tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-331208942011-11-27T16:09:11.029-08:00Thoughts and news about issues affecting Colorado.Allennoreply@blogger.comBlogger831100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-63491370870788383232008-11-30T10:17:00.000-08:002008-11-30T10:53:01.546-08:00

" The public expected the impossible, in other words, and by gosh someone had better deliver. "Yes, that's right, a recent Rocky Mountain News editorial took the time to chastise the voters for expecting the impossible. Are the voters expecting the impossible? They seem to think so. The main problem I have with this claim is that they never touch on why it is the voters have come to expect the

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-69749131362850869582008-07-14T11:34:00.000-07:002008-07-14T11:34:00.909-07:00

Keep this in mind every time you buy something.Denver Post :FasTracks is the nation's largest transit expansion program, one that metro Denver voters backed in 2004 when they approved an additional 0.4 percent sales tax to build the project. The increase was on top of the 0.6 percent sales tax that RTD relies on to run the bulk of its existing transit system.

Allennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-57192045067794595812008-07-07T11:21:00.000-07:002008-07-07T11:21:00.940-07:00

http://www.masstransitmag.com/web/online/Top-Transit-News/FasTracks-Price-Tag-Swells/3$6318The Colorado Construction Cost Index, a measure of costs for transportation projects maintained by the Colorado Department of Transportation, increased 6.1 percent last year.

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-89766788140851356932008-07-02T11:28:00.000-07:002008-07-02T11:28:00.648-07:00

As mentioned previously, the West Corridor for RTD's Fastracks is being stripped to the bone. They're single tracking part of the line, building smaller stations, building lines that will require more ongoing maintenance after storms, putting riders at risk in delaying security measures and a slew of other less-than originally promised features. RTD has locked in contracts for the line so that

Allennoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-101666523617443472008-07-01T11:26:00.000-07:002008-07-01T11:26:00.551-07:00

The West Corridor isn't the only FastTracks line in trouble. The North Corridor is already 50% over budget.http://www.masstransitmag.com/online/article.jsp?siteSection=3&id=6318&pageNum=3For example, planners on the Fastracks North Metro Corridor from Denver Union Station through Commerce City and Thornton completed a noise analysis this year indicating they will have to include more than 10

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-3247217352782409372008-06-28T10:16:00.000-07:002008-06-28T11:10:43.589-07:00

Seeing Reuteman at the Denver Post arguing that the tax payers should give RTD even more money for Fastracks was annoying to say the least. Reutman's argument is based on the semi-false claims that RTD has been trumpeting this whole time. That is, the aren't getting as much in sales tax revenues as they told the voters they would and that their large construction cost increases were unforeseen.

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-76140116680013602842008-06-17T20:19:00.000-07:002008-06-17T20:21:58.228-07:00

I'm a little curious how an operation that's 80% funded by tax payers has "profits".Denver Post :"This is the largest developing market in public-private partnership infrastructure," said Crooks, who was in Denver last week at a national conference on public-private partnerships, or PPPs.RTD expects private companies to bring at least $500 million of their own financing to the DIA train/Gold Line

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-32423368204562322042008-06-11T18:51:00.000-07:002008-06-11T19:25:37.932-07:00

RTD's 12.1 mile West Corridor, part of the Fastracks project, is nearly 40% over budget. Last year RTD's budget for the line hit $744 million. They reduced it to by $634 million through several cost cutting measure such as :Single track the few miles of the line, reducing rush hour frequency to a train every 15 minutes instead of 5Number of LRT cars a station can hand from 4 to 3.Build less

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-81136245223396709352008-05-21T07:18:00.000-07:002008-05-21T07:56:26.045-07:00

So while the weirdos at the Independence Institute and the rest of the Republican Party insult our intelligence with bizarre and unsubstantiated claims of higher prices from renewable energy,Seeing this one threw me back for a moment. I haven't ran across renewable supporters before that would actually claim renewables are less expensive. Nor have I seen someone straight up claim that claims of

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-14983541779986041162008-05-14T07:21:00.000-07:002008-05-14T07:27:03.971-07:00

Denver's RTD likes to tell us that their cost over runs with FasTracks are as simple as an "unforeseen" rise in construction costs. Those are a large part of the issue for them. In itself isn't an excuse since their are financial instruments they could use to help mitigate those risks much like Southwest Airlines does with buying heating oil options to mitigate their jet fuel cost changes.

