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Today’s digest archive: http://media.progressnowaction.org/digest/041107.htm
TOP STORIES
National
McConnell Seeks to Boost U.S. Spy Powers
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/04/10/national/w141401D66.DTL&type=politics
President Bush's spy chief is pushing to expand the government's surveillance authority at the same time the administration is under attack for stretching its domestic eavesdropping powers. National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell has circulated a draft bill that would expand the government's powers under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, liberalizing how that law can be used. Known as "FISA," the 1978 law was passed to allow surveillance in espionage and other foreign intelligence investigations, but still allow federal judges on a secretive panel to ensure protections for U.S. citizens — at home or abroad — and other permanent U.S. residents. The changes McConnell is seeking mostly affect a cloak-and-dagger category of warrants used to investigate suspected spies, terrorists and other national security threats. The court-approved surveillance could include planting listening devices and hidden cameras, searching luggage and breaking into homes to make copies of computer hard drives. McConnell, who took over the 16 U.S. spy agencies and their 100,000 employees less than three months ago, is signaling a more aggressive posture for his office and will lay out his broad priorities on Wednesday as part of a 100-day plan.
More DOJ scandal news in NATIONAL/GOVERNMENT
Report focuses on displaced families
Relentless violence, malnutrition, overtaxed hospitals, contaminated drinking water and chronic power shortages are "inflicting immense suffering" on Iraqis, the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a report to be issued early today. "Civilians bear the brunt of the relentless violence and the extremely poor security conditions that are disrupting the lives and livelihoods of millions," the report concludes. Grim reports on the conditions of Iraqi life are not new, but the Red Cross is considered an objective organization that has been one of the few major international humanitarian groups to maintain a presence throughout Iraq as security has deteriorated.
More Iraq war news in NATIONAL/ELECTION, NATIONAL/GOVERNMENT, NATIONAL/FOREIGN POLICY, NATIONAL/MILITARY, COLORADO/MILITARY
Senate renews debate on stem-cell research
In 2003, federal officials inspected California-based Advanced Cell Technology. They rummaged through refrigerators, scrutinized labs and checked microscopes to make sure the firm wasn't using federally funded equipment to work on embryonic stem cells. Similar scenes have played out across the U.S. since President Bush issued an executive order banning federally funded research on embryonic stem cells created after 2001. The president and other religious conservatives believe such research is unethical. Scientists like those at Advanced Cell Technology, meanwhile, say that the limitation has hampered the search for cures and put them at a competitive disadvantage. That debate played out on the floor Tuesday as the Senate began two days of debate on stem-cell research, the latest battleground on which Democrats are challenging the president.
RELATED: Stem cell research on lengthy agenda
RELATED: Stem cells shown to rein in Type 1 diabetes
Panel Said to Alter Finding on Voter Fraud
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/washington/11voters.html?ref=washington
A federal panel responsible for conducting election research played down the findings of experts who concluded last year that there was little voter fraud around the nation, according to a review of the original report obtained by The New York Times. Instead, the panel, the Election Assistance Commission, issued a report that said the pervasiveness of fraud was open to debate. The revised version echoes complaints made by Republican politicians, who have long suggested that voter fraud is widespread and justifies the voter identification laws that have been passed in at least two dozen states. Democrats say the threat is overstated and have opposed voter identification laws, which they say disenfranchise the poor, members of minority groups and the elderly, who are less likely to have photo IDs and are more likely to be Democrats. Though the original report said that among experts “there is widespread but not unanimous agreement that there is little polling place fraud,” the final version of the report released to the public concluded in its executive summary that “there is a great deal of debate on the pervasiveness of fraud.”
Edwards touts gay supporters
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-04-10-edwards-gay-supporters_N.htm
U.S. presidential candidate John Edwards is touting prominent gay supporters who have signed on to the Democrat's presidential campaign, including a former adviser to President Bill Clinton. Businessman David Mixner is one of 25 people listed on a news release the Edwards campaign distributed Tuesday, along with a statement from the candidate saying he is honored to have the support of so many respected gay leaders. "They work hard every day to make our country a better place and I am proud to join with them to fight for equal rights for all Americans," Edwards said. Edwards is making a push for gay support in the competitive Democratic presidential primary. In February, he came out in support of legislation that would end the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that prevents people who are openly gay from serving in the military.
More 2008 presidential race news in NATIONAL/ELECTION, COLORADO/ELECTION
Colorado
Environmentalists to Ritter: Reconsider roadless petition
http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/04/11/4_11_1b_Roadless_plan.html
As the fate of some of Colorado’s most wild country becomes mired in a maelstrom of legal challenges, conservationists are urging Gov. Bill Ritter to say nothing to the federal government about how Colorado’s more than 4 million acres of roadless land should be managed. Ritter spokesman Evan Dreyer said Tuesday the governor could decide as early as this week whether to submit to the U.S. Department of Agriculture a petition outlining the state’s desires for the fate of its roadless areas. Former Gov. Bill Owens submitted a petition reflecting the Colorado Roadless Area Review Task Force’s recommendations for the roadless areas, but once Ritter took office, the USDA decided to let Ritter submit his own petition, even though a federal judge last year deemed illegal the rule allowing the agency to solicit state roadless area petitions.
RELATED: Gov. Ritter plans roadless petition
Ag leaders: Disaster program needed in 2007 Farm Bill
http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/20070411/NEWS/104110108
A permanent disaster program, conservation and nutrition programs highlighted a 2007 Farm Bill listening session hosted by U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Colo., in Greeley on Tuesday. About 75 people attended the 90-minute program at the 4-H Building in Island Grove Regional Park, where representatives of several Colorado farm organizations offered their input on what should be contained in a new farm bill that Congress will debate beginning later this session. Musgrave told the crowd she appreciated the comments, noting that food safety is an important issue. "How would we be if we depended on foreign nations for our food supply?" she asked. She added that imported food, which represents about 51 percent of the food consumed in America, is not produced under the same regulations American farmers deal with on a daily basis.
RELATED: Farm agencies brace for scarce funds in 2007 Farm Bill
http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/20070411/NEWS/104100120
RELATED: Musgrave visits Greeley
http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/20070411/NEWS/104090113
RELATED: A working vacation
http://www.longmontfyi.com/Local-Story.asp?id=15685
Ritter retools freeze on taxes
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5637387
Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter is revamping his proposal to freeze property-tax rates for school districts in an attempt to win political support from wavering Democrats and rural legislators. The new plan reduces property-tax rates in 33 districts while locking rates at current levels in the remaining 145 districts. The proposal would let school districts keep an extra $55 million, relieving the state from stepping in to pick up some of costs from local school districts. "This is a way to address inequities in school districts that are suffering under exorbitantly high tax rates," said Evan Dreyer, spokesman for Ritter. Homeowners in the Lone Star school district in Washington County would see the biggest drop in their tax rates. Their property tax rate would be reduced from $37.875 per $1,000 of taxable value to $27 per $1,000 of taxable value.
RELATED: Governor advocates a tax freeze to fix school fund shortfalls
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1176301137/4
More school funding news in COLORADO/EDUCATION
Voting panel cites deficit of machines
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5477452,00.html
Douglas County's 2006 election woes happened because there weren't enough voting machines, a cause cited four months ago before a volunteer panel convened to examine what went wrong during the election. The county had 300 machines on hand Nov. 7, but to eliminate the long lines that had some voters waiting past midnight to cast their ballots, nearly 400 more machines might be needed at the county's vote centers for the next election, Jack Arrowsmith, the county's new clerk and recorder, said Tuesday. "No. 1, the overriding factor in Douglas County was that we simply did not have the capacity to accommodate all the voters," Arrowsmith said after a presentation to county commissioners on the findings of the 11- member fact-finding panel created after the November election.
RELATED: Douglas weighs vote fix
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5638797
Senate Republicans pull state seal from Web site
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5477035,00.html
McElhany said he removed the Colorado seal from coloradosen atenews.com after Secretary of State Mike Coffman reminded party caucuses April 2 they can't use the seal in communications. It's a felony to use the state seal for anything but official documents. This isn't the first time Republicans violated the state's strict rule about misusing the seal. Former Republican Senate President John Andrews was forced to pull the seal from a GOP political Web site called coloradosenate.com in 2003. McElhany said liberal blogs and the press are "making a mountain out of molehill" over the Senate Minority's relationship with Web-designer Jones. "He has no access to the content," McElhany said. "He's just a vendor." But a government watchdog said she's troubled by lax rules that allow lawmakers to use campaign money to create a Web site that is staffed by state-paid employees.
Election
Gore for Prez?
http://coloradodaily.com/articles/2007/04/10/news/c_u_and_boulder/news2.txt
Who is the favorite presidential candidate of assorted politicos for Election 2008? According to two panel members discussing the “Presidential Stampede” at the 59th Annual Conference on World Affairs, it's Al Gore. Former presidential speechwriter Patrick Anderson picked Al Gore as his “dark horse,” while talk show host Mark Levine referred to the former Vice President as “The Goricle” for his predilection in predicting global calamities. Anderson and Levine said they like many of the other Democratic candidates but they believe Gore's combination of concern for the environment and experience in the White House make him an ideal candidate, even though Gore has yet to enter the race. In Gore's absence, both men indicated they were likely to support Sen. Barack Obama.
'Black district' sees big shift
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/elections/article/0,2808,DRMN_24736_5477482,00.html
Welton Street, the historic heart of Denver's black community, is not what it used to be. For decades, the commercial strip that bisects Five Points was the center of black political power in Denver. Born of segregation, the barber shops, soul food restaurants and corner groceries along Welton helped nurture the civil rights movement and propelled the careers of politicians who would eventually change the face of Denver. Today, Welton is pocked with empty storefronts once occupied by businesses that served the black community.
Mayor touts tenure without politics
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5638801
John Hickenlooper, who won the Denver mayor's office four years ago running as an un-politician, is making the case that he runs the city that way as well. Hickenlooper, who does not face serious opposition in his bid for re-election, kicked off a series of six town-hall-style meetings Tuesday night. The second meeting is tonight at Christ Community Church, 8085 E. Hampden Ave. He re-introduced himself as a politician who did not play politics.
Ritter backs measure for his replacement
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5477441,00.html
Gov. Bill Ritter Tuesday threw his support behind a measure that could give Mitch Morrissey, his replacement as Denver district attorney, an extra term. Ballot Issue 1A is on the ballot for the May 1 city election. Ritter says a third term for Mitch Morrissey would benefit Denver residents.
Candidates square off at debate tonight
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20070411/NEWS/104110037
Candidates in both the Aspen City Council and mayoral races will share the stage Wednesday at Squirm Night, a forum that is open to the public and will be held in the basement of City Hall.
Convention center expansion may go to local voters
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1176301137/7
Pueblo voters probably will be asked this fall to allow the Urban Renewal Authority to proceed with a 55,000 square-foot addition to the Pueblo Convention Center. But the scope of the project is still to be determined.
Effective and Ethical Government
Amendment 41 might keep benefit funds from farmers
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5477417,00.html
Amendment 41, approved by voters in November, placed new restrictions on the money and gifts that may be given to state employees, elected and government officials, and their immediate relatives. In the application forms for assistance, the Colorado Farm Bureau Foundation warns: "Due to Amendment 41 implications, those producers that are employed by or are elected officials of the State of Colorado are not eligible for assistance." But Bredenkamp added that the foundation is seeking a legal opinion from Attorney General John Suthers about who would qualify for assistance, and suggested that farmers who might have a conflict of interest submit their applications anyway.
Legislative panel forming to hear ethics case
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5477040,00.html
A veteran Democratic senator and a rookie Democratic representative were appointed Tuesday by legislative leaders to a committee that will review an ethics complaint against a lobbyist. It is the third time this decade that Sen. Stephanie Takis, of Aurora, has been appointed to an ethics committee formed to handle a lobbyist complaint. Takis and the other appointee, Rep. Claire Levy, of Boulder, will name a third member to their committee today. Under legislative rules, that lawmaker can be from the House or the Senate but must be a Republican. The complaint centers on deceptive phone calls about a construction defects bill that went out to voters in Democrats' districts.
Construction fund deal rankles JBC members
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1176301137/5
The Capital Development Committee is going to receive the additional $30 million it wanted to fix more state buildings, but the Legislature's budget writers aren't at all happy about it. Though the details are still being ironed out, some CDC members and the governor's office have worked out a deal that would allow money initially intended for road projects to be used instead for capital construction projects, including some in Southern Colorado. Regardless of the deal, though, the six-member Joint Budget Committee wasn't pleased with how it came about, particularly its chairman, Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo.
State senator's grandkids are threatened in an e-mail
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5637947
State investigators were trying Tuesday to track down the author of a threatening e-mail to a state senator that said her grandchildren "will pay." Sen. Nancy Spence, the top-ranking Republican on the Senate Education Committee, said the Colorado Bureau of Investigation was tracing significant leads. The e-mailer blamed Spence for the public release of an embarrassing e-mail in which House Education Committee chairman Michael Merrifield, D-Colorado Springs, said there "must be a special place in hell" for backers of school vouchers and charter schools. The e-mail sent to Spence on Saturday said "we are going to take it out on your grandchildren. ... We know where they live (we have contacts all over the country) and where they go to school." It was signed "the edcation (sic) panthers" and came from "Ed Barger" at "cea98barger@yahoo.com." The author might have used "cea" as an acronym for the Colorado Education Association, but the e-mail is from a Yahoo account.
RELATED: State senator said investigators have leads on threatening e-mail
http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20070410/NEWS/104100077
Dems must turn over surveys, judge rules
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5477037,00.html
Ten Democratic lawmakers must turn over constituent surveys that were paid for by a mystery group, a Denver District Court judge ruled Tuesday. The Colorado Republican Party initially sought the surveys last year. The party sued when the House members refused to provide the completed surveys, saying they were private documents. "Some people did say, 'Please don't share my e-mail address with anyone,' " said Rep. Bernie Buescher, D-Grand Junction, whose constituents received the surveys. All 10 Democrats whose voters got the surveys are from competitive districts. Some, such as Buescher, won in huge upsets in 2004 that gave House Democrats the majority for the first time since 1976. The surveys, which were mailed to voters in 2005, touted Democrats' achievements that year during the session. The voters were asked their priorities, ranging from car insurance to health care access. "Today's court order vindicates an important public right to access to records maintained by elected government officials," said John Zakhem, attorney for the state GOP.
Citizen Legislator: John Morse
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5477036,00.html
Sen. John Morse, surrounded by law books, over the years has combined his love of learning and the law. He worked his way through college as a paramedic and an accountant. He later was a sergeant in the Colorado Springs Police Department and police chief in Fountain. Morse has a master's degree in public administration and a doctorate in public affairs. Last year he became the first Democrat from Colorado Springs elected to the state Senate since 1984. Morse, 48, said he is concerned about the fiscal solvency of the state, along with criminal justice, health care and education. "I came here to dojustice," he said.
ISLAND GIRL (Roll Call, April 11)
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5477039,00.html
Sen. Joan Fitz-Gerald, D-Coal Creek Canyon, was in caucus Tuesday when her cell phone rang, playing an island-calypso tune. Fitz-Gerald laughed and shook her, uh, tail feathers, prompting the following: "Why all of the sudden am I getting a flashback of 'A Weekend at Bernie's'?" Sen. Bob Hagedorn, D-Denver "Don't ever let her do that again." Sen. Peter Groff, D-Denver
Can we quote you on that? (On the side, 4/11)
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5637949
"I just read a quote by Gandhi that said some people can see God through bread." - Sen. Ken Gordon, D-Denver, regarding a budget amendment to fund school breakfast programs. "He must have been Catholic." - Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, D-Jefferson County
EXTRA!, April 11
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5477494,00.html
Tuesday was proclaimed Frances Owens Day in Colorado to honor the former first lady for her contributions. The proclamation was signed by Gov. Bill Ritter Jr., who took office in January, succeeding Gov. Bill Owens. First lady Jeannie Ritter also honored Frances Owens for her work at the Governor's Mansion, including remodeling a carriage house into a meeting room.
Censure, not dismissal
http://coloradodaily.com/articles/2007/04/10/news/c_u_and_boulder/news1.txt
T he meaning of one five-letter word in various contexts was on trial Monday, and Boulder's City Council ruled that council member Richard Polk was not convicted of a “crime” that should cost him his job. The council was charged with deciding if Polk's recent guilty plea to a charge of reckless driving should trigger a City Charter section that says a council “vacancy” shall exist if a member is convicted of a “crime or felony” while in office. A special legal counsel hired by the city said council could reasonably interpret that Polk's offense did not necessitate a vacancy, and City Council accepted the counsel's opinion. The council, in essence, allowed Polk to stay in office but drafted an official letter of reprimand expressing “deep disapproval” of Polk's September 2006 conduct.
Council welcomes its newest members
http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070411/NEWS01/704110311/1002
With much accolade and praise, Fort Collins' two newest City Council members took their first step onto the dais while the city's two term-limited members took their final steps off. "I am ready to be done - I think," Kurt Kastein said to a Council chamber filled with almost 50 people during Tuesday's special Council meeting. "It has been such a privilege to serve the city in this capacity for the last eight years." Kastein and Karen Weitkunat, who had served on the Council since 1999, handed their elected seats over to Colorado State University professor Wade Troxell and community volunteer Lisa Poppaw, respectively.
Palmer takes oath of office as new mayor
http://montrosepress.com/articles/2007/04/10/local_news/1.txt
Former Olathe Mayor Pro-Tem Woody Palmer took the oath of office for mayor Monday evening at the town board meeting. “I appreciate the opportunity to serve,” Palmer said. He was not present at the previous meeting March 26 when Mayor Wayne Blair resigned.
City manager receives commendation from international association
http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/20070411/NEWS/104100107
Greeley City Manager Roy Otto has received a commendation from an international city managers' association for his work in local government. Otto has been Greeley's city manager since August 2005. The designation of "Credentialed Manager" comes from the International City/County Management Association. There are 973 government professionals who have received the designation, according to a release.
Civil Liberties and Equality
As Rifle grows, it divides
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5477003,00.html
The 14-year-old freshman was walking to her midmorning geography class at Rifle High School in February when she said an older - and considerably bigger - Hispanic girl called her "cracker." Then, the Hispanic girl pushed her to the hallway floor, slammed her head into a locker, and pummeled, scratched and kicked her while other students stood by and watched, the 14-year-old said. Some even took pictures and recorded the clash with their camera phones. John Kuersten said his daughter, who asked that her first name not be used, suffered a broken nose, a bruised collarbone and a separation between two of her vertebrae. The 14-year-old figures the attack was in retaliation for calling a Hispanic boy "beaner" the day before after he had made a sexual comment to her. Whatever provoked the Feb. 23 incident, one thing is clear: The fallout has spilled far beyond the halls of Rifle High School. Some say it has further strained relations between white residents and the fast-growing Hispanic community. Others say the ethnic overtones have been overblown, but acknowledge that Rifle is under pressure, grappling with an influx of new residents, rising prices and strains on city services.
Immigration
Disabled man wins ID bout
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5637737
After four hours, two appearances before a judge, a clerk's curt denial and a court order, Bobby Hartwell, a disabled man who faced losing his home if he couldn't prove citizenship, on Tuesday got a state identification card. Department of Revenue hearing officer Thomas McEwen ruled that Hartwell had proved his citizenship. "He's my judge!" Hartwell said. Hartwell, who has cerebral palsy and mental retardation, is among dozens of disabled people put at risk by tougher state rules for proving legal residence to obtain public benefits. The battle to get Hartwell an ID was waged by Nola Nash of Denver's Atlantis/Adapt Center, which helps the disabled live on their own.
Swift reports drop in net sales
http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/20070411/NEWS/70410006
Swift & Co. reported a drop in net sales for its third quarter on Tuesday, blaming the drop in sales on a December raid by immigration officials on six of its seven domestic packing plants. But Sam Rovit, the company’s president and CEO, said the company is well on its way to a full recovery, noting production of its pork facilities was back to normal in March and said its beef production will be back to normal levels by this summer.
RELATED: Swift's net sales dip 6.9% in quarter
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_5637341
Immigrants have always faced obstacles
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1176301137/2
Pueblo officials who work with immigrants are keeping a close eye on any new federal policy changes dealing with immigration reform. A panel that included local officials from law enforcement to those who work directly with helping immigrants in the community agreed Tuesday night that policy changes are needed to help improve the immigration system that exists today. The six panelist spoke to about 140 people as part of a 90-minute discussion held Tuesday night on the "U.S. Immigration Today: The Pueblo Connection." The discussion, held at Colorado State University-Pueblo, was sponsored by the university's political science department. In addition to agreeing that policy changes are needed, the panelists also said the reality is that immigrants have and will continue to be a part of American life.
City hosts meeting to get thoughts on integrating immigrants
http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/20070411/NEWS/104100118
On Saturday, city leaders will host an open meeting to get residents' thoughts on helping immigrants' transition into the Greeley and Evans community. "We want an open dialogue on how we can welcome newcomers and what we expect from newcomers," said Greeley City Manager Roy Otto. In December, the cities of Greeley and Evans were given $10,000 in grant money from the Colorado Trust initiative to find a way to help ease immigrants' integration in the community. Since then, a steering committee made up of city and community leaders have named the project Realizing Our Community and have been meeting to discuss plans on how to best address the goals of the grant. Saturday will be the first time the dialogue will be open to the public, Otto said. In a statement released by the organizing committee, they said they want people to comment on how the grant should be used and help create a plan of action and implementation for the grant.
Health Care and Public Safety
Disabled Coloradans battle over funding
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5477439,00.html
The state's blind and hearing- impaired communities squared off Tuesday over how to spend one pot of money. House Bill 1274, which would strip funding from programs for the hearing-impaired to create a 15-member commission for the blind, moved forward on a 3-2 partly-line vote by the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee. The commission would draft recommendations for job placement, vocational training and independent living services. The bill's co-sponsor, Sen. Suzanne Williams, D-Aurora, touted the measure as a major step in assisting the visually impaired. "There is no uniform sounding board for the blind community," said Williams.
CSU engineers test for quake safety
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5637388
A massive earthquake rattled a small cement house on the western edge of Colorado State University's campus Tuesday afternoon. It was an experiment: No concrete chunks fell off the building, and while the aluminum-and-wood roof swayed in the thundering quake, it held up undamaged. "Oh, I am so happy. I am so happy," said Alan Early, the home's designer, as he held both hands to his mouth after the last of six simulated earthquakes ended with a low rumble. Early runs the Indonesia Aid Foundation Inc. after spending 20 years as an engineering professor at CSU.
Family says goodbye to Missie the pug
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5476747,00.html
The family of Missie, a 4-year-old pug suffering from kidney failure who was featured in Tuesday's Rocky Mountain News, had hoped the dog would survive long enough to spend one more day at home after being given her last intravenous fluids. She tried, but she couldn't. Ian White and his wife, Stephanie Monfelt, decided Tuesday they needed to put a stop to Missie's suffering. They had her euthanized Tuesday afternoon. The family's veterinarian, who had been treating the dog, said she believes Missie was a victim of contaminated canned food that also may be responsible for the illnesses and deaths of other pets in the U.S.
Crime and Penal Reform
Death penalty foe trying new tack
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5477038,00.html
The Louisville lawmaker who tries but fails each year to repeal Colorado's death penalty plans a back-door approach today. Rep. Paul Weissmann, a Democrat, said he hopes to persuade colleagues to eliminate the attorney general's four-person capital crimes unit. That would shift the burden of costly death penalty prosecutions and appeals to district attorneys, and if that didn't wipe out capital punishment altogether, it would at least save the state $360,000 a year, Weissmann said. That money would be used instead to investigate cold cases under Weissmann's plan.
Lawmakers may take on criminal justice reform with commission
http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/20070411/NEWS/104110107
Today in Denver, state lawmakers are poised to form a group to study criminal justice in Colorado, which many believe is a step to reducing prison populations and cutting crime. But it's the criminal justice system, so naturally, there are opposing views about how to do it. The Colorado Criminal and Juvenile Justice Commission would collect data about Colorado's prison population, examine the state's sentencing scheme, consider alternatives to incarceration, and make policy recommendations. "It's time that Colorado got smart about crime," said state Rep. Terrance Carroll, D-Denver, the bill's sponsor. "It's easy for someone to say we're going to be tough on crime, but that doesn't require any thought. We have to be thoughtful on crime, smarter about how we deal with crime."
Parole board appointment (Legislative briefs)
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1176301137/18
The Colorado Senate confirmed the appointment of former Denver Police Chief David Michaud as chairman of the Pueblo-based Colorado Parole Board. Michaud retired to Pueblo West after leaving the Denver Police Department in 1998. Since that retirement, Michaud has worked as a consultant for the Pueblo County District Attorney's Office and the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo. Gov. Bill Ritter nominated Michaud to serve a three-year term on the board, which pays $91,428 a year.
Denver police efforts draw protests
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5637386
A crime-fighting effort by Denver police is drawing protests in the Cole-Whittier neighborhood from some residents who say officers are unfairly targeting minorities and the poor. "It's been effective in other parts of the city and other parts of the country, and we still stand behind it," Denver police spokesman Sonny Jackson said Tuesday. This week, some residents aided by the Colorado Progressive Coalition have been placing leaflets on doors to denounce "broken windows" policing. The policing effort aggressively targets small crimes such as loitering, graffiti and public drunkenness as a way to prevent more serious crime.
Officer's suspension upheld
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5477420,00.html
Denver police officer James Turney lost the latest round of a disciplinary battle Tuesday when the Denver Civil Service Commission reaffirmed his 10- month suspension in the shooting death of a knife-wielding developmentally disabled boy. In a three-page decision, the commission overturned a decision by a hearing officer who had thrown out Turney's punishment for his role in the July 5, 2003, shooting of Paul Childs and for allegedly threatening the officer's mother-in-law. The commission also ruled that the hearing officer erred in relying upon expert testimony from witnesses who took part in a confidential internal review of the shooting.
RELATED: 10-month penalty reinstated in officer's '03 shooting case
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5637914
Riot acts
http://craigdailypress.com/section/localnews/story/26109
On Tuesday, six instructors from the Northwest All-Hazard Emergency Management Region conducted a training session with 22 law enforcement officers, including some from the Craig Police Department and Moffat County Sheriff's Office. The training session covered tactics in areas such as riot control and civil arrest, and live drills against volunteers posing as rioters. "We're trying to give these guys a little bit of understanding," said Tim Templon, one of six instructors and Garfield County undersheriff. He added, "It doesn't take much for a situation to flare up. ... You're better off to be prepared than be caught behind the eight ball."
Women’s prison bestows first associate’s degree
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1176301137/14
Mary B. Johnson received the first associate of arts degree ever earned by an inmate at Colorado Women's Prison Tuesday. For a few moments she could forget that she has been sentenced to "more than life" for attempted murder. The spotlight was on her this time for doing something positive. Johnson said reaching the goal made her feel human again. She received her diploma from Adams State College Provost Sandra Starnaman before a packed house of inmates and dignitaries crowded into the prison gym. "This college degree is for me. It is how I keep my sanity and my personal integrity," Johnson said.
Economy
Lawyers: Court denied classified defense
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/tech/article/0,2777,DRMN_23910_5475636,00.html
Joe Nacchio's defense attorneys have filed a motion saying the court violated the former Qwest CEO's right to mount a defense by not allowing certain testimony about Nacchio's knowledge of classified government contracts. The document, like all other material regarding classified information filed so far in the case, was filed under seal, so the wording of the document is not available to the public. But the title of the motion, filed Monday, is: "RENEWED OBJECTION by JOPSEPH P. NACCHIO TO EXCLUSION OF CLASSIFIED TESTIMONY AS VIOLATIVE OF HIS CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO MOUNT A DEFENSE." Prosecutors filed a response Monday. That document also is unavailable to the public.
RELATED: 'A case about choices'
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/tech/article/0,2777,DRMN_23910_5476960,00.html
RELATED: One strong juror could persuade the others
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/tech/article/0,2777,DRMN_23910_5476906,00.html
RELATED: Nacchio closings: Crime vs. mistake
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_5637736
RELATED: Final attack on trades' timing
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_5637333
RELATED: Observers left to wait on verdict
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_5637331
RELATED: Special coverage: Nacchio on trial
http://cfapp2.rockymountainnews.com/business/nacchio/
Colorado gets a 'C' at solving tax fights
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/other_business/article/0,2777,DRMN_23916_5476608,00.html
The system in Colorado allowing companies to dispute their taxes received a mediocre grade in a new report. The Council on State Taxation gave Colorado a "C" score, while handing neighbors Arizona and Wyoming marks in the "A" range. Kansas, Nebraska and Utah received "Bs." North Carolina was at the bottom of the U.S. barrel with a "D-," according to the trade group for large businesses. "For corporate tax departments these are big issues," said Joe Crosby, the organization's legislative director. "No business is going to make investment decisions solely on these criteria, but they certainly do come into play."
What's down the road for downtown Denver?
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_5637329
Prosperous, walkable, diverse, distinctive and green. That's the vision for downtown Denver over the next 20 years, according to a presentation Tuesday by Moore Iacofano Goltsman Inc., the consulting team hired by the Downtown Denver Partnership to help formulate the plan. The team will present the final plan document from 2 to 4 p.m. May 3 at the Colorado History Museum, 1300 Broadway. A community workshop will follow from 5:30 to 8 p.m.
NASA, Lockheed fret over Orion funding
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_5637332
NASA and aerospace industry leaders including Lockheed Martin Corp. say they are making progress on plans for the Orion crew exploration vehicle and its launch vehicle, but are concerned about funding for plans to launch Orion, return to the moon and go on to Mars. "There are a lot of conflicting budget requests," said John Karas, vice president and general manager of human space flight for Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., whose headquarters is in Jefferson County. "I think we have some good support, but we also have some challenges," he told attendees at the National Space Symposium, which runs through Thursday at The Broadmoor.
RELATED: Sky’s not even the limit at symposium
http://www.gazette.com/articles/sullivan_21099___article.html/air_omaha.html
It's back to roots for Elitch Gardens
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/other_business/article/0,2777,DRMN_23916_5476605,00.html
Elitch Gardens won't open its season for more than two weeks. But the Troc was rockin' Tuesday morning as the band played Motown and acrobats offered up a taste of the fun the Denver park's new owners promise is on tap for this summer. New York-based Six Flags Inc. sold Denver's park and six others for $312 million on Monday. Now, Elitch Gardens will drop Six Flags from its name and hearken back to its 117-year-old roots, Randal Drew, president and CEO of Parc Management LLC, told locals gathered at the Trocadero Theater. Jacksonville, Fla.-based Parc Management will run the amusement parks for the new owner, Orlando-based investment group CNL Income Properties Inc.
RELATED: New team pledges more fun
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_5637330
Housing and Homelessness
Bill to let homeowners sue on way to Ritter
http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20070410/NEWS/104100079
Homeowners who signed away their right to sue when they bought a new home would be able to take developers to court under a measure on its way to the governor. The Senate gave final approval to the measure (House Bill 1338) on Tuesday, sending it to Gov. Bill Ritter. If he signs it into law it would take effect immediately. The bill's main opponent, the Colorado Association of Home Builders, plans to lobby Ritter to veto the bill. Four years ago, the association successfully lobbied for a bill that limits how much money homeowners can win in court for construction problems. That law steers homeowners and developers into arbitration first, rather than court, to get the defects fix. This year's measure is backed by the Colorado Home Alliance, a homeowners group, which has also gotten donations from Scott Sullan, a lawyer who has filed construction defect lawsuits.
Area gives $84,000 to assist homeless
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5637867
Using old parking meters scattered around Denver's downtown and canisters at King Soopers cash registers, the city's fight to end homelessness garnered more than $84,000 in donations from the unique fundraising campaigns. Denver suburbanites donated the bulk of nearly $23,000 collected at metro-area King Soopers stores in a two-month appeal that company executives on Tuesday said they'd match dollar-for-dollar.
Habitat initiatives building
http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/04/11/4_11_1b_Habitat_in_GJ.html
Habitat for Humanity wants to build as many as 50 homes on nine acres in the 3000 block of D Road, near Pear Park. Plans for the John Hoffman Subdivision have not been filed with the city of Grand Junction, but project organizers have had discussions with the city, have acquired the property and are anticipating completing the first homes within 18 months.
Affordable housing development still on the table in Keystone
http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20070410/NEWS/70410016
Two years after Wellington neighborhood developer David O’Neil broached the idea of building a similar affordable housing neighborhood in Keystone, he says the potential project is still very much alive. O’Neil told a crowd of about 70 people at Monday night’s Keystone Citizens League meeting that he hoped to begin work on site design, land planning concepts and architectural concepts in the next several months.
Girl Scouts give cookies to homeless
http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070411/NEWS01/704110309/1002
For Ken and Darlene Munsch of Fort Collins, there is more to Girl Scout cookies than the cool taste of a Thin Mint or the chewy goodness of a Samoa. And while the cookies might have changed, the Munschs' faith in the treats hasn't budged. Each year, the couple agrees to buy 100 boxes of Girl Scout cookies for the homeless from one lucky troop - with a catch. "The one requirement we make is that they actually deliver the cookies to see how the homeless live," Ken Munsch said.
Media
Oprah picks Denver for dream
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5634839
A crew from "Oprah Winfrey's The Big Give" - the new reality show from the queen of daytime television - was in Denver on Monday filming a segment that might leave Denver Children's Home a better place. Some of the show's contestants began work Monday to raise money for the home - Colorado's oldest nonprofit - to help renovate its building. The home has been in the same building for 105 years, and the contestants hope to provide it with air conditioning, a DCH official said, a project that could cost up to $1 million.
Education
Proposal lets CSU, others raise out-of-state tuition
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5637944
Colorado's top budget-writing lawmakers on Tuesday agreed to give Colorado State University and other state colleges permission to raise tuition rates for out-of-state students. The proposal aims to appease CSU officials who waged a last-minute battle with state lawmakers to boost the amount of tuition money the university could collect from most students. The current budget for the upcoming year allows tuition revenue at CSU and at the University of Colorado to grow by 7 percent. But the universities typically impose steeper tuition hikes on certain groups of students, who end up paying more than a 7 percent increase.
Colorado must improve its education
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1176301137/10
Colorado’s lieutenant governor on Tuesday outlined a strategy to improve education during a talk to the Pueblo County Bar Association. Barbara O’Brien, whose work as an advocate for children predates her election as Gov. Bill Ritter’s lieutenant governor, called for better financial aid and lower costs for higher education, enriched curricula, better trained teachers and full-day preschool programs. Citing the Colorado paradox, a state with high levels of education but near the bottom in education spending, O'Brien said that other states have invested in the success of many of Colorado’s residents.
