treated like chattel." 

Yes, they most certainly are.  Think about that angle of the current conversations on "deed-restricted" land use codes, "affordable" housing and "employee housing" from the construction, development, government and surrounding neighborhoods end.

"Anonymous" tips, indeed.  Who benefits the most if those housing units go empty?

Great question.

Andrw Travers:
"The Regional Homeless Coalition, which focuses on homelessness from Aspen to Parachute, addressed the issue briefly Monday at its biannual meeting. Members discussed whether the housing authority may be contributing to homelessness in the Aspen area.

Aspen- and Pitkin County-based members of the group will meet again next week, in the hopes of formulating specific proposals for changes in the housing authority rules.

“I think we can articulate what our concerns are and productively move them forward to APCHA and the city and the county,” said Nan Sundeen, Pitkin County’s director of health and human services.

The Aspen City Council and Pitkin County commissioners oversee the housing rules, which are then administered by APCHA.

In February, the housing authority served Truscott resident Susan Johnson with an eviction notice for not being employed, and later upheld the eviction. In the second case, against Heidi Mines, who owns an APCHA home on East Hopkins Avenue, the board opted last month to grant a four-month eviction delay to give her time to find a job.

Both cases arose from anonymous tips to APCHA, which enforces compliance with housing rules through complaints. To qualify for local government affordable housing, residents must work a minimum of 29 hours per week in Pitkin County.

“That’s probably why people choose to break them, because the rules are broken,” said Vince Savage, director of the Aspen Homeless Shelter.

Savage expressed frustration with the housing rules and their narrow focus on housing employees.

“Is it a community for rich people and people willing to work 29 hours a week to serve them? Or is this a place that people can come to live?” Savage asked the group.

He compared the housing system to a college campus, where one can’t keep housing without staying in school, and characterized it as an exploitative 21st century feudalism.

“They’re treated like chattel,” Savage said of APCHA tenants......"
(Read more?  Click title)

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

SandBoxBlogs: Vail Daily "Avon firm is selected for Walgreens project"

Congratulations to Evans Chaffee!!  Believe it or not, local contractors never get as fair of a shake in bidding local government contracts as outside the area contractors do.

Breaking that glass ceiling is almost under of.  This is terrific news and we're so glad to see a local firm land the new Walgreens over in Avon.

Randy Wyrick:
"AVON, Colorado — Developers of Eagle's proposed Eagle River Station chose a local company to build their Walgreens project in Avon.

Avon's new Walgreens will be built by Evans Chaffee.

The lender wanted a Front Range firm, said Trinity RED's Vince Riggio.

But Riggio said his firm felt strongly that the job should go to the local company.

“Trinity RED will do everything possible to give work to local companies,” Riggio said. “We chose Evans Chaffee because they're local and we know how many local people need work.”

They broke ground this week on their Walgreens project, Riggio said. It will replace Denny's in Avon.

It's scheduled for completion in October....."
(Read more?  Click title)

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

SandBoxBlogs: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel "1 in 6 county workers quitting"

Mike Wiggins:
"More than one in six Mesa County employees ended their employment with the county last year, the most in at least 11 years and a figure that concerns some county officials.

A total of 160 of the county’s 916 workers were laid off or fired or voluntarily resigned in 2011, according to a report recently presented to county commissioners by Human Resources Director Sandy Perry. The turnover rate of 17.5 percent was more than double the 8.4 percent turnover rate in 2009.

Perry said the average annual turnover in the public sector ranges from 12 to 14 percent.

“My concern is if they (high turnover rates) continue through this year,” she said. “Then we need to be cognizant of: Is there a deeper issue going on?”..."  (Read more?  Click title)

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

SandBoxBlogs: SkyHi Daily "Blues From The Top lineup announced, June 29 - July 1 in Winter Park"

One of the most popular Colorado music festivals announces the summer lineup.

SkyHi Daily:
"“Pop princess entertainer” Dana Fuchs headlines The Grand County Blues Society's 10th Annual Blues From the Top Music Festival.

Fuchs is a singer-songwriter made famous with her acting debut in the 2007 film, “Across the Universe.” Classic Rock Magazine describes her voice as “juke joint dirty and illicit,” and she has been compared to rock legend Janis Joplin.

The Festival takes place June 29 - July 1 in Winter Park...."  (Read more?  Click title)

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

SandBoxBlogs: Steamboat Today "Jimmy Westlake: Look into infinity and beyond"

What does a guy like Jimmy Westlake dream of?

Stars?  Planets? Or the mysteries of infinity and beyond?

Be sure to click title, read the entire article and marvel at his amazing astrophotography talent.

Jimmy Westlake:
" — In space, there is no up or down, no top or bottom. On Earth, gravity defines our “down” as toward the center of the Earth and our “up” as the direction opposite that, but these have no meaning once you are away from the Earth’s influence.

So, when considering our pancake-shaped Milky Way galaxy, the terms “top” and “bottom” are completely arbitrary. If we choose the “top” of our galaxy to be the side toward which the Earth’s north pole happens to point, then spring is the time of year when we are able to look right up out of the “top” of the Milky Way and into the depths of intergalactic space. At about midnight in mid-April, or 10 p.m. in mid-May, the hazy band of the Milky Way temporarily encircles us along the horizon such that when we lay on our backs and stare straight up, we are gazing into infinity...."  (Read more?  Click title)

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

SandBoxBlogs: Summit Daily News "Thinking Outside the Classroom: The power of curiosity"

(See related story here)

Joel Egbert:
"cu·ri·os·i·ty: A strong desire to know or learn something. — Merriam-Webster dictionary...."

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

SandBoxBlogs: Summit County Citizens Voice "Climate: March heat wave sets numerous records in U.S."

Bob Berwyn:
"SUMMIT COUNTY — The March heatwave across the eastern and central U.S. broke longstanding temperature records in many cities, including Des Moine, Iowa, where the average reading for the month was more than 4 degrees warmer than the previous record, set in 1910. Milwaukee, Wisconsin and International Falls, Minnesota also reported temperatures more than 4 degrees higher than previous records for the month, according to AccuWeather.com, which this week released an early tally of temperature records.

The cities where records were set span 25 states, from the central High Plains to the East Coast and include Washington, D.C. For Indianapolis, March 2012 marks the first time that a monthly average temperature record has been set since August 1936. The last time such a record was tied occurred 66 years ago in March 1946.

The magnitude of the warmth can be put into another perspective by comparing March 2012 with other months...."  (Read more?  Click title)

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

SandBoxBlogs: Summit County Citizens Voice "Morning photo: Best of March"

Summit Voice and Bob Berwyn bring us the lens of Kim Fenske today (Click title).

Photo credit:  Kim Fenske