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This page contains all entries posted to ProgressNow.org Daily News Digest on 01/25/2008.

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Daily News Digest for 01/25/2008

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National News

Bush plan for Iraq would be a first - The Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/01/25/bush_plan_for_iraq_would_b...
President Bush's plan to forge a long-term agreement with the Iraqi government that could commit the US military to defending Iraq's security would be the first time such a sweeping mutual defense compact has been enacted without congressional approval, according to legal specialists. After World War II, for example - when the United States gave security commitments to Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, and NATO members - Presidents Truman and Eisenhower designated the agreements as treaties requiring Senate ratification. In 1985, when President Ronald Reagan guaranteed that the US military would defend the Marshall Islands and Micronesia if they were attacked, the compacts were put to a vote by both chambers of Congress. By contrast, Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki have already agreed that a coming compact will include the United States providing "security assurances and commitments" to Iraq to deter any foreign invasion or internal terrorism by "outlaw groups." But a top White House official has also said that Bush does not intend to submit the deal to Congress. "We don't anticipate now that these negotiations will lead to the status of a formal treaty which would then bring us to formal negotiations or formal inputs from the Congress," General Douglas Lute, Bush's deputy national security adviser for Iraq and Afghanistan, said in November when the White House announced the plan.
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Senate spy bill still shields telecoms - Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-spy25jan25,1,2140019.story...
In a victory for the Bush administration, the Senate on Thursday blocked legislation that would have cleared the way for lawsuits against phone companies that have cooperated with a warrantless wiretapping program authorized by President Bush. The vote moves the administration closer to its goal of providing retroactive immunity to telephone companies and Internet carriers that are facing multimillion-dollar lawsuits for giving U.S. spy agencies access to international calls and messages streaming across their networks. The issue is being considered by the Senate this week as part of the latest effort to overhaul a 1978 law that governs U.S. intelligence agencies' ability to intercept electronic communications around the world. Congress passed a stopgap measure last summer that expires at the end of the month. After the vote, Republicans and Democrats deadlocked over how to advance the broader surveillance bill. They are expected to take it up again Monday, when the president is to give his State of the Union address.
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Judge Demands a Report on Destroyed C.I.A. Tapes - New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/25/washington/25gitmo.html?ref=washington...
A judge on Thursday gave the Justice Department three weeks to report in writing whether the destruction of C.I.A. videotapes in November 2005 violated an order he issued four months earlier to preserve evidence. The new order, issued by Judge Richard W. Roberts of the Federal District Court in Washington, is the first to require the Bush administration to provide information related to the videotapes’ destruction, which is under criminal investigation. The tapes showed harsh interrogation of two high-level Qaeda suspects, Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. Judge Roberts’s order came in the case of Hani Saleh Rashid Abdullah, a Yemeni electrician who is challenging his imprisonment at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
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U.S. Cannot Manage Contractors In Wars, Officials Testify on Hill - washingtonpost.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/24/AR2008012403384....
With even more U.S. contractors now in Iraq and Afghanistan than U.S. military personnel, government officials told Congress yesterday that the Bush administration is not prepared to manage the contractors' critical involvement in the American war effort. At the end of last September, there were "over 196,000 contractor personnel working for the Defense Department in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Jack Bell, deputy undersecretary of defense for logistics and materiel readiness. Contractors "have become part of our total force, a concept that DoD [the Defense Department] must manage on an integrated basis with our military forces," he also said in prepared testimony for a hearing yesterday of the Senate homeland security subcommittee. "Frankly," he continued, "we were not adequately prepared to address" what he termed "this unprecedented scale of our dependence on contractors."
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Colorado News

