Video in the UK

House District 8 Candidates Respond to Pollution in the Parks

The Democratic candidates for Colorado House District 8, which surrounds City Park, are Matt Bergles, Cindy Lowery, and Beth McCann. They have made position statements which are quite similar. All three have made environmental statements, to which I have linked. I wanted to see how they would respond to the information about the toxic pollutants being added to our recycled water system from Lowry Landfill. So, by mail, I sent them a letter along with supporting documentation in the form of the copies of the 3-part Westword series, explaining in detail the history of how we ended up getting this toxic mess in our sewers, and a copy of the pertinent pages of the Permit from Metro Wastewater Management which allows this to happen. In all, about 55 pages of dense information. Here is my letter to them:

April 21, 2008 Dear Candidates Bergles, Lowery, and McCann: I am writing to you on a matter of grave concern. Washington Park’s Grasmere Lake and City Park’s Ferril Lake, as well as park grasslands, are currently being contaminated with toxic chemicals from the Lowry Landfill Superfund Site. How this came about is easy to understand. In 2001 an Industrial Wastewater Discharge Permit was granted by the Metro Wastewater Reclamation District to flush pollutants (158) and radionuclides (10) from Lowry Landfill into Denver’s sewers (see enclosed list). In 2004, Denver turned on our new sewer water recycling plant, which does not remove these contaminants, and the process of toxic waste disposal was complete – from Lowry Landfill to our parks. As a candidate for House District 8, I believe you should be fully informed on the history of this problem. I urge you to read the enclosed reprint from Westword, written by award-winning author Eileen Welsome. It is dense with facts, and it is long, but it provides the details of this secretive, destructive process. I have been told that this is Denver’s problem, and that as a potential State Representative you may have no ability to change this. Nonetheless, I believe that, as an environmentally concerned official whose constituents live around City Park, you may eventually have the influence to protect the citizens of District 8 from this egregious mistake. I hope you agree that Permit No. 2360-3-1A must be revoked. Thank you for your attention to this matter. I have been writing about this on my blog, http://www.denverdirect.tv/, where I have already posted videos of your campaign statements, and I will gladly post your response. Best wishes to you in the upcoming primary. Sincerely, Jerry Trumbule

