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National

Pentagon strains to uphold troop levels in Iraq
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-guard10apr10,1,3648432.story?coll=la-headlines-nation
The Pentagon will send four National Guard brigades to Iraq and may extend the tours of five active-duty Army brigades by as much as four months as it strains to find troops to sustain the buildup in Baghdad through the end of the year. The National Guard deployments — 13,000 soldiers based in Arkansas, Indiana, Oklahoma and Ohio — mark the first time since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that entire brigades are being called up for second combat tours. The four brigades served in Iraq, Afghanistan or the Balkans in 2004 or 2005. "Obviously everyone is going to be a little apprehensive about going back to Iraq," said Col. Kendall Penn, commander of the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in Arkansas. "However, this is a mission that the unit has trained for…. It is a mission that we are capable of doing." The deployments come at a politically difficult time for President Bush, who is fighting efforts in the Democratic-controlled Congress to force him to withdraw combat forces from the 4-year-old war.
RELATED: Hurricane response could suffer, senator says
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-shortages10apr10,1,3152978.story?coll=la-headlines-nation
RELATED: Four Guard brigades to return to Iraq
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-ex-guard9apr09,1,1531857.story?coll=la-headlines-world
RELATED: Iraq Looms Closer for 13,000 Reservists
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/us/10reserves.html?ref=washington

More Iraq war news in NATIONAL/GOVERNMENT, NATIONAL/FOREIGN POLICY, NATIONAL/MEDIA, COLORADO/GOVERNMENT, COLORADO/MILITARY

Senators press Gonzales for more documents
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-usattys10apr10,1,4868407.story?coll=la-headlines-nation
Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, indicating they think there is more to learn about the firings of eight federal prosecutors last year, asked Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales on Monday to turn over additional documents on the terminations and threatened to issue subpoenas if the materials were not forthcoming. Specifically, the four senators want the internal rankings that the Justice Department made of all 93 U.S. attorneys over the years, as well as employment charts that Monica M. Goodling, a top aide to Gonzales, provided to Justice officials as they decided which prosecutors to fire. The senators have also asked for the department's ratings of all 93 prosecutors in December, when seven of the eight were fired, including explanations why officials decided that certain prosecutors "might be on his or her way out" and why others were allowed to remain.
RELATED: Senators Press for More Files on Removing Prosecutors
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/washington/10attorneys.html

More DOJ scandal news in NATIONAL/GOVERNMENT

Hopkins Official Implicated as Student Loan Investigation Widens
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/09/AR2007040901175.html
The directors of financial aid at Johns Hopkins University and two other universities received tens of thousands of dollars from a student loan company as the officials and their schools urged students to borrow money from that lender, New York state investigators said yesterday. The payments by the company, Student Loan Xpress, are the latest revelations from a widening investigation into the $85 billion-a-year student loan industry. Congressional Democrats and state law enforcement officials are probing what had been little-known financial relationships among lending companies, universities and government officials.
RELATED: Student Lender Had Early Plans to Woo Officials
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/education/10loan.html?ref=us

Richardson content to start slow in White House race
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-richardson10apr10,0,5553674.story?coll=la-home-headlines
On the afternoon of the 58th day of New Mexico's 60-day legislative session, Gov. Bill Richardson reclined on the green leather couch in his office, rubbed his eyes and growled to the cluster of staffers surrounding him: "What can I sign?" His aides, bleary-eyed from lack of sleep, explained that the Legislature's printing office had lost three employees, keeping newly passed bills from promptly reaching his desk. "Send them some of our people," Richardson said. "I gotta sign something." That impatience has been the hallmark of Richardson's four years as governor, a tenure that has transformed this sleepy state's politics. The Democrat has launched a flurry of initiatives, ranging from the mainstream to the quirky. At his urging, the state has cut taxes, given teachers $275 million in raises, legalized medical marijuana, and authorized $225 million in state money to build a spaceport.

More 2008 presidential race news in NATIONAL/ELECTION

Top

Colorado

Bill to stop land seizure gains
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5630578
After emotional pleas from dozens of ranchers, a Senate committee passed a bill Monday that seeks to stop the Army from taking a swath of southeastern Colorado ranchland to expand its soldier-training ground. "Home is where the heart is, and that's all I've got," said Abel Benavidez, a Las Animas County rancher whose ancestors set up a homestead there in the 1870s. Benavidez was one of about 130 people who packed a Capitol hearing room for a measure that aims to block Army plans to expand the Piñon Canyon training site by 418,000 acres. The bill, already passed by the House and now headed to the full Senate after a 4-1 State, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee vote, is more of a political statement: It's unlikely the state can trump the U.S. government's authority to take property through eminent domain. "If they end up doing whatever they want to do, then we made our voice heard," said Sen. Ken Kester, R-Las Animas, who is sponsoring House Bill 1069 with Rep. Wes McKinley, D-Walsh. Mack Louden, a Las Animas County rancher whose great-grandparents settled in southeastern Colorado in 1902, said an Army "takeover" could result in the loss of 40 to 80 ranches.
RELATED: Panel says no to Carson expansion
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5474930,00.html
RELATED: Kit Carson descendant opposes expansion
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5474977,00.html
RELATED: Move to limit Army site picks up support
http://www.gazette.com/onset?id=21080&template=article.html
RELATED: Army's use of eminent domain under fire
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1176215732/1
RELATED: Army denies it is withholding records
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1176215732/2

Families may sue over drownings, court rules
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5630817
Families of two boys who drowned in drainage ditches in Colorado Springs and Longmont can sue the cities because government immunity did not apply at the time of the accidents, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday. The court, in a unanimous ruling, said a 2003 law that extended government immunity to sanitation facilities including storm water drainage ditches applied only to accidents after July 1, 2003, the date the law went into effect. The ruling immediately affects one other case, allowing a separate lawsuit against Colorado Springs and El Paso County to go forward.
RELATED: Court backs boys' families in drowning deaths in '97
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5474464,00.html
RELATED: Longmont mother can sue city
http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/apr/10/longmont-mother-can-sue-city/
RELATED: Mom can sue Springs in son’s drowning
http://www.gazette.com/onset?id=21067&template=article.html
RELATED: After the flood
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1176215732/4

Group backs guv's school funding plan
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5474535,00.html
A statewide public policy group that includes numerous business leaders weighed in Monday on behalf of Gov. Bill Ritter's tax plan to fund schools. Colorado Forum Director Gail Klapper said in a letter to Ritter that the group agrees that the state school fund is headed for insolvency unless action is taken. In addition to Klapper, the letter was signed by 67 business and professional leaders, including Dick Kelly of Xcel Energy and Nancy Tuor of CH2M Hill. Transfers of state money to the 178 school districts to replace a declining property tax portion will deplete the state school fund by the 2011-12 academic year, Ritter believes. He proposes freezing the property tax rate statewide, eliminating declines that otherwise would occur under a 1994 school finance act. The plan has come under fire from some Republicans, who call it a "tax increase" because tax bills would rise as property values rose.
RELATED: State reform could hike school taxes
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20070410/NEWS/104100037

More school funding news in COLORADO/EDUCATION

CBI probes threatening e-mail
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5475121,00.html
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation is trying to track down the author of an e-mail who threatened a state senator and her grandchildren over an education issue. Sen. Nancy Spence, R-Centennial, said police are providing security at her grandchildren's homes and at their schools while the CBI investigates the e-mail. "The person who wrote it will be prosecuted," Spence said Monday. Spence on Saturday received the e-mail, which was signed "the edcation (sic) panthers." She was told she and her grandchildren needed "to pay" for a recent incident in which a conservative blog posted an anti-school-choice e-mail from Rep. Mike Merrifield, D-Colorado Springs. That posting led to Merrifield's resignation as chairman of the House Education Committee. Spence is a leading advocate of school choice and has carried school voucher legislation. Spence said she has no idea who might be behind the e-mail, which also was sent to the Rocky Mountain News. She doubted the author used his or her real name. The e-mail came from an "Ed Barger" at "cea98barger@yahoo.com." It's unclear whether the author wanted Spence to believe he was affiliated with the Colorado Education Association(CEA). The group opposes vouchers.

COLORADO NEWS

Top

Election

Election spending law could get tougher
http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20070409/NEWS/70409033
Every year during election season hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent on campaigns by local political hopefuls in an effort to get your vote. Where each and every one of those dollars — down to the penny — came from has to be reported to the state and made available for the public to review. If Eagle County voters approve a May 1 ballot question to become a home rule county, the county could write its own campaign finance laws. The home rule charter does not address fair campaign practices, which means state law becomes local law, said Don Cohen, co-author of the home rule charter. “Because our charter does not say anything about it, state law then comes into the picture as the law,” Cohen said. Colorado law requires candidates running for any public office to account for who gave them money, and how much. The law also states that home rule counties can make their own laws on fair campaign practices. The Secretary of State’s office, which keeps an eye on fair campaign practices, interprets the law to mean that county boards of commissioners can — without a vote of the people — make their own law to get rid of the campaign finance reporting, said Heather Lemon, an Eagle-Vail attorney and member of the home rule commission.

Auditor hopeful takes jab at Gallagher
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5631229
The challenger in the race for Denver auditor gave incumbent Dennis Gallagher a failing grade Monday. Bill Wells said a survey done by a government auditing organization showed Gallagher's office performed below best practices in 15 of 17 auditing categories. "Were I auditor," Wells said, "this is where I would start. I would use this as our measure of professionalism." But the Association of Local Government Auditors said the information Wells used was not intended to assess performance. "That's definitely not how this information was put together," said Jeff Litchfield, the Colorado Springs city auditor who compiled the survey for the auditor's association. Litchfield said the survey cited by Wells asks auditor offices to self-report efforts they think are noteworthy and worth sharing industry-wide.
RELATED: Denver auditor counters opponent's charges
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/elections/article/0,2808,DRMN_24736_5474461,00.html

Council candidate indicted in 1981
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5631230
A Denver City Council candidate was indicted in 1981 for kidnapping, according to court records. Mark Roggeman, a veteran of the Denver Police Department since 1971, was one of 10 people named by a grand jury for kidnapping 22-year-old Emily Deitz because of her association with a religious organization. The court record has since been sealed, but Roggeman said he was involved in the case because of his long-time interest in freeing reluctant cult members. The case ended in a mistrial after Deitz spoke with a witness. It was never retried. Roggeman said the charges were dismissed. He returned to the police force after being suspended and worked as a patrolman in southwest Denver from 1985 to 1992, when he was promoted to his current position of community resource officer. Roggeman said he was trying to help Deitz's parents, who feared for their daughter's life.

Skico, candidate take each other to task
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20070410/NEWS/104100038
An Aspen mayoral candidate and the town's biggest corporate citizen aren't seeing eye to eye about a skier safety issue. More precisely, the Aspen Skiing Co. does not think Bonnie Behrend knows what she's talking about when she claims the Silver Queen Gondola is swinging wildly on its cable and bashing into the towers that support its movement up the mountain. And Behrend, a former television personality in Aspen and other locales who last week threw her hat into the political ring, has claimed she was "lied to" by Skico public relations director Jeff Hanle when she questioned him about gondola safety. "I didn't lie to her," declared Hanle on Monday. "I called her back and told her exactly what I had learned."

Not running from her past
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5474975,00.html
Pam Bennett marched into a meeting with a local newspaper editor last month and announced, "As you know, I'm not the girl next door." It's a line that has served Aurora's first-ever openly transgender City Council candidate well in the four years since she started living life as a woman. She expects to use it often between now and November's city election. "It's a way to break the ice," she said.