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-26737974542264531502008-05-11T08:26:00.000-07:002008-05-11T08:29:10.812-07:00

At what point to the voters put an end to the project? It looks like it'll soon by 50% over budget and before it lays it's first rail.Denver Post :"Overall, the capital construction estimate of $6.1 billion is probably at the optimistic," or low side, DRCOG said, adding that "upward cost adjustments are likely" and "future increases to the cost of the FasTracks system should not be surprising."

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-50396504111990819742008-04-13T22:53:00.001-07:002008-04-13T22:53:28.441-07:00

"But with a 30 percent drop-out rate, low college attendance rates, some of the most restrictive Medicaid eligibility, and a massive backlog in transportation projects, that simply is not the case."But when has spending $$$ translated directly into fixing these issues? How much of the issue of drop-outs and college attendance is due to that it's likely 18-25% of the state's population are

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-82791386896550356102008-03-23T11:01:00.001-07:002008-03-23T11:02:02.786-07:00

Those opposing the Front Range Toll Road (aka Praire Falcon Parkway Express) have been pushing Colorado House Bill HB08-1343. One of the glaring problems with the bill is it severely restricts citizens ability to start a new railroad. Unfortunately, those opposed to the toll road give in to NIMBYism and support such irrational restrictions. I can't blame them for their opposition to eminent

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-72804404882671479962008-03-09T12:46:00.000-07:002008-03-09T13:09:55.469-07:00

I'm glad to see others out there weighing in on the health care debate. To me the fundamental flaw of it lies at the core premise that so many people automatically assume, that the problem is a lack of health insurance. Health insurance in and of itself doesn't guarantee good health care. Doctors can choose to not to be a part of the plan. We can see that already with Massachusetts where

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-12408909564751750702008-02-10T23:34:00.000-08:002008-02-10T23:37:50.481-08:00

Funny how a transportation project that is supposed to relieve congestion and reduce pollution is completely dependent on the very cars that are causing so many issues. Why again are we planning on constructing a system that plans on people inefficiently transferring from one mode to the other? Why can't we just get them where they're going efficiently and directly..... in their cars that

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-16664961043856121842008-01-02T06:59:00.000-08:002008-01-02T07:01:20.455-08:00

It's been over 4 years since they've updated their web site. Can we now say that the idea of building a monorail along I-70 is dead?

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-38038410041372112542007-12-31T21:05:00.000-08:002007-12-31T21:26:27.606-08:00

Seeing that COSMIX, the $150 million project to expand I25 through Colorado Springs, is about to finish I found myself wondering why Colorado Springs doesn't have have a freeway forming a ring around it. Surely this isn't a new idea on my part. Sure enough with a few Google searches it was apparent this has been talked about for decades with some of the most recent talk being The Springs Toll

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-35874366968172394272007-12-28T09:59:00.000-08:002008-06-28T11:23:24.370-07:00

Denver's RTD is ringing in the new year with a system wide fare hike that includes a 17% on local fares. One of the interesting things that came out of this was that RTD is not using local sales tax forecasts but statewide forecasts and assuming they would hold true for the Denver metro. How much would a Denver metro economic forecast cost them? $10,000? $40,000? $100k? Surely that's

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-42931860199326544732007-12-27T09:45:00.000-08:002007-12-27T09:47:55.228-08:00

So how many people who voted for FasTracks did so because, like Mr. Ballard, they felt they're neighbor would be riding the train and free up more space (or gas) on the streets for them to keep driving?http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2007/oct/25/making-most-rails-potential/"I'd have been all for it," said Ballard, offering us some pop and water. "The more people that take light rail, the

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-71343081863984850742007-12-26T11:05:00.000-08:002007-12-26T11:06:49.094-08:00

Am I understand this correctly? Colorado law doesn't limit how close a gas or oil well can be drilled next to a home but it does limit how close they can be to a church?http://cbs4denver.com/local/church.oil.drill.2.617867.htmlGarfield County is challenging an energy company's plans to drill near several homes and a church south of Rifle, even though the company is backing off for now.State laws

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-8094238160990129012007-12-24T15:01:00.000-08:002007-12-24T15:07:16.731-08:00

Remember the couple in Boulder that used an obscure Colorado law to take land from their neighbor without needing their neighbor's approval nor needing to compensate them? It turns out that the couple had been a lawyer and a judge. And judging from the letter they put out, they still don't get the point of the uproar is not over the legality of what they did but the morality of it. We know

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-28131040252147503242007-12-15T09:33:00.000-08:002007-12-15T09:37:29.495-08:00

By far the least expensive solution to congestion to and from the airport would be to add capacity to our freeways. And it's also the least expensive. Why are we spending 20% more to get 1/2 the delay savings from rail? Cost Delay SavedNew freeway lanes $305 61,200HOV lanes/BRT 337 41,900Diesel rail 374

Allennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-46165435315768434462007-12-15T08:16:00.000-08:002007-12-15T08:18:20.530-08:00

One local business owner doesn't believe the SLUT in Seattle will improve his business in the long run. And why should he? As I mentioned there aren't any studies showing that trolleys do.Less than two weeks before today's opening, BluWater Bistro owner Bart Evans says he was still charting new ways to work due to blocked-off streets and intermittent fencing. While he understands the promise

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-39017258758467323382007-12-12T07:00:00.001-08:002007-12-13T07:32:58.938-08:00

Seattle is close to opening it's South Lake Union Trolley line. The 1.3 mile line cost $50.5 million to build. That is correct folks, Seattle spent $52.1 million on a rail line route that could be walked in less than half an hour, one that was already being served well by buses, and one that has not scientific proof that the existence of the line itself will improve businesses along it. You

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-38916544959391973192007-12-02T18:56:00.000-08:002007-12-02T19:20:36.605-08:00

According to Carpe Diem, Denver's GDP if it were a country would be worth $118 billion. How big is that? It's as large as Nigeria's economy. It's larger than Egypt and New Zealand's economies, also.

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-19351720773895770052007-11-24T08:29:00.000-08:002007-11-24T08:38:54.387-08:00

Douglas County has asked that a few towns be declared abandoned by the state of Colorado. 2 of them, Franktown and Louviers are fighting the request. It seems it hinges on one issue which, naturally, the article fails to take any time to address. Have Franktown and Louviers been carrying out these functions lately?http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_7259504Coffman said the only measure of

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-56407294708452300842007-11-10T07:14:00.000-08:002007-11-10T07:33:19.572-08:00

If you didn't catch it, the project to develop the old Lowry Bombing and Gunnery range got the green light. The Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) approved the project by expanding the regional growth boundary to include the area with the old range. Opponents objecting to the plan raised many issue, mainly that of water supplies. What hasn't been mentioned is how not expanding the

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-129540476912649432007-10-27T10:13:00.000-07:002007-10-27T10:17:49.041-07:00

Is there money in transit? It looks like we should be asking the German company Siemens that company. It appears that over $2 billion in Siemens money is in question and may have been used for bribes. Siemens is heavily involved in transit projects in the US including light rail vehicles for Denver's RTD.

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-68368442378718817162007-10-10T16:37:00.000-07:002007-10-10T16:38:11.678-07:00

Is this what sold the proponents?

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-53417820126590358982007-09-02T19:49:00.000-07:002007-09-02T20:22:24.268-07:00

Eva Kosinski does a nice job of debunking the myth that FasTracks was a grass roots effort. It wasn't. There were well organized, non-local political groups lobbying in the state for years before the 2004 vote. In fact, when their original push didn't work in the late 1990s, they re-examined their approach. One of those approaches was to work the PR channels to give the voters the impression

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-13277227365580883392007-08-26T07:40:00.000-07:002007-08-26T08:40:13.631-07:00

Just in case it wasn't annoying enough that the original FasTracks budget assumed that CDOT would simply give away for free land they had the foresight to buy decades ago, now Jefferson County has decided that if Fastracks can't deliver what was promised at the time of the vote in the form of a double-tracked West Corridor, they won't endorse the project. For myself, this is a classic case of the

