SandBox Comments: Goose Radio "Farewell!"

Who's the King?

Goose Nissley.

We agree.

Long live the King.

Boy, we're sure sorry to see the Goose move on.  It's been great.

Right back at ya, Mr. Nissley.

"On October 27th, 2008 GooseRadio swept onto the fruited plain of the intenets. One day later, we posted our first podcast (featuring an Italian opera based on Al Gore’s environmental musings). The site was an endeavor not only to inform and occasionally (hopefully) entertain friends who would stop by (something many other sites have done well) – but further, to provide you with a general sense of well being.

For just a touch over three years we trod a path at times insightful, humorous, and even heart warming via a stellar group of contributors. Blog entries ranged from the presidential horse race to the Minnesota Twins and to a life of faith. The GooseRadio Podcast offered spirited musings featuring friends like Obama Guy, an angry journalist and noted important personages.

There were laughs, there were moments that left you saying… what just happened. It’s truly been real!

Alas – it’s time to say our farewells. Like an aging ball player, we wanted to go out on top.

Thanks a ton for reading, listening and sticking with us through thick, thin, and any additional inconveniences we may have presented you. Here’s hoping you enjoyed yourself just a tiny bit along the way.

I’ll still be blogging a bit on culture and politics with even an occasional podcast over at http://goosenissley.tumblr.com if you’d like to stop by and relive the glory days when you get a hankering.

Until next we meet — may the Lord richly bless you… and may he multiply your descendants like the sands upon the seashore!

Thank you, friends."

SandBox Comments: National Review/Steve King "Amnesty or New Idea?"

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SandBox Comments: Intellectual Conservative "Mexico’s Feds Dismantle Local Police Force"

Here's another really big upside to electing Texas Governor Rick Perry and turning him lose with Sheriff Joe Arpaio to secure the borders.

That will not only mean illegal foreign nationals can no longer sneak across into the USA, it also means that Mexico's government must finally deal with their own problems.

We have never seen a President of Mexico who has ever taken control and accountability for their own country into their hands.

To secure the border, seal it up tight and let Mexico implode so that it's forced to clean itself up is the best idea to hit the stump.  Ever.

Get our military out of Mexico and bring them home.

"The problem with corruption within Mexican coupled with the political corruption within Attorney General Eric Holder's Justice Department — including harebrained schemes like the Fast & Furious debacle — makes it less likely that the 'war on drugs' will end successfully," said former narcotics detective Glenn Knudsen.

A major police department in Mexico has been completely dismantled by federal police and military forces as part of an anti-corruption plan to help in winning Mexico's de facto war on drugs. 

More than 900 officers in the State of Veracruz are losing their jobs, while members of the Mexican

Navy are taking over the city's law enforcement function, according to a report from a DEA source.

Police lay-offs come three months after 35 bodies were found dumped on a main road in the municipality, which includes part of Veracruz.

Navy troops backed by federal police officers took control of local police buildings and are patrolling the streets.

Veracruz State Governor Javier Duarte said the decision to disband the force was part of a national program to reform the police, according to the DEA source.

"The problem with corruption within Mexican coupled with the political corruption within Attorney General Eric Holder's Justice Department — including harebrained schemes like the Fast & Furious debacle — make it less likely that the 'war on drugs' will end successfully," said former narcotics detective Glenn Knudsen...." 

(Jim Kouri)

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SandBox Comments: Eagle County Times "From the Street – 2012"

'by Rumors, Innuendos and Abject Speculation':

"Your Cordillera neighborhood dues are going up.

The Cordillera membership voted last week to (self-inflict) an increase of $1,000.00/yr to the ($2,000/yr) dues they already pay.  The reason?  The ongoing cost to defend the lawsuit filed against Cordillera by the Wilhelm Family Partnership.