Signatures fall short in bid to oust DA
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5475111,00.html
A drive to recall 14th Judicial District Attorney Bonnie Roesink ended in failure Monday when petitions submitted to the secretary of state's office didn't contain enough voter signatures to force an election. Kathy Oberwitte, of Craig, who organized the recall effort out of frustration with the way the case of a man responsible for her brother's death in a crash was handled, turned in the petitions Monday. Jonathan Tee, spokesman for Secretary of State Mike Coffman, said 2,945 signatures were submitted, but that 3,802 signatures of registered voters were required to trigger an election. Since the necessary number wasn't reached, Tee said no additional work was done to verify if the signatures submitted were valid.
RELATED: Recall petition fails
http://craigdailypress.com/section/localnews/story/26080

Top

Effective and Ethical Government

Musgrave visits Greeley
http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/20070410/NEWS/104090113
During spring recess, members of Congress go home to their districts to meet with local officials, talk to constitutents and generally make themselves visible. On this break, U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave is busy doing that on a micro-level. She spent Monday morning walking around a largely empty downtown Greeley, visiting local businesses and advocating development in the city. "When I was a little girl, 9th and 9th (street and avenue) was where you shopped for everything," she told John Larson, general manager of the Greeley Ice Haus. "I feel like downtown Greeley was being left behind, so I'm glad you're here." Later, Musgrave ordered coffee from Salvador Deli owners Blake and Gabby Leavitt, who said business across from the Ice Haus has been good -- but downtown has a long way to go. "We're hoping for change downtown," Blake Leavitt said. Musgrave said she was glad to have the deli and coffee shop, too.
RELATED: Farm Bill listening session Tuesday
http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/20070410/NEWS/70409004

Lawmakers honor GIs killed in Iraq, Afghan wars
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5475125,00.html
As the names of 48 Colorado soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors killed in Iraq and Afghanistan were read aloud Monday, state lawmakers and loved ones of the fallen stood with heads bowed. "We owe them all a great debt for their service, and we will always hold a special place of honor for the soldiers and families who have made the ultimate sacrifice serving our country," said House sponsor Rep. Stella Garza Hicks, R-Colorado Springs. Senate Joint Resolution 32, sponsored by Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, D-Coal Creek Canyon, and Garza Hicks, named the 48 Colorado soldiers who gave their lives. It also honors the state military personnel who have served or are currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
RELATED: State honors fallen soldiers
http://www.cortezjournal.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=news&article_path=/news/07/news070410_2.htm
RELATED: Lawmakers honor armed forces, veterans and fallen service men and women
http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/20070410/NEWS/104090115
RELATED: Colorado lawmakers’ vote honors military service
http://www.gazette.com/onset?id=21075&template=article.html

Loyal opposition needing TLC (On the side, 4/10)
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5630643
There's no question Republicans are in the minority in the statehouse, but there is some question about how they spend their time given that situation - and whether the state can pick up the tab for massage bills. "My sense is that Sen. Johnson and I should go ahead and schedule massages," Rep. Al White, R-Winter Park, said discussing his and Sen. Steve Johnson's (R-Larimer County) role as minority members during the Joint Budget Committee's final negotiations on the budget. "We'll be glad to pay for that," Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo, chimed in. "Ay, there's the rub," White responded.

Roll Call, April 10
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5474979,00.html
Rep. Nancy Todd, D-Aurora, became a grandma for the first time on Friday. She showed off pictures on Monday of tiny Hannah Marie for her colleagues in the House. "She's the most beautiful granddaughter ever," Todd said. Funny, that's what [Sen. Ken] Gordon said when his granddaughter was born last August.

Your turn to ask the governor
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5474746,00.html
For the past several Mondays, the Rocky has carried a weekly update of Gov. Bill Ritter's activities during his first days in office. We've asked him questions ranging from his biggest challenge in putting together a Cabinet to why he really vetoed the Peace Labor Act. Now, it's your turn. What have you always wanted to ask a sitting governor? What burning question do you have about the economy, tax structure or Governor's Mansion? Ritter has agreed to respond to as many questions as his schedule allows.

Boulder leader keeps job after driving case
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5631241
A man convicted of reckless driving after he was alleged to have been driving under the influence of marijuana will not lose his City Council seat. However, the council reprimanded E. Richard Polk on Monday night for showing a disregard for public safety. "As elected officials and community leaders, we have an obligation to exemplify and uphold the legal and ethical expectations established by the law," the reprimand reads. "When we disregard these, we undermine both respect for the law and our credibility as public officials." A city charter provision says that council members must leave office if convicted of a "crime or felony." After hearing a presentation on a report by two outside attorneys who investigated the provision, the council decided that Polk's conviction is not a serious crime and does not merit dismissal. A much bigger debate sprouted when the council discussed whether Polk's reprimand should mention allegations of drug use. Boulder police originally ticketed Polk, 57, for driving under the influence of drugs after stopping him on Sept. 25. According to an arrest report, when Polk rolled down his window, a police officer smelled marijuana smoke, and Polk said: "Wait, can we do something else? I am a Boulder City Council member. I'm embarrassed." Officers reportedly confiscated a pipe and a small amount of marijuana from Polk's vehicle.
RELATED: Polk to stay on City Council
http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/apr/10/polk-to-stay-on-city-council/

Dollars and sense priorities
http://coloradodaily.com/articles/2007/04/09/news/c_u_and_boulder/news4.txt
Long-term economic forecasting can obviously be a hit-or-miss affair, but City of Boulder officials suggest that consequences could be stiff if certain projections of city revenue gaps are on the money. In short, a local Blue Ribbon Commission (BRC) on Revenue Stabilization has suggested the city may face future yearly gaps of tens of millions of dollars - beginning next decade and potentially growing steadily until 2030 - between projected revenues and the costs of maintaining current levels of city services.

Former Erie mayor joins county
http://www.longmontfyi.com/Local-Story.asp?id=15671
A former Erie politician known for trying to slow growth and preserve open space will champion those causes on the Boulder County Planning Commission. “The land can’t speak for itself, so someone has to speak for it,” said Barbara Connors, who was recently appointed to the panel. She attended her first meeting as a commissioner in March. Connors served on the Erie Planning Commission from 2004 to March 2006, when trustees decided not to reappoint her to the panel.

Moffat County High School graduate resigns from Englewood director position
http://craigdailypress.com/section/localnews/story/26083
Since becoming the development director in 1995, Simpson helped make the city's dream a reality with The Englewood Civic Center. Simpson was born and raised in Routt County and graduated from Moffat County High School. He attended the University of Colorado -- earning bachelor's degrees in environment/design and business -- and CU in Denver -- earning a master's degree in public administration. For five years, he was senior planner for Lakewood. Before that, he was Castle Rock's planning director. He's been Englewood's development director for 12 years.

Council meets with new faces
http://craigdailypress.com/section/localnews/story/26082
Rod Compton has been preparing for his swearing in to the Craig City Council since last Tuesday's election.

Top

Civil Liberties and Equality

DU students turn eyes to Holocaust, genocide
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5475110,00.html
A gentle breeze pulls words from Kathleen Snow's lips and scatters them into the air. "Hiam Ravich, wife and daughter . . . Michael Minna . . . Freida and three daughters . . . Yisreal Krukoff and wife, Chayah, and son, Aryeh." Students on the University of Denver's Campus Green pass by, many unaware that Snow and 30 other students are reading in 15-minute shifts the names of Jews, homosexuals, gypsies and others killed by the Nazis. It is a litany the volunteers began at 7 a.m. Monday and that would continue for 12 hours. When her turn is over, Snow's mood is somber.

Top

Health Care and Public Safety

Stem cells build corneas for testing
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5630813
Tom Eurell builds the corneas of human eyes in a Fort Collins laboratory, meticulously layering stem cells on tiny biological scaffolds and growing them. The engineered corneas are ideal for studying how the eye responds to everything from laser trauma to new cosmetic products - without sacrificing animal lives for research, said Eurell, a professor of veterinary medicine at Colorado State University. Eye researchers have traditionally used live rabbits to study corneas, Eurell said. "My goal is not to replace animals in research, but to reduce the numbers of animals used," Eurell said. "I don't want anything going into my grandchildren's eyes, or into mine, until tested in a live animal," Eurell said.

USDA announces weather radio grants
http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/20070409/NEWS/70409005
Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announced the award of more than $415,000 in grants for Weather Radio Transmitters to extend the coverage of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Weather Radio All Hazards (NWR) early warning system to seven rural communities. “With the tragedy of the tornadoes hitting towns in Arkansas, Missouri, Alabama and Georgia recently, we have heard national broadcasters saying everyone should have a NOAA Weather Radio,” Johanns said. “These seven grants to rural communities who do not have coverage from NOAA Weather Radio Transmitters will help save lives.”

Drugs bill approved (Legislative briefs)
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1176215732/18
A measure that allows certain pharmacies to sell an unlimited amount of compounded drugs is on its way to Gov. Bill Ritter's desk. HB1289, introduced by Rep. Buffie McFadyen, D-Pueblo West, allows compounding pharmacies, hospital pharmacies and insurance-operated pharmacies to mix and sell whatever compounded drugs they need. Current law restricts them because of concerns they are manufacturers. The measure requires the State Board of Pharmacy to set standards for those compounded drugs, which is a mixture of drugs intended for a variety of medical uses.

County gears up for West Nile
http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/apr/10/county-gears-up-for-west-nile/
The start of the mosquito season is only weeks away, and Boulder County is gearing up to stay ahead of the potentially deadly West Nile virus for the fifth consecutive year. Joe Malinowski, consumer-protection coordinator for Boulder County Public Health, advised the department's board Monday that the county plans to take steps to reduce mosquito populations before people begin reporting symptoms of the virus.

Health care available for uninsured students
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1176215732/10
Pueblo City Schools health experts believe that more than half the children in the area qualified to enroll in the state’s health plan are not taking part. To deal with that gap, the district is one of three statewide to receive grants to take part in the School-Based Medical Assistance Site Pilot Project.

Researcher tackles breast cancer truths, myths
http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/apr/10/researcher-tackles-breast-cancer-truths-myths/
Breast cancer researcher Susan Love met Molly Ivins through the University of Colorado's Conference on World Affairs in the 1980s. Today, she's giving a keynote talk on breast cancer in honor of Ivins, who died earlier this year of breast cancer. Love plans to address how the way people think about breast cancer influences research and treatment approaches.

Glenwood Medical, Anthem work to mend differences
http://www.postindependent.com/article/20070410/VALLEYNEWS/104100034
The predominant local doctors' office is working to resolve a seven-year dispute that has kept its services from being covered by a major Colorado health insurance plan. Most recently, the disagreement between Glenwood Medical Associates (GMA) and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield has forced some Colorado retirees to go to other communities to receive insured care. Glenwood Springs resident Patty Christensen is among those covered under the Public Employees' Retirement Association (PERA) plan.

Suit targets pit bull ban
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5630814
When Sonya Dias' pit bull, Gryffindor, pounced on 11-year-old Dorian Gonzales on Monday, licking his lips, Dorian loved it. Dorian immediately sided with Dias and a gaggle of lawyers gathered in O'Kane Park to announce they are challenging Denver's pit bull ban. The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court on behalf of three dog owners contends Denver animal control officers' confiscation of pit bulls is unconstitutional - allegedly forcing owners to sign confessions in order to save their seized dogs' lives. "What if it was people?" Dorian said. "What if someone said Mexican people aren't allowed to be here?" A growing number of national advocacy groups see it that way too. They object strongly to the breed-specific pit bull bans in Denver, Aurora and other cities around the country. "Your No. 1 dog biters of children actually are cocker spaniels," American Canine Association president Bob Yarnall said. "You can't be prejudiced against a breed of dog." The lawsuit targets a Denver ban enacted in 1989 after pit bull attacks killed a boy and severely injured a pastor. The ban lets animal control officers round up any dog with "a majority of physical traits" of a pit bull.
RELATED: Federal suit contests Denver's pit bull ban
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5474747,00.html
RELATED: Download a 13-page PDF of the lawsuit
http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2007/0409/20070409_035255_Pitbull.pdf

Family waits sadly for tainted pet food to claim its dog
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5475120,00.html
Safe in the lap of her owner, Ian White, Missie the pug took her last ride home Monday evening. White, his wife, Stephanie Monfelt, and the couple's young children took Missie home so she could spend a last day or two with her family and her animal buddies - Maggie, a Welsh corgi, and Garfield the cat. At only 4, Missie is about to become the latest animal victim in the United States that will succumb to acute renal failure caused by tainted pet food. The family will spend the next few days in their Adams County home closely monitoring Missie so she doesn't further suffer. White said he believed Wednesday likely will be Missie's last with them.

Top

Crime and Penal Reform

Weapons database one shot closer
http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070410/NEWS01/704100309/1002/NEWS01
A bill that would allow the state's law enforcement agencies to maintain a database of all people who obtain a concealed weapons permit narrowly passed the Senate on Monday. By an 18-17 vote, the Senate passed House Bill 1174, sponsored by Sen. Bob Bacon, D-Fort Collins, on third reading. A database of concealed weapons permit holders in Colorado has existed for many years and is set to sunset this year. Voting followed a contentious debate last week in which the bill was killed by Republicans on a preliminary vote but brought back to life during a procedural move on the floor made by Bacon. The bill now heads back to the House for approval of Senate amendments before heading to Gov. Bill Ritter's desk. Ritter could veto the legislation, sign it or allow it to become law without his signature.

Boys engineer a "classic story"
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5630579
When a team of boys, whose pasts include arrests for drug-dealing and robbery, entered a regional robotics competition last month, they walked away with something even they didn't expect. The winning trophy. "It's a classic story," said teacher Russell Burchill, an applied-technology teacher at Ridge View Academy, a juvenile detention center. "They didn't really think they could do it, and they're saying, 'Wow, we just beat everybody."' This week, with special permission from Colorado's Division of Youth Corrections, the nine-member team will fly to Atlanta to compete in the international FIRST Robotics Competition at the Georgia Dome.

Police forming a strike unit
http://www.gazette.com/articles/officers_21069___article.html/crime_myers.html
Police Chief Richard Myers will launch a 36-member strike unit April 22 to identify and pounce on hot spots where guns, gangs and drugs foster crime. Although Colorado Springs’ crime rate remains about half the national average, it has risen dramatically and “our goal should be to work tirelessly to reduce violent crime,” he said. Myers came here in January from Appleton, Wis., replacing Lou Velez.

