Wonderful piece from Robert Allen off the Coloradoan today. Be sure to read all (7) pages.
Robert Allen:
"....But thanks to the contributions of Fort Collins police officers, a bystander and a hospital worker, the man who committed the attack and an unsolved Denver murder was arrested within a week of the July 5 incident.
It was one of more than 20,000 cases Fort Collins police handled in the past year. On Wednesday, the agency will recognize many of the officers and citizens involved in those cases at its 20th annual awards ceremony at 3:30 p.m. at the Hilton Fort Collins, 425 W. Prospect Road.
Their stories reveal intuition and fast action that has been previously untold...."
(Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetic pursuit and tracking of patterns within news others make since 2010"
Showing posts with label Coloradoan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Coloradoan. Show all posts
June 3, 2012
May 16, 2012
SandBoxBlogs: Colordoan "Oil debate also about who represents us"
(See related story and public comments here)
"Save a gas rig. Opt for fair representation. Vote Sonja Linman (D-Garfield County)
Pedro Ramirez:
""I am extremely conservative. But this, I don't believe, is a conservative or liberal issue. What this is about is where we live. We all breathe. We all drink the water." Dale Bisceglia said this in the Coloradoan’s May 6th story on oil development in Windsor. I agree with Bisceglia that it is “about where we live.”
It is also about who we elect to represent us in government. Many conservative politicians want to dismantle all regulations and give industry free rein to do as they please without any or little regard to impacts on workers, families, our children, and our environment.
After World War II, the greatest generation helped build our nation into a great place to live and prosper. They fought for worker protection, equality, and justice. They enacted environmental protections and ended legally sanctioned discrimination. They gave us great public schools and universities that opened the doors of opportunity for many of us without saddling us with a huge debt at the onset of our careers.
Fast forward to the present. Conservative politicians demonstrate more allegiance to Grover Norquist and billionaires than they do the good of our country. They promote discriminatory immigration policies, propose eviscerating environmental protection laws, propose selling our public lands to the highest bidders, eliminate worker’s collective bargaining rights, and demonize our teachers. All this in a concerted effort to privatize just about everything.
It is all about where we live and the political fallout is now in your backyard....."
(Read the original letter? Click title)
"Unapologetic pursuit and tracking of patterns within the news others make since 2010."
"Save a gas rig. Opt for fair representation. Vote Sonja Linman (D-Garfield County)
Pedro Ramirez:
""I am extremely conservative. But this, I don't believe, is a conservative or liberal issue. What this is about is where we live. We all breathe. We all drink the water." Dale Bisceglia said this in the Coloradoan’s May 6th story on oil development in Windsor. I agree with Bisceglia that it is “about where we live.”
It is also about who we elect to represent us in government. Many conservative politicians want to dismantle all regulations and give industry free rein to do as they please without any or little regard to impacts on workers, families, our children, and our environment.
After World War II, the greatest generation helped build our nation into a great place to live and prosper. They fought for worker protection, equality, and justice. They enacted environmental protections and ended legally sanctioned discrimination. They gave us great public schools and universities that opened the doors of opportunity for many of us without saddling us with a huge debt at the onset of our careers.
Fast forward to the present. Conservative politicians demonstrate more allegiance to Grover Norquist and billionaires than they do the good of our country. They promote discriminatory immigration policies, propose eviscerating environmental protection laws, propose selling our public lands to the highest bidders, eliminate worker’s collective bargaining rights, and demonize our teachers. All this in a concerted effort to privatize just about everything.
It is all about where we live and the political fallout is now in your backyard....."
(Read the original letter? Click title)
"Unapologetic pursuit and tracking of patterns within the news others make since 2010."
April 26, 2012
SandBoxBlogs: Coloradoan "Craft beer provides $446M boost to Fort Collins, Colorado economies"
David Young:
"Colorado's craft brewing industry injects $446 million into the state's economy, according to a study released Tuesday by Colorado Brewers Guild.
