May 12, 2012

SandBoxBlogs: Town Hall/Scott Rasmussen "Lugar Loss Highlights Sour Relationship Between Voters and Politicians"

Scott Rasmussen:
"When relationships go bad, an early warning sign is that one side doesn't really hear what the other is saying. That's certainly the case today in the relationship between voters and America's political class.

Many in Washington, D.C., took comfort over the past year in polling data showing that fewer voters consider themselves part of the tea party movement. Only 13 percent claim such a tie today, roughly half its peak in 2010. This was reassuring to those in power, suggesting voters were willing to let the politicians return to politics as usual.

But the panic returned to Washington this week, following the defeat of 36-year incumbent Sen. Richard Lugar in a Republican primary election.

The reality that the politicians missed is that declining membership in the tea party did not mean a decline in anger at the political class. That's because the tea party has always been strongest when it tapped into concerns that most Americans shared. In particular, the tea party highlighted the twin problems of continuous government spending growth and a self-serving political class that's out of touch with voters.

Today, only 33 percent are even somewhat confident that their representative in Congress is looking out for the best interests of their constituents. Only 8 percent are very confident.

Sixty-five percent are angry at the policies of the federal government, but few see anybody in Washington willing to take on the status quo. There is a strong belief that Democrats are the party of big government and the Republicans the party of big business. Seven out of 10 believe big government and big business work together against the rest of us..."
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"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Denver Post "Colorado bond companies' role in school campaigns raises questions"

David Olinger:
"When Colorado citizens vote to borrow money to build new schools, a library or a recreation center, the crusader behind the curtain is often the investment banker who gets paid to sell the bonds.

For those pushing bond issues in a tough economic climate, help from a bond underwriter can mean the difference between election day success and defeat. But the prevalence of bond house involvement — everything from polling to designing yard signs — also raises concerns from critics who worry they exert undue influence in a campaign.

At worst, critics and experts say, governments pay bond companies extra to help pass tax increses, a potential violation of Colorado law.

"It does seem like a backdoor way of using public funds (to finance campaigns)," said Colorado Ethics Watch director Luis Toro. "To say there's no chance of corruption is totally out of touch."

The Denver Post analyzed 15 successful Colorado bond campaigns backed by large contributions from investment banks. In every case, the bank that helped finance the campaign sold the bonds....."
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"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Union Leader "A constitutional amendment worth everyone's support"

Charles Arlinghaus:
"An amendment on education funding in New Hampshire is long overdue and is only common sense. The only thing stopping the Legislature from putting one on the ballot are the misconceptions of one group of people and the tax fantasies of another. Both groups should be overlooked and an amendment adopted.

The source of the conflict is a series of state Supreme Court rulings called the Claremont decisions. They basically said that the way we had funded education — largely through local property taxes with a small amount of state aid — was unconstitutional.

They interpreted the phrase “cherish the interest of literature and the sciences, and all seminaries and public schools,” to mean that the state can't delegate its authority and has to use a state, not a local, tax to pay for a basic portion of the funding. The inherent ambiguity of the phrase is what led many people to think of the decision as a bit of an overreach.

Some of the more liberal-leaning legislators hoped the decision would force an income tax or at least a transfer of education to the state, creating one big school district, if you will. But that was always a fantasy, and there has never been much support for a state school district (nor should there be)....." 
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"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Aspen Daily News "Judge rules against SkiCo in hotdog negligence lawsuit"

Chad Abraham:
"A jury may find that the Aspen Skiing Co. acted “heedlessly and recklessly” when it directed lift attendants to cook hotdogs for skiers before a loading accident involving a Basalt man, a judge ruled Thursday.

Judge Denise Lynch of Pitkin County District Court also ruled that SkiCo is potentially liable for negligence in the lawsuit Ryan Bradley filed despite his signing of the standard waiver to get a season pass.

Bradley sued SkiCo in February 2011 for more than $100,000, alleging that his shoulder was injured when lift operators failed to remove a metal jake table from the Temerity chair he was about to get on.

The metal tables are installed on chairlifts, along with a toboggan, so patrollers can transport injured skiers. The lift operators said they had forgotten the device was still attached when the chair swung back around. Bradley contends the lift workers were distracted because they were cooking hotdogs on a nearby grill. His companions were able to jump out of the way, but Bradley said he was knocked down.

SkiCo has a tradition of cooking wieners for skiers on Wednesdays, though the snacks are often served up on other days as well, said Bradley’s attorney, Evan Banker of Denver. The SkiCo’s hotdog habit violated the state’s Ski Safety Act and Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Act, the lawsuit alleges....."
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"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: KREX News 5 "New Utah Drilling Project to Bring Jobs to the Western Slope"

 Danielle Kreutter:
"GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.- This week U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced the approval of a major natural gas drilling project in Eastern Utah.

The plan will allow Anadarko Petroleum to develop more than 3,600 gas wells in Eastern Utah, but local gas and oil officials say that plan will have indirect benefits to service companies on the Western Slope.

"It's no question," said David Ludlam, the executive director of the Western Slope Colorado Oil and Gas Association. "There will be an indirect benefit to our community when you have specialized service companies out of Western Colorado going out and getting work done in Eastern Utah...."
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"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Summit Daily News "Moose on the loose, so steer clear"

Janice Kurbjan:
"When moose and bears start showing up near homes, officials start getting worried.

Not because the wildlife is there — humans in the High Country live in the animals' home, afterall — but because often, humans don't treat the beasts like beasts.

“We've had multiple incidents in Willowbrook with moose,” Silverthorne Police Chief Mark Hanschmidt said. “There are three or four moose wandering around the neighborhoods (there).”

None of the moose have shown signs of aggression, even when people approach far too close for comfort for those who know what the animals are capable of. But there's never any telling what will set a mamma or bull moose off, sending them charging at a bystander, Hanschmidt said.

And when a bear shows up in Dillon Valley, as it did Thursday morning, it's not something to approach closely for pictures — which is what officials witnessed.

“The wildlife is out and it's great to see it. I'm happy people are aware and seeing all these animals, but they don't realize it's dangerous,” Hanschmidt said. “They are wild animals. They need their space. People assuming that they're not dangerous and can walk right up and take pictures are wrong.”

Hanschmidt remembers when he was walking his dog one night in Willowbrook about five years ago. A female moose, unprovoked, approached and put her head down to charge....."
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"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Aspen Times "On the fly: The meaning of fishing"

Kirk Webb:
"BASALT — The fishing throughout the valley has been pretty incredible lately.

The Rocky Mountain Regional Championship for Fly Fishing Team USA was held in Basalt last weekend. Huge numbers of fish were put up on the board and tallied — so much so that most anglers cannot even fathom catching fish at such a ferocious pace. It just goes to show that good anglers succeed in a wide variety of conditions, habitats and water types as anglers competed on the Fryingpan and Roaring Fork rivers as well as on Ruedi Reservoir......"  (Read more?  Click title)

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

SandBoxBlogs: Summit County Citizens Voice "Photoblog: Lovett and Hiatt in Breckenridge"

Getting a late start to the day, I felt like going back into the archives of Bob Berwyn's Summit  County Citizens Voice.

Take a listen: