"Animal Control" Out of Control - Part 3

Attorney Jennifer Edwards speaks on behalf of the Animal Law Center in favor of HB1124, which would set standards for training of animal control officers.

"Animal Control" Out of Control - Part 2

Victoria Brodsky came to the Capitol to testify at the Committee Hearing on HB1124 regarding the training and bonding of animal control officers. See Part 1 here.

After one of her dogs bit the other, a nightmarish ordeal of government intrusion began, ultimately costing her nearly $12,000 and her plea of guilty to untrue charges.

System run amok.

Last Minute Parks Policy Changes

By Dave Felice

Just days before a meeting of the parks advisory board and without any apparent public consultation, Denver Parks and Recreation (DPR) is making what neighborhood leaders call “dramatic changes” in the proposed policy on closing parks for commercial events.

The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (PRAB) meets Thursday, February 11, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Bogey’s Restaurant in City Park Golf Course at East 26th Avenue and York.

DPR Senior Policy Advisor Chantal Unfug sent a notice of the revised policy Friday afternoon.  Almost immediately, Jay and Kathleen Rust of Neighbors and Friends of Cheesman Park sent an e-mail message to City Council President Jeanne Robb.  The Rusts question the intent of the amendments, and the lack of public involvement.

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Oh yeah!

Tree Of Life
Words and Music by Human

I wanna tell y’all a little bit about a plant I know that can save the world.
It grows long and tall and has flowers that can make your mind swirl.
It’s a sacred plant with a fiber that is resistant to rain and mold.
It’s the strongest plant fiber known to man, the best rope you’ll ever hold.

Now the pioneers covered up their wagon train with a canvas made of hemp
Washington and Jefferson grew it on their farms and said to make the most of it.
The first stars and stripes were made on hemp the first constitution too.
Its used around the world for fuel fiber oil medicine and food.

If you press its seeds you wont have no need for any other oil,
You can make paints and inks or run your car, grow it back next season it’ll fix the soil.
The most nutritious seed you can put in your mouth with Omega 6 and 3
We can feed the world with the tree of life and live sustainably.

Chorus:
If we cut down all the trees, then we won’t have no air to breath,
Grow a field of hemp instead, you can make your paper, build your house from it. The Goddess plant growing wild and free, livin’ the way we oughta be, gone leave my children a better world than my ancestors left me.

The flowers of the female hemp plant make the best medicines on Earth,
Helps cancer and AIDS patients eat their food, helps those with depression overcome the blues,
Glaucoma, Epilepsy, Nausia, Insomnia, Stress, Neurosis, Psychosis, Pain PMS
All the studies have been done all the doctors agree, but the corporations can’t make money off this plant you see, because its free, it grows from a seed, wild and free like we oughta be.
The future is growin in our backyards.

Chorus

In this modern world we seem to lack a little spirituality,
This one plant can bring us back 10.000 years in history.
To the Shiva Parahanas, The Jesus The Christ, to Buddah, The Pagans, The Goddess, The Light. To commune with all the animals, commune with all the trees, to realize the god I seek is inside me.
Yeah the futures in our hands, we’ve gotta take care of the Earth.
Because the Earth is the mother that gives life birth.
We can end all our pollution with a single green plant and we can start right now, start right now.

Chorus

So you see in this modern day and age, living in the lap of luxury,
There is really only one plant we need to harvest for almost everything.
We can run our cars on clean hempseed oil, run our generators too.
Stop! Wow I can’t believe hemp has so many uses! I say three cheers for Hemp: Hemp hemp Hooray! Hemp Hemp Hooray! Hemp Hemp hooray!

Chorus

"Animal Control" Out of Control - Part 1

Representative Wes McKinley (HD64) is carrying a bill which would provide State standards for the training and bonding of animal control officers. The hearing room was packed with citizens testifying in favor of the bill as well as control officers and administrators speaking against the bill. Many of the citizens told horror stories of officers abusing their powers, threatening owners with jail and legal expenses, and taking actions of questionable legality. In short, out of control control officers.

Currently in Colorado, there are no uniform standards for the training and bonding of animal control officers. Often, cities and counties will contract with 3rd party non-profits, such as the Human Society, to provide these officers. Apparently these individuals often lack appropriate training.