Here are their answers in alphabetical order. Hopefully, this will help you decide which of these candidates you will vote for in the Democratic primary on August 12. Matt Bergles "I have learned a lot about the issue of potentially dangerous water ending up in Denver city parks. As a candidate for state representative, I want to make sure that all of Colorado's water is as clean as can be, especially right here in the city that my family and I live in. I am very concerned with the management of the Lowry superfund sight, especially under the direction and management of the Bush Administration. There are some "gaps in the story" of how the water is flushed into Denver's sewer water recycling plant and beyond. Although I was unable to obtain solid evidence that pollutants are affecting park wildlife (several sources cited avian botulism as the culprit in duck deaths), I do believe that city of Denver health officials, along with appropriate private, neutral consultants, should test the city's park waters for contaminants - especially radionuclides - and make the results public. If unacceptable levels of pollutants are present, then federal, state and local officials must take steps to remediate - including a revocation of the industrial wastewater permit if necessary." Beth McCann "Thank you for your letter of April 21, 2008 regarding the ground water being pumped from the Lowery Landfill Superfund Site. I apologize for the delay in responding. The Westword article you sent me was quite long and dense with information ,and I did not want to rush a response without having time to consider this information fully. I appreciate the opportunity to learn more about the history of this Superfund Site. I suspect the Westword article just scratches the surface of issues related to the Lowry site. Indeed, it raised a lot of questions for me. It seems to me that there are at least four distinct and important issues raised by the Westword article, which include: (a) what level of radioactive contaminants exist at the Lowry Site; (b) where did the contaminants originate; (c) are the contaminants escaping from the site; and (d) what level of radioactive contaminants exists in the ground water being pumped and delivered to the Metro Wastewater Treatment Plant? From the article, it is not entirely clear to me what the full monitoring and testing regime is for ground water that may be escaping from the site, or whether that regime is adequate. Has it changed at all since 2001? Finally, do you know if City Park and Washington Park are directly irrigated with treated wastewater from the Metro Wastewater Treatment Plant? I know Denver's water system is quite complex and that an old irrigation ditch flows through Washington Park. The Westword article did not appear to include information on the irrigation water delivery systems for these two parks. As I mentioned, the Westword article and your letter raised a number of questions for me. First, it appears the article was written in 2001, and I imagine a lot has transpired since them. Is there more recent information available? For instance, the article stated that a USGS team had been hired by the EPA to complete an independent study of the radionuclides at Lowry. Do you know if this study or any other additional studies been completed since 2001? If so, do you know the results? Second, the article also indicated that a whistleblower suit had been filed by Adrienne Anderson. Has that lawsuit been resolved? The article stated that an initial decision in the lawsuit was expected in June of 2001. Third, the article focuses somewhat on Americium-241 and Plutonium-241, but the discharge permit only sets limits for Americium-241 and Plutonium-238, 239 and 240. Do they not monitor for Plutonium-241? Are there other radionuclides they should be monitoring that are not included in the discharge permit's limits? Fourth, the article concludes by stating that the ground water being pumped in 2001 from the Lowry site contained low levels of radionuclides that appear to be within the discharge permit's limits. Is that correct? Is there reason to believe the limits in the discharge permit are too high to protect the public's health? Do you know whether they are complying with their discharge limits? At this time, I do not have the technical expertise and all the information I need to make a fully informed decision as to whether the discharge permit for the Lowry Superfund Site should be revoked. I am quite concerned about the issues raised by you and the article. Obviously, if radioactive wastes are being discharged at unsafe levels into our waterways, onto agricultural lands and in our parks, it is a grave situation that should be promptly remedied. If I am elected to the House, I will seek to learn more about this situation. I will consider it carefully, and I will ask the tough questions and request additional investigation if needed. I am also open to considering whether the state legislature should take a more active role in addressing issues related to the Lowry site. Thank you for the background information on these issues and please keep me abreast of any developments." Cindy Lowery Update: Cindy Lowery submitted her response in the comments. Jerry (and everyone), It has come to my attention that you have not received my response to your inquiry regarding the discharge permit from Lowry Landfill water through the Denver sewer systems. Therefore, I apologize for the delay in getting this message to you. I've reviewed the information you sent as well as additional research and agree that the situation related to the Lowry Landfill Superfund Site is concerning. My understanding is that there is no guarantee that the 'water' being pumped through Denver sewers is not toxic or is being properly diluted to the point of safety. I find it concerning that more residents are not aware of these issues. As the next State Representative and as a community leader, I see my position not only as a policy leader at the Capitol but also as a leader representing the concerns of House District 8 residents in a variety of other manners. Therefore, I am committed to representing the concerns of residents related to this issue in front of the Denver City Council and to the Environmental Protection Agency. In addition, I will attend hearings and meeting pertaining to the permit renewal process and express the concerns of the residents. Thank you again for bringing my attention to this important issue. Cindy Lowery ************************************************************* Ok, there you have it. I hope you learned something about each candidate. I have not yet endorsed a candidate on this site as I prefer to gather information to present to you, the reader, so you can decide for yourselves.

Recycling Gone Bad - City Park Lake - Denver

The Metro Wastewater Reclamation District has granted a permit to the Lowry Landfill Superfund Site to flush 158 pollutants and 10 radionuclides into Denver Sewers at a rate of 25 gal per minute. Then, with the normal sewage, it is run through the Recycling Plant, where none of it is removed, and then piped to Grasmere Lake in Washington Park and Ferril Lake in City Park, and sprayed on grasslands there and elsewhere. The secret agreement between the major polluters and the City of Denver is still secret, and has 43 years yet to run. Approximately 13 million gallons per year flow from Lowry Landfill to the parks of Denver. Denver is the only place in the US where this is being done. Now before you jump all over me with "the algae is feeding on the nutrients" and not the Lowry radio active elements, I say prove it. Test the water and the algae for every pollutant that is being allowed. Adding more chemicals, as is planned, will not solve the long-term problem. We can have recycling without the Lowry carcenogenic toxins. Call your City Councilperson, the Mayor, your Colorado State Representative and State Senator. Tell them the Lowry permit must be revoked. Its only purpose is to protect the original polluters.

77 mph Theater Presents - 3 Loads to Denver

A road fantasy with a message.

Dangerous to People Inhaling

(Click on title for original source.)

near Pinon Canyon

Monday - June 21, 2008

"Fort Carson officials announced Friday that they will allow either state or federal investigators to test the soil at the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site northeast of Trinidad for uranium contamination. The announcement comes after State Representative Wes McKinley announced last Wednesday that he had four soil samples from the training facility tested and that those samples showed uranium concentrations 10 times higher than normal. Officials from the state health department said that they would be willing to discuss sampling at Pinon Canyon with the army, if requested. The health department said that while they don’t consider the sample data provided by Representative McKinley to be a sign of any imminent public health threat, the uranium content reported in McKinley’s samples would be dangerous to people inhaling the heavy metal.