Evans gets new police chief
http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/20070410/NEWS/104100102
The new Evans police chief edged out other applicants with his commitment to community and leadership skills. The city announced Monday that Lt. Rick Brandt, commander of the Aurora Police Department's major investigations unit, accepted the position. Evans Police Department has been operating with an interim chief, Leo Carrillo, since November. The search took longer than usual because the city wanted to hire a new city manager before choosing one of the key employees. Mayor Sherry Melby lauded Carrillo for his work, but she also said she's excited for Brandt to make plans for the future.

Legal pot activists angry at police
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5474748,00.html
Marijuana legalization advocates say they are furious with Denver police for arresting more people for misdemeanor possession after city residents voted to legalize the weed in 2005. Mason Tvert, who led the charge to get marijuana legalized, said the group will hold a noon news conference today at the steps of City Hall to decry the findings. Arrests for most minor crimes rose in Denver last year, and rose faster than marijuana arrests, following a change in policing philosophy. But Tvert said nothing can justify an 11 percent spike in marijuana possession arrests last year. "If there's one, it's too many," Tvert said. "They (police) have the discretion not to arrest." Although 54 percent of Denver voters approved legalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana by adults, it is still illegal under state law. Denver police have always said that they would continue to enforce state law. By December of last year, Denver reported that arrests for all crimes were up 14 percent, more than the increase in marijuana arrests.

Top

Economy

Defense: That's a wrap
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_5630826
Joe Nacchio's attorneys rested their case Monday without putting the former Qwest chief executive on the stand to defend himself against criminal insider-trading charges. Nacchio's attorneys called just three witnesses over two days, an indication that they believe the prosecution didn't prove its case. The government called 20 witnesses over 10 days to make a case that Nacchio sold $100.8 million in Qwest stock in early 2001 while he had inside information about the company's looming financial problems. Nacchio's lead attorney, Herbert Stern, offered a simple explanation for the brevity of the defense, which didn't include any mention of the much-touted national-security defense. "If it ain't broke, you don't fix it," Stern told reporters after the trial adjourned for the day. Not calling Nacchio to the stand "strongly suggests" that the defense believes it is in good shape, said former federal prosecutor Richard Kornfeld.
RELATED: No stand for Nacchio
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/tech/article/0,2777,DRMN_23910_5475052,00.html
RELATED: Juror incident merits huddle
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_5631143
RELATED: Special coverage: Nacchio on trial
http://cfapp2.rockymountainnews.com/business/nacchio/

First Data completes Instant Cash deal
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_5627437
Electronic payment processor First Data Corp. today said it has completed its acquisition of Instant Cash Services, a debit and ATM payment processing business, from a subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Co. Financial terms were not disclosed. First Data announced the planned takeover on March 16. Instant Cash Services' customers include banks, credit unions, thrifts and nonfinancial institutions in 20 states.

Elitch Gardens sale final; new name coming today
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_5630032
The sale of Denver's Six Flags Elitch Gardens was officially finalized last week, said Florida-based real estate investment trust CNL Income Properties Inc. The amusement park was acquired along with several others from PARC 7F Operations Corp. for $312 million. At the closing, CNL leased the properties back to PARC, which will operate the parks under long-term agreements. PARC announced in January that it was acquiring the properties from New York-based Six Flags Inc. It plans to announce a new name and new attractions for Elitch Gardens today.

Mead means business
http://www.longmontfyi.com/Local-Story.asp?id=15670
Penni Zelinkoff moved to Mead from Denver last year because she wanted to live in a small town. Not long after arriving, the real estate investor bought the dilapidated building and the property at 209 Fourth St. in downtown Mead, formed Penni Lane LLC to plan a 6,000-square-foot office or retail space on the land, and joined the Mead Area Chamber of Commerce. “The chamber definitely is very intent on building businesses in and around Mead,” Zelinkoff said. It’s people like her, and her potential business tenants, whom chamber officials hope to continue to attract as the group moves into its third year of existence.

Sit, Fido, ... shop
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_5630001
Colorado retailers looking to build customer loyalty, increase sales and earn repeat customers are working hard to attract a new shopper to their stores: the four-legged kind. From treat bowls on the counter to water dishes by the door to discreetly placed "poopy" bags by the trash can, store owners are adding accouterments that say "Pets welcome here." When those efforts work, the payoff can be huge, but owners who allow pets in their stores should be prepared for liability issues. Nationally, dog owners are younger, more affluent and more likely to be married than their canine-free counterparts, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association's 2005-06 pet owners survey. They have a higher annual household income than the rest of the population ($46,000, compared with $40,000) and are more likely to earn at least $50,000 a year.

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Worker's Rights and Corporate Accountability

[Longmont] Jobs board opposes development
http://www.longmontfyi.com/Local-Story.asp?id=15666
Macy needs the Longmont City Council’s approval to rezone 27 acres of the land from business light industrial to commercial. His plan is being opposed by the city’s official job-creation board. “Commercial development is not primary job development,” John Cody of the Longmont Area Economic Council said. “The Economic Council is charged with improving the economy working with primary employers, industry.” Primary employers like the city’s southwest side, and seeing the available land reduced limits the city’s ability to attract new employers, Cody said.

Students no longer knocking on doors of opportunity
http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/04/10/4_10_1B_job_fair.html
Career Center construction student Joe Johnson will hopefully have no problem landing a construction job this summer. Thanks to economic growth driven by the oil and gas industry, jobs in construction and other skilled trades will be plentiful, according to recruiters at a job fair sponsored by Mesa County Valley School District 51’s Career Center on Monday. Like other Career Center students, Johnson, a 17-year-old Fruita Monument High School junior, came prepared Monday morning to ask questions and fill out job applications.

Top

Housing and Homelessness

Home buyers bill gets nod
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5474744,00.html
A bill that makes it easier for home buyers to sue home builders for major defects inched closer to the governor's desk Monday, despite Republicans' objections it will enrich trial lawyers. The Senate gave initial approval to the measure in a party-line vote. Democrats touted it as a much needed consumer-protection measure. House Bill 1338 would prevent home buyers from being forced to sign builder warranties that strip away their legal rights to have home defects fixed. Republicans railed against the bill for nearly two hours, arguing that it will invite a flood of lawsuits and drive up costs for new homes, pricing many low-income families out of the market.

Denver mobile-home firm in purchase talks
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_5629984
Farallon Capital Management LLC, a San Francisco-based hedge-fund manager that invests in cash-strapped companies, is in talks to buy the manufactured-home unit of Denver-based Affordable Residential Communities Inc. for $1.8 billion. Farallon has exclusive rights through April 16 to negotiate a purchase of the unit, a maker of mobile homes and manager of mobile-home communities, its parent said Monday in a statement. The hedge-fund firm is its second-largest shareholder, with a 10 percent stake.

Another life for Bair Chase
http://www.postindependent.com/article/20070410/VALLEYNEWS/104100031
A midvalley property once destined to become a residential golf course development has taken on yet another life. Monday, the Garfield County commissioners revoked the Sanders Ranch planned unit development and rezoned the property high-density residential, keeping the door open for development of the property.

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Education

Little sympathy for CSU in tuition tussle
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5630827
Colorado State University's last-minute plea to get an extra $34 million in tuition was the latest dust-up pitting college against college in a cash-starved system. In the sharpest tone yet of a funding battle intensifying since 2000, CSU president Larry Penley publicly accused lawmakers and the governor of giving the University of Colorado preferential treatment. The crux of Penley's argument is that as state funds for higher education were being slashed, lawmakers tightened limits on tuition hikes after CU aggressively raised its tuition. CSU, meanwhile, did not keep up - though opinions vary about whether the university was stifled or whether CSU simply took the politically safe route, accepting no for an answer when CU refused.
RELATED: Sen. Bacon pushing for CSU improvement funding
http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070410/CSUZONE01/704100310/1002/NEWS01

Ritter vetoes bill on school P.E. instructors
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5474772,00.html
Gov. Bill Ritter signed 18 bills into law and vetoed his second bill of the session on Monday. The measure he vetoed would have required larger public schools to hire a licensed physical education instructor. Ritter said House Bill 1122 would have created disparities between smaller and larger schools.

Raising of the flag bill
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5630640
A stubborn geography teacher nearly lost his job in August to save his classroom's display of three foreign flags. In January, 12-year-old Ty Baker, wearing a suit and tie, asked state legislators to allow his school to fly 31 flags. Monday, Gov. Bill Ritter embraced the efforts of both, signing a bill permitting the permanent display of foreign flags in public schools. Under state law, it had been been a petty offense to permanently fly flags other than the American, Colorado or local flags on public buildings, including schools. The new law also allows school boards to adopt their own flag policies. The legislation came about after Carmody Middle School teacher Eric Hamlin refused in August to take down Chinese, Mexican and United Nations flags hanging in his Jefferson County classroom. School officials reprimanded him for insubordination and placed him on paid leave, but eventually backed down. They offered Hamlin the opportunity to return, with one snag: The flags had to be rotated every six months so they remained a temporary teaching tool. Hamlin took a reassignment, and now teaches geography at West Jefferson Middle School. He said his flags still hang from his classroom walls.

Slim budget means fewer CU amenities
http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/apr/10/slim-budget-means-fewer-cu-amenities/
Free cold-care and safe-sex kits will likely be harder to come by next year at the University of Colorado, and there will be fewer on-campus concerts and movies as programs respond to a leaner budget. The budget — passed by student legislators but pending final approval by the regents — would most drastically affect CU's "community health program" and the Program Council, a student-run group that brings entertainment to the campus. An earlier version of the bill would have caused campus centers and programs that rely on student fees to make even deeper cuts.

'Experts and rookies with fresh ideas'
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5474976,00.html
A conservative defended President Bush's stance on torture Monday, while a liberal told 1,000 people that the huge problem facing the world isn't Islam or Christianity, but "religious extremism" of all stripes. Big thinkers are crunching big topics this week at the 59th Conference on World Affairs, the University of Colorado's annual paean to global matters.
RELATED: Speech stresses respect of Islam
http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/apr/10/speech-stresses-respect-of-islam/
RELATED: Kipper delivers keynote
http://coloradodaily.com/articles/2007/04/09/news/c_u_and_boulder/news1.txt

Business dean quits UNC for Tenn. post
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_5629988
Joe Alexander, dean of the University of Northern Colorado's Monfort College of Business since 2002, will leave the school this year to become an associate dean at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. The move is effective June 30, UNC announced Monday. Under Alexander, UNC's business school won the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 2004, the only business college to earn the honor.

CSAP mistake could cost Rocky
http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070410/NEWS01/704100341/1002
Rocky Mountain High School likely will see a drop in performance on state and federal accountability rankings because 31 sophomores were mistakenly allowed to use calculators on a standardized math test. Because of what state officials called an unprecedented mistake, the affected students will receive zeroes on the math section of this year's Colorado Student Assessment Program. The test scores aren't used for evaluating individual students, but they are crucial parts of federal and state accountability tracking for campuses and districts.

Parents, others not keen on grade plan
http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?aid=/20070410/news01/704100339/1002
Parents and teachers gave a chilly reception Monday night to an administration proposal that would move Poudre School District ninth-graders to high schools and sixth-graders to newly created middle schools. "The only mystery to me is what is the problem that this is the solution to," David Fanning, whose three sons have attended PSD schools, said at a school board meeting where Superintendent Jerry Wilson formally presented his proposal. "Increased opportunity for ninth-graders can only come at the expense of academic opportunity of 11th- and 12th-graders."

E-mail investigation ordered
http://www2.steamboatpilot.com/news/2007/apr/10/email_investigation_ordered/?local_news
Steamboat Springs School Board President Denise Connelly said the board will order an investigation into how the Steamboat Pilot & Today got copies of e-mails sent by board member John DeVincentis when he was principal at Strawberry Park Elementary. The e-mails between DeVincentis and Mercer Island, Wash. teacher Joby McGowan were sent in 2004-05. The e-mails were harshly critical of Mercer Island Superintendent Cyndy Simms, a former Steamboat superintendent. Printed copies of the e-mails were placed in manila envelopes and delivered to the Pilot & Today. They were addressed to Suzanne Schlicht, the newspaper’s general manager. The Pilot & Today verified the e-mails with multiple sources before publishing excerpts Friday.

District 60 may delay retirement deadline
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1176215732/13
The Pueblo City Schools Board of Education will be asked tonight to extend to May 1 the deadline to file for retirement and still receive a health-insurance incentive. The deadline to file had been 4 p.m. Monday but district officials said that only 55 people - 32 teachers, seven administrators and 16 classified workers - had filed, five short of the 60 needed to trigger the incentive package that would cover much of a retiree’s health insurance costs for a year. If that total isn’t reached, employees will be allowed to rescind their retirement filings.

A better mix in Boulder Valley: Schools becoming less segregated by income, ethnicity
http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/apr/10/a-better-mix-in-boulder-valley/
Boulder Valley schools are becoming slightly less segregated by income and ethnicity. The school board will hear a report on the district's efforts to create more integrated schools at today's board meeting. The report gives an update on the 16 schools that made changes in the last couple of years. Strategies have included making it easier for low-income families to get into some of the most popular schools and adding programs to make some neighborhood schools more attractive to middle-class parents. The district also is expanding its English-as-a-second-language program to more schools.