CWA looking for more student bodies
http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/apr/11/cwa-looking-more-student-bodies/
There's an intellectual party at the University of Colorado, and organizers are hoping more students show up. The campus is saturated this week with experts full of knowledge on topics ranging from Hollywood to human trafficking, outer space to MySpace. Staged on every corner of the campus is fiery debate, storytelling and live music. Conference on World Affairs gurus say they don't want college students to play hooky from the university's largest non-athletic gathering. So organizers this year have been on a campaign to get more CU students to attend the panels and addresses, some of which have young faces missing from the audience.
New schools may need bake sales
http://www.gazette.com/onset?id=21119&template=article.html
Voters approve the money to build schools, but districts still have to find the cash to hire a staff, pay the light bill and buy desks and books. At least five districts have to come up with operating expenses in their budgets as they prepare to open new schools in August. Academy School District 20 will open two elementary schools in northeast Colorado Springs for the 2007-2008 school year. It will also open the high school portion of the K-12 Discovery Canyon Campus, in the Flying Horse Ranch subdivision in northern Colorado Springs. The overhead costs — utilities, school principal, counselors and other expenses — of opening the two elementary schools is about $900,000, said Chief Financial Officer Wil Hatcher. The cost of opening Discovery Canyon’s high school is $1.2 million. Those costs do not include teachers, which are based on the number of students.
RELATED: Decision time for schools
http://www.gazette.com/onset?id=21109&template=article.html
RELATED: A look at decisions affecting schools, district by district
http://www.gazette.com/onset?id=21117&template=article.html
Girls to women
http://www2.steamboatpilot.com/news/2007/apr/11/girls_women/?local_news
Charell Ondrejka changed her mind about becoming an actress after attending Tuesday’s Girls to Women Conference with 134 other eighth-grade girls. “I didn’t make enough money, and I wanted a brand-new car and expensive clothes,” she said after completing a financial planning activity called Reality Bytes. “I learned how to save money though.” The girls — from five Routt County schools and North Park — each attended three of 28 workshops in which they learned about relationships, self-worth, making healthy choices, financial planning and career opportunities. The conference was held at Steamboat Sheraton Hotel.
Sex the topic at Boulder High forum
http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/apr/11/sex-the-topic-at-boulder-high-forum/
An audience — mostly made up of teenagers — filled the school's auditorium Tuesday for an afternoon panel called "STDs: Sex, Teens and Drugs." The discussion on pot, hangovers and sex was far from an after-school special. One student criticized the panelists for what she saw as a blasé attitude about sex and a disregard for abstinence. "I'm extremely offended," the girl said. "This discussion has been one-sided."
City Schools to undergo sweeping changes
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1176301137/1
The central administration of Pueblo City Schools will look a lot different in a few weeks as a sweeping organizational plan presented Tuesday night goes into place. The Board of Education unanimously approved the new structure that Superintendent John Covington has been working on since he was hired last summer. Just how many individuals will no longer be working Downtown won’t be known until all the new slots are filled but just about every administrator has been given a non-renewal notice and many positions either no longer exist or have been changed substantially from what they are now.
9-R board, teachers clash over survey
Durango High School teachers and administrators rebelled Tuesday against a plan by the school board to publish the results of a survey given recently to high school teachers, parents and students. Board members said they initiated the survey to get direct, unfiltered opinions about the high school. But members of the DHS Committee for Strategic Change - including several teachers, the principal and the dean of students - said it was their understanding the survey would not be published.
Cañon’s Got Milk
http://www.canoncitydailyrecord.com/Top-Story.asp?ID=6641
The hard work continues to pay off for Cañon City School District’s School Nutrition Program.
Wrestling champion jailed after officer hit by air gun
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5477481,00.html
An alleged reckless prank and perhaps a case of mistaken identity has landed a Broomfield High School wrestling champ in jail. Cory Casady, 18, is accused of shooting an off-duty police officer in the head Monday with an air gun as their vehicles passed each other. The officer, whose name was not released, was not hurt. Casady, a junior who won the state Class 4A 140- pound wrestling championship on Feb. 17, faces charges of felony menacing and reckless endangerment. He was released from the Broomfield jail on $1,000 bail on Tuesday, authorities said.
Military
Brain injury a 'signature' of war
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5477483,00.html
Army Capt. Matthew Staton went to Iraq in 2003 with the first wave of Fort Carson soldiers. Months after his return in 2004 he realized he was seriously wounded. "My wife could give me a (spoken) grocery list. The grocery store was three minutes from my house. I could leave the house, go to the grocery store and would completely have forgotten what I went there for," he said. Staton has a traumatic brain injury, or TBI. It was caused by the concussive blasts of roadside bombs, known in Army parlance as IEDs, or improvised explosive devices. "TBI may well be the signature injury of this war," said Col. John Cho, commander of Fort Carson's Evans Army Medical Center.
RELATED: Carson GIs suffer from TBIs
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5637738
RELATED: Brain injuries plague soldiers
http://www.gazette.com/articles/_21097___article.html/_.html
Stolen colors
http://craigdailypress.com/section/localnews/story/26105
Six times vandals damaged the wooden soldier standing guard outside the Craig Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4265. Six times Post Commander Bud Nelson has repaired it. But this, he's never seen. Nelson said he believes on Saturday night, someone lowered the American and POW/MIA flags off the VFW flag pole and took them. "I don't know the reason behind it. I just know it's gone," he said. "I just don't understand."
Religion
Atheists take to the pulpit to discuss God, morality
http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/apr/11/atheists-take-pulpit-discuss-god-morality/
The mood in a Hellems classroom at the University of Colorado flowed back and forth from jokes and laughter to serious discussion Tuesday as panelists shared personal stories and ideas about God at the Conference on World Affairs. The four men on the panel discussed their thoughts and experiences in "Atheists Can Do Whatever the Hell They Want."
Energy Policy
BLM: Gas wells won’t go east in GarCo
http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/04/11/4_11_3a_Management_plans.html
Don’t look for natural-gas development to spread to the east in the Glenwood Springs Bureau of Land Management Field Office resource area. The Glenwood Springs and Kremmling field offices are gathering public input to help them develop revised draft management plans to release for more public comment. During an open house Tuesday in Rifle, BLM Associate Field Office Manager Steve Bennett said the process will look at gas drilling in all areas except the Roan Plateau. The BLM last fall issued a final management plan for that area west of Rifle. “Pretty much everything west of the Grand Hogback is considered high potential,” Bennett said, referring to the geologic uplift that runs north and south between Silt and New Castle.
RELATED: BLM hosts first plan revision open house
http://www.postindependent.com/article/20070411/VALLEYNEWS/104110037
Wet winter, high ethanol costs mean money for farmers
http://www.longmontfyi.com/Local-Story.asp?id=15689
Yuma County farmer Byron Weathers anticipates an unusual event this year: making money on his corn crop. Like many of his corn-growing colleagues who have suffered through lean years, Weathers plans to plant more of the grain this spring to take advantage of historically high prices. Colorado farmers will increase their corn acreage this year by a projected 25 percent to 1.25 million acres, the second-highest total since the 1930s, agriculture officials reported last week. Nationally, corn planting is expected to grow 15 percent to 90.5 million acres, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Weathers tips his cap to a nearby ethanol plant under construction east of Yuma.
Tri-State becoming a jolly green giant?
http://telluridegateway.com/articles/2007/04/11/news/news01.txt
The massive power provider that serves Telluride has long caught flak from critics who support conservation and clean energy. But now, the company is making a pitch to win over those greener hearts and minds.
La Plata County considers improving energy efficiency
La Plata County government is studying ways to conserve energy and resources associated with its daily operations - including making buildings more energy efficient, switching to biodiesel fuel and purchasing "green power." The county has already done one energy audit - at the state's expense - that shows more can be done to make county-owned buildings more energy efficient. And now the county plans to hire a private company to provide more information about ways to conserve energy, how much certain improvements will cost and what energy savings will result. "We're taking it very seriously," said Commissioner Wally White. "The county is a leader in this area. Hopefully, other entities will take notice of this and also join, because this is a community effort."
Uranium mine's impact worries property owners
http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070411/NEWS01/704110329/1002
A proposal to mine uranium on the windswept plain between Wellington and Nunn is raising concerns with some property owners who could be affected by the operation. Powertech Uranium Corp. is considering using treated water to extract uranium from underground deposits that would be processed for use as fuel in nuclear power plants, said Richard Blubaugh, the company's vice president of health, safety and environmental resources.
Drilling plan draws fire
http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/04/11/4_11_1a_Gas_Drilling.html
Pat Bonnell, who has lived on Purdy Mesa since the 1970s, says she’s afraid that if she signs a lease allowing Sheridan-based Aspen Well Operating LLC to drill on her property, it could create tensions among neighbors in an area where people say they own little pieces of paradise. “If one neighbor signs (a lease) or puts a drill and it turns out to be an eyesore, and somebody can’t get away from it in their backyard, it’s going to make people angry,” she said. “I am very concerned about preserving the quality of life up here, the beauty of the land.” There were plenty of unhappy people and four-letter words flying at an Aspen Well-orchestrated meeting of more than 35 Kannah Creek and Purdy Mesa residents Tuesday night at the Lands End Fire Station in Whitewater. Some of the residents — many of whom own their mineral rights — angrily accused Aspen of asking them to sign vague or misleading lease agreements.
Trapper Mine sets another safety record
http://craigdailypress.com/section/localnews/story/26092
On July 9, the mine hit 1 million man hours worked without a lost-time accident. On Sept. 19, the mine broke its record for number of consecutive days worked without a lost-time accident. On Thursday, the mine set a new record for man hours worked without a lost-time accident. And on April 21, the mine will hit four years without a lost-time accident. Karl Koehler, Trapper's safety manager, said he considers Thursday's record -- 1,262,234 man hours -- the employees' biggest accomplishment. "It's the longest that Trapper has gone without a lost-time accident, and that's a real credit to the workforce we have working here now," Koehler said. The mine, which has been open about 30 years, employs 170 workers.
Transportation and Infrastructure
RTD critic fare game for gripe
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5637946
Rep. Jim Riesberg, a Greeley Democrat, may think twice before he offers comments again from the House floor. In recent debate over a bill that would allow RTD to charge for some parking at its lots, Riesberg said the transit agency should concentrate on getting light-rail patrons to pay for rides. "Everyone rides free," Riesberg said, recounting a light-rail trip he took to a Colorado Mammoth game several years ago with his daughter. "We would come out of the Pepsi Center. Every car would be full, standing-room only and not one single fare is paid," he told fellow legislators. "I've had an RTD ticket in my pocket for years, and it's never been punched, and I've never had to buy a second one." His comments on the floor prompted House Minority Leader Mike May, R-Parker, to claim in a newsletter that Riesberg "proudly boasted that he has been cheating the Regional Transportation District for years." In response to the newsletter, RTD spokesman Scott Reed wrote a private e-mail to a handful of transit agency officials - which found its way to House Republicans - claiming Riesberg had "sent a check to RTD for a grand total of I think $7.50 for the times he rode without paying."
Tax revenue falls short of forecasts for RTD
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5477440,00.html
RTD's sales tax collections continued to dip below forecasts in February, but a state economist told board members this week that short-term dips are to be expected during long-term growth. February was actually a good month for overall sales tax revenues at RTD, up 6.7 percent over February 2006. But it was still 2.7 percent below the transit agency's budget forecast.
Foreign firms to operate troubled toll road
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5637911
The Northwest Parkway's board of directors has selected a team of companies from Portugal and Brazil as the winner in a bid to operate the financially troubled toll road under a long-term leasing arrangement. Owners of the 11-mile highway, which links the E-470 toll road with U.S. 36, had solicited bids from 11 investment firms and toll-road operators. The team of Brisa Auto-Estradas de Portugal S.A. and Companhia de Concessões Rodoviarias, of São Paulo, Brazil, was selected for exclusive talks with Northwest Parkway officials on a leasing agreement in part because of the companies' "very strong service component," said parkway Executive Director Steve Hogan.