ProgressNow in the news: Caldara demeaned women, group says : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jan/25/caldara-demeaned-women-group-s...
A liberal group says that radio host Jon Caldara demeaned women when he asked a guest whether presidential candidate Hillary Clinton got "bitch- slapped" during a debate this week. The Denver-based group ProgressNow sent an e-mail to its supporters Thursday, asking them to protest Caldara; KOA radio, which airs his show from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. weekdays; Clear Channel Communications, which owns the station; and the show's advertisers. About 300 people called advertisers, said Michael Huttner, ProgressNow's executive director. Caldara, who revels at being politically incorrect, dismissed the criticism. "If you think this is the most obnoxious thing I've ever said on the radio, then obviously you haven't been listening too long," he said. "The biggest question that they're not answering is, was Hillary bitch-slapped by Barack Obama during that debate? This is provocative, talk radio way of asking, 'Did she verbally get clobbered?' " he said. Caldara and his guest, conservative pundit Ann Coulter, thought so.
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The Longmont Times-Call - Ritter: Don’t be hasty on health-care reform

http://www.timescall.com/News_Story.asp?id=6092...
Colorado residents likely won’t see any health-care reform recommendations on November’s ballot, Gov. Bill Ritter said Thursday. Ritter was the featured speaker at the “Healthcare — How Can We Fix It?” forum, the second in the “Explorations, Vision and our Future” series that provides residents in the region with expert opinions on legislative initiatives. The Larimer County Democratic Party hosts the series. Ritter spoke to a full house at the Rialto Theater and told attendees that he believes it would be too soon to ask voters to choose any recommendations of the 208 Commission — Ritter’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Health Care Reform — until more is done to address cost control in health care. The 208 Commission will introduce its recommendations to the Legislature next Thursday. Some of the recommendations include components such as individual mandated health insurance and expanded Medicaid eligibility. Many residents who spoke during the event said changes need to be made sooner, but Ritter said Colorado voters were less likely to decide on an option that would require them to put money into a system that is too expensive. “People believe the system is fundamentally broken and that it costs too much,” Ritter said. “We think in Colorado this is a long-distance race.”
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Colorado Lawmaker Censured for Kicking - New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/25/us/25censure.html?ref=us...
In the week leading up to his first day on the job, State Representative Douglas Bruce, a Republican, got into a lengthy dispute with the Democratic speaker of the House over the time of his swearing in. On the day he took office, Jan. 14, Mr. Bruce did something more contentious. He delivered a swift kick to the knee of a photographer for The Rocky Mountain News who was snapping his picture during a ceremonial prayer. Mr. Bruce refused to apologize. The paparazzi, he defiantly told members of the House, would not leave him alone. The kick was captured by a television camera, splayed across the Internet and led to a legislative inquiry that ended Thursday when Mr. Bruce, an antitax crusader from Colorado Springs who was appointed by his party to fill a vacancy, became the first member of the Colorado General Assembly to face censure.
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Grand Junction Sentinel - Future of water unclear

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/01/24/012508_1b_CWC.htm...
In 50 years, agriculture on the Western Slope may see a dramatic decline while the energy industry still will be booming, but water availability across the state will remain uncertain. That’s how Colorado Department of Natural Resources Executive Director Harris Sherman said he sees the Western Slope in 2058, a possible future he said many Coloradans don’t want to see. Sherman, speaking Thursday with Gov. Bill Ritter at the Colorado Water Congress’ annual convention in Denver, said that likely future, in which an urban corridor would sprawl unbroken between Fort Collins and south of Pueblo, is one that Coloradans should try to avoid. “We need a safe and reliable water supply,” he said. “We want to see less urban sprawl. We want to see viable, sustainable rural communities.” By 2058, Sherman said, energy development may stretch continuously between Rio Blanco and Montezuma counties, while a population boom in the mountains will put tremendous pressure on the headwaters of the Colorado and other rivers. In order to plan for and possibly prevent the dramatic impacts to the state’s water supply such growth would create, individual regions of the state must begin thinking about water planning through the state’s Interbasin Compact Committee, which is made up of representatives of water roundtables from all over Colorado.
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Colorado News

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Civil Liberties and Equality