Broomfield wrestler accused of shooting cop with pellet gun
http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/apr/10/broomfield-wrestler-accused-of-shooting-cop-with/
A star wrestler was arrested Monday, accused of shooting an off-duty police officer with a pellet gun near Broomfield High School. Cory Casady, an 18-year-old Broomfield High student and the 2007 140-pound Class 4A champion, was arrested near Sheridan Boulevard and 144th Avenue on Monday afternoon on suspicion of menacing with a weapon and reckless endangerment after shooting the officer twice in the head with some type of pellet gun, Broomfield police Sgt. Colleen O'Connell said.

Top

Military

Soldier remembered for his humor
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5475084,00.html
Derek Gibson was one of those guys who could make anyone laugh. "He had a sense of humor, and he would do something and you can't help but laugh at him," said his mother, Janet Gibson, of Eustis, Fla. "Everyone in this house is telling stories about him, and it's one comic thing after another." Pfc. Gibson, 20, was one of two Fort Carson soldiers killed Wednesday in Baghdad, Iraq. The other was Pfc. William Freeman Jr., 20, of Lancaster, Calif. An improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle during combat operations. Both were assigned to Fort Carson's 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division.
RELATED: 2 Fort Carson soldiers killed in Baghdad
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1176215732/15

VA asks state inspection of vet facility
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5630642
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has asked state health officials to conduct an inspection of the troubled Homelake assisted-living cottages for veterans in Monte Vista. VA officials said they asked the state to visit the home because of public attention, both in the state legislature and in the media, to the home's deteriorating condition. "We wanted to respond positively and quickly to public concerns," said Paul Sherbo, regional VA spokesman. "We have registered our concerns in various ways," he said. Recent inspections of the four nursing homes the state operates for veterans have uncovered a litany of problems. The state Department of Human Services, which operates the homes, said budget squeezes of the past several years have meant there was no money for upkeep and renovation.
RELATED: Feds inspect state-run vets home
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5475112,00.html

Pentagon names new Fort Carson commander
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1176215732/6
Army Brig. Gen. Mark A. Graham has been selected to be the new commander at Fort Carson, Pentagon officials announced over the weekend. Graham, who is deputy commanding general for the 5th Army at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, will replace Maj. Gen. Robert Mixon Jr., who has been commander at the Mountain Post for the past two years. Graham will take over command in September. Graham will become the new commander of 1st Army Division West, which oversees the training of all reserve and National Guard troops west of the Mississippi River. Mixon's new assignment has not been announced, although the general has said he would like to live in the Colorado Springs area after retirement.

Ritter approves Roberts’ license bill
http://www.durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=news&article_path=/news/07/news070410_5.htm
Rep. Ellen Roberts made her first visit to Gov. Bill Ritter's inner office Monday to watch him sign one of her bills. The bill extends the dates of eligibility to get a Korean War license plate. Harvey Parker of Durango asked her to carry the bill. Parker served in Korea after the armistice was signed but during the period the federal government considered it a conflict zone. Until Monday, Colorado law had not allowed veterans like Parker to get a Korean War license plate.

10th Mountain Division gets museum
http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20070409/NEWS/104060119
Just about every soldier in the 10th Mountain Division can tell you it has been America's busiest Army unit since its reactivation 22 years ago. About how 10th Mountain Division troops are in the front lines fighting against al-Qaida insurgents in Iraq. And how the division routed the Taliban from the Shah-e-Kot mountains in Afghanistan during the early phases of the war on terror. Most even know about the daring rescue of the ambushed Army Rangers from Mogadishu in 1993 - a feat chronicled in the best-selling book and movie, "Black Hawk Down." But few can detail the division's exploits during World War II, and fewer still how the division was born as an alpine fighting force in the mountains of Colorado or why it now calls upstate New York its home.

Friends say goodbye to Jerry Murphy
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1176215732/3
Family and friends of Raymond "Jerry" Murphy came to Pueblo's Sacred Heart Cathedral to say goodbye Monday evening to a man the community knew as a war hero, but they remembered in more personal ways. Murphy, 77, and one of Pueblo's four Medal of Honor recipients, died last Friday at the Pueblo Veterans Nursing Home after a long illness. His body was carried inside the cathedral by a Marine Corps honor guard, a solemn reminder that Murphy received the nation's highest military decoration for heroism as a Marine platoon commander in 1953 during the Korean War.

Top

Religion

Priest found guilty in 2nd sexual assault
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5630577
For the second time in two weeks, Catholic priest Timothy Evans has been found guilty of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust. Evans is the first priest in Colorado to be charged with sexual assault since the clergy-abuse crisis hit the U.S. Catholic Church in 2002. After deliberating Friday, a Jefferson County jury reached its guilty verdict Monday morning. Evans, 44, of Loveland, bowed his head as he was handcuffed. He smiled and nodded at his family and friends as he was taken to the Jefferson County Jail. Sentencing has been set for May 31. He faces two to eight years in prison.
RELATED: Jeffco jury convicts priest of sexual assault on teenager
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5474462,00.html
RELATED: Evans found guilty again
http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070410/NEWS01/704100342/1002

Show me the money
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1176215732/8
A Pueblo minister is among more than 100 Americans who will be featured in Parade magazine's annual "What People Earn" edition that comes out Sunday. Rev. Gary Fearn, who earns just $9,000 a year as minister of the Universalist Life Church in Pueblo, is featured on the cover of the news magazine's popular income edition. He also is the only Colorado resident to be included in the survey. The popular annual edition highlights how much people of different occupations throughout the U.S. make in a year.

Top

Energy Policy

Former officials back oil-and-gas panel reform (Under the dome, 4/10)
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5630641
More than 20 former public officials called on the Senate to reform the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. The group, which includes former Colorado Division of Wildlife directors Perry Olson, John Mumma and Jim Ruch, asked senators in a letter to support House Bill 1341. The bill calls for cutting from five to three the number of members who must have a background in the oil and gas industry, and increasing the membership of the commission from seven people to nine. Landowners, environmentalists and public-health officials would be added to the board.
RELATED: Oil, gas bill gets wildlife backers
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5474770,00.html
RELATED: Lobbying revs up on oil and gas reform
http://www.durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=news&article_path=/news/07/news070410_4.htm

NCLA calls for statewide energy strategy
http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/20070409/NEWS/70409002
The Northern Colorado Legislative Alliance has sent Gov. Bill Ritter a letter requesting a statewide collaborative process to bring local governments, environmentalists and the business community together to develop a long-term energy strategy that protects the Colorado economy. In the letter, Doug Hill, chairman of the alliance, said the letter was prompted by a flurry of recent legislative proposals that may have conflicting provisions impacting the northern Colorado economy.

Rough road for co-op exec
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/energy/article/0,2777,DRMN_23914_5474561,00.html
Nothing about Stan Lewandowski is green. Just ask environmentalists and some of his customers. Or him. Sun and wind power rank on the bottom of Lewandowski's list for providing electricity. For the general manager of Intermountain Rural Electric Association, the state's largest rural electric co-operative serving 134,000 customers, coal tops the list. His views fly in the face of a state and national movement to go more green, inching Lewandowski to the sidelines. "The job of a electric utility is to provide reliable electricity at a low cost, not social service," Lewandowski said. "From a practical point, coal is the solution at present. Solar is far too expensive, and wind is too intermittent," he adds. "When it comes to renewable energy, I don't do something to feel good."

Energy companies pump Western Slope economy
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_5627259
Old U.S. 6 in Rifle, now a paved access road, hugs the railroad tracks heading west out of town. Post-war motels once hungry for business are flush with neon "no vacancy" signs. Restaurants, construction companies, snowmobile dealerships, 24-hour fuel stops, truck rental centers, and a sprawling EnCana Energy gas-collection station populate the outskirts of the valley community. And land has been earmarked for a new extended-stay motel. Just before it ducks under Interstate 70, a dirt road pokes off old U.S. 6 to the north, tying into a network of other heavily traveled dirt roads that take you past the first of many large multidirectional drill rigs. "Uphill traffic has priority," the signs warn on the steep, curving roads that lead into the Roan Plateau. That means folks going to work have the right of way to those coming off. This is a lean industry, and it can't afford to slow down.

Eco-curriculum at Vail Mountain School
http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20070409/NEWS/70409005
The cafeteria at Vail Mountain School might someday be a gas station. It’s an idea being thrown around by junior Nick Wilhelm, who wants the school’s next van to run off a clean burning substitute for diesel fuel — straight vegetable oil from the lunch room fryers. “We could just get what we need from the cafeteria,” Wilhelm said. It’s not a crazy idea here — it’s the kind of thing he and his friends talk about in class with the lights turned out (they’re saving energy, you see). It’s an idea he’s pitching to school leaders, whom he hopes to convince that fry oil in the gas tank is one more way to help the environment.

Top

Transportation and Infrastructure

RTD union backs voluntary use of private companies
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5474465,00.html
RTD's hiring of private companies to handle much of its bus service would be voluntary instead of mandatory under a union-backed bill being introduced at the legislature. Sen. Bob Hagedorn, D-Aurora, plans to introduce the measure, being pushed by Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1001, which represents RTD's drivers, mechanics and other hourly workers. The bill would erase the 50 percent mandate on the amount of bus service RTD must contract out and replace it with a 55 percent voluntary ceiling. It would be up to the RTD board of directors how much service to put out for bid - from none to 55 percent. "Why wouldn't you let an elected board decide how to run its own organization?" said Michelle Dally, spokeswoman for the ATU.

Transit gets green light from public
http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070410/NEWS01/704100307/1002
Transit was touted as the preferred route for the region to take in dealing with its transportation issues during a public forum Monday at the Lincoln Center. About 50 people attended the forum, which was the third in a series of regional meetings focusing on what projects a regional transportation authority, or RTA, would fund if it were approved by voters.

Chamber unfazed by I-70 tunnel repairs
http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/04/10/4_10_1b_tunnel_repair.html
A possible summerlong closure of the eastbound bore of the Hanging Lake Tunnel on Interstate 70 in Glenwood Canyon is not expected to keep tourists from visiting Glenwood Springs, a Chamber Resort Association official said Monday.

Aspen airport shut until June to fix runway
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_5629985
The Aspen/Pitkin County Airport shut down to flights Monday for a planned 60-day closure to rehabilitate its deteriorating runway. The airport is expected to reopen June 7. Many private planes cleared out of the airport, according to Stay Aspen/Snowmass president Bill Tomcich. "It's kind of eerie," he said.

CDOT provides safety tips for cyclists, drivers
http://postindependent.com/article/20070410/VALLEYNEWS/104100033
The Colorado Department of Transportation plays an important role in educating pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists in order to make our roads safe. Before bicyclists become more prominent on the roadways this spring and summer, CDOT wants to remind bicyclists and motorists about a few tips to keep our highways safe.

Strike 2 for bike tour's use of Rio Grande
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20070410/NEWS/104100033
The staff of another public agency is advising its governing board to just say no to a large bicycle tour's request to use part of the Rio Grande Trail one day this summer. The Roaring Fork Transportation Authority staff advised its board of directors in a memo released over the weekend to prohibit use of the trail for special events, such as the Ride the Rockies bicycle tour. "Given current staff constraints and resources, staff recommends that the Board adopt a policy of not allowing special events on the Rio Grande Trail," says a memo by Mike Hermes, the RFTA's director of properties and trails.

Top

Environment and Conservation

Parks nominee not above debate
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5630828
As Colorado parks director, Lyle Laverty revamped and upgraded state parks, built luxury cabins and boosted attendance despite budget cuts. He also used public funds to buy a riding horse, and he traveled to Lebanon and Tanzania. Laverty's record during six years at the helm of the parks division shows his flair for managing the cash- strapped parks and his penchant for personal perks, say current and former state officials. Now Laverty, 64, who announced Monday that he would step down May 1, is awaiting Senate confirmation to become assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks in the Department of Interior. President Bush nominated him for the post in March. As parks director, Laverty coped with a 20 percent cut in state funding while managing to boost park attendance by 7.6 percent to 11.4 million visitors.

Ritter taps retired biologist, county official for wildlife panel
http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20070409/NEWS/70409014
Gov. Bill Ritter nominated retired wildlife biologist Dennis Buechler and Chaffee County Commissioner Timothy Glenn to fill vacancies on the Colorado Wildlife Commission on Monday. Buechler, of Centennial, retired from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in 2003. He is a former board member of the Colorado Wildlife Federation and now heads the group’s work on oil and gas issues. He and Glenn, who lives in Salida, would replace Rick Enstrom and Las Animas County Commissioner Ken Torres, whose terms expired March 1. The Wildlife Commission is responsible for hunting and wildlife programs. It has nine members who serve four-years terms. They must be confirmed by the Senate.