Disabled RTD rep rips mall proposal
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5477419,00.html
An RTD director who uses a wheelchair pledged a protest by the disabled if Park Meadows goes ahead with plans for a circuitous sidewalk route from the T-REX light-rail station to the mall. Darryl Kinton, a board member from Littleton who is disabled, said Park Meadows' initial design for a walkway to connect the mall with the stairs and elevator leading from the County Line Road light-rail station adjacent to the parking lot is too long and out of the way. Rather than going straight to the mall from the station, the walkway meanders north to a signalized crossing of the perimeter road, which designers say is a safer place to cross traffic. It then leads to one of the mall's entrances.
Crowded roads ahead
http://www2.steamboatpilot.com/news/2007/apr/11/crowded_roads_ahead/?local_news
The Steamboat Springs City Council agreed Tuesday night to consider implementing a “Yield to Bus” law, which would require vehicles to allow city buses to re-enter traffic at bus stops. The issue arose during a sobering presentation by city transportation director George Krawzoff, who warned that Steamboat faces significantly increasing traffic demands — and costs — in both the short- and long-term future. Heavy construction in Steamboat Springs this summer is expected to fill downtown parking spots, and growth in areas west of downtown will drastically increase traffic along Lincoln Avenue, which Krawzoff said is already operating at its capacity.
Mag water returns
http://craigdailypress.com/section/localnews/story/26104
When it comes to the maintenance and stabilization of unpaved public roads, magnesium chloride, or "mag chloride," is the ingredient used to quell the dust and harden the road surface. The product originates in the Great Salt Lake of Utah, and is shipped to Moffat County by highway and by rail to be sprayed on the county's unpaved roads. "It holds the road together and prevents washboards," county road director Bill Mack said. "It's also a dust suppressant."
Environment and Conservation
Grants to fight fires by cleaning beetles' mess (Under the dome, 4/11)
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5637945
The House passed a measure Tuesday aimed at helping protect Colorado forests from wildfires through cleanup of beetle-ravaged trees. House Bill 1130 passed 64-1 and now goes to the Senate. The bill from Rep. Dan Gibbs, D-Silverthorne, establishes a grant program to help communities clean up damage caused by the bark beetle epidemic. The program will be funded through $1 million from the water conservation board.
RELATED: Gibbs' bark beetle bill passes the House
http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20070410/NEWS/70410010
CU curator turns to 50-year-old grasshopper research to find evidence of climate change
http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/apr/11/bugging-out/
The patch of forest floor that César Nufio has picked out looks barren, the dead gray pine needles and patchy snow evidence that spring has yet to spring at 8,000 feet in the mountains west of Boulder. But appearances can be deceiving. Nufio squats down, slowly passes his hand a few inches above the ground — then makes a lightning-fast grab and examines his catch: an Arphia conspersa grasshopper squirming between his thumb and index finger. Many of the dozens of grasshoppers Nufio and an assistant will nab this afternoon are out before they're supposed to be — and they're providing evidence, Nufio says, that climate change is already having an impact on wildlife. Nufio knows that because he's not the first person to spend his afternoons combing foliage for grasshoppers in and around Boulder. Gordon Alexander, a University of Colorado biologist and administrator, did it first 50 years ago, painstakingly documenting his research in the form of notebooks and 14,000 pinned grasshopper specimens.
CU scientists to help study mystery of unusual polar clouds
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5476882,00.html
Mysterious silvery-blue polar clouds that appear to be growing brighter in recent decades and moving toward Earth's lower latitudes - even as far south as Colorado - will soon be studied by a satellite carrying two University of Colorado instruments. The noctilucent clouds will be examined by NASA's Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere Mission to learn more about why they form and how they change, CU scientists said.
Study will look at aquatic life on Fountain
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1176301137/3
Aquatic life, not just the chemicals in the water, will be looked at in depth for the first time in a study of water quality on Fountain Creek by Colorado State University-Pueblo. The three-year, $1 million study is still searching for funds for its five-pronged study of Fountain Creek. “We’ve been working on the design of these experimental studies for some time and have been involving the experts,” Kristina Proctor, dean of science and mathematics at CSU-Pueblo said Tuesday. “For the breadth of work being done, this is a very comprehensive study.
SE district continues efforts
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1176301137/9
A five-year conservation plan started in 2005 has made strides toward saving water through education programs, landscape advice and leadership in developing plans to remove invasive species. The Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District resource and engineering committee received an update of the plan from Jean Van Pelt, who was hired as the conservation outreach coordinator in 2004.
2007 flushes
http://www.longmontfyi.com/Local-Story.asp?id=15683
In drought-plagued Colorado, most people see water as a precious commodity. So when residents see city crews flushing thousands of gallons of water down drains, gutters and streets each spring, they invariably call the city with complaints and concerns.
Study: Project on Colorado River would be unsafe
http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/04/11/4_11_1A_whitewater_park.html
A $10 million passage for endangered fish at the mouth of De Beque Canyon would be unsafe, according to a study released by the organization that was pushing for a whitewater park there. The Western Association to Enjoy Rivers is unlikely to reach by Thursday its goal of raising enough money for a whitewater park to accompany the fish passage to be built by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, conceded Pete Atkinson of the association. “Their project needs to meet public safety specs,” Atkinson said Tuesday. Reclamation officials said they will take the study under advisement.
Do we need more protection from bears?
http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20070410/NEWS/70410026
As the weather begins to warm, the county commissioners want to protect residents from rummaging bears on the hunt for food. The commissioners are considering adopting a law that would ban feeding wildlife and also require residents living in unincorporated Eagle County to buy bear-resistant trash cans. The board put off a vote on the issue on Tuesday until the board can get more input from the Department of Wildlife, residents and businesses affected by the move.
Lawmakers try to rein in easements
http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20070410/NEWS/104100078
Lawmakers tried to rein in a multimillion-dollar program that grants tax breaks for land conservation Tuesday after state officials ran down a litany of abuses, including people getting tax credits for agreeing to preserve their back yards. State revenue officials said the program got so far out of control they had to ask the Internal Revenue Service to step in and audit people who claimed tax credits for which they didn't qualify. Under the program, property owners get federal and state tax breaks by granting conservation easements that guarantee the land will not be developed. They can write off the easement as a charitable contribution and they also get to keep the land.
Developers' free land offer looks too costly to some
http://www.postindependent.com/article/20070411/VALLEYNEWS/104110039
In a valley of highly inflated real estate prices, some Illinois developers are having trouble giving land away. Westminster Swanson Land Partners LLC wants to donate almost 1,000 acres above Glenwood Springs for protection as a public "mountain park." "I can't say that we have anybody jumping up and down to take it," said Rick Swanson, a principal with Westminster Swanson. Developers say they are surprised that they have yet to find an entity willing to take the property. "Even when you want to give land away people aren't standing in line to take it," Swanson said. But he understands the reasons. The giveaway comes with some serious restrictions. The land couldn't be developed, and would have to be open to the public.
Boulder County to add open space
http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/apr/11/boulder-county-add-open-space/
Boulder County's commissioners voted Tuesday to purchase 429 acres of private land in the foothills for open space, but not before getting an earful from neighbors and equestrians about the proliferation of mountain bikers in the area. Just about everyone who showed up at the public hearing spoke in favor of acquiring the $4.75 million Benjamin property, a mostly pristine mountain parcel adjacent to Betasso Preserve. But several people asked that the area be shut down until conflicts among bikers, equestrians and private property owners are worked out.
Confusion passes park plan
http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070411/NEWS01/704110332/1002
Two contentious proposals for Horsetooth Reservoir held their places in a draft master plan for Larimer County Parks despite complaints from residents and a flurry of confusing votes. Members of a citizen task force that has been working on the master plan for 14 months voted Tuesday to keep an events center and archery range proposed for the reservoir in the plan with the understanding both ideas need more work.
Council kills plan to prohibit the felling of front-yard trees
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5476883,00.html
Denver has rejected a proposed ordinance that would have prohibited homeowners from taking down front-yard trees. Mayor John Hickenlooper said it wasn't reasonable that "someone has the right to tear down their homes, but they can't take down their tree." He told City Council members Tuesday morning that he had been out of the loop on the proposed ordinance drafted by his parks department.
County not ready to OK historic preservation board
http://www.postindependent.com/article/20070411/VALLEYNEWS/104110031
While many think the county's historic buildings should be preserved for posterity, doing so could be a regulatory can of worms. The Garfield County commissioners heard a request Monday to form a historic preservation board, and although they agreed in principle with the idea, they sent the group back to the drawing board over what that board would look like and how it would operate.
Homes proposed at Smuggler Mine
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20070411/NEWS/104110046
Smuggler Mine representatives want to preserve the historic site, and are hoping Pitkin County commissioners will reward them with permission to build two free-market homes. Representatives of the mine hope to take advantage of incentives under the new land-use code and had a chance to float their idea for two 15,000-square-foot homes to commissioners at a Tuesday work session. "I think it was great news," said Chris Preusch, president of New Smuggler. Preusch wants to divide the 29-acre site into two 10-acre parcels for homes and designate the working mine area - 9.7 acres - as a historic property.
Taking history into his hands
http://www2.steamboatpilot.com/news/2007/apr/11/taking_history_his_hands/?local_news
A fourth generation Routt County rancher has been chosen to lead Historic Routt County into its next ten years.
Opinion
Watchdog or lapdog at NASA?
http://www.denverpost.com/opinionheadlines/ci_5635732
Inspectors general have shone spotlights on Iraq reconstruction and in hurricane relief, lax records security at the IRS, misspent farm aid at the Department of Agriculture, waste at the Smithsonian Institution, conflicts of interest in federal medical research - and even problems at the National Archives. As a group, the inspectors general may be a taxpayer's best friend. So it's terribly discouraging to learn that one of them has fallen from grace.
Some e-mails destined for posterity
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/editorials/article/0,2777,DRMN_23964_5476666,00.html
When President Bush took office, he said he would not use e-mail in the White House so that his communications could not be subpoenaed. But the White House, no less than any other operation today, can't do business without e-mail. Bush's aides do use e-mail and now, true to the president's prediction, their communications have been subpoenaed. Official communications through the White House computer system are preserved and eventually will be archived and made public. But the picture becomes murkier where private e-mail accounts are involved.
Free press requires a shield
http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/20070411/TRIBEDIT/104110112/-1/TRIBEDIT
We'll admit right away that we have a personal interest in supporting a federal shield law for journalists. But we also feel strongly that it's the right thing to do for the country as a whole. This issue is more about the First Amendment than it is about protecting journalists. We encourage Congress to act swiftly this session to enact a law that protects reporters from prosecutors' subpoenas and testimony before a grand jury.
Writers on the Range: Why would a federal agency trash its libraries?
http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20070410/COLUMNS/104100048
It takes a special talent to make the topic of library management controversial, but the Environmental Protection Agency seems to have a real knack for self-inflicted wounds. EPA gave itself a black eye and enraged librarians throughout the country last year, when, without public notice or congressional consultation, it began the process of dismantling its network of 26 technical libraries. The original rationale EPA offered for slashing libraries was fiscal, but it estimated only $1.5 million in savings from a more-than-$8 billion budget. It seemed a most curious economy. The closures started during the last few months of the Republican-controlled Congress when budgetary oversight was not high on the agenda. Aside from its claim of fiscal austerity, EPA said the closures were part of an effort to "modernize" its information systems by digitizing thousands of documents, page-by-page. In the meantime, whole collections are now inaccessible to both agency and outside researchers.
East-west water talks are flowing once more
http://www.gjsentinel.com/opin/content/news/opinion/stories/2007/04/11/4_11_water_talk_edit.html
No one should expect a quick solution to water disputes that have arisen over the course of a century. But Denver Water and the river district have cooperated before, notably on Wolford Mountain Reservoir. And the fact they have resumed negotiations on contentious water issues offers hope that solutions can be found without protracted legal battles that have marked much of the water history of this state.
Parity for mental disorders
http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/apr/11/parity-for-mental-disorders/
State legislators are considering a bill that would require health insurance plans in Colorado to cover most mental illnesses at a rate "no less extensive than the coverage provided for physical illness." This would be a new health-insurance mandate. And nobody likes mandates. Unless, perhaps, they perceive the benefits.
Morris: Abolish Columbus Day
http://www.denverpost.com/opinionheadlines/ci_5635738
One hundred years ago this month, Colorado Gov. Henry Buchtel signed Columbus Day into law, making Colorado the first state in the country with such an annual holiday. This 100th anniversary provides an excellent opportunity for the people of Colorado, and their elected representatives, to revisit Buchtel's action, and to consider what kind of future we want for this state. Hopefully, such reflection will result in the repeal of Columbus Day as a state holiday.
Election
Some in G.O.P. Express Worry Over ’08 Hopes
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/us/politics/11repubs.html?ref=washington
Republican leaders across the country say they are growing increasingly anxious about their party’s chances of holding the White House, citing public dissatisfaction with President Bush, the political fallout from the war in Iraq and the problems their leading presidential candidates are having generating enthusiasm among conservative voters.
Democratic Hopefuls Court Activists in 'Virtual Town Hall'
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041002037.html
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), offered her first opportunity to directly address many of her harshest critics within the Democratic Party about the Iraq war, fell back last night on a regular line in her presidential campaign. "There are really two different ways to thinking about this. The first is what we can we do while President Bush is still in office. And the second is what I will do when I'm president," the 2008 presidential candidate said. "If the president won't end this war, when I'm president I will." But if the remark was familiar, the context was not: Clinton was speaking not to a crowd in Iowa or New Hampshire but to thousands of members of an activist group who gathered at restaurants and houses around the country to watch seven Democratic presidential candidates discuss Iraq over the Web. MoveOn.org, which claims 3.2 million members, billed the prerecorded event as the first "virtual town hall." The candidates -- Sens. Clinton, Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.), Christopher J. Dodd (Conn.) and Barack Obama (Ill.); former senator John Edwards (N.C.); Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (Ohio); and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson-- each got 10 minutes to deliver a message and answer questions from MoveOn members.
Obama's silence on Imus alarms some blacks
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/04/11/obamas_silence_on_imus_alarms_some_blacks/
With the Rev. Al Sharpton leading calls Monday for radio host Don Imus to be fired over racially insensitive remarks, Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign avoided the controversy throughout the day. Not until Monday evening, five days after Imus's comments were uttered and hours after CBS Radio and MSNBC announced a two-week suspension for the radio host, did Obama weigh in, saying in a statement: "The comments of Don Imus were divisive, hurtful, and offensive to Americans of all backgrounds." Obama did not address whether he thought Imus should be taken off the air.
McCain Likely to Find Friendly Audience at VMI
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041001498.html
In recent years, Virginia Military Institute, with its turreted buildings and surrounding mountains, has been a scenic and suitably martial backdrop for supporters of the Bush administration to report on its foreign policy hopes and achievements. President Bush came here in April 2002 to announce a reconstruction effort for Afghanistan modeled after the Marshall Plan for Europe. Then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld gave a graduation speech last year in which he defended his oversight of the Iraq war. On Wednesday, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the most outspoken supporter of the war in the field of 2008 presidential candidates, will argue that success in Iraq is essential to the nation's security.
RELATED: McCain not running from his war stance
In Alabama, Giuliani Calls Confederate Flag a Local Issue
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/us/politics/11rudy.html
Answering
a question that has become a litmus test of sorts for Republicans campaigning in the
South, Rudolph W. Giuliani said
Tuesday that he would leave the decision about whether to fly the Confederate
battle flag over the State Capitol here to the people of Alabama. “One of the great
beauties of the kind of government we have, which is a national/federal
government, is that we can make — on a broad range of issues — we can make
different decisions in different parts of the country,” Mr. Giuliani said. “We
have different sensitivities, and at different times we are going to come to
different decisions, and I think that is best left up to the states.” The
Confederate battle flag has not flown over the Alabama Capitol for a number of
years, and there is no current campaign to return it there. Confederate flags
do fly by a memorial to Confederate soldiers near the Capitol.
Romney Says He’ll Expand Armed Forces by 100,000
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/us/politics/11romney.html
Mitt Romney made his most extensive remarks on military and foreign policy on Tuesday, saying that if elected president he would push to add at least 100,000 troops to the armed forces and significantly increase military spending. Mr. Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts who is vying for the Republican nomination for president next year, outlined his proposals in a speech at the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum at Texas A&M University in College Station. Warning of the threat posed by radical Islam, he said the military needed to change to respond to it.
Kerry, Gingrich agree on global warming, disagree on solutions
Three weeks ago, presidential hopeful-turned-documentary film star Al Gore brought some Oscar glamour to Capitol Hill as he testified about the perils of unchecked global warming, an issue gaining traction with both lawmakers and the public. On Tuesday, two other prominent politicians — one a former presidential nominee, another toying with the idea of becoming one — faced off before a packed house in an opulent Senate hearing room to discuss the same topic. During their two-hour debate, Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) agreed that climate change is a real concern that demands urgent action. Their disagreements came on the question of what to do next.
RELATED: Warmth prevails at climate debate
RELATED: Gingrich drops skepticism on global warming
Hunter's son to run for Congress while deployed
For most congressional candidates, Iraq is an issue. For one, it's a destination. But not one that will derail his candidacy, he says. Marine Capt. Duncan Duane Hunter wants to claim the seat now held by his father, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-El Cajon). The elder Hunter, a member of Congress since 1981, is making a long-shot bid for the GOP presidential nomination and has said he will not seek another term in Congress if he fails. The 30-year-old Hunter, a reservist and also a Republican, signaled his intentions several weeks ago and began the early work to mount a campaign. But now he has been recalled to active duty, most likely to deploy to Iraq in the next few weeks for his third tour of duty there.
State pins electoral votes to national tally
Maryland on Tuesday became the first state to approve a plan to give its electoral votes for president to the winner of the national popular vote instead of the candidate chosen by state voters. The measure would award 10 electoral votes to the national popular vote winner. The plan would take effect only if states representing a majority of the nation's 538 electoral votes make the same change.
Effective and Ethical Government
Bush Invites Democrats to Discuss Iraq
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041000663.html
President Bush invited lawmakers to the White House next week to try to break the stalemate on Iraq war funding, but he made it clear yesterday that he is not budging on his key demand -- a "clean" bill without "artificial deadlines" for withdrawal or restrictions on his commanders on the ground. At the same time, Bush used a morning visit to American Legion Post 177 in Fairfax to renew pressure on Congress to send him the spending bill, warning that the Pentagon will soon be forced to transfer an additional $1.6 billion in funds from other military accounts to make up for a looming shortfall in funding for the Iraq operations. The appearance was another in a series of steps calculated at stiffening the spines of his conservative base for a coming confrontation with Democratic lawmakers.
RELATED: Bush extends invitation, but no olive branch, to Democrats
RELATED: President, Democrats spar on war funding
House Panel Issues First Subpoena Over Firings
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041000839.html
The House Judiciary Committee issued a subpoena yesterday to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, demanding that the Justice Department turn over hundreds of pages of new or uncensored records related to the firings of eight U.S. attorneys last year. The subpoena is the first served in connection with the dismissals, and it escalates the legal confrontation between Democrats and the Bush administration, which has resisted demands for more documents and for public testimony from White House aides. The order comes just a week before the embattled attorney general is scheduled to testify in the Senate, a hearing widely considered crucial to his attempt to keep his job.
RELATED: Most say Gonzales should quit over fired prosecutors
Colleagues help ailing Sen. Tim Johnson
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-04-10-johnson-fundraising_N.htm
Sen. Tim Johnson's campaign raised more than $660,000 in the first three months of the year, all while the senator has been recovering from a brain hemorrhage. According to Johnson's office, about 30 senators have participated in fundraisers for the South Dakota senator, who is up for re-election in 2008, since he fell ill. Johnson has been in a private, undisclosed rehabilitation facility since February and has not announced whether he plans to run again. "He is glad to know that things are moving forward, so he is in the best position possible to make that decision down the line," said Julianne Fisher, a spokeswoman for Johnson. "Tim remains busy at rehabilitation and is just so thankful to his colleagues for all of their help during this time." The senator has been working from the rehabilitation facility but is not yet able to walk. His office will not put a timeline on his return to the Senate or a campaign announcement, saying his recovery is expected to take months.
Smithsonian Officials Serve On Board Of Its Insurer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041001837.html
The Smithsonian Institution last year renewed a contract giving the Chubb Group more than a half-million dollars of insurance business annually while Lawrence M. Small, then the Smithsonian secretary, and Sheila P. Burke, the deputy secretary, held highly paid seats on Chubb's board of directors. Small received cash and stock valued at $169,675 from Chubb last year, according to proxy statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He also received options to purchase 105,943 shares.
Civil Liberties and Equality
Torture allegations may surface at trial
A federal judge refused to dismiss terrorism charges against a suspected Al Qaeda operative over claims he was tortured in U.S. military custody, but the possibility that the allegations could resurface at his trial was left open. U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke said Jose Padilla's torture allegations could become relevant during his trial if prosecutors seek to use evidence gathered from him during his 31/2 years in isolation at a Navy brig.
Foreign Policy
Troops Backed by Helicopters Battle Insurgents in Baghdad
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041000273.html
With attack helicopters firing into the streets below, U.S. and Iraqi forces fought Sunni gunmen in a densely packed downtown enclave on Tuesday, the heaviest fighting seen in the capital since the launch of a security offensive eight weeks ago.The U.S. military said four Iraqi army soldiers and three insurgents were killed and 16 American soldiers were wounded in a street battle that raged throughout the day in the Fadhel neighborhood. The military reported one civilian casualty, an injured child, but witnesses said that they saw at least 18 bodies, including those of civilians, and that a dozen people were injured.
RELATED: A Mosque Raid Sets Off Sunnis in Iraq’s Capital
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/world/middleeast/11iraq.html?ref=world
Iran may be spinning itself into a corner
Iran's efforts to trumpet its nuclear program are cementing the country's confrontation with the West regardless of whether its claims this week of technological progress are true, several analysts said Tuesday. The head of Iran's atomic energy program on Tuesday reiterated Tehran's long-held claim that it eventually will install 50,000 centrifuges, used to enrich uranium, at its facility in Natanz. That many centrifuges operating at full capacity theoretically could produce nuclear material for 15 atomic bombs a year. "When we say we have entered industrial-scale enrichment, [it means] there is no way back," said Gholamreza Aghazadeh, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency. "Installation of centrifuges will continue steadily to reach a stage where all the 50,000 centrifuges are launched."
Radical Islam spreads in a riven Pakistan
The intruders covered their faces and broke down the front door. They ransacked the home, then kidnapped the three women and the baby who lived there. No one was arrested, despite a standoff with police. And neighbors welcomed the dozens of kidnappers, mostly female Islamic students who took the hostages back to their school, because the women, dressed in black from head to toe, and a few male supporters were doing what the police never could: shutting down Aunty Shamim's brothel. "We were trying to curb anything immoral," said student Hamna Abdullah, 20, from the Jamia Hafsa, the school run by the neighboring Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque. "We did not misbehave. We treated them very gently." The women from the brothel were released two days later, on March 29, after the owner repented. Later she denied it was a brothel. Yet the kidnapping has raised fears that a new Islamic morality campaign has spread to Islamabad from the remote tribal areas where pro-Taliban militants hold sway. And it is only one example of the vice war being waged by the Red Mosque, which has turned into a serious problem for the Pakistani government, unsure of how to push back against Islamists, especially women wielding sticks or even guns.