Vail Daily - Man busted in Beaver Creek wants Cheney subpoenaed

http://vaildaily.com/article/20080125/NEWS/164646547...
The lawyer for a man who claims he was wrongfully arrested for comments he made to Dick Cheney about the Iraq War said the person who can clear up what happened that day is the vice president himself. Denver attorney David Lane filed a motion in federal court Thursday asking for U.S. marshals to serve Cheney a subpoena so he can testify about what happened when Steve Howards told him his "policies in Iraq were disgusting." Howards has said he "lightly touched" the vice president on the arm after making the comment at a mall in Beaver Creek, where Cheney was attending a conference in June 2006. Howards later sued the Secret Service agents who arrested him after accusing him of assaulting Cheney. But a hazy picture of the incident remains, according to court documents, with the agents accusing each other of lying and trying to cover up what happened.
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Promoter pulls plug on Mr. Capone-E concert | News | The Tribune

http://greeleytribune.com/article/20080125/NEWS/41050809...
Armando Reyes turned to Mark Hedin at Pitchers, a bar and grill, while Hedin enjoyed the first quiet moment in three days. "This is heartbreaking, dude," Reyes said. Reyes of Greeley, who calls himself Grand-A on stage, was going to be the main opening act for Chicano rapper Mr. Capone-E, but Hedin, the promoter, decided Thursday to pull the plug on the show, citing the pressure he felt from Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck and Greeley Mayor Ed Clark. It would have been a nice opportunity for both of them. Reyes of King Productions works in the bottling plant in Windsor but has dreams of making it as a hip-hop artist. Opening for Mr. Capone-E, a popular artist with an extensive catalogue, would have been huge. "I don't want to make bottles the rest of my life," Reyes said.
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Crime and Penal Reform

The Coloradoan - DA still uncertain if Masters will face new trial

http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080125/NEWS01/801250336/1002/...
A week after special prosecutors announced they would seek to free Tim Masters from his life sentence, Larimer County District Attorney Larry Abrahamson has still not decided whether to retry him. A judge on Tuesday overturned Masters' life sentence and conviction for the 1987 fatal stabbing and mutilation of Peggy Hettrick after new DNA evidence pointed to a different suspect. Masters remains a suspect in Hettrick's death and is charged with first-degree murder after deliberation, a charge to which he has pleaded not guilty. He is free on personal recognizance. Abrahamson's office on Thursday declined to offer any specifics. Abrahamson said Tuesday that he expected to make a decision by Feb. 5, Masters' next court date. "Our office has been diligently working on this since the hearing on Tuesday," said spokeswoman Linda Jensen. "When the time is appropriate, we will issue something."
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The Denver Post - DA set to drop Masters case

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8071788...
Larimer County District Attorney Larry Abrahamson has decided to dismiss murder charges against Tim Masters and could make an announcement as soon as today, according to sources close to his inquiry. The news follows a week of "round-the-clock" meetings between the DA and law-enforcement officials, including Adams County special prosecutor Don Quick, in which Abrahamson and his advisers have determined that not enough viable evidence exists to prove Masters killed Peggy Hettrick in 1987. The DA also is considering whether to ask state Attorney General John Suthers to take over directing the criminal investigation to find Hettrick's killer, a process that has delayed an announcement.
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The Denver Post - Denver apologizes to Hells Angels for second time

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8070971...
Denver and Mountain View police apologized to members of the Hells Angels and settled a federal lawsuit over a 2005 traffic stop with a $14,000 payment to the bikers, their attorney said Thursday. The apologies signed by Denver Manager of Safety Al LaCabe and Mountain View Police Chief Eric Gomez mark the second time Denver police have had to say "sorry" to the Hells Angels. The city of Denver apologized in 2001 for a raid on the bikers' clubhouse — where nothing illegal was found — and paid $50,000 to settle that lawsuit. This time, lawyer David Lane sued the police over what he says was an unconstitutional traffic stop in Denver near the border of both cities. The lawsuit says eight Hells Angels were held at automatic rifle-point for more than an hour and searched without probable cause.
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Police union lawyers blast discipline plan : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jan/25/police-union-lawyers-blast-dis...
Lawyers for the union representing Denver police officers took aim Thursday night at the centerpiece of a proposed new disciplinary process, describing it as an attempt to fix a system that isn't broken. They also challenged Manager of Safety Al LaCabe's proposal to amend the city's civil service rules to a system of applying discipline via a "matrix" that generally seeks to match violations of department policy with a range of punishments. Marc Colin, a lawyer for the Police Protective Association, credited LaCabe with listening to the union's concerns during the two years that the new disciplinary proposal has been under review.
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The Denver Post - Aurora policing "dead spots"