Farmers’ sale of water can be a bad idea
http://www.gazette.com/articles/water_21072___article.html/rights_farmers.html
Agriculture in the Rocky Mountain West consumes the lion’s share of the region’s water supply, but farmers are increasingly cashing in on the thirst of rapidly growing cities, according to the 2007 State of the Rockies Report Card released Monday. Colorado College’s annual study is compiled by CC students and staff and looks at trends affecting the eight-state region of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. This year’s report primarily focused on water sustainability, forest health and energy production. The report cites 2000 U.S. Geological Survey figures showing that more than 87 percent of the region’s total water use was for irrigation, while 6.4 percent was for public supply. Yet struggling farmers are frequently turning to municipalities to bail them out, a practice that can hurt rural economies, it says.
RELATED: El Paso County fire danger among regions worst
http://www.gazette.com/onset?id=21077&template=article.html

Water allocation talks resume with mediator
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5630704
A professional mediator has taken on the task of ending the century-old water wars between Colorado's Front Range and the Western Slope, renewing efforts to find a "global solution" for dividing a limited resource. John Bickerman, an attorney from Washington, admitted he was "parachuting into an ongoing war" when he met Monday for the first time with about 40 officials from the Denver Water Board and a panoply of water providers from west of the Continental Divide. "There's a lot of emotion and friction that I've witnessed," he said. "What I do see is a commitment ... to try to work out a deal." The historic divisions are entrenched and exacerbated by the ever-increasing demand for water on both sides of the Divide.

"Pumpback" may help water woes
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5630703
Sending water upstream from the Green Mountain reservoir to the Dillon reservoir is one proposal being considered as part of a "global solution" to Colorado's chronic water shortages. The so-called Green Mountain pumpback could unlock as much as 50,000 acre-feet of water for the metro area, according to a joint study by the Colorado River Water Conservation District and Denver Water Board. "This is just an alternative that's on the table for consideration," said Chris Treese, director of the water conservancy based in Glenwood Springs.

County Democrats to host Colorado Water Law talk (Briefs for April 10)
http://www2.steamboatpilot.com/news/2007/apr/10/briefs_april_10/?local_news
The Routt County Democratic Party will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Olympian Hall. The event includes a short potluck dinner and business meeting. Following the business meeting, Ken Neubaucher of Trout Unlimited will lead a discussion of Colorado Water Law and Potential Transbasin Digressions. Contact Ken Brenner at kpbrenner@yahoo.com.

Fossil bed fees may double
http://www.gazette.com/onset?id=21082&template=article.html
Rising operations and maintenance costs have led the National Park Service to propose more than doubling entrance fees for the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. Under the proposal, fees for a sevenday pass would rise to $7 per person from $3. The annual pass would increase to $30 from $15. The rates would become effective in 2008.

County all about the Benjamin: Leaders may spend $4.75M on open space near Betasso
http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/apr/10/county-all-about-the-benjamin/
County leaders could give their blessing today to a major purchase of private land that would add more than 400 acres to Boulder County's open space inventory. The Benjamin property, just northwest of Betasso Preserve, would be one of the larger mountain open space acquisitions by the county in recent years.

Ophir gets cash for open space preservation
http://telluridegateway.com/articles/2007/04/10/news/news01.txt
A penny from Congress’ pocket fell into the Ophir valley last week, bringing with it the promise of preserving at least some of the open space that surrounds the mountain hamlet. The town and the Trust For Public Land have been working for years to preserve the 12,000-acre piece of land, which is owned by the Pauls family. Last week the United States Forest Service announced it would allocate $850,000 to the preservation efforts from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund.

Hotel Colorado joins Historic Hotels of America
http://www.postindependent.com/article/20070410/VALLEYNEWS/104100030
There's a perk to being more than 100 years old. On Monday, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named the Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs as one of the nation's 213 Historic Hotels of America.

Hungry bears stirring awake in the area
http://www.gazette.com/onset?id=21061&template=article.html
They’re big. They’re hungry. And they aren’t picky eaters. They may be coming to your neighborhood. Black bears are back. “There was one seen in Rockrimmon over the weekend,” Colorado Division of Wildlife spokesman Michael Seraphin said. Sightings of Colorado’s largest carnivore have been reported statewide, about a week ahead of schedule.

Return of the rainbow?
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20070410/NEWS/104100031
It didn't take biologists very long to figure what was going on. Parasitic spores - part of a complex life cycle involving mud-dwelling worms - were infecting the fish and spreading like wildfire. Before long, both state hatcheries and waterways were infected, and researchers pinpointed a shipment of infected trout from Idaho as the source. Worst of all, there seemed to be no way to stop it. Initial reports from biologists suggested that it might not be a problem for wild rainbow trout populations, so the Colorado Division of Wildlife continued stocking infected trout for four or five years after they first discovered the infection. By the early 1990s, rainbow populations simply collapsed, disappearing entirely from some rivers and lakes, with only a few remnant populations holding on. Some rainbow populations in the high country also managed to avoid the worst of the disease, based partially on the fact that fast-running mountain streams don't have the layer of mud on the bottom that provide the ideal environment for the parasite-hosting worms. Rudd said other fish quickly filled the niche, with brown trout, for example, thriving in some areas where rainbows previously dominated. In other cases, brook trout populations started to increase, and that's not always a good thing. The brookies can crowd out populations of native cutthroat trout in some places, Rudd said. All the while, researchers looked for answers, with the goal of someday re-establishing rainbow trout in Colorado. In recent years, some of the most promising research has focused on breeding Colorado River rainbows with another strain, called Hofer rainbows, from a hatchery in southern Germany. The Hofer trout, it turns out, are highly resistant to whirling disease.
RELATED: Trout research faces funding cuts
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20070410/NEWS/104100032

Top

Opinion

Electoral College is outdated
http://www.denverpost.com/opinionheadlines/ci_5628615
Maryland and Hawaii moved to the forefront of a hot political debate last week when their legislatures approved plans to cast their Electoral College ballots for the presidential candidate who wins the national popular vote. If the states' respective governors sign the bills, they would add fuel to an effort to essentially sidestep the Electoral College's current system for electing a president. The Electoral College is a rickety relic that gives unequal weight to voters depending upon where they live. It should be thanked for its service and consigned to history. But it will take a good deal of debate before any changes are made. The goal of the National Popular Vote campaign is to ensure that the presidential candidate who takes office prevailed in the nationwide popular vote.

Close ranks on immigration
http://www.denverpost.com/opinionheadlines/ci_5628616
Standing along the border between the United States and Mexico, President Bush on Monday renewed his call for more secure borders and a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants. The time to act is now. A small window of opportunity has opened in Washington, where a bipartisan compromise can be hammered out on this red-hot issue. But it's a brief moment. Political posturing and jockeying for the 2008 elections will begin in earnest this fall, and that can quell bipartisan efforts faster than you can say, "Tom Tancredo." Congress and the president need to invest the energy and the political will now to help enact sensible, comprehensive immigration reform. If they wait too long, chances for a solution may get pushed to 2009, with a new president and a new Congress.
RELATED: Immigration reform on the docket once more
http://www.gazette.com/onset?id=21065&template=article.html
RELATED: Lemon: Immigration’s common ground
http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20070409/EDITS/70409024

Littwin: Ranchers defend land, life against Army's maneuvers
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/news_columnists/article/0,1299,DRMN_86_5475053,00.html
Mack Louden traces his Colorado roots back to 1902 when his grandfather arrived - by horseback. He rode in from Ohio, via Montana. And as Mack tells the story, while sitting on the west side of the Capitol with his uncle and son - three generations of Loudens - you can almost feel the dust kicking up off the trail. "He had wanderlust," says Louden of his grandfather. "He just took off riding one day." He lit out for the territories, as Mark Twain might have put it. The way the family story goes: Granddad rode into the canyons of southeast Colorado, about 60 miles east of Trinidad. He found a spread to homestead, and his family joined him there. And wanderlust gave way to something purer: The crusty rancher unashamedly calls it love.

Concealed weapons, lists
http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/apr/10/concealed-weapons-lists/
Last month, state legislators approved a bill standardizing the procedures for concealed-weapons permit-holders. Senate Bill 34 would make it illegal for Coloradans to get mail-order concealed-weapons permits from other states, which might have looser rules about who can carry weapons secretly. SB 34 was sponsored by Sen. John Morse, a Colorado Springs Democrat, and House Majority Leader Alice Madden, a Boulder Democrat. Madden cited legislative testimony from a Colorado man who was denied a permit in his home state but got one from Florida; he said he carried a concealed weapon into a college classroom. Such loopholes didn't faze the opposition. As the Rocky Mountain News reported, Rep. Kevin Lundberg, a Berthoud Republican, said the bill flouted the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. "A safe society is a society that can defend itself, not a society that has been disarmed," Lundberg said. Who's being disarmed? As long as the courts view concealed-weapons permits as constitutional, states have every right to define who is fit to carry guns secretly. As Madden noted, correctly, "Despite the overheated rhetoric from opponents, SB 34 does not affect any Colorado citizen's right to carry a concealed weapon, period. It simply ensures that carriers of concealed weapons are law-abiding. I am pleased that this reasonable bill was supported by the House and now awaits the governor's signature."

Campos: An Orwellian PR stunt
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/opinion_columnists/article/0,2777,DRMN_23972_5474380,00.html
Last week, Sen. John McCain staged a truly Orwellian publicity stunt in a Baghdad market. In a desperate attempt to give some sliver of credence to claims that the dreaded "liberal media" are failing to report on all the wonderful things happening in Iraq, McCain took a brief walk outside the American-maintained fortress that is Baghdad's green zone. Afterward, McCain declared his walk through the Shurja market was a sign that security had improved significantly in the Iraqi capital, and the administration's current troop escalation is working. What he didn't mention was that, during his short stroll, he was accompanied by dozens of heavily armed U.S. troops and several armored vehicles, while a couple of attack helicopters hovered overhead. McCain's photo op (which included the spectacle of the elderly senator wearing a flak jacket) was ludicrous on so many levels that even the normally docile national press, which has always treated McCain with kid gloves, pointed out he was making a fool of himself. Chastened, McCain issued a half-hearted apology a few days later, saying he "mis- spoke" when he pointed to his little walk under the protection of several platoons from the world's most powerful military as evidence of Baghdad's excellent shopping opportunities.

As costs go up, financial aid requires some scrutiny
http://www.durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=opin&article_path=/opinion/opin070410_1.htm
Not too many years ago, working one's way through college was a definite possibility. The ratio between the minimum wage, so prevalent in college towns with a vast and fluid labor pool, and the costs of tuition, books, room and board meant that a student who worked hard and who saved money over the summer, could graduate without much debt. That is no longer true, especially at the University of Colorado and Colorado State University. For the large majority of students, whose parents earn too much to qualify their children for need-based grants but too little to be able to write checks for the whole college bill, student loans are essential. CSU President Larry Penley met with Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter last week to complain that CSU was not getting its "fair share" of state funding. CSU is being allowed to raise tuition by "only" $412 per student. CU, in contrast, is being allowed to increase tuition by between $941 and $1,398 per student. Tuition increases are good news for institutions where the cost of providing an education is rising faster than the income available for the purpose, but they are bad news for students for whom the cost of education continues to rise faster than their ability to pay for it. Even $412 per year is a tough hit, and with the federal government reducing the amount of student financial aid available, the news is never good.

Quillen: Hiding it from the kids
http://www.denverpost.com/opinionheadlines/ci_5628611
Somewhere in this great land of ours there must be an organization called the Society to Keep Children from Seeing Things. Not that I have been able to find its headquarters or identify its officers, but it does seem to be an active outfit that emerges from time to time. The most recent outbreak has come in Littleton on account of plans to honor a local war hero, Navy SEAL Danny Dietz, with a statue in Berry Park. Before we get to that, however, we ought to recall some earlier outbreaks. About four years ago, state Rep. Ted Harvey of Douglas County ventured into a Virgin Records store, and was shocked to find "blatant triple X-rated covers right there at eye level for any 5-year-old to see." Children must be protected from viewing this, he decided, and so he sponsored a bill which would have made it a crime "in displaying in a commercial establishment any materials that are harmful to minors, to fail to take commercially feasible measures to prevent the display of the materials to minors." Harvey went into some detail as to what was harmful to minors. Suffice it to say that images of body parts used for the natural production and feeding of children are images that are harmful to children, according to Harvey.

Housing for Holly
http://pueblochieftain.com/editorial/1176215732/1
Officials of FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, confirmed they are working on an agreement with state officials to move in surplus trailers from the post-hurricane Gulf Coast. Both Colorado U.S. senators, Republican Wayne Allard and Democrat Ken Salazar, have sent letters to the Department of Homeland Security urging the feds to provide the emergency housing for Holly. We urge state and federal officials to move quickly so that Holly residents can get their lives back to some semblance of order. After having endured the drought of 2002-03, last winter’s devastating back-to-back blizzards and now a tornado, they need help - the kind that government can provide.