The University of Colorado Business Research Division compiled the data for the Colorado Brewers Guild, which indicates that as of March, Colorado had 139 licensed craft brewers totaling $101.8 million in income, with a $179.2 million total employment effect. The study cost the guild an estimated $10,000, according to CU.
Nine of those breweries are in Fort Collins, including New Belgium Brewing Co., the largest craft brewer in Colorado and third largest in the country, behind Sierra Nevada and Boston Beer Co.
Fort Collins' breweries contribute $83.2 million to the Larimer County payroll and support 938 direct jobs, according to a 2011 study by Colorado State University’s Regional Economics Institute and the Beverage Business Institute....." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
"Colorado's craft brewing industry injects $446 million into the state's economy, according to a study released Tuesday by Colorado Brewers Guild.
The University of Colorado Business Research Division compiled the data for the Colorado Brewers Guild, which indicates that as of March, Colorado had 139 licensed craft brewers totaling $101.8 million in income, with a $179.2 million total employment effect. The study cost the guild an estimated $10,000, according to CU.
Nine of those breweries are in Fort Collins, including New Belgium Brewing Co., the largest craft brewer in Colorado and third largest in the country, behind Sierra Nevada and Boston Beer Co.
Fort Collins' breweries contribute $83.2 million to the Larimer County payroll and support 938 direct jobs, according to a 2011 study by Colorado State University’s Regional Economics Institute and the Beverage Business Institute....." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
SandBoxBlogs: Coloradoan "Ride the Rockies returns to Fort Collins after 19 years away"
Congratulations again, to Carbondale. Your hard work soliciting Ride the Rockies pays off in a very big way this year with the overnight on our stage happening in Carbondale.
From the sounds of things, the event is so thrilled with the stage, you are likely to become an annual stop and anchor for the race.
Best wishes to a successful event!
David Young:
"Since 1986, cyclists from around the world have been flocking to Colorado in the summer to see the state from their saddle for The Denver Post Ride The Rockies Colorado Bicycle Tour.
For the inaugural ride, more than 1,500 riders came from around the country to participate in the six day, cross-state tour. In 1987, the registration limit was raised to 2,000 cyclists, and by 1989 the lottery registration system that is now in place was implemented. Last year the tour received more than 4,000 applications.
This June, for the first time since 1993, the ride will return to the Choice City.
Odell Brewing Co. will serve as the finish line for the six-day, 442-mile ride...."
(Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
From the sounds of things, the event is so thrilled with the stage, you are likely to become an annual stop and anchor for the race.
Best wishes to a successful event!
David Young:
"Since 1986, cyclists from around the world have been flocking to Colorado in the summer to see the state from their saddle for The Denver Post Ride The Rockies Colorado Bicycle Tour.
For the inaugural ride, more than 1,500 riders came from around the country to participate in the six day, cross-state tour. In 1987, the registration limit was raised to 2,000 cyclists, and by 1989 the lottery registration system that is now in place was implemented. Last year the tour received more than 4,000 applications.
This June, for the first time since 1993, the ride will return to the Choice City.
Odell Brewing Co. will serve as the finish line for the six-day, 442-mile ride...."
(Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
April 23, 2012
SandBoxBlogs: Coloradoan "Arrest provides Fort Collins man catalyst for leaving gang life"
Robert Allen:
"By age 9, Anthony DiBenedetto was wearing blue and running with Sureño gang members.
At age 22, he was harboring a first-degree murder fugitive when the Fort Collins SWAT team arrived at the third-floor apartment he shared with his six-months-pregnant wife on West Elizabeth Street.
He hung up on the negotiator about 3 a.m. Then there was a flashbang. Then tear gas.
"It was like a war zone," DiBenedetto said of the January 2008 incident. "Glass was breaking everywhere."
Having nowhere to go, everyone surrendered, walking downstairs into an array of riot gear with red, gun-mounted lasers pointing at them.