Bomb plot by Hamas members alleged
Recent interrogations of arrested members of Hamas in the West Bank town of Qalqilya produced information that the Islamic organization there was planning imminent terrorist attacks against Israel, including one using a large truck bomb, the Israeli Shin Bet internal security service said Tuesday.
To Prod N. Korea, U.S. Relents in Counterfeiting Case
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041001805.html
Two months before North Korea tested its first nuclear weapon, President Bush was asked about a Treasury Department investigation of North Korean counterfeiting of $100 bills, which had ruptured talks on ending Pyongyang's nuclear programs. "Counterfeiting U.S. dollars is an issue that every president ought to be concerned about," he replied bluntly during an August news conference. "And when you catch people counterfeiting your money, you need to do something about it." Yesterday, the Bush administration agreed to allow those suspected counterfeiters, along with other North Koreans suspected of money laundering and other fraud, to get their money back -- with no strings attached -- in the hopes it will ensure that North Korea shuts down its nuclear reactor by the end of the week. About $25 million had been frozen by Macau authorities, with about half clearly derived from criminal enterprises, U.S. officials said.
RELATED: N. Korea can access accounts, U.S. says
China's Wen Hopes To 'Melt Ice' in Japan
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041001532.html
In what he called a mission to "melt the ice," Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao opens a long-delayed visit to Japan on Wednesday to demonstrate China's new willingness to play down historic and strategic differences in favor of stable relations between Asia's two major powers. Officials said Wen and his Japanese counterpart, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, will preside over the establishment of a high-level economic dialogue to better manage a fast-growing trade relationship that surpassed $200 billion in 2006 and is vital to the economies of both their nations. In addition, the two leaders will sign a document outlining what Wen said would be "a new era of China-Japan relations."
RELATED: Japan and China Take Steps to Bolster Ties
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/world/asia/11japan.html
Clan Says Recent Mogadishu Deaths Exceed 1,000
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041001618.html
A particularly brutal episode of fighting in the Somali capital of Mogadishu killed more than 1,000 civilians and injured more than 4,000, according to a report by one of the city's largest clans, which was targeted in the violence. The most recent casualty total is five times that of a tally released last week by a Mogadishu human rights group. None of the casualty figures from the recent violence could be independently verified.
Ethiopia acknowledges 41 detained as terror suspects
Ethiopia acknowledged for the first time yesterday that it detained 41 suspected terrorists from 17 countries, but defended the action as part of the international war on terror groups and denied reports that the prisoners were held incommunicado. The statement was made a week after the Associated Press reported that terrorism suspects had been transferred from Kenya to Somalia and then to Ethiopia.
Hundreds Killed in Attacks in Eastern Chad
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041001775.html
Sudanese Janjaweed militiamen killed as many as 400 people in the volatile eastern border region near Sudan, leaving an "apocalyptic" scene of mass graves and destruction, the U.N. refugee agency said Tuesday. The attacks took place March 31 in the border villages of Tiero and Marena, about 550 miles from Chad's capital, N'Djamena. Chadian officials initially said that 65 people had died but that the toll was certain to rise.
RELATED: Sudan, Chad trade threats as border tension flares
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041000518.html
4 Serbs Convicted in Srebrenica Deaths
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041000425.html
Four paramilitaries seen in a video gunning down Bosnian Muslims near Srebrenica in 1995 were convicted of war crimes against civilians on Tuesday by Serbia's War Crimes Court. It was the country's first court ruling related to the systematic killings of up to 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in the final months of the 1992-95 war in Bosnia _ Europe's worst atrocity since World War II.
RELATED: 4 Serbs Guilty in Execution of 6 Bosnians
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/world/europe/11serbia.html?ref=world
Immigration
L.A. police immigrant policy faces another test
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-police11apr11,0,7471046.story?coll=la-home-headlines
The Los Angeles Police Department's landmark Special Order 40, which prohibits officers from inquiring about the immigration status of suspects, has come under an aggressive assault by anti-illegal immigrant activists who argue that it ties the hands of police. The nearly 30-year-old policy has long been controversial, but the current national debate about illegal immigration has prompted lawsuits that are aimed at overturning Special Order 40 and similar rules across the country. Los Angeles was the first major city to enact the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on illegal immigration, though most other police agencies have followed suit. So the outcome of the legal challenges could have a widespread effect.
Reproductive Choice
Full Federal Appellate Court Will Revisit Abortion Issue in South Dakota
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/us/11abortion.html?ref=us
A South Dakota law that would require doctors to tell women seeking abortions that the procedure would “terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being” will be revisited today by the 11 judges of the federal appeals court in St. Louis. The statute is among many abortion laws around the country requiring counseling and consent. Such laws have been upheld in the Supreme Court and in federal appeals courts, but a federal judge has blocked South Dakota’s law while she considers its constitutionality. The appeals court hearing is a second take on an October decision by a three-judge panel of the same body, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, that the law should remain blocked because it supplements factual information with a value judgment. The full Eighth Circuit court, acting on an appeal by the state, agreed to reconsider whether to allow the law to take effect.
Health Care and Public Safety
Senate will seek to lower drug costs
Democrats will renew efforts to let the government negotiate drug prices on behalf of Medicare participants, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday. Reid (D-Nev.) said the Senate would turn its attention to the new drug benefit once it finished with a bill that would loosen federal funding restrictions on stem cell research. Though prospects for the drug legislation are uncertain, it would require Republican senators to take a stand on government negotiations — a concept that has broad popular support.
Life in Medicare's waiting period
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/2007-04-11-disability-usat_N.htm
The rare muscle disorder that twisted her spine and compressed her lungs, making it hard to breathe, finally forced Roxianna McCutchan to quit her job as a clerk and dispatcher at the Rockport Police Department in Rockport, Texas, in July 2002. "I was so independent and had an attitude that, 'I'm going to work, I am going to be a success, and no one is going to stop me,' " says McCutchan in an e-mail because she has now nearly lost her voice. "And then my body says, 'I can't keep up. You have to stop.' " Each year, tens of thousands of Americans like McCutchan find themselves disabled and unable to work. After going through the process to get Social Security disability income, most are shocked to discover that they have to wait two more years to be eligible for Medicare, the federal health program for elderly and disabled people. "I would still be there working and loving my job if I could," says McCutchan, 36, who now lives in Victoria, Texas. "I lost all that and had no clue that Medicare wouldn't be there to help me."
Abbott to cut AIDS drug cost in poor nations
Moving to defuse a potentially damaging international controversy, Abbott Laboratories said Tuesday that it will cut the price of its AIDS-fighting Kaletra drug by more than half in many developing nations. The North Chicago-based pharmaceutical and health-care products giant billed its discount pricing plan as a "balanced approach" that will make the drug available to more people in more nations, while still protecting the patent rights that provide drugmakers with the financial incentive for developing new medicines.
Case Puts Texas Futile-Treatment Law Under a Microscope
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041001620.html
A 17-month-old deaf, blind and terminally ill child on life support is the latest focus in an emotional fight against a Texas law that allows hospitals to withdraw care when a patient's ongoing treatment is declared "medically futile." Since Dec. 28, baby Emilio Gonzales has spent his days in a pediatric intensive care unit, mostly asleep from the powerful drugs he is administered, and breathing with the help of a respirator. Children's Hospital here declared his case hopeless last month and gave his mother 10 days, as legally required, to find another facility to take the baby. That deadline, extended once already, was due to expire Wednesday, at which time the hospital was to shut off Emilio's respirator. Without the machine, Emilio would die within minutes or hours, hospital officials have said.
Proposal: Get health insurance or pay fine
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-me-health11apr11,1,703774.story?coll=la-headlines-politics
People who refuse to obtain health insurance could be tracked down by the state or a private contractor, enrolled in a plan and fined until they pay their premiums under one proposal Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration is considering as part of his vision for covering all Californians. The proposal, which administration aides said was one of many the governor was considering, was presented at a meeting Tuesday with representatives from insurers, hospitals, doctors, business groups and consumer advocates. It drew immediate criticism from critics of the central tenet of Schwarzenegger's healthcare approach, which is to require all Californians to obtain insurance.
Group Questions Cellphone Fund-Raising
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/us/11cell.html?ref=us
A new program that lets cellphone users send text messages to donate to the American Red Cross in major natural disasters has come under fire by a consumer group that contends the program is a business development strategy masquerading as charity.
Caterpillars help boost flu vaccine
A genetically engineered flu vaccine made in caterpillar cells is as effective as traditional vaccines and can be produced more efficiently, according to a preliminary study released Tuesday. This experimental method could make more vaccine per batch than the traditional method, which uses hens' eggs, and shave about a month off production time, said study leader Dr. John J. Treanor, a researcher at the University of Rochester in New York. "When we're talking about a scenario where every day makes a difference, saving even a week or two weeks is a big plus," he said.
Pet Food Officer Sold Stock Before Recall
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041001691.html
The chief financial officer of Menu Foods sold about half of his stake in the company three weeks before the widespread pet food recall, Canadian insider-trading reports showed. Finance chief Mark Wiens called it a "horrible coincidence" in the Toronto Globe and Mail newspaper, adding that he did not hear of any problems with the company's products until at least a week later. Wiens sold 14,000 shares on Feb. 26 and 27 for about $90,000. The shares now are worth about $54,000.
Crime and Penal Reform
2 Charged in Texas State School Abuse Case
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/us/11youth.html
A former assistant superintendent and a former principal at a Texas state school for juvenile offenders were arrested Tuesday on charges of deviate sexual intercourse and other sexual contact with six boys ages 16 to 19. The two, Ray E. Brookins, 42, and John P. Hernandez, 41, administrators serving the Texas Youth Commission, were named two years ago in a Texas Rangers investigation into accusations of sexual abuse at the West Texas State School in Pyote.
In study, teens open up about 'snitching,' fear of reprisal
One teenager described seeing a witness pistol-whipped for reporting a rape to police. "His eyes were completely red; you couldn't see any white," the unidentified youth said in an interview with researchers for a study on witness intimidation released yesterday. "They threatened to kill him and his family." Another said: "I'd get in trouble if I reported a violent crime. Gangs would be mad at me." A third teenager recalled deciding not to talk to police after witnessing a shootout. "If I told them, the drug dealers would come back to me and make more trouble," the teenager said. "I told my mom, and she was scared. She went back to the drug dealers and told them that I didn't say nothing." Teens interviewed at Boys and Girls Clubs across Massachusetts told researchers they are afraid to cooperate with police against gang members, citing widespread violence and the power that gang members have in their neighborhoods.
Economy
Surging Chinese exports complicate U.S. position
http://www.usatoday.com/money/world/2007-04-10-china-usat_N.htm
Even as the Bush administration toughens its approach to trade disputes with China, an export surge from Chinese factories is raising the stakes for high-level talks scheduled
next month in Washington. The $46.4 billion first-quarter global trade surplus China reported Tuesday was twice the figure for the comparable period last year. Exports
were particularly high for the first two months of the year, as Chinese
companies rushed to take advantage of a tax rebate that Beijing was slated to
kill, before slowing sharply in March.
RELATED: China Conveys ‘Regret’ Over Trade Complaints
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/business/worldbusiness/11yuan.html?ref=business
Morgan Stanley, Bank of N.Y. Investors Reject 'Say on Pay'
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041001754.html
Proposals to give shareholders a voice in executive compensation failed yesterday at two large financial companies, but the results encouraged activist investors who have pushed for votes on similar measures at more than 40 other companies this spring. The votes at Morgan Stanley and the Bank of New York were the first this year on resolutions that would allow stockholders to cast advisory votes on pay packages for top executives. Nearly 47 percent of Bank of New York shareholders and 37 percent of Morgan Stanley shareholders supported the proposal, according to preliminary results.