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-44593796387416387582007-08-25T22:38:00.000-07:002007-08-25T23:13:07.995-07:00

As expected, the FasTracks line from Denver to Boulder to Longmont, the Northwest Rail Corridor, will be using diesel to power it's trains. In a way I'm amazed that it's taken this long to officially declare it to be the case. It's simply not safe to run light rail trains with freight and would be very expensive to set up the LRT well enough so that would not be an issue. The question is,

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-30553292522278450892007-08-18T09:31:00.000-07:002007-08-18T09:34:39.285-07:00

Thank you David Harsanyi for making sure the public is aware of this issue.http://www.denverpost.com/harsanyi/ci_6643924Should you ever wonder why approval ratings for politicians hover slightly above that of Chinese toy manufacturers, place your gaze upon the Denver City Council.The council continues to prove it does not believe Denverites are capable of making intelligent decisions. (And

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-47059327271315017322007-08-08T07:52:00.000-07:002007-08-08T07:56:33.083-07:00

The funny thing about Musgrave's quote below is that the NRC has never said they plan to upsurp the authority of these departments. Or is Musgrave just upset because the state health department has little authority when it comes to the proposed Uranium mine near Nunn, Colorado?"I vehemently oppose any effort by the NRC to usurp the authority of statehealth departments and the Environmental

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-38996971467922513102007-08-06T10:41:00.000-07:002007-08-06T10:43:55.208-07:00

My question is why isn't the current all-time high tax revenues covering the current ongoing maintainence costs? Is question 1 to help cover new costs incurred by these "improvements"?http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5660880,00.htmlThe mayor's proposalMayor John Hickenlooper will ask voters Nov. 6 to approve a 2.5 mill levy to pay for deferred maintenance and a

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-22235736854706248172007-07-29T19:49:00.000-07:002007-07-29T19:50:48.902-07:00

When was the last time a light rail project had nearly 3 times projected ridership?http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5639244,00.htmlPlanners initially figured 500 solo drivers would pay tolls during the average weekday rush hour and that the operation would bring in $80,000 a month after the first few months.But since January, morning rush hour has seen a daily

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-82737682030701111442007-07-26T07:02:00.000-07:002007-07-26T07:03:48.729-07:00

Want to see how Colorado compares to other states when it comes to federal earmarks? If so, take a look here.

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-64755912815037000352007-07-14T18:39:00.000-07:002007-07-14T18:43:02.946-07:00

Why is it that these association's are allowed to do this? An upside down flag is construed as being not ok? What if she flew a Tibet flag and her neighbor was a Chinese national and was offended? Vice verse? How well written is the association's "patriotic and political expression policy"? It would be one thing if this was written up as how things can look. That is, flags must be properly flown,

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-50550666475918466952007-07-14T15:04:00.000-07:002007-07-14T15:17:22.174-07:00

"Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government..."

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-36497963131807129402007-06-18T20:39:00.000-07:002007-06-18T20:56:48.496-07:00

Andrew Roth is too quick to criticize money spent on a new non-automobile right-of-way on a bridge project in Virginia. It's easy to dub it a bridge to nowhere type project based on current ridership. But it fails to ask some key questions. How much traffic is there now DESPITE the design of things. As someone who frequently bikes to work, the library, Super Target and other places I avoid

Allennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-2046527996107809342007-06-18T19:54:00.000-07:002007-06-18T19:56:56.623-07:00

If having private companies do this saves this much money, why don't we do it more often?FasTracks is now priced at nearly $6.2 billion, largely because of the rising cost of construction materials and additions to the project. RTD anticipates collecting $5.5 billion from the FasTracks sales tax, grants, loans and other sources. Managers say the best way to reduce the $670 million gap is to seek

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-10227420897188435082007-06-17T09:42:00.000-07:002007-06-17T09:47:59.201-07:00

With 3/4th of Fastracks riders being existing transit riders (that is, moving them from buses onto trains), how is this sort of pollution reduction claim possible?http://www.denvergov.org/CouncilDistrict12/FasTracksAddressesCongestionAirQuality/tabid/383055/Default.aspxFasTracks will make it easy for people to come into Denver for work and fun while decreasing pollution. It is estimated that

