SandBoxBlogs: Aspen Daily News "New development applications pour into planning office"

Ah, so the dysfunctional (?? Is that really the right word for it?) shuck and jive money dance begins.

One must give all credit where credit is due for being just as bold as brass.

Curtis Wackerle:
"Boogie’s, Bidwell, Gap buildings among those pursuing new projectsThe city of Aspen has received seven new downtown redevelopment applications in the last month, encompassing many prominent sites.

Included in the slew of new applications is a two-story redevelopment of the Bidwell building at the corner of Galena Street and Cooper Avenue; a plan to put a third-story penthouse on top of Boogie’s; scrape and replace projects at the Gap building, and on the Hyman Avenue mall at the site of the restaurant Zocalito; and a project developing a residential condo on the Susie’s consignment shop property.

There are also two new “Aspen Modern” applications, from properties seeking voluntary historic designation, but also some development incentives from the city. Those properties are at 610 E. Hyman Ave. — the offices of Charles Cunniffe Architects — and 720 E. Hyman Ave., which is the Aspen Athletic Club building.

Also, owners of the “Tom Thumb” building at the corner of the Hyman Avenue mall and Mill Street are seeking to demolish and rebuild a portion of the property.

“It’s been busy,” said city of Aspen senior planner Sara Adams. “The phone’s been ringing off the hook.”..."
(Read more?  Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Mesquite Citizen/Breaking News "City Names New Manager"

"City officials announced yesterday, Apr. 3, that Andrew M. Barton has accepted and signed a contract as Mesquite's new City Manager. He is currently the Town Administrator for New Castle, CO, a town of 4,518 located on I-70, west of Glenwood Springs.

In a telephone interview with the Mesquite Citizen Journal, Barton confirmed the information released at the Council's Technical Review meeting and intends to begin his new job May 7. "I am very happy," Barton remarked. "I look forward to serving Mesquite. My wife is happy also. My present organization is stunned."

New Castle uses a similar form of government as Mesquite with six council members and a mayor. Its population is approximately 4,518 people. The town employs 25 full-time and 5 part-time employees with seven full-time and 1 reserve police officers.

"Many of the people in New Castle know a lot about Mesquite and come to play golf there," Barton commented. "My friends think I landed a plum assignment. I feel the same way."..."

(Read more?  Click title)

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

SandBoxBlogs: Eagle County Times "Election News? Town of Eagle Regresses – Gypsum Advances Slightly"

How important is the Hot Sulpher Springs municipal election to the residents of Basalt?

Frisco to Silt?

Critically important.  All politics are local politics. The entire demographic that surrounds you and the community you live in has an effect on your overall community health.

The news in Carbondale is terrific.  Congrats to Bonedale for defeating Bill Lamont.

The news in Basalt is deeply troubling.  RFTA board member and crony just about everywhere Jacque Whitsitt pulled in her...well.  Cronies...and defeated Glenn Rappaport for Mayor.  Yes, Scott Condon is in a happy gloat this morning up on the Aspen Times.

Blue River held an election for the first time in decades and thus made history.  

Basalt is keeping their plastic bags and Fruita said no to medical marijuana.

Winter Park folks voted in their very own and first ever lodging tax to use for tourism promotion.

We'll go with our fav's over on the Eagle County Times as the post to hold regional links this morning.  Enlighten yourself as to what is going on around you out there. 

It's a brave new world.

ECT:
"ECT Analysis:  If Eagle’s election is any harbinger of Eagle’s ERS vote scheduled for Tuesday, May 22nd 2012 – it doesn’t look too good for the Voter Approval of the ERS development project…  Eagle’s top vote getter (Brandi Resa) and Eagle’s newly elected Mayor – campaigned against Eagle River Station – and everyone voting in Eagle knows it.  It also shows that the majority (barely) of Eagle voters aren’t much concerned with the state of Eagle’s struggling economy and clearly are not convinced ERS v2.0 is what Eagle needs to move ahead economically.

ECT caught wondering…if all the families that have since lost their Eagle/Gypsum homes due to Job Loss and moved out of Eagle/Gypsum…were still here to vote…what would today’s election results look like?
The ECT thinks it’s time to keep track of the (NEW) number of home foreclosures in Eagle/Gypsum (by Zip code) – right after this new crew is sworn into office.  So the ECT will!