Carman: Footpath as wearisome as mall's ego
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5630581
For $4.5 million, I was expecting more. Not gratitude exactly, maybe just a little hospitality. When taxpayers are willing to spend that kind of dough to deliver customers to your shopping center - ones who don't require valets or even parking spaces - it seems only polite to make nice. But Park Meadows (motto: If we wanted customers from Denver we wouldn't have built in Douglas County in the first place) has snubbed RTD too long to start being gracious now. When the southeast light-rail line opened in November, riders were met with signs warning "no pedestrian access" to the mall. Only after hundreds of outlaw transit riders made the 15-minute dash along the freeway across several lanes of traffic and through the sprawling parking lot to the mall did the management agree to help pay for shuttle service - if only on weekends.

NATIONAL NEWS

Top

Election

Clinton, Obama to Skip Fox-Sponsored Debate
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/09/AR2007040901115.html
Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) yesterday joined former North Carolina senator John Edwards (D) in deciding to skip a debate scheduled for September that Fox News is co-sponsoring with the Congressional Black Caucus. Liberal activists, particularly the online group Moveon.org, have called for Democratic presidential candidates not to participate in debates by Fox, which they say is biased against Democrats. Clinton campaign aides said she would participate only in the six events sanctioned by the Democratic National Committee and two other events she had already agreed to. Several candidates, including Edwards, last month withdrew from a debate that Fox was co-hosting with the Nevada Democratic Party and would have taken place in August in Reno.

Mythical trip started with an error
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0704090407apr10,1,7557285.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed
There's a story pinging around the Internet about how Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) paid a visit to Libya in 1984 and met with Louis Farrakhan, the Chicago-based Nation of Islam leader whose anti-Semitic remarks have long inflamed relations between blacks and Jews. But it wasn't Obama who took the 1984 trip. It was his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. The error made its way to the Internet a couple of weeks ago, when a conservative Christian leader -- who was actually trying to defend Obama's position on Israel -- apparently confused the two men when speaking to a reporter for a religious news Web site. The report was posted a few days after The New York Times reported that Obama's pastor had traveled with Farrakhan to Libya in 1984 to visit Col. Moammar Gadhafi, the Libyan leader. "I did think that Obama went to Libya, and I think I did tell that to the reporter," said Jan Markell, the founder and director of Olive Tree Ministries Inc. whom the story cites as the source of the information. "There wasn't any malice on my part. I just interpreted it in a completely wrong way." The posting has remained on OneNewsNow.com since then, and the reporter who wrote the story said he wasn't aware of the error until Monday.

McCain, Romney Advisers Spar Over Mormon Religion
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/09/AR2007040901229.html
The tension between the campaigns of Arizona Sen. John McCain and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney was palpable when Harvard University gathered together top GOP strategists last month. The issue was Romney's Mormon religion and for a few minutes, the audience was transfixed by an exchange between McCain advisers Bill McInturff and Stuart Stevens and Romney advisers Alex Castellanos and Ben Ginsberg. The discussion underscored the deep sensitivity within the former governor's campaign about the potential impact of his religion on his presidential aspirations.

Edwards scared of 'rabid Republican' neighbor
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-04-09-edwards-gop-neighbor_N.htm
Elizabeth Edwards says she is scared of the "rabid, rabid Republican" who owns property across the street from her Orange County home — and she doesn't want her kids going near the gun-toting neighbor. Edwards, the wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, particularly recalls the time neighbor Monty Johnson brought out a gun while chasing workers investigating a right of way off his property. The Edwards family has yet to meet Johnson in person. "I wouldn't be nice to him anyway," Edwards said in an interview. "I don't want my kids anywhere near some guy who when he doesn't like somebody, the first thing he does is pull a gun out. It scares the business out of me."

Campaigning gets a new Web version
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/04/10/campaigning_gets_a_new_web_version/
Seven candidates for the 2008 Democratic Party nomination will take part tonight in a live "virtual town hall" forum about the Iraq war, in what is being billed as the largest and most ambitious experiment yet in harnessing the power of Internet technology to reshape participatory democracy. Calling in by telephone, candidates Joseph Biden , Hillary Clinton , Christopher Dodd , John Edwards , Dennis Kucinich , Barack Obama , and Bill Richardson will each answer several questions about Iraq. The liberal activist group MoveOn.org , which is hosting the event, asked members to vote on which questions to ask from among 6,800 queries proposed by members for the forum.

New York moves primary to Feb. 5
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-primary10apr10,1,3239184.story?coll=la-headlines-nation
Gov. Eliot Spitzer signed legislation Monday moving New York's primary up a month to Feb. 5, a shift that will favor native son and former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and transplanted native daughter Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.). New York joins a big-state stampede to the front of the primary calendar, but the move could have an unintended effect, making the earlier primary and caucus states — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina — even more important, some analysts say.

Schwarzenegger shadows the '08 race
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2007-04-10-schwarzenegger_N.htm
Watching the action from the wings is not in Arnold Schwarzenegger's blood. With the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign already fully engaged — and the foreign-born actor-turned-politician constitutionally barred from running himself — Schwarzenegger is finding ways to play a role in politics' biggest drama. He has elevated his status in the contest by signing a bill shifting the primary in California, where he is governor, from June to Feb. 5, a move that is expected to force candidates to campaign in the state rather than just swoop in to raise money. And he plans to travel to other early primary states to give speeches.

Top

Effective and Ethical Government

AP Poll: Congress' approval hits high point
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-04-09-congress-approval_N.htm
Public approval for Congress is at its highest level in a year as Democrats mark 100 days in power and step up their confrontation with President Bush over his handling of the Iraq War, the issue that overshadows all others. Yet for all their eagerness to challenge Bush, congressional Democrats so far have failed to attract significant support among independents, a group that helped propel them to power in last fall's elections and now appears more strongly opposed to the war than the general public. The findings from an AP-Ipsos nationwide poll provide a snapshot of public sentiment in the days after the House and Senate triggered a series of veto threats from the president by passing separate bills that provide funds for the war, yet also call for the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops.

Six U.S. Attorneys Given 2nd Posting in Washington
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/09/AR2007040901227.html
A half-dozen sitting U.S. attorneys also serve as aides to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales or are assigned other Washington postings, performing tasks that take them away from regular duties in their districts for months or even years at a time, according to officials and department records. Acting Associate Attorney General William W. Mercer, for example, has been effectively absent from his job as U.S. attorney in Montana for nearly two years -- prompting the chief federal judge in Billings to demand his removal and call Mercer's office "a mess." Another U.S. attorney, Michael J. Sullivan of Boston, has been in Washington for the past six months as acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. He is awaiting confirmation to head the agency permanently while still juggling his responsibilities in Massachusetts. The number of U.S. attorneys pulling double duty in Washington is the focus of growing concern from other prosecutors and from members of the federal bench, according to legal experts and government officials.

Smithsonian IG Found Personal Use Of Resources
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/09/AR2007040901464.html
An internal Smithsonian investigation concluded in 2003 that top supervisors at the institution's aeronautical restoration facility in Maryland were using government employees and materials for personal projects, according to legal proceedings last year. Five employees testified that they and others were asked to do outside work by Tom Alison, the collections chief of the National Air and Space Museum, and Bill D. Reese, restoration supervisor at the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration and Storage Facility in Suitland.

Ex-Legislator’s Corruption Case Goes to Trial in Tennessee
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/us/10ford.html
E-Cycle Management could have been any Tennessee company, in this case a business with an environmentally sound mission of recycling used computers. The company gave out campaign contributions in cash, and its lobbyists knew which politicians to talk to at the Legislature to get favorable legislation passed. But the enterprise that was so generous with its contributions proved not to be a business at all. Rather, it was a shell company set up by the F.B.I. to ensnare unscrupulous Tennessee politicians. And now one of the best-known politicians in Memphis, John Ford, a longtime state senator, faces trial as a result of that sting.

Top

Civil Liberties and Equality

With a zap or swipe of IDs, device helps nab scofflaws
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-04-09-handheld_N.htm
A handheld device that can tell in a second whether a person is on one of 140 wanted or watch lists is being hailed by police as a crime-fighting breakthrough and flayed by civil libertarians as an intrusion on the innocent. The sheriff's office in Clermont County, Ohio, is the first civilian law enforcement agency in the nation to test the portable fugitive finder. Police say Mobilisa Inc.'s m2500 Defense ID system shows promise of saving them time and helping them fight crime. Critics say it intensifies questions about privacy.

Ex-Students Are Sentenced for Burning Rural Churches
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/us/10churches.html
Three former college students who set fire to churches in rural Alabama in February 2006 were sentenced to prison on Monday on federal arson charges. The defendants apologized for the fires, with one of them saying that the incidents followed a night of drinking and deer poaching. “This is the close of a chapter, but not of the book,” Judge R. David Proctor of Federal District Court told the young men. “I hope that you will all find a way that, when that last chapter of that book is written, some good will come of this.” Two of the defendants, Benjamin N. Moseley and Matthew L. Cloyd, were sentenced to eight years and one month for setting nine fires over two nights. The third defendant, Russell L. DeBusk Jr., who was involved in only the first five fires, was sentenced to seven years.

Top

Foreign Policy

In Najaf, Protesters Demand U.S. Pullout
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/09/AR2007040900062.html
Draped in Iraqi flags and chanting anti-American slogans, tens of thousands of Iraqis swept into the southern city of Najaf on the call of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to mark the fourth anniversary of the ouster of President Saddam Hussein, calling for U.S. forces to withdraw from Iraq. "No, no to the occupier. Yes, yes, to Iraq," they chanted, as demonstrators burned and ripped apart American flags. "Get out, get out occupation." Others carried banners proclaiming their loyalties to the influential cleric. They had traveled by bus and cars, from Baghdad and Basra, to march peacefully, under heavy security, through the center of one of Shiite Islam's holiest sites. "We came today raising this flag, our flag, the flag of Iraq, as a show of unity," said Ali Hamza, 26, from Sadr City, the cleric's Baghdad stronghold. Hamza wore the trademark black uniform of the Mahdi Army, Sadr's militia, and an Iraqi flag covered his back.
RELATED: Thousands mark date of Baghdad's fall with protest
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-ex-iraq9apr09,1,7487564.story?coll=la-headlines-world
RELATED: Huge Protest in Iraq Demands U.S. Withdraw
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/world/middleeast/10iraq.html?ref=world

16 killed by female bomber in Iraq
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-04-10-muqdadiyah-bombing_N.htm
A female suicide bomber wearing a black abaya detonated her explosives belt in a crowd of about 200 police recruits northeast of Baghdad on Tuesday, killing at least 16 people, police and hospital officials said.
RELATED: Military: 4 U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-04-10-us-casualties_N.htm

Turkish prime minister and Iraqi Kurds leader spar
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2007/04/10/turkish_prime_minister_and_iraqi_kurds_leader_spar/
The prime minister yesterday warned Iraqi Kurds against interfering in southeastern Turkey, where the Kurdish majority is fighting Turkish security forces, saying "the price for them will be very high." Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was responding to Massoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdish autonomous region in Iraq, who said Iraqi Kurds would retaliate for any Turkish interference in northern Iraq by stirring up trouble in southeastern Turkey. "He's out of place," Erdogan said of Barzani. "He'll be crushed under his words."

Taliban Vows to Kill Medical Crew Unless Leaders Are Freed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/09/AR2007040901044.html
The Taliban on Monday threatened to kill four Afghan medical personnel and their driver unless the government releases two Taliban commanders, seeking a deal similar to the swap that won an Italian journalist's freedom last month. The threat came a day after the hard-line militia beheaded Ajmal Naqshbandi, an Afghan interpreter seized March 5 along with journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo of the Rome-based La Repubblica newspaper. Authorities had refused an exchange to secure Naqshbandi's release, the Taliban said.
RELATED: Italian Leader Faces New Attack on Prisoner Swap After Reported Death of Journalist’s Aide
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/world/europe/10italy.html?ref=world
RELATED: 1,000 Australian troops to be sent to Afghanistan
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-04-09-australia-afghanistan_N.htm

Iran Asserts Expansion Of Nuclear Operation
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/09/AR2007040900290.html
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said yesterday that his country had begun producing nuclear fuel on an industrial scale, an accomplishment that, if verified, would significantly advance Iran's nuclear program. But U.S. and British officials, along with international nuclear experts, cast doubt on the announcement, noting that the Iranians did not offer evidence to support the assertion and suggesting privately that the remarks were tailored toward generating national pride in a program that the U.N. Security Council has ordered Iran to suspend. "With great pride I announce, as of today, our dear country Iran is among the countries of the world that produces an industrial level of nuclear fuel," Ahmadinejad said in a nationally televised speech from the town of Natanz, where Iran's enrichment facility is located.
RELATED: Iran's nuclear claims raise fear, skepticism
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran10apr10,1,5950286.story?coll=la-headlines-world

U.S. Visitors Push N. Korea To Close Nuclear Reactor
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/09/AR2007040900097.html
A U.S. delegation pressed North Korea on Monday to shut down its main nuclear reactor and allow in U.N. inspectors even as the top U.S. negotiator said it would be difficult for a weekend deadline on the closure to be met. The American delegation said North Korea's top nuclear negotiator, Kim Gye Gwan, told them his government would allow U.N. nuclear inspectors into the country as soon as $25 million in disputed North Korean funds are released.
RELATED: Koreas resume talks on POWs
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-04-10-korea-pow_N.htm

Premier to meet with Japanese leaders in 1st such trip since 2000
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0704100008apr10,1,675994.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will fly to Japan this week to mend relations between neighbors tightly linked by trade but torn by years of warfare and squabbling. On the first such visit by a Chinese premier since 2000, Wen will make a rare speech to Japan's parliament, confer with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and meet Emperor Akihito. He also will seek to assuage widespread concerns among Japanese that China's rise threatens the region.