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-47753207381521813852007-06-09T10:31:00.000-07:002007-06-09T10:35:40.869-07:00

This is why baseball needs it's anti-trust status. Things get so narrowly defined that it's insane. I wonder if Wal-Mart's behind some of the political pressure to nit pick this deal to deal. Or maybe it's the citizens of Boulder wanting to keep their mega-posh-food store "local"?http://www.reason.com/blog/show/120623.htmlThe Federal Trade Commission wants to block the merger of Wild Oats

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-90443258664513739102007-05-28T21:17:00.000-07:002007-05-28T21:23:35.522-07:00

But what if we used nuclear, solar and wind to power the process? What then would be the environmental costs?http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&refer=us&sid=aoZ7q9LhDrVsColorado and Utah have as much oil as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Venezuela, Nigeria, Kuwait, Libya, Angola, Algeria, Indonesia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates combined. That's not science fiction

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-11506687106972739092007-05-19T09:02:00.000-07:002007-05-19T09:03:15.131-07:00

More news has come on on how RTD plans to deal with it's growing cost of building Fastracks. The costs have grown from the original $4.7 billion presented to voters when they passed bonding to $6.5 billion. The approach appears to break down as follows :a) Project Cuts - They're planning on keeping all corridors and the length on those as planned. However, they're looking to make all sorts of

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-25720822060650737852007-04-21T09:46:00.000-07:002007-04-21T12:02:47.101-07:00

As the FasTracks program moves forward, it'll be interesting to see how much of it lives up to the original $4.7 billion system the voters actually approved. The main problem is that the project is already $2 billion over budget. To compound the issue collection of the sales tax has been slower originally claimed. At the lower pace, it will come up a $1 billion short. This means RTD needs to

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-9908604072978633502007-03-11T08:37:00.000-07:002007-03-11T08:50:45.344-07:00

The Sports Economist points out some recent questioning of the benefits and costs of hosting the Democratic National Convention. They point out that the 2005 NBA All-Star game didn't have the impact it was touted to bring with many people who would normally come downtown staying away while it was occuring.Worse, other recent political conventions have fallen fall short of their original

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-31306603751143527402007-01-02T09:18:00.001-08:002007-01-02T09:18:57.205-08:00

What changes can Denver and other cities and counties make to their snow removal practices that still make sense given how frequently the snow melts away?

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-53846171358796139392007-01-01T10:48:00.001-08:002007-01-01T10:48:31.608-08:00

It's nice to see Hickenlooper (Can we just call him Mayor H?) pitching in and encouraging people to get out and shovel and help those who need help. But what I'd really like to see is the city get out and cite residents and businesses for not clearing their sidewalks. A bit tough when you get 2 blizzards? Sure. But during other snow falls I found several places where the sidewalks weren't

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-79487787628152574232006-12-25T11:54:00.000-08:002006-12-25T11:57:38.497-08:00

This blog on this story of a man arrested for "suspicion of meth" simply for buying more Claritin-D than the law allowed (buying for his son who can't legally buy put him over the limit) made me wonder if anyone in Colorado's run into this problem. Do you know of anyone who's had run-ins with the authorities thanks to these laws? Do you suffer from allergies and worry that your previously

Allennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-52750858534205269782006-12-17T10:12:00.000-08:002006-12-17T10:17:36.008-08:00

As we know, Colorado is a wonderful place for mountain biking. Only California has more IMBA epic rides than Colorado. Colorado's Epic Rides are as follows :Buffalo Creek Trails, Pine, ColoradoThe Edge Loop, Fruita, ColoradoTelegraph Trails, Durango, ColoradoDo you know of any trails in Colorado that should be nominated?

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-31158507918382850482006-12-01T19:13:00.000-08:002006-12-01T19:14:29.806-08:00

Colorado Confidential is reporting that "Nearly 100 oil and gas leases that had been issued in Colorado's wilderness and roadless areas by the Bureau of Land Management have been blocked by a ruling from US District magistrate Judge Elizabeth Laporte".Will this have a large impact on the future of energy production in Colorado.