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8070970...
Officials are taking steps to increase the efficiency of the city's emergency radio system after it failed twice recently because of "dead spots" — one at a high school and the other at a mall. On Jan. 2, officers responded to the Town Center at Aurora on a report of a man with a gun outside the mall. After spotting the man, who was with another man, one officer tried to contact dispatchers for backup but was unable to reach anyone. That forced the officer, according to a police report, to go to an area where his radio would work, leaving his partner, who was watching the men, alone and without cover. The two men were caught; the suspected weapon was a BB gun. In another incident, a school resource officer at Cherokee Trail High School could not radio for help. The events raise questions about the efficiency of the city's emergency radio system and have led officials to check for dead spots in those locations.
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Denver cops settle with Hell's Angels : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jan/25/denver-cops-settle-with-hells-...
Denver police have issued an apology to the Hell's Angels and paid an out-of-court settlement to the group for the second time in less than five years. Denver and the Mountain View Police Department paid a total of $14,000 to the Hell's Angels over the handling of a Sept. 2, 2005, incident in which a Mountain View officer pulled over a motorcyclist for speeding, according to their attorney, David Lane. Lane said about 80 Denver officers responded when the Mountain View officer radioed for help. Eventually, two of the motorcyclists were arrested on charges of possession of a concealed weapon. In a Jan. 8 letter, Denver Manager of Safety Al LaCabe wrote, "We are certain that you understand how in a tense situation, officer safety is one of our primary concerns and at no time did any officer of the city and county of Denver ever intend to violate your civil rights."
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The Denver Post - Officer suspected in DUI hit-and-run resigns

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8067571...
An off-duty Commerce City Police Officer suspected of drinking and driving and getting into a hit-and-run collision in his private vehicle has resigned from the department, police said today. Commerce City police identified the officer as Audie Vigil. Vigil is suspected of getting into a collision on Monday at the intersection of E. 120th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard in Thornton, said Commander Ross Sibley of the Commerce City Police Department.
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The Denver Post - No criminal charges in shooting by cop

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8070920...
No criminal charges will be filed against a Denver police officer who killed an unarmed man after a foot chase in December, the Denver district attorney's office announced Thursday. Jason Gomez, 33, was struck by six bullets fired by Technician Timothy Campbell about 2 a.m. Dec. 19 near West Ada Place and South Hazel Court. A toxicology report indicated Gomez had alcohol, cocaine and marijuana in his system. The report signed by District Attorney Mitch Morrissey concluded that Gomez's aggressive and threatening conduct forced Campbell to shoot him.
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Economy

The Pueblo Chieftain Online - House stimulus plan would pump money into city of Pueblo