The good news for Gypsum voters is that they can count on newly elected member Beric Christiansen to keep any eye on all the mitigation issues of any proposed expansion of the Eagle County Regional Airport...."  (Read more?  Click title)

http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20120404/NEWS/120409927/1078&ParentProfile=1055
http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20120403/NEWS/120409929/1078&ParentProfile=1055
http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20120404/NEWS/120409930/1078&ParentProfile=1055
http://www.krextv.com/news/around-the-region/Results-for-Fruitas-Municipal-Election-146049355.html
http://www.postindependent.com/article/20120403/VALLEYNEWS/120409963/1083&ParentProfile=1074
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20120404/NEWS/120409945/1077&ParentProfile=1058
http://www.skyhidailynews.com/article/20120403/NEWS/120409999/1079&ParentProfile=1067
http://www.skyhidailynews.com/article/20120403/POLITICS/120409982/1079&ParentProfile=1067
http://www.skyhidailynews.com/article/20120403/POLITICS/120409983/1079&ParentProfile=1067
http://www.skyhidailynews.com/article/20120403/POLITICS01/120409981/1079&ParentProfile=1067
http://www.skyhidailynews.com/article/20120403/POLITICS01/120409979/1079&ParentProfile=1067
http://www.skyhidailynews.com/article/20120404/POLITICS01/120409985/1079&ParentProfile=1067


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

SandBoxBlogs: Glenwood Springs Post Independent "Monitoring for natural gas pollutants to expand"

Let's take a walk back to the past since John Stroud isn't going to let any historical data into his piece today.

1.  GarCo commissioners have never, ever said they were against air monitoring nor have they ever dropped the ball in any way on performing studies.  They stood up to the very poor output of the HIA study because it was filled with holes and they had hired the study for specific scientific data not speculation.  At that time, they stepped up their already in place air monitoring controls and sat back to see where it all landed.

2.  The recent "scientific" independent study that was ostensibly "leaked" to eco-pen style paparazzi and then "found" its way plastered all over the worldwide web as a result is hysteria.  BOCC is accurate on that point.

With that said, SandBox scoffs at the commissioners this morning with their ostensibly placed 'political' rhetoric.

How very convenient it is that whenever there is pressure put on you by the loudest or most powerful social groups in the county; you stand up and go for dotting the 'i's' and crossing the 't's'.   Except of course when the power group in front of you happens to be more powerful politically and socially than the loudest.

What will it take?  More 'shock-jock' style blogs like this one?  More 'bethatesantero' and 'Just Anita' campaigns against gas companies and law enforcement in local chat rooms?  More tabloid style eco-pen paparazzi stalking the gas wells?

Hmmmm....or just maybe all it will take...

Is an election.

For the record, 'SandBox Nanny's' personal view on the smoldering issues with Garfield BOCC and Garfield GOP is that they are not political in nature.  They're personality and business ethics based.  Still nothing that a good epiphany found in the heat of a hot election race won't 'cure'.

John Stroud:
"“One of the goals here is to not use fear, and to have good information instead of reacting to the pressures of politics,” Commission Chairman John Martin said at the work session.

“We need to have facts instead of hysteria,” he said.

The Board of County Commissioners will formally consider the additional expenditure at an upcoming regular meeting.

Currently, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) also contributes about $87,000 annually toward the air quality monitoring in Garfield County.

“I would like to encourage the state to pay for more of this,” Commissioner Mike Samson suggested...."
(Read more?  Click title)

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

SandBoxBlogs: Summit County Citizens Voice "Op-ed: Idaho wolf torture highlights brutality of state ‘management’ plans in absence of federal oversight"

This is such a  horrific report.  I linked it in the roundup over five hours ago and am still nauseous.

US Forest Service employee?  He should be criminally charged if that is true.  As for these "hunters" and "trappers" you are no such thing.   There are humane ways to control predator populations.

Shame on you.

Bob Berwyn:
"...This week, the Center for Biological Diversity sent letters to both the Forest Service and Idaho Attorney General, Lawrence Wasden, today requesting investigations into the actions of Forest Service employeed Josh Bransford, who posted photos of a wolf he had trapped in northern Idaho that had been maliciously and non-fatally shot by people who spotted the animal from a nearby road.

“A year ago, that wolf was protected as a member of an endangered species, but last month he was trapped, tortured and killed thanks to an underhanded congressional rider that’s also responsible for the deaths of hundreds of other wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains,” said the Center’s Michael Robinson. “A lack of respect for the balance of nature is leading to a war on wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains.”

The posting, on trapperman.com, shows the Forest Service employee smiling in front of a still-living wolf surrounded by snow that is bloody from the animal’s gunshot wounds. Idaho state law makes it a crime for a person who “causes or procures any animal to be cruelly treated, or who, having the charge or custody of any animal either as owner or otherwise, subjects any animal to cruelty.”...."

(Read more?  Click title)

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

SandBoxBlogs: Summit County Citizens Voice "Morning Photo: The kids are alright!"

Bob Berwyn:
"SUMMIT COUNTY — Taking pictures of kids always makes me smile. When you capture a moment — like the picture above — you realize anew that there’s a whole world going inside of them. If you’re a parent, or spend a lot of time around youngsters, you know that anyway, but a good snapshot is, as they say, priceless...."

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)

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

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:
"Steamboat Springs — 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