Allegations received by ECT folks suggest that the membership didn’t have a real problem with the additional $1,000.00 because so few of these same folks (allegedly) are NOT going to pay their Cordillera Golf Course annual dues (due in January 2012) because of (what was promised and not delivered) by the WFP last year.

Promised what last year?  (Words/emails to the effect – if you pay your annual dues on time and in full) the WFP will open all 4 Cordillera Golf Courses this (2011) Golf Season.

And not Delivered in 2011?  All the Cordillera Golf Courses didn’t open last year.

How the WFP intends to cover the annual Golf Course operations cost this year (2012) if very few Golf Course members pay their dues this year is unknown at this writing.

You’ll recall the Cordillera (counter-claim) lawsuit against the WFP (et al) was given class action status by District Court Judge – Fred Gannett last year (Click Here)...."

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SandBox Comments: Colorado Springs Gazette "Rookie prosecutors cut teeth on DUI, misdemeanor cases"

A very interesting look at statistics out of El Paso County from jury commissioner Dennis McKinney.

As of this morning, no DA race for the 4th Judicial District is noted on Colorado Sec. of State 'TRACER'.

"..The 376 trials is a record but represents just a fraction of the tens of thousands of cases filed in the District Attorney’s Office in Teller and El Paso counties each year, according to statistics available on the Colorado Judicial Branch website.

Most filings end in plea agreements.

But clearly the jump in cases going to trial is proof that May was serious about a tough stand on certain types of cases.

As part of May’s revamped training, new recruits must complete 15 county court trials, a switch from an earlier policy that saw some attorneys advance to District Court after only one or two, the district attorney said.

At the same time, May set a goal to increase the number of trials in county court from about 150 a year to about 200 a year.

Felony trials also rose on May’s watch, according to figures he supplied showing the office hit a record in 2010 with about 165 felony trials and nearly matched it this year, with about 150 trials.

“Those are the two highest totals in the history of this office,” he said.

McKinney and May keep separate tallies of court trials.

The District Attorney’s Office still is compiling figures for the year and hasn’t completed a break down of its prosecutions, May said.

Of the trials in District Court this year, 11 were for first-degree murder, tying the number of first-degree murder trials last year, McKinney said.

The figures show that 26,000 people reported for jury duty this year.  Of those, about 12 percent ended up serving on a jury...."

Read more: http://www.gazette.com/articles/prosecutors-131026-rookie-wanted.html#ixzz1iKGLU6at

SandBox Comments: Denver 9 News "Slain federal agent was getting dad's cancer meds"

"NEW YORK (AP) - An off-duty federal law enforcement agent who died while confronting a pharmacy robber was picking up his elderly father's cancer medication, a New York congressman said Sunday.

Veteran agent John Capano had chased down the suspect inside the store and was trying to subdue him on the ground when he died, said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y. The robber, who was also shot to death, was identified Sunday by police as 43-year-old James McGoey of Hampton Bays.

"John was with him on the ground wrestling," said King, who has spoken with local authorities and Capano's family. "Next thing you know, shots are fired."

McGoey went into Charlie's Family Pharmacy in Seaford, a small shorefront Long Island town, at about 2 p.m. on New Year's Eve, police said. He announced a holdup and was given what he came for: painkillers and money.

Capano, a trained explosives expert who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan, confronted McGoey as he tried to leave the store. Meanwhile, an off-duty NYPD officer and a retired Nassau County police officer who happened to be at a deli next door were alerted that someone was trying to rob the pharmacy, King said.

"This is a horrible confluence of events," King said. "They both hear this guy saying there's a robbery going on. They get their guns, they go next door."

It's not clear who shot either man. Capano, 51, died of a gunshot wound at a hospital. He was a 23-year veteran of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who taught U.S. military and local forces in Afghanistan and Iraq how to investigate blasts, said Rory O'Connor, assistant special agent in charge in the ATF's New York office...."

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SandBox Comments: Eagle County Times "County Commissioner’s – 2011 Christmas Gift to Eagle County Taxpayers!"