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Immigration

Bush Makes Push To Resolve Status Of Illegal Workers
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/09/AR2007040900105.html
President Bush outlined the latest version of his plan to overhaul the nation's immigration laws Monday, renewing his support for a guest-worker program for those with low skills and issuing a vague call for a resolution of the legal status of the estimated 12 million undocumented workers in the country. Speaking at the dedication of a state-of-the-art Border Patrol station here, a few miles from the U.S.-Mexican border, Bush called on Congress to pass the type of comprehensive immigration legislation that he has been pushing with little success since his earliest days as president. Bush said the overhaul should combine increased border security and added pressure on employers who hire illegal immigrants with a legal avenue for large numbers of guest workers to come into the country, while resolving the status of undocumented workers already here.
RELATED: Bush unveils new immigration proposal
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-bush10apr10,1,6286040.story?coll=la-headlines-nation

Looking the Other Way on Immigrants
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/09/AR2007040901471.html
After federal agents launched a massive raid on an apartment complex here two years ago, other illegal immigrants in this quiet town near Princeton University grew so wary of the law, authorities say, that many began hiding behind headstones in a local cemetery when patrol cars approached. But these days, the immigrants of Hightstown are more likely to be the ones calling the cops. In the aftermath of a series of raids in 2004, the town council in this historic borough of 5,300 -- transformed in recent years by an influx of at least 1,300 Latin Americans -- unanimously approved a sort of immigrant bill of rights. Joining a growing list of cities enacting a no-questions-asked policy on immigration status, Hightstown now allows its undocumented residents to officially interact with local police and access city services without fear of being reported to federal authorities.

DNA Tests Offer Immigrants Hope or Despair
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/us/10dna.html?ref=us
Federal officials are increasingly turning to genetic testing to verify the biological bonds between new citizens and the overseas relatives they hope to bring here, particularly those from war-torn or developing countries where identity documents can be scarce or doctored. But while the tests often lead to joyful reunions among immigrant families, they are forcing others to confront unexpected and sometimes unbearable truths. For Isaac Owusu, a widower, the revelation has forced him to rethink nearly everything he had taken for granted about his life and his family. It has left him struggling to accept what was once unthinkable: that his deceased wife had long been unfaithful; that the children he loves are not his own; and that his long efforts to reunite his family in this country may have been in vain.

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Health Care and Public Safety

SeniorCare to Lose Federal Funding
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/09/AR2007040901014.html
The program created by Wisconsin five years ago to help low-income seniors get prescription drugs serves 104,000 people and, state officials say, has saved the federal government $669 million in Medicaid costs. That is why Gov. Jim Doyle (D) and seniors advocates were more than disappointed last week when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services decided to pull the plug on federal funding for SeniorCare after June 30. "The Bush administration is making a terrible mistake," Doyle said in a statement after learning of the decision from acting CMS Administrator Leslie V. Norwalk. "As a result, Wisconsin seniors will pay more and get less coverage, while drug companies make even larger profits. Our state won't be allowed to negotiate better prices on behalf of our seniors as we do now."

Study: Major increase in morbidly obese
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/weightloss/2007-04-10-morbidly-obese_N.htm
The prevalence of American adults who are 100 or more pounds over a healthy weight has risen dramatically since 2000, a study released Monday shows. About 3% of people, or 6.8 million adults, were morbidly obese in 2005, up from 2% or 4.2 million people in 2000, says Roland Sturm, an economist with the RAND Corp., a non-profit think tank.

Warning signs in cancer battle
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0704090548apr10,1,2309810.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed
Although U.S. cancer deaths declined for the second year in a row in 2004, there are worrisome signs that progress could falter, according to a new report from the American Cancer Society. The drop "is a remarkable sign that we have the potential to turn back deaths from cancer," said John Seffrin, chief executive of the organization. "But this report shows that we have been losing momentum in some key areas that have been critical to our success."

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Crime and Penal Reform

Dallas, DNA target wheels of bad justice
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0704100153apr10,1,1527963.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed
A remarkable campaign in Texas to right the justice system's wrongs moved forward Monday with a court recommendation that is expected to lead to the exoneration of the 13th person -- and 10th African-American -- based on DNA evidence in Dallas County since 2001. James Curtis Giles, 53, has spent nearly half of his life, including 10 years in prison and 14 years on the sex offender registry, trying to prove his innocence in a 1982 rape case. The spotlight of wrongful conviction investigations, which once shone glaringly on Illinois, has been turned to Dallas County, where a newly elected prosecutor, Craig Watkins, has forged an unusual alliance with the Innocence Project, a New York-based group that uses DNA testing to challenge certain convictions.
RELATED: DNA may exonerate another Dallas convict
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-04-09-dna-exoneration_N.htm

Roberts, Scalia strike similar chords on court
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-04-09-roberts-scalia_N.htm
They sit side by side on the Supreme Court's mahogany bench, and much of the time they seem to be working from the same playbook. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Antonin Scalia share conservative views on the law, and in Roberts' second term on the court he appears to have formed a bond with Scalia that involves not just substance, but also style.

Top

Economy

Unionists' Murders Cloud Prospects for Colombia Trade Pact
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/09/AR2007040901250.html
Zully Codina was a mother, veteran hospital worker and union activist. The last role was the one that cost Codina her life at the hands of paramilitary death squads, whose records show they collaborated with the country's intelligence service to liquidate her and other union activists. Codina was killed on Nov. 11, 2003, when a gunman pumped three bullets into her head moments after she kissed her family goodbye and walked out of her Santa Marta home. Her murder remains unsolved, as do those of the vast majority of the 400 union members killed since President Álvaro Uribe took office in 2002. "For me, her death has been irreparable," said Rafael Sanchez, Codina's husband. Recent disclosures about the purported role of the Colombian intelligence service, the Administrative Security Department, or DAS, in the murder of Codina and several other union leaders has ignited a political firestorm here that is reaching Capitol Hill just as the Bush administration is fighting for congressional approval of a free-trade pact with Colombia, the third-largest recipient of U.S. aid.

Washington files WTO piracy cases against China
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041000371.html
The United States took action on Tuesday at the World Trade Organization against Beijing for piracy and blocking access for U.S. films, books and software. Charging that China was breaking its 2001 WTO entry agreement, Washington sought consultations with Beijing over the twin complaints, which could lead to a formal case being brought if no deal can be struck within 60 days. "They have come in," a trade official said referring to the requests. President George W. Bush is under pressure from Congress over trade with China.
RELATED: U.S. takes piracy issues with China to WTO
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-chinatrade10apr10,1,1462813.story?coll=la-headlines-world
RELATED: U.S. complains to WTO on China
http://www.usatoday.com/money/world/2007-04-09-us-china-trade_N.htm

World Bank Chief Seeks to Quell Favoritism Talk
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/washington/10wolfowitz.html
Paul D. Wolfowitz, president of the World Bank, sought on Monday to quell a spreading debate among bank employees over accusations of favoritism, saying he had arranged for a job at the State Department for a woman friend only after consulting the bank’s executive board on how to handle her reassignment. Mr. Wolfowitz also said, in an e-mail message to bank employees, that he took full responsibility for the transfer of the bank employee, Shaha Ali Riza, when he became bank president in 2005. He said that he would “cooperate fully” with the board’s review of the case.

Lively jobs report fails to jolt stocks
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/yourmoney/chi-0704090342apr10,0,843913.column?coll=chi-business-hed
Stocks barely budged in thin trading Monday, as many traders took an extra day off after the Easter holiday. Trading was closed in Europe. There was no delayed reaction to last Friday's strong report on U.S. job growth in March. The Dow Jones industrial average added 8.94 points, to 12,569.14. Gains by McDonald's and Intel accounted for the Dow's advance. Altria Group and Exxon Mobil were the biggest Dow losers. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index posted a slim advance but the Nasdaq composite index and Russell 2000 index of small-company stocks declined slightly. There were more declining stocks than winners on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq market. Rumors of buyouts of public firms by private investors continued to lift stock prices. Dow Chemical rose nearly 5 percent on a report it might be acquired by private investors. The company denied any interest in going private.

Pentagon Drafts Rules on Lending
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/business/10military.html?ref=washington
The Defense Department has drafted rules to curb lending practices it considers predatory — including payday loans, car title lending and tax refund anticipation loans — to military service members and their families, a draft of the proposal showed Monday. Last year, Congress passed a lawrequiring the Pentagon to work with federal regulatory agencies to draft rules against predatory lending practices and to put them into effect by October 2007.

A.M.D. Plans to Cut Back on Spending and Hiring
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/technology/10chip.html?ref=business
Advanced Micro Devices, which makes computer processors, said yesterday that a sharp decline in revenue was prompting it to make cutbacks in hiring and spending in order to reduce operating costs. A.M.D. surprised Wall Street analysts yesterday by announcing that it expected to report revenue in the first quarter of $1.23 billion, far below what analysts had forecast. In making the revision, A.M.D. cited lower selling prices for its computer processors and “significantly lower unit sales.”

Top

Worker's Rights and Corporate Accountability

Migrants harvest tiny raise, big win
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0704100139apr10,1,2969759.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed
McDonald's Corp. agreed on Monday to pay a penny per pound more to field hands who pick the restaurant chain's tomatoes -- a minuscule-sounding raise that still won plaudits for bringing attention to long-suffering agricultural workers. The high-profile deal, brokered by former President Jimmy Carter, will put more money in the pockets of underpaid migrants, who toil in the Florida sun to fill 32-pound buckets with the tomatoes McDonald's uses in its salads and chicken sandwiches.

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Housing and Homelessness

Defaults Rise in Next Level of Mortgages
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/business/10lend.html?ref=business
Some of the problems afflicting mortgages sold to borrowers with weak, or subprime, credit increasingly appear to be cropping up in loans made to homeowners who were thought to be less risky. The latest sign of possible further deterioration in the credit market came yesterday as American Home Mortgage, a lender based in Melville, N.Y., said that it would earn less and pay out a smaller dividend because it was being asked to buy back and write down the value of certain loans. Those loans are known as Alternative A, or Alt-A, and were made to borrowers with decent credit. Shares in the company tumbled 15.2 percent, to close at $21.92. The announcement followed a disclosure last week by M&T Bank, a regional bank based in Buffalo, that it would write down Alt-A loans and no longer sell them because bids for the mortgages came in lower than it had expected.

Antelope Valley struggles with memories of '90s housing crash
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-bust10apr10,0,6527055.story?coll=la-home-headlines
John Rockey has been hanging drywall for 35 years, and he's seen it all in the boom-again, bust-again Antelope Valley housing market. As residential construction flourished in the late 1980s, his company's ranks swelled to 200 — then shriveled to five when the economy tanked a couple of years later. By the time a new building spree peaked in 2005, Rockey's payroll had again grown to 200. But then came slumping home sales and a sharp rise in mortgage defaults and foreclosures. Now, his Lancaster-based Progression Drywall Corp. is down to 50 employees, and he's got a serious case of deja vu. "This is looking like 1990 all over again," he said. For many in the high desert north of Los Angeles, those are chilling words. The economic downturn that racked California in the early 1990s hit especially hard there. The mere mention of the time summons images of squatters taking over their neighbors' abandoned houses, of spiking crime rates and unprecedented gang killings, of hemorrhaging home values that took a decade to rebound.

Top

Media

British Forces Banned From Selling Stories
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/09/AR2007040900150.html
Britain's Defense Ministry banned military personnel from selling personal stories to the news media on Monday, following rising public anger over paid interviews with two of the 15 British sailors and marines held captive for nearly two weeks by Iran. Faye Turney, the only woman among the former captives, told the Sun newspaper that she "cried my eyes out" and feared that she was going to be raped and executed. Arthur Batchelor, 20, the youngest of the captives, told the Daily Mirror that he "cried like a baby" and that his captors tormented him by repeatedly saying he looked like the British comedy character Mr. Bean. The British news media have a long tradition of paying major sums for exclusive interviews with people who catch the public eye. Nonetheless, the military's initial decision to authorize the 15 to accept money has been broadly criticized by many members of the armed forces, opposition politicians and families of British soldiers who have been killed or wounded while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Imus suspended by CBS Radio, MSNBC
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-imus10apr10,1,5036267.story?coll=la-headlines-nation
CBS Radio and MSNBC are suspending Don Imus' radio program for two weeks in an effort to staunch the furor after the controversial talk show host called the Rutgers University women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos." CBS Radio, which owns the New York sports station that produces "Imus in the Morning," and MSNBC, which simulcasts the program, announced the suspension Monday evening after a day in which the calls for Imus' dismissal grew louder, despite his pledge to curtail offensive remarks on his show. The move came after high-level discussions at both networks that drew in CBS Corp. President Leslie Moonves and NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff Zucker. The suspension will take effect April 16 to allow the program to proceed with a previously scheduled radiothon this week to benefit children's charities.
RELATED: Rutgers women's basketball team to weigh in on Imus remarks
http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2007-04-10-imus-remarks_N.htm

Discovery Lays Off D.C. Area Workers
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/09/AR2007040900692.html
Discovery Communications of Silver Spring is laying off more than 3 percent of its workforce, with more cuts to come, as new chief executive David M. Zaslav reallocates resources to divisions most likely to position the media company for its digital future, the company said yesterday. As part of an ongoing reorganization, Discovery is exploring whether it should get out of storefront retailing. The company, which has 100 Discovery stores around the country, pays high rent for premium mall space and is studying whether it could sell its branded products more efficiently with a combination of online sales and partnerships with established retailers, such as Wal-Mart and Target, executives said.

