April 8, 2012

SandBoxBlogs: City of Glenwood Springs "DRAFT AGENDA: REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 19, 2012"

Update May 14, 2012:
http://www.ci.glenwood-springs.co.us/Packet/agenda.htm


The subject of whether or not COGS 'leases' the marketing gimmick of 'Glen Wood' back from their hired tourism marketing vender GSCRA,  has been moved from agenda to agenda for months now.


Will this be still yet another publicly funded tourism marketing related topic that gets either shoved under the rug or secreted back behind the closed, bolted and security guarded doors of GCRA as so many similar issues have for over 25 years?


Where is COGS?  Do they care that public perception is so negative out there?  Or are they still influenced by the ludicrous spin that it is all the conspiracy plot of a 'pushed agenda' by a few that 'hang out on a certain (very popular) blog?


Either way, it is absolutely undeniable after over two decades of this kind of nonsense that our elected officials that run the City of Glenwood Springs are out of touch with public need for transparency and accountability. 
______________________________________________________
(See wk. of April 16 change by city council to move "Glen Wood" topic to meeting of  May 3, 2012)

(See public commentary on related story here)


OK, 'kids'.  Per your request, 'gws44 and glenwoodsprings 22'; here is your post on the upcoming city council meeting.

City of Glenwood Springs:
"Item #8:  Discussion and/or Action on Approval of License to Use Advertising Materials (Re: Glen Wood) with Chamber Resort Association...."  (Read more?  Click title)

"Unapologetic pursuit and tracking of patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Summit Daily News "For nine wounded warriors, a relaxing retreat with family"

Kathryn Corazzelli:
"Gunnery Sgt. Chadd E. Jackson of the United States Marine Corps is a hard man to keep down. In February 2005, Jackson and six squad mates were returning to Camp Fallujah in Iraq when they were hit by a roadside bomb. Flying shrapnel severed two major nerves in Jackson's arm.

The injuries Jackson sustained from the blast seven years ago were many and permanent, and the nerve damage in his right arm brings pain that surgeries have failed to halt. He sustained damage to his spinal cord, requiring surgery to implant a stimulator, which helps alleviate constant pain. He also suffers from traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic-stress problems. Despite everything he has been through, Jackson remains on active duty and was recently promoted.

Jackson, his wife, Darci, and their three children will arrive in Breckenridge tonight for a week of skiing and counseling courtesy of the Wounded Warrior Family Ski Week, a local program paying homage to injured veterans.

The project provides a week of retreat in Summit County for permanently and severely injured service members from the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts and the global war on terrorism. Now in its fifth year, Wounded Warriors is bringing nine veterans and their families — chosen from a pool of 54 — from all over the country for five half-days of skiing, four mornings of meetings with mental health professionals and one day for fly fishing, ice skating or whatever else the soldiers choose. Everything — from the airfare to lodging and instruction on the slopes — is free for the recipients....."  (Read more?  Click title)

SandBoxBlogs: KDVR Fox 31 "Dozens of soldiers welcomed home from Afghanistan"

"...About 70 members of the 4th Infantry Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat team arrived back at Fort Carson Friday.

They were reunited with friends and family who they haven’t seen for about a year.

Members of the unit spent that time training Army and Police in Western Afghanistan. It’s a key part of the U.S. effort to turn over security to the Afghan people.

One Sergeant said although there were definite challenges, language being one, the reactions he got from Afghans were mostly positive.

“They appreciate us being over there,” says Sgt. Brian Linley. “They appreciate our support. You always get onesies and twosies that don’t want us there but, hey, that’s the risk we have to be willing to take.”..."
(Read more?  Click title)

SandBoxBlogs: Glenwood Springs Post Independent/Charles Krauthammer "

Charles Krauthammer:
"Having lost the argument, what to do? Bully. The New York Times loftily warned the Supreme Court that it would forfeit its legitimacy if it ruled against Obamacare because with the “five Republican-appointed justices supporting the challenge led by 26 Republican governors, the court will mark itself as driven by politics.”

Really? The administration's case for the constitutionality of Obamacare was so thoroughly demolished in oral argument that one liberal observer called it “a train wreck.”

It is perfectly natural, therefore, that a majority of the court should side with the argument that had so clearly prevailed on its merits. That's not partisanship. That's logic. Partisanship is four Democrat-appointed justices giving lockstep support to a law passed by a Democratic Congress and a Democratic president — after the case for its constitutionality had been reduced to rubble.

Democrats are reeling. Obama was so taken aback, he hasn't even drawn up contingency plans should his cherished reform be struck down. Liberals still cannot grasp what's happened — the mild revival of constitutionalism in a country they've grown so used to ordering about regardless. When asked about Obamacare's constitutionality, Nancy Pelosi famously replied: “Are you serious?” She was genuinely puzzled.