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-11435881349715275412006-11-29T18:52:00.000-08:002006-11-29T18:53:25.475-08:00

Here's an interesting study in light of all the recent global warming talk in Colorado lately.http://www.playfuls.com/news_003020_Russian_Scientists_Predict_New_Ice_Age_In_50_Years.htmlResearchers with the Russian Academy of Sciences warned Wednesday that the Earth could be headed for a 60-year cooldown, the news agency Interfax reported.Scientists based at the academy's Pulkovskaya Observatory

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-80927708528685542082006-11-28T17:53:00.000-08:002006-11-28T17:56:55.804-08:00

Averages Averages are nice to know but sometimes I feel like a lot of people don't realize how limited they are. For example, realators seem to love using averages when talking about housing prices. Even though the median price would much better reflect what's going on in the market. I ran

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-45866456062596643152006-11-25T17:02:00.000-08:002006-11-25T17:05:19.258-08:00

Colorado Confidential is reporting that Govenor-elect Bill Ritter could restore family planning funding. Has anyone seen any recent polling on this? I'm curious if this is a more accurate reflection of what the Colorado electorate would want.

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-52465913087271388512006-11-24T16:29:00.000-08:002006-11-24T16:43:52.015-08:00

The Pueblo Chieftain has a nice article about energy in Colorado. It looks at some of the issues the state faces if it's to expand it's renewable energy industry or simply meet the needs of it's growing population. One of the mundane issues we don't hear about often is building new transmission lines. These aren't cheap to build, they're definitely not sexy and frequently face NIMBY

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-55970338169084695312006-11-22T08:01:00.000-08:002006-11-22T09:17:07.624-08:00

What do with the I-70 corridor in the mountains (Jefferson, Clear Creek, Summit counties) is an issue that affects most Coloradans. To help people better understand the issue, I want to bring together some sources of information and some different opinions on the subject.Yesterday's Colorado Matters has a nice show looking that issue. You can listen to it by clicking here. Their overview for

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-38883499093194297372006-11-21T18:44:00.000-08:002006-11-24T16:44:31.838-08:00

Seeing all the articles trumpeting the opening of the SE light rail line in Denver, I'm wondering what experiences people have had with it so far. Has it worked well? Do you now find yourself having to transfer during your commute when you didn't have to before? Are the trains frequent enough? Anything else?

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-22664334735003262212006-11-19T16:21:00.000-08:002006-11-19T17:42:20.401-08:00

With Milton Freidman passing away this last week it seem appropriate to share a few of his quotes.“Currently more than 40% of our income is disposed of on our behalf by government at federal, state and local levels combined. One of us suggested a new national holiday, "Personal Independence Day" - that day in the year when we stop working to pay for the expenses of the government, and start

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-11855727302552612942006-11-19T09:28:00.000-08:002006-11-19T09:53:12.801-08:00

For those of you who haven't seen it, there's an intersting look at Smart Growth and it's affects on housing prices in Colorado here.

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-14245735593827391302006-11-06T07:51:00.000-08:002006-11-06T08:27:50.818-08:00

A recent op-ed in the Rocky Mountain News calls for better tranist service for northwest Denver. Specifically it calls for better light rail (LRT) service as part of Fastracks. And what is the reason given for LRT as opposed to other choices? While buses and other transit modes may seem to be viable options, one need only to experience the convenience, speed and connectivity of light-rail

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-15819248986609179712006-10-24T09:50:00.000-07:002006-10-24T09:54:50.405-07:00

More On EthanolForbes has a decent article covering some of the issues ethanol, especially corn-based ethanol, is facing in the US. Public radio's Marketplace also covered the issue in yesterday's show. Ethanol production in the state of Colorado is going to be affected by many of these issues whether it's the sharp increase in production capacity and how that will affect prices to the price

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-45153605330102252922006-10-08T19:12:00.000-07:002006-10-08T20:03:21.101-07:00

A recent story in the Rocky Mountain News talked about corn ethanol production in Colorado. It did a decent job for a newspaper article in covering the issues associated with corn ethanol. A couple of the major issues it didn't raise are that of sustainable farming, more tightly linking food prices with fuel prices and rainfall. Sustainable farming is a phrase used in regards to modern farming

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-87484209405603207942006-09-26T10:29:00.000-07:002006-09-26T10:35:22.472-07:00