http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1201273788/1...
In a rare display of fast, bipartisan action, President Bush and congressional leaders reached quick agreement early Thursday on a $145 billion package of tax cuts and rebates they hope will spur the public into spending the U.S. economy out of its economic slowdown. For Pueblo residents, the early math on how much local taxpayers would be refunded totaled more than $36 million, according to city federal tax and census statistics. That money would come from an estimated rebate of $600 to individual taxpayers who filed income tax returns on $75,000 or less and rebates of $1,200 for couples who filed jointly on income of $150,000 or less.
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How readers would use their rebates : Nation : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jan/24/how-readers-would-use-their-re...
RockyMountainNews.com readers share how they (and their spouses) would spend their rebates
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Economist predicts local job growth : More Business : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jan/25/economist-predicts-local-job-g...
Economist Patty Silverstein sees job growth of 1.6 percent in the metro area in 2008. The forecast is part of an economic outlook sponsored by the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. Silverstein thinks the national economy will soften in 2008 and Denver's economy will follow suit. She stopped short of forecasting a recession. Silverstein thought a year ago that 2006 would be the peak for mortgage foreclosures, but 2007 set a new record of more than 27,000. She said 2008 also will see high levels as adjustable mortgages from 2004 and 2005 reset but said moderate housing-price appreciation in recent years insulates the Denver area from some of the problems seen in other metro areas.
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Governor faces more congenial CACI crowd : More Business : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jan/25/governor-faces-more-congenial-...
Gov. Bill Ritter's speech before the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry on Thursday was noteworthy for what wasn't said. A year ago, Ritter faced an unhappy business crowd that was watching a Democratic-controlled legislature advance a bill expanding union powers. He was noncommittal on the bill at the luncheon and ultimately vetoed it in a surprise move. No such tension existed Thursday. "We have concerns about the national economy, but we in Colorado have been doing everything we can to separate ourselves from (that)," Ritter said, outlining efforts in aerospace, tourism and renewable energy. Ritter reviewed his agenda in a frenetically paced speech, highlighting health care, transportation and education. He said the "conversation" about raising the state's severance tax continues, and "that conversation is certainly going to involve industry - it is a wide- open conversation, a very dynamic conversation." He said he expected something to emerge in the middle or late-middle part of the legislative session.
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The Pueblo Chieftain Online - What's tax rebate worth to Pueblo? $36 million

http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1201273788/2...
As Congress and the White House were working out the terms of a tax rebate plan Thursday, Pueblo Senior Planner David Cockrell started working with the city's Internal Revenue Service reports and Census Bureau statistics to get an early picture of what the proposed tax rebates might be worth to Puebloans. At least $36 million or more, was the rough answer that quickly came up. Cockrell said that using income statistics from 2006, he was able to estimate that 16,340 individual Puebloans filed income tax returns on income of $75,000 or less that year. According to the tax rebate plan being developed Thursday, those individuals would get a rebate of at least $600 - or a total of $9.8 million.
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A boost for Boulder businesses? : County News : Boulder Daily Camera

http://dailycamera.com/news/2008/jan/25/a-boost-for-boulder-businesses/...
A proposal to send one-time rebate checks to most taxpayers would likely prove to be a short-term boon to Boulder businesses, an economist said Thursday. "History shows a good chunk of tax rebates do get spent," said Richard Wobbekind, director of the Business Research Division at the University of Colorado and an expert in the Colorado and national economies.
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Cortez Journal Online - Capitol previews proposal to tax movies, games at hotels

http://cortezjournal.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=news&articl...
For some travelers, a pornographic movie on the television is as normal a fixture in a hotel room as the Gideon Bible on the nightstand. Now a state representative wants to tax those movies to pay for child abuse investigations. Rep. Amy Stephens, R-Monument, has introduced House Bill 1086, which would levy a 95-cent fee on in-room movies and video games sold by hotels. The fee would fall on all movies, not just adult films. The money would go to child advocacy centers, which treat victims of child abuse and help district attorneys with their investigations. “I like these (centers) so much because of the work the do individually with the child. And they help the DAs (district attorneys) put away the predator,” Stephens said. Stephens said up to 60 percent of the in-room movies sold to hotel guests are adult films. Hoteliers will fight the idea.
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The Coloradoan - Norlarco gets new owners