McKinley believes that the state of Colorado shares jurisdiction over Pinon Canyon with the army and he wants testing done to determine the extent and source of the uranium in the soil samples. McKinley doesn’t want congress to authorize any further expansion of the training area until the contamination questions have been answered and the sight cleaned up if necessary."

Denver's Eroding Tax Base

You may recall that some time ago I called into question Denver’s ability to pay the interest for the enormous bond issue of Ref A, B, etc., estimated to be somewhere north of $1 billion.

Comments were made that included Denver’s stable tax base as a reason to have no fear. But recent events have revealed a scenario that I think will cause serious erosion of the City’s income from real property taxes.

What I’m reporting here are facts derived from public records. I chose these properties by searching on http://www.recolorado.com/. I started at the low end.

Address	Last Assessed Value	Current Asking Price	% Change
862 S. Patton Ct.	$101,200	$24,900	-75%
2850 Jackson St.	$126,000	$24,900	-80%
3644 York St.	$240,500	$35,000	-85%
1815 E. 37th Ave	$112,100	$25,900	-76%
4718 Vine St.	$148,600	$29,900	-80%
1132 S Zenobia St.	$150,500	$34,900	-77%
4915 Clayton St.	$126,600	$39,000	-70%
3296 Cook St.	$121,600	$38,000	-69%

See a pattern here? If these properties sell at or below the asking price, the property tax automatically falls by the same percentage (not taking mill levy into account).

First, what on earth were these City assessors smoking when they appraised these junkers at these outlandish values? Oh, that’s right, these assessments were done two years ago when they were all “high” on real estate frenzy. Whatever the reason, the newly named Manager of Finance (formerly Manager of Revenue) had best prepare for a drastic decline in revenue from property tax, a major source of income for the City.

As previously pointed out, giving away our tax rebate (Ref C) and signing up for $1,000,000,000 of new interest payments (Ref A, B, C, …) was a very bad idea. Hickenlooper must have known that the City was in for a thrashing when he was dancing with the Red Letters, but his ties to the developers drove him on.

No wonder Hickenlooper wants to sell booze in the parks. The people are going to need a lot of booze to forget what’s happening to them as the economy, both nationally and here in Denver, approaches the dimensions of a “Greater Depression”.

Don’t say you weren’t forewarned.

Protesters to be Allowed to Camp in Polluted Park

If you've been reading this blog you know that I have conclusively demonstrated that approximately 13 million gallons per year of effluent from the Lowry Landfill Superfund Site are being added to our recycled water and then sprayed on the grassland and pumped into the lake at City Park, Washington Park, and elsewhere. The effluent contains 158 identified pollutants and 10 radionuclides. Now the City has agreed (see below) to let the protesters camp there for the week of the DNC. That'll teach 'em. P.S. I hope not. I've emailed Tent State with the info. I'll post their response.

Tent State at City Park, Denver

by way of Dave Webster for CPWNA:

photo from www.tentstate.org

From: "Kuykendall, Helen - Parks & Rec"
Subject: Tent State University at City Park
Date: Fri, 20 Jun 2008 22:38:


This message is to inform you that Denver Parks and Recreation is issuing an assembly permit to Tent State University, a group that plans to bring college students from across the country to Denver for an event at City Park, during the Democratic National Convention. After consulting with the City Attorney’s office it was determined the event qualifies as an assembly event that would fall under specific provisions of the revised municipal code. The event is planned for each day between Sunday, August 24 through Thursday, August 28 with approximately 20,000 participants and will be located in the vicinity of the soccer fields southwest of the City Park Pavilion. August 23 & August 29 will be the set up and take down dates.