Coming off their annual vacay at the 'speed of thought', the Eagle County Times blogging crew is rev'd up for the New Year!

Pick up your copy of:  "Open Space for Dummies"  today!

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SandBox Comments: Eagle County Times "Red Sandstone Elementary – The solution is obvious!"

Just as sure as sooner  or later, Coloradans can count on it snowing in the winter, the ECT guys take a week off at the end of the year.

They do that just because it gives them the energy boost to roar back come the New Year and take everything they see in front of them in stride.

Still waiting for Superman?

2012 and the next four years will mark apocalyptic proportion, positive changes to the way we fund our public education in America.

Stay tuned to the Eagle County Times crew of bloggers for all the local and regional updates.

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SandBox Comments: Canon City Daily Record "'Over The River' No. 1 story of the year"

"On Nov. 7, "Over The River" reached its most significant milestone since the temporary work of art's vision was conceived on canvas in artist Christo's New York studio in 1992.
 
After a three-year comprehensive analysis, the Bureau of Land Management announced its Record of Decision this fall, giving federal approval to Christo and the late Jeanne-Claude's original vision to suspend 5.9 miles (3,200,000 square feet) of fabric panels along a 42-mile stretch of the Arkansas River.
Christo, 76, said OTR is the first ever art project to require an Environmental Impact Statement, which normally is reserved for major infrastructures such as bridges, highways, dams and airports.
 
"This is a historic event, that for the first time in the history of art and the history of the federal government of the United States, a work of art has an Environmental Impact Statement," Christo said during a luncheon with Friends of Over The River and civic and business leaders at the Fremont Center for the Arts earlier this month.
 
From 1992 to 1994, the artists and their team traveled 14,000 miles in the Rocky Mountains in search of a site for the project. After prospecting 89 rivers in seven states, six possible locations were found. The Arkansas River was selected in 1996.

The project since has been a hot topic in several community meetings and public hearings in Fremont and Chaffee counties. It required a nearly three-year, 1,686 page comprehensive analysis by the BLM, which ultimately identified all potential impacts and more than 100 measures to mitigate traffic, safety, wildlife and other concerns...."
(CARIE CANTERBURY )

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SandBox Comments: Summit County Citizens Voice "2011: Year in photos, October – December'

(All credit:  Bob Berywn)

SandBox Comments: Town Hall/Bill O'Reilly "Good Riddance 2011 "

"Bad year, 2011, even though some bad guys and charlatans got a karma blast. Osama bin Laden got it up close and personal from a Navy SEAL, while his cohort al-Awlaki got drilled from the sky. Gadhafi went down, and al-Assad is tottering.

Schwarzenegger, Weiner, Sheen and Cain all got hammered in the court of public opinion. Blagojevich, Bonds and Mubarak were held accountable in actual courts.

Casey Anthony got away with killing her 2-year-old daughter. Amanda Knox finally beat the rap in Italy. And Kim Kardashian continued to be the poster girl for narcissism.

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, by all accounts a stellar human being, survived a brutal gun attack, but more than 20,000 Japanese did not survive the earthquake and tsunami that hit the country in March.

But things like those listed above happen every year. The primary reason that 2011 is not a year to remember is focused around one thing: The folks continue to get a bad deal..."
(Bill O'Reilly)

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SandBox Comments: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel "Pair held in 5-day shooting spree"

SandBox is just at a loss for words on this story out of Grand Junction.

'SandBox Nanny' keeps feeling a sense of what law enforcement has got to be feeling over this one.

You are so appreciated. Thanks so much for your service. A very special thank you here in Garfield County to Garfield County Sheriff and their TAG program.

Stay the course.