Anna Pullaro and her now deceased husband, Sam Lopez, made the mistake of taking in sick and abandoned animals on their 125 acre farm outside of Pueblo. Because Anna's story is long and complicated, I've had to edit it down. Despite the complexities, what became clear to me is that without controls, some of the "humane" officers are, in essence, acting as an animal control gestapo, often seizing and then selling animals in order to provide funds for their organizations. These actions often wreck the lives of the well-intentioned owners.

The bill, HR 1124, was "laid over" for further discussion.

Editor's Note: Actually, none of this is too surprising considering this:

The Colorado Humane Society came under fire back in 2008 for claims of misusing funds in the shelter. These claims were directed primarily at the operators of the facility, Robert and Mary C. Warren, and staff member Stephanie L. Gardner. The Office of the Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Gardner and the Warrens back in December of 2008, alleging that they, through the Colorado Humane Society, violated numerous provisions of Colorado law. Along with numerous other violations, the shelter’s operators were mismanaging funds with the charity and needlessly euthanizing  animals to make room for ‘more adoptable pets’.

As part of the settlement, the Warrens are barred from managing or operating charitable organizations for ten years and will not be able to operate any business covered by the Colorado Pet Animal Care Facilities Act for the next five years. Gardner was also barred from operating a charity for at least two years and operating an animal shelter for one year.

“The fact that the Colorado Humane Society is no longer in operation today is a testament to the mismanagement and poor choices of the organization’s former management,” Attorney General Suthers said. “This case should underline the reality that the managers of nonprofits throughout Colorado have a duty to manage their operations responsibly.” – http://www.ColoradoAttorneyGeneral.gov

Denver to Pay $6.5 Million for Property Assessed at $1 Million

Same old dreary Safeway, price up 600%

The old Safeway at 16th and Josephine in East Denver, for which the City has agreed to pay $6.5 million to Charles Wooley, has a current appraisal (by the City of Denver) of $1,026,050.00. This information came directly from online City tax records.

Lucky (or informed) individuals, buying at the right time, often make a “killing” when their property is chosen by a government entity for purchase. Charles Wooley was an early advisor/partner to now Mayor Hickenlooper, back when Hick was just starting the Breckenridge Brewery.

That Wooley is certainly one lucky guy.

Cowboys for Kids

Cowboys for Kids is a non-profit organization helping abused children. They sponsored an event for all kids at this year's National Western Stock Show. Colorado State Representative Wes McKinley from HD 64 is a founding sponsor and received recognition at the event. (Note: the kids pictured are just there for the pony ride, and are not abused kids.)

A Politician Unfit to be Governor

(Editor's note: Phil Goodstein, author and historian, publishes a monthly print-only newsletter called The Naysayer. He also gives us permission to publish it here, for which we are very grateful as his writing lifts the prose of this site considerably, to say nothing of the benefit of his historical insights. The Naysayers next meet on Saturday, February 6, Enzo's Pizza, 3424 Colfax (between Cook and Madison) 5:30 PM.)


by Phil Goodstein

From the time of the Pikes Peak gold rush, Colorado has been a magnet for financial swindlers, con artists, and snake oil salesmen. Not surprisingly, the state was in the vanguard of the savings and loan swindles. It has produced a rich crop of Ponzi scheme perpetrators. The only reason the recent banking crisis mostly skimmed the state's surface is because Colorado's longtime dominant banks-First National, Colorado National, and United Bank-had previously sold out to Wall Street manipulators. Even so, the collapse of the $1 billion New Frontier Bank in Greeley was the country's largest bank failure in 2009. New Frontier's collapse stemmed from bad management, deceit, and swindling. Colorado bank regulators mostly turned a blind eye to such practices as the financial institution's problems escalated.

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Bad video is bad for the candidate

Using YouTube in your campaign is a must these days. I've encouraged a number of candidates to "talk into the camera" in order to convince viewers/voters of the sincerity of their message. However, this video doesn't do the candidate any good. Bennet's flat tone coupled with the poor internal edits (makes one wonder what was so bad that they had to cut it out) results in an overall impression of insincerity. And what is this "silliness" that Bennet refers to three times?

Compare and contrast with Romanoff's recent video.

"The answer, my friend...

is blowing in the wind."

If you've been following the Rocky Flats/Plutonium story, you will want to go the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center to read Dr. LeRoy Moore's op-ed piece in the Boulder Daily Camera and the dust it stirred up.