Top

Education

9 States to give common math test
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2007-04-10-common-math-test_N.htm
Nine states have come together for the first time to develop a common high school math test, a move described by some as a step toward national educational standards. State standards, and tests based on them, vary wildly for subjects as basic as math, English and science. This group of states has decided to share a test and standards for Algebra II, saying a subject like that shouldn't vary across state lines. The states are Arkansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. They were to announce their effort Tuesday.

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Science and Technology

Pas de Deux of Sexuality Is Written in the Genes
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/health/10gene.html?ref=science
When it comes to the matter of desire, evolution leaves little to chance. Human sexual behavior is not a free-form performance, biologists are finding, but is guided at every turn by genetic programs.

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Military

Midshipman Guilty in Sex Assault, Cleared in 2nd Case
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/09/AR2007040900878.html
A former Navy football player was found guilty yesterday of sexually assaulting a female midshipman at a District hotel in February 2006 but cleared of sexual misconduct charges involving a second woman from the U.S. Naval Academy. Midshipman Kenny Ray Morrison, 24, of Kingwood, Tex., was found guilty of indecent assault and conduct unbecoming an officer after three hours of deliberation by a jury of seven Navy and Marine Corps officers at the U.S. Naval Academy. The jury will begin considering a sentence today, the academy said in a statement. Morrison was found not guilty of an alleged assault involving another female midshipman in Annapolis in 2006.

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Energy Policy

Natural gas exporting nations meet, deny forming a cartel
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2007-04-09-natural-gas-cartel_N.htm
The world's largest natural gas exporting countries plan to establish a high-level group to study natural gas pricing, the Russian energy minister said Monday, though his Iranian and Qatari counterparts denied the producers aim to establish a cartel. Europe and the United States have expressed worries that the gas exporters will set up a cartel along the lines of OPEC that would control production and pricing. Faced with those concerns, leading producers Iran and Russia backed off talk of doing so at Monday's gathering here of the 16-member Gas Producing Countries Forum.

Halliburton Says It’s Done in Iran
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/world/middleeast/10halliburton.html
The Halliburton Company said yesterday that its subsidiary that does business in Iran had completed all its commitments and was no longer working in the country. In January 2005, the company, which was once led by Vice President Dick Cheney, said that it would not accept new work in Iran but that it would complete existing contracts there. The Department of Justice subpoenaed documents from Halliburton in July 2004 for an investigation into the legality of contracts its Halliburton Products & Services Ltd. unit, which is registered in the Cayman Islands, held for work with the state-run National Iranian Oil Company. American companies are forbidden under United States law from doing business in Iran, dating to sanctions imposed after the 1979 Islamic revolution when student fundamentalists held 52 American hostages for 444 days. Halliburton has said that its operations in Iran, handled through a Dubai office, were legal because they were isolated from American operations and management.

High Stakes: Chávez Plays the Oil Card
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/business/worldbusiness/10showdown.html
With President Hugo Chávez setting a May 1 deadline for an ambitious plan to wrest control of several major oil projects from American and European companies, a showdown is looming here over access to some of the most coveted energy resources outside the Middle East. Moving beyond empty threats to cut off all oil exports to the United States, officials have recently stepped up the pressure on the oil companies operating here, warning that they might sell American refineries meant to process Venezuelan crude oil even as they seek new outlets in China and elsewhere around the world.

Road Map to a Cleaner Diesel Drive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/09/AR2007040900997.html
Change your oil according to your vehicle's maintenance schedule, and don't forget to fill the urea tank. The urea tank? Starting in 2010, owners of diesel-powered cars and trucks may have to fill a supplementary tank with urea, an organic compound that fights nitrogen oxide emissions when it's injected into a vehicle's exhaust system.

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Environment and Conservation

Automakers challenge Vermont emissions law
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041000337.html
The U.S. auto industry challenges Vermont in court on Tuesday, trying to block efforts by 10 states adopting stricter limits on vehicle emissions of carbon dioxide, a main greenhouse gas. The trial comes a week after the Supreme Court dealt a blow to the Bush administration by ruling that greenhouse gases meet the definition of pollutants and telling the Environmental Protection Agency to rethink its refusal to regulate carbon dioxide emissions. Vermont, with a record of environmental measures and known for its rural beauty, is one of nine states to have followed California's lead in adopting standards that are tougher than federal rules.

U.S.: Take manatees off endangered list
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0704090549apr10,1,2703027.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Monday recommended upgrading the manatee's status from endangered to threatened, a move that indicates the animal has rebounded from the brink of extinction. The agency on Monday released its five-year review of manatee populations in Florida and Puerto Rico and found the species no longer fits the criteria to be deemed endangered.

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Opinion

Editor’s note: the New York Times has converted to a subscription-based editorial section. We are no longer clipping their op-ed columnists.

Milbank: The White House Commemorates a Very Special Day
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/09/AR2007040901263.html
As Iraq observed the fourth anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein yesterday, the lead item on the White House Web site, under the heading "LATEST NEWS," was a photograph of Clifford the Big Red Dog at the annual Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn. "There were many children's characters in attendance including Charlie Brown, Bugs Bunny, Arthur, and Curious George," said the caption under the photo, which alternated with a shot of Laura Bush and two Easter bunnies on the Truman Balcony and a painting of one of President Bush's Scottish terriers with a fiddle-playing butterfly. The president marked the anniversary by going to Arizona to give a speech -- about immigration. In his 24-minute address, he didn't so much as mention Iraq. The vice president, secretary of state and secretary of defense had no public events on their schedules yesterday.

Lehigh: A long, contentious grind
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/04/10/a_long_contentious_grind/
GEORGE W. BUSH was at his best at the Radio and Television Correspondents' Association dinner two weeks ago, self-deprecating, funny, and gracious as he addressed the broadcasters. So why is it this president seems able to bring his A game only to jovial social occasions? In a series of serious events in recent days, Bush and Cheney have made it apparent that, notwithstanding the new Democratic leadership in Congress, they see no need to change their obstinate modus operandi. Instead, with their own polling numbers stuck in a swamp, the two Republicans appear intent on casting the new Democratic Congress in an unflattering light.

Recess appointment abuse
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-recess10apr10,0,6367384.story?coll=la-opinion-leftrail
The issue is not whether Fox is a "great American" (Limbaugh's term) or whether the views of Biggs and Dudley are outside the mainstream or just outside the box. The issue is fidelity to the framers' vision of checks and balances.

Cohen: Bush v. Congress: The Looming Battle Over Executive Privilege
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/opinion/10tue4.html
In the summer of 1974, Richard Nixon bet his presidency on the doctrine of executive privilege, and lost. Nixon’s lawyer, James St. Clair, argued to the Supreme Court that he did not have to give a special prosecutor the Watergate tape recordings of Nixon talking with various advisers. But in the oral argument, the justices were skeptical. Lewis Powell, the courtly Virginian, asked: “Mr. St. Clair, what public interest is there in preserving secrecy with respect to a criminal conspiracy?” Justice Powell’s question cut through Nixon’s central claim: that executive privilege gives presidents an absolute right to keep their communications secret. Barely two weeks after the oral argument, the court unanimously ordered Nixon to turn over the tapes. Three decades later, the Bush administration is threatening to invoke executive privilege to hobble Congress’s investigation into the purge of United States attorneys. President Bush has said that Karl Rove, his closest adviser, and Harriet Miers, his former White House counsel, among others, do not have to comply with Congressional subpoenas because “the president relies upon his staff to give him candid advice.”

Froomkin: Bush's Immigration Problem
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2007/04/09/BL2007040900572.html
You might be forgiven today for thinking, as you listen to President Bush's speech about immigration, that you (or he) had entered a time warp. Bush's big goal today is wooing Republicans in Congress by talking tough on border security and adding more punitive elements to his proposals for undocumented workers. But wait -- don't the Democrats control Congress now? They do, of course, but when it comes to the potential overhaul of the nation's immigration laws, Bush is engaged in a delicate dance.
RELATED: At the border, Bush seems to retreat
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-immig10apr10,0,4941638.story?coll=la-opinion-leftrail

Sweeney, Alvarado: Guest workers: a worn-out labor idea
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-sweeney10apr10,0,6267418.story?coll=la-opinion-center
Foreign workers should enjoy the same rights and protections as U.S. workers, including freedom to form unions and bargain for a better life. Labor laws must protect all workers, regardless of immigration status. If we leave undocumented workers without any real way to enforce labor laws, as our laws do now, we are feeding employers' hunger for more and more exploitable workers, relegating them to second-class status. That hurts all workers. Scholars have long recognized that the genius of U.S. immigration policy throughout our history has been the opportunity afforded to immigrants for full membership in society. That is the solid foundation on which a morally and economically sound policy can be built, and it is the foundation we are working together to build.

Greenway: Cambodia reflected in Iran waters
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/04/10/cambodia_reflected_in_iran_waters/
WHEN I saw pictures of the British sailors and marines, on the eve of their freedom from Iran, dressed in ill-fitting suits that Iranian tailors had run up for them, memory raced back nearly 40 years when a similar drama was being played out in another country of which the United States then disapproved.

Burd: The student-loan scam
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-burd10apr10,0,1732640.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrail
Under a Republican Congress, for-profit lenders pursued their own interests -- often with the help of colleges.

Losing Homes and Neighborhoods
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/opinion/10tue2.html
As foreclosures escalate among subprime-mortgage borrowers, lenders defend their willfully lax standards by arguing that such an escalation is the price of expanded homeownership, especially among African-American and Hispanic families. That is the lenders’ way of wrapping themselves in the flag, homeownership being up there with baseball among the things that make America great. Take away the bunting, and the picture is not so pretty. The nonprofit Center for Responsible Lending analyzed 15.1 million subprime loans from 1998 through 2006 and found that only about 1.4 million were for first-time home buyers. Most were for refinancing. To date, more than 500,000 of those subprime borrowers have lost their homes to foreclosures. An additional 1.8 million are likely to follow as the market deteriorates. That’s nearly 2.4 million lost homes.

Robinson: Misogyny in the Morning
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/09/AR2007040901003.html
What would possess nappy-headed radio host Don Imus to think "nappy-headed hos" was an amusing way to describe the Rutgers University women's basketball team? Why would it occur to him to say such a thing even in private conversation, much less to millions of listeners on CBS Radio and the MSNBC cable network? The simple answer would be -- all together now -- racism. Imus employed that horribly offensive phrase against young black women who are students at a great university and who also happen to be superb athletes. If I had a daughter on that team, I'd want to slap that cowboy hat right off Imus's unkempt head.
RELATED: Shocked Jock
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/09/AR2007040901105.html

Dionne: The McCain Tragedy
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/09/AR2007040901004.html
John McCain's 2000 campaign for president failed, but it was an unruly and joyous romp. His campaign this time feels quite different: carefully planned, meticulously calculated -- and a tragedy. Tragedy, not a word to be invoked lightly, typically involves a morally admirable person who struggles toward a goal and experiences suffering as his own choices collide with forces unleashed by the gods or by circumstance. The distinguished theater critic Walter Kerr once wrote that the tragic man "is free to free himself of obeisance to any power."

Canellos: GOP may cast actor into a starring role
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/04/10/gop_may_cast_actor_into_a_starring_role/
Fred Dalton Thompson was cast as president only once, in the short docudrama made by former senator Sam Nunn's Nuclear Threat Initiative and titled "Last Best Chance." The choice of Thompson to play the chief was made by politicians, not casting directors.

Killer Rabbits
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/09/AR2007040901104.html
Mitt Romney tried to look like a hunter -- and ended up shooting himself in the foot.

PAPERS REVIEWED TODAY

COLORADO

Rocky Mountain News

Denver Post

Boulder Daily Camera

Colorado Daily

Greeley Tribune

Fort Collins Coloradoan

Colorado Springs Gazette

Pueblo Chieftain

Grand Junction Sentinel

Craig Daily Press

Aspen Times

Glenwood Springs Post-Independent

Vail Daily

Steamboat Pilot

Montrose Press

Durango Herald

Cortez Journal

Telluride Daily Planet

Canon City Daily Record

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