Since it is the policy of the city to uphold free speech and assembly on city property so long as no laws or rules are violated, the assembly permit will be issued to Tent State University. However, due to a number of concerns about the event that were identified regarding disruptions from amplified sound and access issues during the event, a number of reasonable conditions were placed on the permit to strive for an orderly and organized event without adverse impacts on park resources, activities and operations. The conditions are listed below and the permit can be revoked if the conditions are not met:

a.. A detailed site plan must be submitted, approved and properly executed.
b.. A detailed plan for amplified sound (including location, date(s) and times) must be submitted, approved and properly executed.
c.. A detailed trash collection and removal plan (including recycling) must be submitted, approved and properly executed.
d.. A detailed sanitation (portalets) and drinking water plan must be submitted, approved and properly executed.
e.. A detailed plan of any planned vending activities must be submitted, approved and properly executed.
f.. A detailed logistics plan including set-up and tear down must be submitted, approved and properly executed.
g.. A detailed security plan including monitoring alcohol issues, camping after hours, etc. must be submitted, approved and properly executed.
h.. A detailed parking plan for both the public and event staff must be submitted, approved and properly executed.
i.. A detailed plan for notification of neighborhood organizations (City Park Alliance and Friends Groups, City Council, the Denver Zoo, the Museum of Nature and Science, etc.) must be submitted, approved and properly executed.
j.. Other steps to abide by Parks and Recreation Department and City & County of Denver rules and regulations.

Adam Jung, the event organizer for Tent State University, has met with city staff and offered assurances of their intent to fulfill these conditions and promote a positive atmosphere around the event activities. He is planning to meet with neighborhood groups as soon as possible and is very open to suggestions and comments on their plans.

Below is the web link for Tent State University
http://www.tentstate.org/


Helen Kuykendall City Park Administrator

and from the Tent State site:

Come to Denver to end a war!

Tent State University (TSU) will be built this August outside the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado. TSU will serve as an "alternative university," a space in which to experience real democracy, a staging area for actions and protests towards the DNC, a venue for musical artists, political theatre, and town hall democracy, multiple '"classrooms" to share and learn tactics and strategies to immediately end the war, and housing for tens of thousands of activists dedicated to holding the parties accountable.

Tent State University will host tens of thousands of activists. We are progressive democrats, greens, anarchists, students, socialists, soldiers, daughters, and brothers. While we may carry different ideologies or creeds, we are united in a firm determination to end this war.

Pinon Canyon Ablaze

Today Colorado Representative Wes McKinley revealed that recent soil sample tests from the Army's Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site showed high levels of uranium. At a press conference in the Capitol, McKinley explains how the fact that the area is now on fire makes the issue much "hotter". Go to the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center for the whole story, including supporting documentation. While you are there, consider giving a donation, to support their outstanding efforts.

Denver - Local Invasion of Black Helicopters

file photo

reported from the scene by Pat Manning:

Denver, City Park West, 8:00 pm - According to a Denver Police spokesperson, the invasion of black helicopters with uniformed men hanging off of them, experienced by this neighborhood this evening, is a practice run of Navy Seals and SWAT teams, landing at the Civic Center, Childrens Hospital, and City Park, in preparation for the Democratic National Convention. Hmmmm....

Update (6-17-08): Denver Post, Rocky Mountain News

Wes McKinley - Reflections on Rocky Flats - Part 2

For background and Part 1 go here, or whole story here.

Juneteenth Parade

The Juneteenth Parade, held this morning on Welton Street in Denver, presented a wonderful chance to get out and celebrate. These clips are presented in chronological order without alteration. Even the music at the end occurred as recorded.

Obama Supporters Needed for Juneteenth Parade This Saturday

Of course I’ve been an Obama supporter since day one, and followed every day of the excruciating Hillary hilarity, but it’s now time to throw off the cloak of invisibility and come out strong for our candidate. Yes We Can, and we’ll be doing it this Saturday, June 14th, by marching in the Juneteenth Parade.

Go to Fuller Park, 29th and Gilpin (north side of Manual High School) at 9:00 am to hook up with the Obama and Udall supporters. Get up-to-date instructions there. Bring your signs and noisemakers and let’s have some fun in the sun.

Yes, We Have No Tomatoes

On Friday, June 6, 2008, the Stapleton Wal-Mart in Denver, Colorado had no tomatoes for sale. No tomatoes in the store.

Today (Saturday) I spoke with Tom, the manager. He explained that they had been advised to pull all tomatoes from the store, and referred me to an 800 number for further explanation.

Google pointed me to the Wal-Mart notice, a salmonella outbreak in Texas and New Mexico (one case in Colorado) and to CDC and FDA notices.

Be careful out there. Wash your produce.

Update: Apparently washing isn't good enough - from a comment elsewhere: There is no bullet proof way to eliminate salmonella from veggies, as with tomatoes for example, the salmonella is not just on the skin and can be washed off, but absorbs into the skin of the veggie and spreads inside the tomato itself.