Grand Junction Sentinel:
"..According to the affidavit, other events that occurred during the shooting spree include:

Plotner admitting he fired through a home’s second-story window, while Kintz drove. No one was injured, but one of the people in the home, Jered Sawyer, told investigators the shooting may have been in retaliation for gang-related violence. Sawyer told police he had stabbed one of Kintz’s friends during a dispute a couple years ago, and Sawyer had been charged with smashing out the windows of a car of another friend of Kintz.

Sawyer said he is part of the Nortenos gang, and Kintz and his friends are part of a rival gang, the Surenos.

Sawyer also told police Kintz, whom he said is known as “Wedito” on the street, published a song on MySpace that threatened to kill Sawyer.

“Aaron described feeling anger and rage at times and wanting to kill people. He said he told Darian that if he had anyone he needed taken care of, Aaron would do it. Darian talked of past issues with Jered (Sawyer) and showed Aaron, Jered Sawyer’s home.”

On the night of Dec. 27, Plotner shot through the windshield of a parked car outside of Sawyer’s home, but the men didn’t know if it was Sawyer’s vehicle. The following day, at approximately 2:30 p.m., the men returned to the home, 458 Mesa Lake Drive.

“On this occasion Aaron sat in the back seat on the driver side so he could shoot in the direction of Jered’s home. Aaron admitted shooting at the window of the upper level of the home, but did not see anyone.

When asked if he would have felt bad for hitting an occupant, even a 4-year-old that was home, Aaron said he would not have cared and indicated he was hoping to hit someone inside....”

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SandBox Comments: Pueblo Chieftain "Velez shaping police force"

Happy New Year to the Pueblo Police Dept. These guys have had such a rough time reshaping their PD. Yet, still managing to grow and keep up with making record-breaking drug busts.

Thank you for all your hard work and your service. You are appreciated. (Those K-9's too...)


(Pueblo Chieftain)
"Change knows no stranger, and in the last year it's been ever-present at the Pueblo Police Department.

Friday is the six-month anniversary of July 6 and the naming of Luis Velez as Pueblo police chief. He became interim chief nearly a year ago — on Feb. 16,the day after longtime police Chief Jim Billings retired...."

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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

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SandBox Comments: Steamboat Today "Jimmy Westlake's 2012 Cosmic Calendar of Celestial Events"

It's here!

Every year, we wait for Jimmy Westlake's cosmic calendar of Celestial Events to be posted on the Boat.

Still haven't picked up one of Westlake's annual calendars, complete with incredible photography?

Better change that...

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SandBox Comments: Steamboat Today "Our View: Reasons for optimism"

"It’s been another difficult year for many who call Routt County home. But as our community readies to close the books on 2011, there are reasons for optimism that 2012 will be a better year for us all...."
(Editorial Board, Steamboat Today)


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SandBox Comments: U.S. Dept of Defense "Family Matters Blog: Top 10 Military Family Moments of 2011"

"WASHINGTON, Dec. 28, 2011 – It’s that time of year when top 10 lists seem to proliferate across nearly every web and news page in the nation, proclaiming everything from the best movies and TV shows to the most memorable photos and celebrities of the year.

Since I find it tough to encapsulate a year’s worth of information into a tidy list, I typically steer away from the concept. However, this was such a momentous year for military families that I decided it was time to hop on the list-making bandwagon.

So, here’s my top 10 most memorable military family moments of 2011. It’s certainly not all-inclusive, but I’m hoping it at least hits the highlights.

10. JR Martinez – Warrior Inspiration. This Army veteran and wounded warrior danced his way to the top spot on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” -- and inspired a nation with his strength and resilience along the way. In 2003, Martinez was injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq, suffering severe burns to more than 40 percent of his body. He went on to share his story with audiences nationwide. In 2008, he landed a role as an Iraq war veteran on the ABC soap opera, “All My Children,” which led to his “Dancing with the Stars” appearances this year.

“I have been able to be a role model and a voice for a lot of [troops] who don’t feel that they have a voice for themselves,” Martinez said during a Pentagon Channel interview. “I’ve been able to be a source of inspiration to the families as well, to say good things do happen and you’ve just got to be patient and have a great attitude.”