Armpit of Metro Denver?Most people don't think much of Commerce City, Colorado. It was never a desirable bedroom community. It has lots of commercial and industrial development. But with the closing of Stapleton and the old Rocky Mountain Flats and the land it's annexed to the north east, it has a blank slate to work with in rebranding itself. The cornerstone of this is it's Prairie Gateway

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-74998646161578103092006-09-21T16:39:00.000-07:002006-09-21T16:43:12.794-07:00

If you haven't already heard, an Aurora PD officer was murdered while on duty. Detective Michael D. Thomas was shot while at a traffic light at Montview and Peoria. For those of you not familiar with the area, it's not exactly the nicest part of town. There is more information on this at the Officer Down Memorial page .May the perpetual light shine upon him.

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-19343438090431117642006-09-20T11:31:00.000-07:002006-09-20T11:41:25.213-07:00

Red or Blue?A Rocky Mountain News / CBs4 poll looks at some of the ballot initiatives Coloradans will be looking at this fall. What I find most interesting is that the initiative in regards to Amendment 43. Amendment 43 would ban gay marriages in Colorado. The poll found 52% planned on voting yes for amendment 43. Considering the margin of error for the poll is quite large, 6.2% that really

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-73563454168797623342006-09-19T09:04:00.000-07:002006-09-19T09:11:53.741-07:00

I always wonder about "news" stories like this one in the Denver Business Journal. They report that a study was completed that recomends "construction of an electric rail line". I wonder if they have someone actually writing this or they're just mashing together a press release or two for the story. Afterall, shouldn't a reporter in this situation be asking what is meant by an electric rail

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-12453652983828188852006-09-18T23:33:00.000-07:002006-09-18T23:56:58.339-07:00

Lipstick For This Pig? Really?The Denver Business Journal is reporting that Washington Mutual is pulling back in Colorado. They're closing several branchs in the state including fast growing cities like Greeley and Windsor. Washington Mutual tries to put a positive spin on the situation by saying that they're closing poorly performing branches and will be opening others. The problem is, it

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-32346643373493810182006-09-18T21:52:00.000-07:002006-09-18T21:58:00.082-07:00

Many States, One RiverGiven this summer's drought, we shouldn't be suprised to see that Western states are on the verge of going back to court over Colorado River water. Very fast growing states like Nevada and Arizona want more water to be kept in Lake Mead. Other states would rather the extra water be stored in Lake Powell. The question is, with water being a reoccuring issue for Colorado,

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-19920638017452214132006-09-18T19:32:00.000-07:002006-09-18T19:37:10.914-07:00

I-70 Rock SlideIn the news today is a story about a woman who died in a rock slide on I-70. It's unfortunate that this accident happened. CDOT feels they're going to have the freeway open in a week. It's interesting to contrast that with the Big Dig. Portions of it are still shut down after a woman was crushed to death there. Are Coloradans too insensitive to deaths in the mountains?

Allennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-91829010796766467772006-09-10T09:10:00.000-07:002006-09-10T09:13:50.855-07:00

Apparently Beauprez sees the gas tax as a simple form of revenue. He doesn't seem to be concerned that lowering the price of gas would most likely result in higher consumption. Nor does he seem to recognize that the gas tax is a sem0user fee. In many ways, the more you use the roads, the more gas you buy. The more gas you buy, the more gas tax you pay. Higher fuel milage in a vehicle offsets

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-16185546226976471192006-09-07T10:22:00.000-07:002006-09-07T10:24:51.950-07:00

An editorial at the Denver Post points out that despite the pay and benefits technically the city council memebers aren't considered full time employees. They also have several suggestions for getting council members to show up to all the meetings. I wish I could say who wrote it but the online version doesn't seem to indicate the author.http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/editorials/article

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-88255141878673573432006-09-02T09:17:00.000-07:002006-09-02T09:19:03.429-07:00

What are the most pressing issues that Colorado will be facing over the next decade? Will they be related to growth? Will there be local climate changes that will bring farming to an end? Will we continue to see more population growth in the mountains? Will the eastern third of the state continue to empty?