States with persons with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Saintpaul, by state of residence, April 15 to June 5, 2008.

Nudist Post Outstrips All

Not in Denver

Google Analytics, a new tentacle into the internets, is a tool for the owner to see what’s going on with their site. I was amazed to learn that about half of the visitors to this site are not from Denver, but spread around the globe.

My satirical “Nudist Post” got the most views. Very popular among men 20 – 30 from India. Really. I guess these help desk guys are searching the tubes for info on Denver nudists in between calls. That would explain a lot.

Hey, go with the flow. From now on I’ll be blogging about the Denver nudist scene, for example, here, here, and here.

Just kidding (JK).

But seriously, I will be expanding the scope of my posts here to reflect more of my interests, including things that have a direct influence on all of us, even in this little corner of the universe. Plummeting Dollar, Eroding Tax Base, the Plasma Universe and other fun posts are all in the works.

Jail Cam

When they called it a New Jail, we voted it down. Changed the name to Justice and we went for it. Now our New Justice Center is being built. You can check it out minute-by-minute on the Justice Cam.

Extraordinary Event Shaping Up

MESSAGE FROM MAYOR JOHN HICKENLOOPER

What Denver residents, employees and businesses should expect during Convention Week

Denver, CO - June 3, 2008 - Hosting the Democratic National Convention represents a tremendous economic and marketing opportunity for Metro Denver and Colorado, as well as a chance for local residents to witness and participate in a historical event.

On a more practical side, we know that downtown residents and businesses have questions about possible Convention-related impacts. Because security and transportation planning is ongoing and details continue to evolve, more specifics will be available in the coming weeks. Ongoing updates will be disseminated widely and available through a variety of sources including www.DenverGov.org, www.DowntownDenver.com, www.DenverConvention2008.com, 3-1-1 and more. In the meantime, we want to provide you with the following information: Number of Visitors: While as many as 50,000 visitors are anticipated between Saturday, August 23 and Thursday, August 28 - including delegates, assorted guests and 15,000 members of the media - it is important to remember that this is less than the number of people that come downtown for Rockies' Opening Day or for a Broncos game. Denver has hosted games in all three downtown stadiums at the same time, involving close to 150,000 people. The Convention visitors - who won't all be downtown at the same time - will spend significant amounts of time inside the Colorado Convention Center, Pepsi Center and other event venues. Downtown restaurants will be open for business - and should be able to easily accommodate local diners as activity on the Convention floor takes place between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. Street, Residential and Commercial Access: We are working very hard to ensure that downtown residents and workers can get around and access their buildings with ease during the Democratic National Convention. Because of the Pepsi Center's location in the Platte Valley, transportation- and security-related impacts on downtown will be minimized.

• While there will be some additional screening procedures and security measures in some locations, all downtown residents will be able to access their homes and parking garages. Downtown businesses will be able to remain open with access to employees and customers.
• When people talk about a "security perimeter," what they are really talking about are areas around the Pepsi Center that may require additional screening or security measures. Those areas will be finalized and announced closer to the Convention, but please know that our intention is to minimize any impacts on roadways, businesses and residences. More updates will be provided to businesses and residents near the Pepsi Center - and the general public - over the coming weeks.
• While there will be some modest traffic impacts in the downtown area during the Convention, it will not tie up the downtown. Downtown workers should not have difficulties getting to or leaving work, particularly since the main hours of Pepsi Center activity (4 p.m. to 9 p.m.) do not correspond with standard morning or evening commute times. The bottom line is: Downtown will be accessible.

Security: Our top priorities are to keep Denver open for business and to ensure the Convention is a historic, memorable and safe celebration. We plan to provide the most effective and comprehensive security possible, while maintaining an event that is inclusive and enjoyable. We are not looking to impact public access any more than necessary during the Convention and will disseminate updated information as soon as it is available.

City is Open for Business: City offices and facilities will of course be open and operational during the Convention week, and we do not anticipate any interruptions to City services. By engaging law enforcement officers from neighboring jurisdictions to assist during the Convention, we will have the staffing to cover Convention-related security needs as well as the City of Denver's standard operational and safety needs.

Free Speech: We support the rights of people to express their views safely and in a manner that respects the rights of others along with local, state and federal laws. The 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston attracted 10,000 demonstrators. Some peaceful demonstrations are anticipated in Civic Center, Skyline Park and other downtown parks during the week of the Convention.