"I was screaming and yelling, 'My wife's pregnant! My wife's pregnant!' and I heard back, somebody said, 'Well you should have thought about that,'" said DiBenedetto, now 27....." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
"By age 9, Anthony DiBenedetto was wearing blue and running with Sureño gang members.
At age 22, he was harboring a first-degree murder fugitive when the Fort Collins SWAT team arrived at the third-floor apartment he shared with his six-months-pregnant wife on West Elizabeth Street.
He hung up on the negotiator about 3 a.m. Then there was a flashbang. Then tear gas.
"It was like a war zone," DiBenedetto said of the January 2008 incident. "Glass was breaking everywhere."
Having nowhere to go, everyone surrendered, walking downstairs into an array of riot gear with red, gun-mounted lasers pointing at them.
"I was screaming and yelling, 'My wife's pregnant! My wife's pregnant!' and I heard back, somebody said, 'Well you should have thought about that,'" said DiBenedetto, now 27....." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
April 6, 2012
SandBoxBlogs: Coloradoan "New Belgium selects Asheville, N.C. for new brewery"
David Young:
"New Belgium Brewing Co. announced Thursday afternoon it will open a new $175 million brewery in Asheville N.C. over the next seven years.
The decision by the Fort Collins craft brewery, known for such beers as Fat Tire and Sunshine Wheat, follows a nearly year long search for a second brewery location to expand its production along the East Coast.
The new brewery is projected to start production of beer in the first quarter of 2015 and be completed by 2020. The brewery reportedly will produce 400,000 barrels a year. It will create an additional 154 jobs to the Fort Collins-based company..." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
"New Belgium Brewing Co. announced Thursday afternoon it will open a new $175 million brewery in Asheville N.C. over the next seven years.
The decision by the Fort Collins craft brewery, known for such beers as Fat Tire and Sunshine Wheat, follows a nearly year long search for a second brewery location to expand its production along the East Coast.
The new brewery is projected to start production of beer in the first quarter of 2015 and be completed by 2020. The brewery reportedly will produce 400,000 barrels a year. It will create an additional 154 jobs to the Fort Collins-based company..." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
April 1, 2012
SandBoxBlogs: Coloradoan "In brief: New canine joins Sheriff's K-9 force"
"The Larimer County Sheriff's Office announced K-9 Ryker has joined handler Deputy Aaron Hulme as the newest dog on the K-9 team.
Ryker is a 14-month-old male German shepherd from the Netherlands and has been in the United States for two months. He was selected from among 15 dogs tested by Hulme and other members of the K-9 team at Vohne Liche Kennels in Indiana...." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
Ryker is a 14-month-old male German shepherd from the Netherlands and has been in the United States for two months. He was selected from among 15 dogs tested by Hulme and other members of the K-9 team at Vohne Liche Kennels in Indiana...." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
March 21, 2012
SandBoxBlogs: Coloradoan "Pedal-powered paramedics train for deployment"
Robert Allen:
"The sound of ringing bicycle bells will increasingly replace ambulance sirens during Fort Collins events this summer as Poudre Valley EMS gears up its Bicycle Emergency Response Team.
A fleet of mountain bikes is equipped with the same supplies ambulances use in the first few minutes of an incident, from bandages to auto-defibrillators. And bikes are able to go places the large ambulance trucks can’t reach.
Poudre Valley EMS started using bikes for reserves in 1994, but the team, known by its acronym, BERT, didn’t form or begin regular event patrols until last year. Rob Collett, lead BERT paramedic, said because Fort Collins is rated one of the top bicycle-friendly communities in the United States, managers decided the team could better serve the community on bikes...." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
"The sound of ringing bicycle bells will increasingly replace ambulance sirens during Fort Collins events this summer as Poudre Valley EMS gears up its Bicycle Emergency Response Team.