http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080125/NEWS01/801250334/1002/...
The new owner of Norlarco Credit Union is an old friend who tried to bail out Larimer County's largest credit union before federal regulators stepped in. Public Service Credit Union of Denver, the state's sixth-largest credit union, was selected Thursday by the National Credit Union Administration to take over Norlarco Credit Union, ending months of uncertainty and 49 years of local control at Norlarco.
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Janus assets surpass $200 billion in 2007 : Money & Markets : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jan/25/janus-assets-surpass-200-billi...
Janus Capital Group's assets in 2007 climbed back to the $200 billion mark as the company's main business staged a comeback and attracted more money than it lost for the first time in seven years. Investors, who had shunned Janus for a long stretch, began to return to the firm's portfolios, encouraged by strong returns. The Janus Twenty, Orion, Contrarian and Overseas funds sit in the top 1 percent of their peer groups over three- and five-year spans. Although Janus' Intech unit cooled off, its core stock and bond funds racked up $7.5 billion in net sales last year after watching investors yank more than $50 billion over the prior three years.
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The Pueblo Chieftain Online - Panel OKs bill to end use of credit scores to set premiums

http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1201273788/11...
A House committee approved a measure Thursday that would end insurance companies' practice of using a person's credit scoring in determining their rates. On a nearly party-line vote, the rest of the House Business Affairs & Labor Committee agreed with Rep. Dorothy Butcher's argument that a driver's credit history has little to do with that person's actual ability to drive. Rep. Cheri Jahn, D-Wheat Ridge, was the only Democrat on the 11-member committee to vote against it. Regardless, Butcher said there's more than enough evidence to show that the practice is used unfairly. "Credit scoring does not change behavior. If I get a $25 ticket, I'm in control of that," Butcher said. "Those kinds of things are causal. Whatever I caused then, that's what my insurance should be based on. It shouldn't be rated on my credit score. It has nothing to do with my driving record." Insurance companies, however, disagreed.
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Public Service CU taking over Norlarco : More Business : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jan/25/public-service-cu-taking-over-...
Public Service Credit Union will take over failed credit union Norlarco in a deal brokered by national credit union regulators. Fort Collins-based Norlarco collapsed in May after concentrating its lending in Florida construction loans. More than one-fifth of the credit union's loans were more than 30 days late by midyear. The National Credit Union Association removed the board and attempted to turn around the institution. Ultimately, it considered bids for the institution.
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Snow industry pleased as powder it's Denver's turn : Skiing & Tourism : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jan/25/snow-industry-pleased-as-powde...
The handful of employees at an upstart maker of super-wide skis have been busy packing their wares for an annual 750-mile schlep from Denver to Las Vegas, longtime host to their industry's annual blowout. Two winters from now, Icelantic AT Board's staff won't have to drive nearly as far to mingle with the 20,000 attendees of the Snowsports Industries America group's trade show. The company's home base in the Santa Fe Arts District is less than two miles from the event's future site: the Colorado Convention Center. "It always seems crazy to drive skis to the desert," said Sam Warren, one of the Icelantic founders who will be in Sin City next week for a convention that runs from Tuesday through Friday.
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Ball to make changes as fourth-quarter profit falls 31% : Money & Markets : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jan/25/ball-to-make-changes-as-fourth...
Ball Corp.'s chief executive pledged Thursday to make additional changes in the U.S. products packaging division after the company's fourth-quarter earnings fell 31 percent on costs because of business restructuring. Chief Executive Officer David Hoover also said the company will build a can-production plant in Poland to meet demand in central and eastern Europe. The Broomfield-based company has been consolidating U.S. operations and plans to close two aerosol container manufacturing plants and get out of the decorative tinplate can business.
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Aspen Times News - Aspen retail sales drop in November

http://aspentimes.com/article/20080125/NEWS/697837410...
Aspen retailers generated $21.2 million in sales in November, down 1.6 percent from November 2006, according to a report released this week by the city of Aspen’s finance department. Sales tax collections for the city dipped, at a clip of 1.3 percent, for the same month.
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Sales tax revenues up in Windsor | News | The Tribune

http://greeleytribune.com/article/20080125/NEWS/6523133...
With the 2007 retail sales tax collection numbers in across the region, Windsor is getting fat. The consumption of food by Windsor residents has a lot to do with that. Windsor's sales tax collections for 2007 were up by 13.55 percent over 2006, the biggest increase in the region.
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The Denver Post - Yaketty yak? Ranchers listening in new way