As was Rep. Phil Hare, D-Ill. As Michael Barone notes, when Hare was similarly challenged at a 2010 town hall, he replied: “I don't worry about the Constitution.” Hare is now retired, having been shortly thereafter defeated for re-election by the more constitutionally attuned owner of an East Moline pizza shop...."  (Read more?  Click title)

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

SandBoxBlogs: Summit Daily News "Summit Outside: Bald eagle: more than just a national symbol"

Dr. Joanne Stolen:
"It is always a treat to see bald eagles. Not only is it a national symbol, but it is a magnificent bird, so distinctive with its white head. The name “bald” comes from the word piebald, and refers to the white head and tail feathers.

In the past several weeks there have been a lot of pictures posted of bald eagles on Facebook and reported local sightings of bald eagles. I came across a website of “Fun Things to do in Summit County” and one of them is: watch bald eagles. We see them regularly around Dillon Reservoir and a nesting pair has been seen recently nesting on the shores of Green Mountain Reservoir. During the winter up to 1,200 bald eagles spend the season in the area around Pueblo. Colorado Parks and Wildlife holds an annual “Eagle Days” festival there in February.

Like all raptors, the bald eagle is a powerful, graceful flier. Soaring on thermal convection currents, it can reach speeds of up to 35-43 mph when gliding and flapping.

When an eagle flaps its wings, most of the power for flight comes from the downward stroke of the wings. The muscles that pull the wings down are much larger than the muscles that pull the wings up. The flight muscles account for half of the bird's total weight...."  (Read more?  Click title)

SandBoxBlogs: Aspen Daily News "A fowl one night stand"

Andrew Travers:
"Thousands of sandhill cranes on an overnight stop at Fruitgrowers Reservoir this spring also served as feathered advocates for habitat conservation.

That’s the hope, anyway, of Audubon Colorado and the Sopris Foundation, the organizations that partnered to bring two bus-loads of Roaring Fork Valley residents across McClure Pass to witness the natural phenomenon.

About 25,000 of the cranes migrate through Colorado every spring, following a predictable pattern of one-night stops between their winter home in southern New Mexico and Mexico, up to their summer roost on the Yellowstone plateau in Wyoming.

Dependably, before sundown everyday for a few weeks each spring, flocks of the majestic birds — often thousands at a time — fly in over the Grand Mesa and settle in at the reservoir for the night. The wetland here, set amid the orchards and pasture of Delta County, is ideal roosting terrain for the ground-dwelling birds.

Just as predictably, the next morning they lift off and make their way north for a stop on the Yampa River.

“Seeing it for the first time is breathtaking,” Audubon Colorado director Ken Strom said on the coach bus ride down Highway 133 from Carbondale...."  (Read more?  Click title)

SandBoxBlogs: Durango Telegraph "Digging deeper with the Hohokam"

Jim Mimiaga:
"Everyone has heard of the Anasazi, the intrepid Native American people who flourished between 500 A.D. - 1200 A.D. in the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon.
But who’s heard of the Hohokam? These southern neighbors predate our trademark Anasazi (now called Ancestral Puebloan), and new proof shows both cultures intermingled, sharing different skills, maybe playing an ancient ball game and surely swapping recipes for venison stew.

Now visitors can travel back in time to a pre-colonial block party at the Anasazi Hertiage Center’s newest exhibit, “Pieces of the Puzzle: New Perspectives on the Hohokam,” on display through Oct. 31.

The Hohokam (pronounced he-ho-kem) occupied what is now central and southern Arizona and are known for their impressive irrigation works, mysterious ball courts and unique pottery and jewelry skills.

Little is known about this ancient Southwest culture as much of it was, and still is, buried beneath the pavement and urbanization of Phoenix, the population center of the Hohokam. But since more intense study began in the 1980s, a fascinating story has emerged, including a link to the Anasazi of the Four Corners..."
(Read more?  Click title)

SandBoxBlogs: Summit County Citizens Voice "Timing of Easter linked with lunar cycles"

Bob Berwyn:
"SUMMIT COUNTY — When my son asked me a few days ago why the date of Easter changes every year, I could only answer him partially, thanks to one of those random bits of information that my dad passed along to me at some point.

I knew only that Easter Sunday falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring, but I wasn’t sure exactly why or how that date was set, and Dylan’s question was pretty darn logical, as he wondered why we celebrate a very specific event (the resurrection) on a different day each year.

Even before doing a little research on the web, I told him that Easter has roots predating the Christian mythology of the resurrection, as a celebration of spring and fertility following the vernal equinox. As the Earth started to turn green again, ancient people knew there was relief from the long hunger days of winter...."  (Read more?  Click title)

SandBoxBlogs: Summit County Citizens Voice "Morning photo: Ice tracker"

All credit:  Bob Berwyn