A fleet of mountain bikes is equipped with the same supplies ambulances use in the first few minutes of an incident, from bandages to auto-defibrillators. And bikes are able to go places the large ambulance trucks can’t reach.
Poudre Valley EMS started using bikes for reserves in 1994, but the team, known by its acronym, BERT, didn’t form or begin regular event patrols until last year. Rob Collett, lead BERT paramedic, said because Fort Collins is rated one of the top bicycle-friendly communities in the United States, managers decided the team could better serve the community on bikes...." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
March 18, 2012
SandBoxBlogs: Coloradoan "Double trouble from Colorado pine beetles"
"BOULDER (AP) -- University of Colorado researchers say mountain pine beetles that are devastating forests across the West are now breeding twice in some years.
Researchers say the beetles usually lay their eggs in late July or August. The larvae then burrow deeper into the bark, where they spend the winter...." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
Researchers say the beetles usually lay their eggs in late July or August. The larvae then burrow deeper into the bark, where they spend the winter...." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
March 7, 2012
SandBoxBlogs: Coloradoan "What did your tax dollars pay for? Keep Fort Collins Great sales tax sent about $20 million to city's coffers"
Conservatives are not always 'anti-taxes'. When it makes sense, when it is fiscally responsible and when the benefits exceed what's spent; they generally support an increase.
When Fort Collins passed the 'Keep Fort Collins Great' sales tax it was a bi-partisan effort.
One that looks like it is paying off. Kudos to the folks up, over and up again in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Kevin Duggan:
"Fort Collins officials say city residents are seeing the benefits of their willingness to raise their own taxes.
In 2011, the first year that revenue from the so-called Keep Fort Collins Great sales tax was available, about $19.9 million came into the city's coffers.
That spurred more than $14.2 million in spending on projects ranging from the resurfacing of major streets to keeping the water flowing in popular fountains in community parks. Another $19 million is budgeted to be spent in 2012.
Differences brought on by the fiscal boost around the community have been profound, City Manger Darin Atteberry said in an interview..." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
When Fort Collins passed the 'Keep Fort Collins Great' sales tax it was a bi-partisan effort.
One that looks like it is paying off. Kudos to the folks up, over and up again in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Kevin Duggan:
"Fort Collins officials say city residents are seeing the benefits of their willingness to raise their own taxes.
In 2011, the first year that revenue from the so-called Keep Fort Collins Great sales tax was available, about $19.9 million came into the city's coffers.
That spurred more than $14.2 million in spending on projects ranging from the resurfacing of major streets to keeping the water flowing in popular fountains in community parks. Another $19 million is budgeted to be spent in 2012.
Differences brought on by the fiscal boost around the community have been profound, City Manger Darin Atteberry said in an interview..." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
January 18, 2012
SandBox Comments: Coloradoan/ Xplore! "Fort Collins Navy SEAL to challenge himself in Spartan Death Race"
Miles Blumhardt:
"As a Navy Seal stationed overseas in places he can’t divulge, Rocky Mountain High School graduate Josh Bunning has had his share of thoughts about death.
But now he’s inviting it. Or at least it appears that way if you believe in the Spartan Death Race’s name for its website youmaydie.com. Nobody has actually died completing, or more aptly trying to complete, the race since only 10 percent finish the obstacle race through the deceivingly peaceful Green Mountain Valley outside of Pittsfield, Vt. Still, the June race is consistently listed among the top 100 toughest events in the world.
That’s because completing the 40-mile obstacle course that takes between a half day to two days to complete is shear hell. It has been labeled part “Jack Ass,” part “Survivor.” It includes obstacles to test both mind and body...."
(Read more? Click title. Comment to discuss)
"As a Navy Seal stationed overseas in places he can’t divulge, Rocky Mountain High School graduate Josh Bunning has had his share of thoughts about death.
But now he’s inviting it. Or at least it appears that way if you believe in the Spartan Death Race’s name for its website youmaydie.com. Nobody has actually died completing, or more aptly trying to complete, the race since only 10 percent finish the obstacle race through the deceivingly peaceful Green Mountain Valley outside of Pittsfield, Vt. Still, the June race is consistently listed among the top 100 toughest events in the world.