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8070957...
Sitting in the sun munching on a yak burger, Bob Hasse sees the future in a stocky bovine with a thick wooly coat, a gentle disposition and an independent streak. "This is an idiot-proof cattle breed," he says of the yaks he is showing at the National Western Stock Show. "They are definitely the breed of the future in the beef business." Hasse, 58, bought his first yak after moving to a ranch on the Western Slope 10 years ago. He wanted an animal that required little care and could thrive in country where coyotes, mountain lions and bears all have a taste for beef. "A yak will confront its enemy. It wants to be in charge," he said. Yaks are smarter by far than their cousin cattle.
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Education

Textbook bill raises eyebrows : CU News : Boulder Daily Camera

http://dailycamera.com/news/2008/jan/25/textbook-bill-raises-eyebrows/...
University of Colorado professors are concerned that a bill to lower textbook costs undercuts their academic freedom and responsibility to choose the best materials for their students. Higher-education leaders at the CU regents meeting Thursday talked about the skyrocketing costs of textbooks, and some expressed skepticism about the proposed legislation aimed at tempering the rising prices. The measure -- which is being carried by state Sen. Ron Tupa, D-Boulder, and state Rep. John Kefalas, D-Fort Collins -- would require publishers to "unbundle" textbooks so students are no longer forced to buy expensive extras, such as CD tutorials, which come packaged with their books. The proposal would also make publishers tell professors a textbook's price, how long the edition might be kept on the market and a history of previous revisions. But professors aren't cheering for the measure. "It is the right and responsibility of all instructors to pick the materials that are best for our students ... and what is best for our students is not necessarily the cheapest textbook," said R L Widmann, chairwoman of CU's system-wide Faculty Council.
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DPS won't delay start of classes : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jan/25/dps-wont-delay-start-of-classe...
Students in Denver Public Schools will return to classes as usual in August, after school board members on Thursday vetoed a plan to delay the school start date for the Democratic National Convention. Board members voted 5-2 to start school on Aug. 18 this fall, rather than wait until Sept 2. The DNC is scheduled to bring 35,000 visitors to Denver between Aug. 25 and 28. Earlier this month, DPS Security Chief Ed Ray and Justin DeMello, head of the city's Office of Emergency Management, told board members that the city and district could better share resources in the event of a DNC emergency if schools were not in session.
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Aims officials worried about state funding | News | The Tribune

http://greeleytribune.com/article/20080125/NEWS/506463070...
Aims could get the short end of the stick if a budget proposal goes through. Meeting with the Greeley Tribune's editorial staff Thursday, Aims Community College administrators expressed concerns about a possible disparity of funding for the college next year. According to Aims President Marcy Liddell as it stands, the Colorado Department of Higher Education is recommending to legislators to give most state community colleges a 7.7 percent increase next year while looking to give Aims 3 percent. The difference could mean as much as $300,000 less for Aims. The reason why, Liddell speculated, is because Aims operates under a local district funding model, meaning its receives a portion of its funding from property taxes from within its district. "Because we are a local tax district, we don't fit well into their model," Liddell said.
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CU fundraising set for record year : CU News : Boulder Daily Camera

http://dailycamera.com/news/2008/jan/25/cu-fundraising-set-for-record-year/...
Donors gave $84.3 million to the University of Colorado in the six-month period that ended Dec. 31, surpassing the $59.2 million raised over the same period the year before, officials announced Thursday The university raised $133.5 million in donations last fiscal year, which ended June 30, making 2007 the best fundraising year in the school's 131-year history. School officials say they could be on pace to set a new record.
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The Denver Post - DPS won't delay school start this fall