• As a point of reference, approximately 75,000 to 100,000 people gathered in Civic Center Park for a May 2006 rally, and it did not inconvenience downtown businesses, residents or City services. The annual set-up for the Downtown Denver Partnership's Taste of Colorado will also begin in Civic Center on the Wednesday of the Convention week.
• A designated parade route - the details of which will be announced by June 12 - will provide organizations that want to march toward the Pepsi Center a safe means to do so in a manner and timeframe that minimizes mobility impacts on downtown businesses, residents and visitors.

Community Involvement: Working together, the City of Denver and the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee have created innovative and inclusive vehicles for public expression, participation and civic engagement around the Convention. We hope you will encourage your family, friends, classmates, neighbors and colleagues to be a part of the excitement and help shape the dialogue about issues that are important to us, our community and our country. Information on Cinemocracy (public short-film competition about democracy), America: Live and In Person (public multi-media competition about America), and Dialog:City (site-specific public art exhibits designed to encourage civic engagement) - and how to participate - is available at http://www.denverconvention2008.com/.

More public events - hosted by a variety of organizations - will be announced in the coming weeks, providing opportunities for all of us - no matter what political party or candidate we support - to participate in interactive community activities and witness an historical event in our backyard.

Thank you for your efforts to ensure that Denver shines as a host city and capitalizes on this opportunity to showcase our community's successes to the world. We appreciate your patience during the planning process and look forward to providing you more details about security, mobility and access as soon as they are available.

Sincerely, Mayor John W. Hickenlooper

About Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee

The Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee has four contractual partners in its work. Those partners are the Democratic National Convention Committee, the City and County of Denver, Kroenke Sports and its own Executive Committee.

Linkhart Responds to Pot Panel Question

In an earlier post, I reported that Councilman Doug Linkhart had voted against the recommendation of the Pot Panel (Marijuana Policy Review Panel) – “The office of the Denver City Attorney shall not seek conviction in a city prosecution for the petty offense of possession of one ounce or less of marijuana for adults 21 and older absent compelling reasons articulated on the record in open court.” I found his "no" vote to be surprising given my opinion that Linkhart is the most thoughtful member of City Council and, I think, the only elected official on this Panel. I thought he must have had a good reason to vote "no".

My email to Linkhart:

Dear Sir:

Do you have any comments for publication regarding your vote yesterday against the recommendation of the Panel?

And his prompt reply:

Sure. Here are my thoughts:

I support legalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana, and was one of only a few elected leaders who supported both the city and state initiatives on this issue. I also support reducing the penalties and hassles for simple possession, which the City is doing. Very soon Denver police will simply issue tickets rather than requiring individuals to appear in court.

The resolution considered by the Marijuana Review Panel last week required that, if someone receiving a ticket for marijuana possession pleads not guilty, the City Attorney must drop the case unless he can prove a compelling reason to continue. There is no other city or state violation for which this has ever been mandated and this is something that I can not support. Nor is it something that the Review Panel or City Council can legislate. We should focus instead on reducing the number of citations issued by the Police Department in the first place, something that the Review Panel is examining.

Doug Linkhart
Councilman at-Large

You know, I think I understand what he is saying. First of all, note that he clearly states that he is for the legalization of possession of small amounts. Then, let's go for the cessation of this stupid "ticket" nonsense altogether, rather than a backhanded way of getting them dropped. Makes sense to me.

(And let me thank Linkhart for being a very responsive elected official, in the At-Large position on City Council, thereby serving those of us who feel that our District Councilperson is asleep at the wheel. If you want evidence of this, check out and sign up for Linkhart's eLink newsletter, and compare it to Carla Madison's blank email newsletter, promised over a year ago.)

Not So B.E.S.T. After All

(Hat tip to gatewaynews.com)

I am always sickened when our government leaders take credit for redirecting our tax money to what they consider important. They act as if they are giving their own money away. I especially hate it when they use kids as props. (See 3:15 into above video clip) On the one hand we have Ritter and Romanoff taking credit for “over $1 billion in new money for school repair and construction” while at the same time a judge rules that the “tax freeze”, the backhanded tax increase that is not an increase (according to Ritter) is unconstitutional. Ritter is unruffled.

The bottom line is that our public education system is broken. By all objective measures it is and has been failing. The outdated concept of herding all children of a particular age into a room to “educate” them denies the fact that “learning” is an individual process that takes place in a child’s head based on motivation. Until each child is treated as an individual “client” who has over $5000 to spend that year, and offered a variety of opportunities to find, with his/her parents, the best place to do that, nothing will change.