That’s because completing the 40-mile obstacle course that takes between a half day to two days to complete is shear hell. It has been labeled part “Jack Ass,” part “Survivor.” It includes obstacles to test both mind and body...."
(Read more? Click title. Comment to discuss)
January 7, 2012
SandBox Comments: Coloradoan "Pot bust leaves grower in quandary"
Wonder what would happen if Colorado voters elected state lawmakers into office that campaign promised to sit down and tackle the job of roto-rooter mucking out the quagmire of Colorado's laws?
Then watched over them to make sure they were keeping their promise once they were sworn in.
Lawmakers who would take the time to go statewide and talk with all of our cops, district attorneys, judges.
Eliminate the myriad of gray areas and clean up laws that are causing so much angst and burden on our cities and towns.
Wonder what would happen?
"Stephen Minardi says he's done nothing wrong.
He says the 50 marijuana plants in his west Fort Collins home are there to treat legal patients who can't afford to buy from store-front medical marijuana centers.
Minardi, who, along with his wife, is facing felony charges of cultivation and distribution, said the criminal case makes them "look like massive Al Pacino drug dealers."
Fort Collins police have reason to doubt the Minardis' story. The day before Thanksgiving, they served a search warrant and confiscated processed marijuana and $3,400 cash at Minardi's home, where pictures of his wife and three children line the walls of the living room.
As dispensaries close, police worry about the rise of larger home-grow operations. They’re allowed under state law, but lawyers and law enforcement officials continue to deal with gray areas regarding how much a person can grow, and even what constitutes a plant.
The laws leave people like Stephen Minardi in a precarious position.
“I’m proud of what I do,” he said. “I take care of people....
(Robert Allen)
(Read more? Click title. Comment to discuss)
Then watched over them to make sure they were keeping their promise once they were sworn in.
Lawmakers who would take the time to go statewide and talk with all of our cops, district attorneys, judges.
Eliminate the myriad of gray areas and clean up laws that are causing so much angst and burden on our cities and towns.
Wonder what would happen?
"Stephen Minardi says he's done nothing wrong.
He says the 50 marijuana plants in his west Fort Collins home are there to treat legal patients who can't afford to buy from store-front medical marijuana centers.
Minardi, who, along with his wife, is facing felony charges of cultivation and distribution, said the criminal case makes them "look like massive Al Pacino drug dealers."
Fort Collins police have reason to doubt the Minardis' story. The day before Thanksgiving, they served a search warrant and confiscated processed marijuana and $3,400 cash at Minardi's home, where pictures of his wife and three children line the walls of the living room.
As dispensaries close, police worry about the rise of larger home-grow operations. They’re allowed under state law, but lawyers and law enforcement officials continue to deal with gray areas regarding how much a person can grow, and even what constitutes a plant.
The laws leave people like Stephen Minardi in a precarious position.
“I’m proud of what I do,” he said. “I take care of people....
(Robert Allen)
(Read more? Click title. Comment to discuss)
January 1, 2012
SandBox Comments: Coloradoan "They're called BATH SALTS and they're deceptively lethal"
Robert Allen:
"Shopping for bath salts
Aside from the Internet, smoke shops are the primary sources for bath salt substances. However, when contacted for comment, people who answered the phone at seven local shops told a Coloradoan reporter they don’t sell the product.
“The people it draws in are sketchy business,” said Morgan Lindskot, manager of One Love in Loveland. “They just gave me a very weird vibe.”
Lindskot said her store quit carrying the substances about eight months ago, and people had tried to trade gold and “weird things” for bath salts.
Kelsey Trybushyn, manager at Rock ‘N’ Robin’s in Fort Collins, said her store also quit selling bath salts because of “sketchy” clientele.