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8068373...
Denver's school board voted today to to start school this fall on Aug. 18 rather than delaying classes to avoid potential conflicts with the Democratic National Convention. The convention is being held in downtown Denver Aug. 25-29. The district conducted an online survey, in which the majority of respondents voted for the standard, earlier start.
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Craig Daily Press / Moffat County School District superintendent tells board this year will be his last

http://www.craigdailypress.com/news/2008/jan/25/moffat_county_school_district_su...
Moffat County School Board members voted Thursday to extend Superintendent Pete Bergmann’s employment contract an additional year. The extension will be his last, Bergmann said. Bergmann decided to accept a one-year, $125,000 extension of his contract. His current contract, which was a shorter-than-standard, 260-day contract, would have ended in June. The contract extension commits Bergmann to a full 260-day contract.
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CU sells campus bathroom's naming rights for $25K : CU News : Boulder Daily Camera

http://dailycamera.com/news/2008/jan/25/cu-bathroom-gets-a-namesake/...
It's an offer the University of Colorado couldn't flush away: A Boulder venture capitalist paid $25,000 for the naming rights to a bathroom in the Boulder campus' ATLAS building. And so it is that the second-floor men's bathroom in the high-tech hub now has Brad Feld's name on it and a plaque with some words of wisdom from the donor: "The best ideas often come at inconvenient times. Don't ever close your mind to them." Feld -- managing director at Foundry Group and Mobius Venture Capital, both based in Boulder -- said he tried to make a similar offer a few years ago to his alma matter, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. But the school, after considering whether a donor could have naming rights to a bathroom, rejected his offer.
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Colorado Daily News - MESA celebrates 35th anniversary

http://coloradodaily.com/articles/2008/01/24/news/c_u_and_boulder/news2.txt...
Two attorneys who sued CU for allegedly ignoring threats to women's safety were honored by local rape crisis center Moving to End Sexual Assault on Wednesday evening. At a benefit celebrating the group's 35th anniversary, attorneys Peggy Jessel and Baine Kerr received formal recognition from MESA for bringing needed change to the CU campus. “It was a courageous and bold move, to sue a powerful institution,” said former state Senator Dorothy Rupert, who served as Master of Ceremonies. Jessel and Kerr represented women who said they were gang-raped at an off-campus CU football recruiting party in 2001. They challenged CU under Title IX, a gender-equity law.
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Colorado Daily News - National hotline fights hazing

http://coloradodaily.com/articles/2008/01/24/news/c_u_and_boulder/news3.txt...
Despite hazing bans and potential misdemeanor charges, universities are still struggling with hazing in the Greek system. Though hazing is not the problem it once was, Greek organizations nationwide continue to find ways to give potential new members and parents a way to report incidents. One such resource is the Anti-Hazing Hotline, 1-888-NOT-HAZE. According to a public release Wednesday, the hotline, which was established last August, was created in order to help “the ongoing battle to end hazing on our college campuses.” Dan McCarthy, the managing editor of fraternal law and associate attorney, who reviews calls made to the Anti-Hazing hotline, said the hotline has been received well by Greek organizations.
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Glenwood Springs Post Independent - Roaring Fork School Board clarifies search, arrest policies

http://www.postindependent.com/article/20080125/VALLEYNEWS/971249849...
A third and final reading of policy changes for the Roaring Fork School District Re-1 was approved by the board of directors Wednesday night at the school board’s regular meeting. RFSD district policy regarding student interrogations, searches and arrests was revised in accordance with changing state laws regarding the role of Student Resource Officers (SRO), according to RFSD superintendent Judy Haptonstall. “There were some changes in the laws,” Haptonstall said. “There were some things that needed clarification about what a school resource officer can and can’t do during an investigation.” Two main points of the policy needed clarification. The first regards student interrogations, where the old policy stated something along the lines that the school will make a “reasonable efforts” to reach the student’s parents prior to the interrogations, according to Haptonstall. But that left a gray area of interpretation. “Reasonable can be hard to define,” she said.
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Effective and Ethical Government

Colorado Lawmaker Censured for Kicking - New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/25/us/25censure.html?ref=us...
In the week leading up to his first day on the job, State Representative Douglas Bruce, a Republican, got