Martinez recently scored another big win: he and his girlfriend, Diana Gonzalez-Jones, are expecting their first child, a girl, in the spring.

9. The Office of Servicemember Affairs opened for business...."
(Elaine Sanchez)

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SandBox Comments: U.S. Dept. of Defense "Defense.gov Names Top Stories of 2011"

SandBoxBlogs sends out a special thank you to the DOD for not giving bin Laden's death a higher ranking than last place.

Thank you to all our military men and women of service.  You are so valued and appreciated.

"WASHINGTON, Dec. 30, 2011 – American Forces Press Service published nearly 2,500 articles in 2011, covering topics ranging from the end of the Iraq mission to defense budget pressures and troop concerns over retirement benefits.

The top 10 stories most viewed on Defense.gov this year are:

10. “U.S. Kills bin Laden in Intelligence-driven Operation,” posted May 2, focuses on President Barack Obama’s remarks to the nation the day after an American counterintelligence and counterterrorism team killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan...."
(Karen Parrish)

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SandBox Comments: Aspen Times "Pitkin County to review thinking on medicinal pot"

Just imagine.

If the medical marijuana industry in the State of Colorado has as much to fear as they do from the undeniably strongest Democrat we have ever had in President Barack Obama.

Just imagine.

What's going to happen, how fast and hard when that crackdown from the Feds is being handled by a conservative administration?


“The statute's pretty clear: The local authority wherever a medical marijuana business is operating must provide us with some approval — that they're OK with medical marijuana being cultivated, used in infused products or sold within their jurisdiction,” she said.

Without an approval for each specific business, the state will deny an application for a state license, she said.

That potential ramification — ending a business's ability to operate — prompts the commissioners' call for a full briefing on the issues, according to Commissioner Rachel Richards, who chairs the board.

“I don't think it was the county's intent — that that occur by default,” she said.

Though the Jan. 17 meeting is not a formal public hearing, Richards said she'd like to accommodate feedback from affected business operators during the discussion.

The topic has been dormant since spring, when the county drafted detailed regulations for the medical marijuana industry. Commissioners ultimately shelved them in June, however, after Ely pointed out that dealing in medical marijuana remains a violation of federal law even though it's permitted in Colorado. Asking county employees to issue licenses to marijuana businesses and enforce zoning laws related to medical marijuana puts them in a position of potential criminal liability, he said at the time..."
(Janet Urquhart)

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SandBox Comments: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel "Snow base at Powderhorn beats most other major Colo. ski resorts"

Congratulations to former Vail Resorts CEO Andy Daly and his partners at Powderhorn Mountain Resort on their new venture!

They have more snow base than some of the big guys do this year.

Here's to the little guy.


Amy Hamilton:
"While many of the state’s central mountain resorts are making snow and scraping by with less snowfall than they’d like, Grand Junction’s backyard ski resort, Powderhorn Mountain Resort, is experiencing a relatively good start to the skiing season.

“We have noticed people who are from this area who would normally go to Crested Butte or Aspen; we have them skiing here,” Powderhorn spokeswoman Tricia Tittle said.

Powderhorn reported a 32-inch base Thursday, which is tied with Eldora Mountain Resort for the fifth-thickest base at a ski resort in Colorado. Purgatory Ski Area reported a 34-inch base, Echo Mountain had a 40-inch base, Silverton Mountain boasted a 47-inch base, and Wolf Creek Ski Area remains the snowiest resort with a 53-inch base, according to Colorado Ski Country USA.

Many skiers and snow lovers may be reminiscing about the early, heavy snowfall of 2010 that opened resorts with a swoosh.

Even this year, Aspen-Snowmass opened five days early thanks to a good dumping of snow, but the base at Aspen Mountain since has withered to 19 inches as of Thursday. Aspen Highlands reported a 22-inch base....."

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