“I’m not a big fan of them,” she said. “It’s definitely not a good thing to have on the market.”
WHAT ARE BATH SALTS?
"The presumption is that most bath salts are MDPV, or methylenedioxypyrovalerone, although newer pyrovalerone derivatives are being made by illegal street chemists. Nobody really knows, because there is no way to test for these substances."
Why are they called bath salts?
"It's confusing. Is this what we put in our bathtubs, like Epsom salts? No. But by marketing them as bath salts and labeling them 'not for human consumption,' they have been able to avoid them being specifically enumerated as illegal."
What do you experience when you take bath salts?
"Agitation, paranoia, hallucinations, chest pain, suicidality.
It’s a very scary stimulant that is out there. We get high blood pressure and increased pulse, but there’s something more, something different that’s causing these other extreme effects.
But right now, there’s no test to pick up this drug. The only way we know if someone has taken them is if they tell you they have.”
Source: www.webmd.com Q&A with Zane Horowitz, emergency room physician with Oregon Poison Center
(Read the article? Find out more about this deadly drug? Click title. Comment to discuss)
"Shopping for bath salts
Aside from the Internet, smoke shops are the primary sources for bath salt substances. However, when contacted for comment, people who answered the phone at seven local shops told a Coloradoan reporter they don’t sell the product.
“The people it draws in are sketchy business,” said Morgan Lindskot, manager of One Love in Loveland. “They just gave me a very weird vibe.”
Lindskot said her store quit carrying the substances about eight months ago, and people had tried to trade gold and “weird things” for bath salts.
Kelsey Trybushyn, manager at Rock ‘N’ Robin’s in Fort Collins, said her store also quit selling bath salts because of “sketchy” clientele.
“I’m not a big fan of them,” she said. “It’s definitely not a good thing to have on the market.”
WHAT ARE BATH SALTS?
"The presumption is that most bath salts are MDPV, or methylenedioxypyrovalerone, although newer pyrovalerone derivatives are being made by illegal street chemists. Nobody really knows, because there is no way to test for these substances."
Why are they called bath salts?
"It's confusing. Is this what we put in our bathtubs, like Epsom salts? No. But by marketing them as bath salts and labeling them 'not for human consumption,' they have been able to avoid them being specifically enumerated as illegal."
What do you experience when you take bath salts?
"Agitation, paranoia, hallucinations, chest pain, suicidality.
It’s a very scary stimulant that is out there. We get high blood pressure and increased pulse, but there’s something more, something different that’s causing these other extreme effects.
But right now, there’s no test to pick up this drug. The only way we know if someone has taken them is if they tell you they have.”
Source: www.webmd.com Q&A with Zane Horowitz, emergency room physician with Oregon Poison Center
(Read the article? Find out more about this deadly drug? Click title. Comment to discuss)
October 10, 2011
SandBox Comments: Coloradoan "Voters to decide on funding for operations, maintenance of Larimer County Jail"
"The financial future of the Larimer County Jail and potentially the county itself could be at stake in the Nov. 1 election.
Issue 1A on county ballots asks voters to consider repealing two 0.2 percent sales taxes and replacing them with a 0.375 percent tax to fund jail operations and other criminal justice programs...."
(via The Coloradan)
(Learn more? Click title and comment to start discussion)
"Truth goes through three stages. First it is ridiculed. Then violently opposed. Finally, it is accepted as self-evident."
Issue 1A on county ballots asks voters to consider repealing two 0.2 percent sales taxes and replacing them with a 0.375 percent tax to fund jail operations and other criminal justice programs...."
(via The Coloradan)
(Learn more? Click title and comment to start discussion)
"Truth goes through three stages. First it is ridiculed. Then violently opposed. Finally, it is accepted as self-evident."
August 30, 2011
SandBox Comments: Coloradoan "Ethics law delays Fort Collins chief financial officer's move to Innosphere"
(Learn more? Click title or comment to start discussion)
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