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-1157065860411721102006-08-31T16:09:00.000-07:002006-08-31T16:11:01.226-07:00

Colorado Smoking There was talk about Colorado's recently implemented smoking ban in the Denver Post today. Apparently a bar in Durango has won a preliminary injunction and don't have to abide by the smoking ban. It'll be interesting to see how this pans out. The legal issue seems to be revolving around the clarity of the law with it's provisions for cigar bars. Freedom Sight also makes

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-1156918843396433262006-08-29T23:16:00.000-07:002006-08-29T23:20:43.406-07:00

With all the transportation new yesterday, I thought I'd bring up a few others that have been in the news recently. Tolls...We mean, “Fees” The Loveland Reporter-Herald recently ran an article on some of the transportation options being considered for Loveland. One part I noticed was something the Federal Highway Administration official mentioned. What caught my attention is that he was

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-1156881176932607652006-08-29T12:49:00.000-07:002006-08-29T12:59:48.593-07:00

Front Range TransportationWhen it rains it pours. Both the Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post today were full of articles on transportation in Denver and the rest of Colorado. Connecting Broomfield, Lafayette, and Thorton The first was the article on the Northwest Parkway. For those who aren't familiar with it, basically it's part of the beltway around Metro Denver that connects I-25 and

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-1156780380092427072006-08-28T08:51:00.000-07:002006-08-28T08:53:00.103-07:00

In reading an article at the BBC on the problem of illegal immigration in South Africa it struck me that in many ways their situation is similar to the US. You have a neighboring country with has a lot of desperate people looking to survive sneaking into the country. It's funny for how much we hear about immigration in the news these days, we seem to rarely hear about countries with immigration

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-1156709105546604452006-08-27T13:02:00.000-07:002006-08-27T13:05:05.556-07:00

Flags in ColoradoThe Denver Post is asking :A geography teacher, suspended over flying world flags, resigned after being given a 6-week limit on how long those flags can stay up. What do you think about the way this case was handled?How do we all think it was handeled? What do you think? I'd be surpised if many people thought it was the right thing to do. I think the school should've stood by

Allennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-1156528363426061652006-08-25T10:51:00.000-07:002006-08-27T18:21:43.796-07:00

Crap and The ClimateI came across another horrible blog at http://www.civilizedanarchist.com. This guy seems to think he's just being grump and somehow so grumpy that he's anarchistic. He's not. He uses terms like “sand nigger” “fagotts” and others. He's just a biggot taking advantange of the internet to yap. On a brighter note, there is talk about the Colorado Climate Project. Coyote Gulch

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-1156447176419461992006-08-24T12:18:00.000-07:002006-08-24T12:19:49.106-07:00

Colorado and Coal Colorado Matters had Jeff Goodell on the other day. His book "Big Coal : The Dirty Secret Behind America's Energy Future" recently came out. It was interesting to listen to him. I haven't had a chance to read his book yet but he didn't strike me as overly sensational. He brought up some points that we don't hear a lot about energy issues. For example Tri-State [http://

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-1156359990896851262006-08-23T12:06:00.000-07:002006-08-23T12:06:30.906-07:00

3 decades ago 1976 winter olympics blocked by voters. They feared excessive growth and environmental damage. Lately the Metro Denver Sports Commision has been pushing to bring in smaller "major" sporting events as part of a push to bid for the winter olympics in 2018. Naturally the plans are not very concrete at this point. One thing we do know is that no modern Games have made money when all

Allennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-1156272474511188512006-08-22T11:22:00.000-07:002006-08-22T12:23:02.256-07:00

During the 1990s the population along the The Front Range boomed. The Front Range as a whole added nearly a million people and grew by 30%. Some places like Greeley saw a faster rate but the other metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) all saw 30% growth. Well, except for Pueblo. Pueblso MSA only grew by 14%. Essentially they grew at the same rate as the rest of the nation.Why didn't Pueblo

Allennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-1156195145442679622006-08-21T13:02:00.000-07:002006-08-21T14:19:52.356-07:00

There's been some talk again about a train for the I70 corridor that runs West through the mountains from Denver. One article address this can be found at at the Rocky Mountain News. Last January Environmental and Urban Economics did a nice write up on the background. Not only is Denver's population booming but the population in the mountains is growing fast. Many solutions have been

Allennoreply@blogger.com0