Rival Faults Splenda Advertising
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041001578.html
The marketers of Splenda have made millions of dollars by confusing consumers into thinking the yellow packets contain a natural product, its chief rival told a jury Tuesday. Merisant, which makes Equal and NutraSweet, says that since Splenda's debut in 2000, the product has cornered the market for sugar substitutes through false advertising, using the tag line: "Made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar." Splenda contains no sugar and is instead sweetened with a synthetic compound through a complex chemical process. McNeil Nutritionals, which markets Splenda, counters that sugar is used in the manufacturing process, even if it is burned off and not part of the final product.
Housing and Homelessness
Faith in home values persists
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-housing11apr11,0,5209585.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Americans are worried about the economy and believe that a recession is looming, but their faith in real estate remains fierce, according to a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll. Nearly a third of those polled predicted home values in their neighborhood would increase in the next six months. Only 16% anticipated a decrease. The rest said values would hold steady. Call it foolish faith or bold optimism, the forecast is at odds with the downward trend of home prices. The National Assn. of Realtors recently reported that prices fell 2.7% in the last three months of 2006. Many economists expect real estate to have a rough ride this year, partly because of rising mortgage loan defaults.
A Word of Advice During a Housing Slump: Rent
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/realestate/11leonhardt.html?ref=business
A promotional spot for the National Association of Realtors came on the radio the other day. The spot, introduced as something called “Newsmakers,” was supposed to sound like a news report, with the association’s president offering real estate advice. “This is the best time to buy,” Pat Vredevoogd Combs, the president, said cheerfully. “There’s a lot of inventory in the marketplace. Interest rates are low. It’s a wonderful tax deduction.” By the Realtors’ way of thinking, it’s always a good time to buy. Homeownership, they argue, is a way to achieve the American dream, save on taxes and earn a solid investment return all at the same time. That’s how it has worked out for much of the last 15 years. But in a stark reversal, it’s now clear that people who chose renting over buying in the last two years made the right move.
Freddie, Fannie a 'Concern' To OFHEO
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041001658.html
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are trying to fix widespread weaknesses in financial controls that contributed to accounting scandals in 2004 and 2003, "remain a significant supervisory concern," a federal agency responsible for regulating them said yesterday. The government-chartered mortgage funding companies have taken much more time and money to put their houses in order than either they or regulators expected, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight said yesterday in an annual report to Congress.
Media
Advertisers Pull Out of Imus Show
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041000656.html
As skittish advertisers began to pull out and calls for his resignation reverberated, embattled shock jock Don Imus yesterday continued a campaign of contrition over racially and sexually insensitive remarks he made, even while insisting that he shouldn't lose his national television show and syndicated radio program. Imus, who last week called the Rutgers University women's basketball players "nappy-headed hos," said on his morning show yesterday that he will seek a meeting with the team. His on-air slur has mushroomed into widespread condemnation, fueled round-the-clock news coverage and resulted in a two-week suspension of his show, carried on MSNBC and CBS Radio.
RELATED: Chicagoans speak out about radio host's hurtful remarks
RELATED: Rutgers Women Send Imus an Angry Message
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/sports/ncaabasketball/11rutgers.html
Education
Two Officials Suspended Over Student Aid Ties
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041001564.html
Two financial aid directors were suspended yesterday after revelations about their financial ties to a student loan company that their universities had recommended to student borrowers. Widener University in Pennsylvania placed Walter Cathie, an assistant vice president for finance, on administrative leave after New York state investigators disclosed that Student Loan Xpress paid $80,000 to a business Cathie runs. They also said Cathie agreed to market the lender to graduate schools in exchange for a cut of the profits. Capella University, an online school based in Minnesota, placed financial aid director Timothy C. Lehmann on leave during an internal probe of $12,400 he received last year to develop a business plan for Student Loan Xpress, school spokeswoman Irene Silber said. Neither Cathie nor Lehmann could be reached for comment.
RELATED: Senate Inquiry in Loan Case Is Studying Stock Transfer
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/education/11loans.html?ref=us
Rare Protests at Brigham Young Over a Planned Cheney Appearance
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/us/11byu.html?ref=washington
The invitation extended to Vice President Dick Cheney to be the commencement speaker at Brigham Young University has set off a rare, continuing protest at the Mormon university, one of the nation’s most conservative. Some of the faculty and the 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students, who are overwhelmingly Republican, have expressed concern about the Bush administration’s support for the war in Iraq and other policies, but most of the current protest has focused on Mr. Cheney’s integrity, character and behavior. Several students said, for example, that they were appalled at Mr. Cheney’s use of an expletive on the Senate floor in a June 2004 exchange with Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont.
Report: Alum gives $400M to Columbia Univ.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-04-11-alumnus-gift_N.htm
One of Columbia University's strongest supporters is giving the university $400 million to spend on financial aid — one of the largest gifts ever to an American university. The New York Times reported that the university is to announce the gift from John Werner Kluge, 92, a businessman and alumnus, on Wednesday. "Obviously, this is an extraordinary gift by any standard," said Columbia's president, Lee Bollinger. "It's huge in its consequences and effects on the university."
Science and Technology
Cancer forces devils off native Tasmania
Tasmanian devils are being relocated to an island off Australia to avert their extinction by a contagious cancer. Some scientists fear the move could endanger rare birds and other animals on the island, but other experts say it is a last resort and should pose no problem because the devils are scavengers, not predators. "The path to extinction is looking pretty certain on Tasmania," said William Karesh of the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society, who organized a workshop in Australia to help develop a plan to save the devils. The fox-like marsupials with powerful jaws and a bloodcurdling growl -- made famous by their Looney Tunes cartoon namesake -- are being wiped out on the island state of Tasmania by a contagious cancer that creates grotesque facial tumors.
Military
3 Generals Spurn the Position of War 'Czar'
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041001776.html
The White House wants to appoint a high-powered czar to oversee the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with authority to issue directions to the Pentagon, the State Department and other agencies, but it has had trouble finding anyone able and willing to take the job, according to people close to the situation. At least three retired four-star generals approached by the White House in recent weeks have declined to be considered for the position, the sources said, underscoring the administration's difficulty in enlisting its top recruits to join the team after five years of warfare that have taxed the United States and its military.
RELATED: White House Mulling War Czar, Report Says
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/washington/11czar.html
Army Reserve falters on recruitment
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-04-10-army-reserve-recruitment_N.htm
The Army Reserve, whose troops drive trucks on bomb-riddled roads and help set up local governments in Iraq and Afghanistan, is struggling to recruit soldiers. The Army Reserve missed its recruiting goal by 5% last year and is 9% short of its target this year, records show. Halfway through the 2007 budget year, it was nearly 1,300 soldiers short of its midyear goal of 14,273. Reserves provide much of the logistical support for troops in combat, such as transporting tanks from Kuwait to Iraq or helping local governments. Reserve combat engineers are in demand for clearing roads of homemade bombs known as improvised explosive devices. Before the 9/11 terror attacks, reservists could count on training one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer. They might be called to active duty in an emergency.
West Point grads exit service at high rate
Recent graduates of the US Military Academy at West Point are choosing to leave active duty at the highest rate in more than three decades, a sign to many military specialists that repeated tours in Iraq are prematurely driving out some of the Army's top young officers.
Midshipman Gets 2 Years for Assault
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041001610.html
A former U.S. Naval Academy football player was sentenced yesterday to two years of confinement and dismissal from the Navy for sexually assaulting a female midshipman at a District hotel last year. Midshipman Kenny Ray Morrison, 24, of Kingwood, Tex., appeared emotionless, except for two tightly balled fists, as he listened to a sentence rendered after about an hour of deliberation by a jury of seven Navy and Marine Corps officers at the U.S. Naval Academy. Morrison had faced up to 10 years in prison after being found guilty Monday of indecent assault and conduct unbecoming an officer but cleared of sexual misconduct charges involving a second female midshipman. Prosecutors had asked for three to five years of confinement.
Religion
Report: Catholic clergy abuse claims down
The nation's Roman Catholic bishops and religious orders received 714 clergy sex-abuse claims in 2006, the second straight year that the number of allegations has dropped, according to a new report on the church's child-protection reforms. The vast majority of claims date back decades. Costs related to abuse cases also decreased by about 15 percent over the last year, mainly due to a decline in what dioceses paid to settle molestation cases.
U.S. offers renewable fuel standards for vehicles
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/11/AR2007041100322.html
The new standards, ordered by Congress in 2005, require 4.02 percent of all motor fuel, or about 4.7 billion gallons (21.37 billion liters), sold in the United States this year to come from renewable sources. The standard gradually increases to 7.5 billion gallons (34.10 billion liters) a year by 2012. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled April 2 that the environment agency has the power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, but Johnson said that ruling was still being considered.
Transportation and Infrastructure
NTSB: Fatigue threatens air safety
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-04-10-fatigue-air-safety_N.htm
Sleep-deprived air traffic controllers played a role in at least four near-fatal incidents on the nation's runways, and the controller on duty in the worst U.S. crash in five years got only two hours of sleep, federal accident investigators said Tuesday. "Fatigue decreases aviation safety," the National Transpiration Safety Board (NTSB) said in a letter urging reform in air traffic scheduling and training. The NTSB said the problem of tired controllers is exacerbated by scheduling two eight-hour shifts within 24 hours, a common practice that gives controllers little chance to get normal sleep.
Sea’s Rise in India Buries Islands and a Way of Life
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/world/asia/11india.html?ref=science
The sinking of Ghoramara can be attributed to a confluence of disasters, natural and human, not least the rising sea. The rivers that pour down from the Himalayas and empty into the bay have swelled and shifted in recent decades, placing this and the rest of the delicate islands known as the Sundarbans in the mouth of daily danger. Certainly nature would have forced these islands to shift size and shape, drowning some, giving rise to others. But there is little doubt, scientists say, that human-induced climate change has made them particularly vulnerable.
Editor’s note: the New York Times has converted to a subscription-based editorial section. We are no longer clipping their op-ed columnists.
Marcus: Calling Fred Fielding
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041001265.html
It doesn't seem smart to tick off a Congress that has subpoena power, but the new White House counsel seems willing to try.
Froomkin: The Next Bush Scandal?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2007/04/10/BL2007041000832.html
The slowly-unfolding disclosure that some White House aides use non-government e-mail servers to conduct official business may soon be reaching scandal proportions. As John D. McKinnon writes in today's Wall Street Journal (subscription required): "The widespread use of private email accounts by some top White House officials is sparking a congressional probe into the practice and whether it violates a post-Nixon law requiring that White House deliberations be documented.
RELATED: Send RNC emails to Congress
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-email11apr11,0,5011766.story?coll=la-opinion-leftrail
Keillor: Attempting to escape a good reputation
The Current Occupant, trying to escape the dreaded term Moderate Republican, has done violence to the Constitution and flown in the face of reality. He invades a country and allows neocon ideologues to play at colonialism until the country has descended into chaos and thereby costs the lives of young Americans who had other plans than to be blown up in a war whose purpose now is forgotten. And then he wraps himself in Old Glory and dares you to say otherwise. We are now three-quarters of the way through the Attention Deficit Administration and who knows what dark surprises remain? After you pass 60, there is one label remaining and that is Distinguished, which is a big joke of course, coming at a time when you keep losing your car keys and glasses and forgetting the word for the thing with a wheel that they carry dirt in, but it is pleasant: to think that late in life your sins and misjudgments may be forgiven. I don't think the Occupant plans on being Distinguished any time soon. I think he'll stay at the ranch and wait for the revisionists. In 30 years, a few historians will come along to say that he was better than a lot of people thought. For our sake, I sure hope they're right.
Malley: Forget Pelosi. What about Syria?
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-malley11apr11,0,853170.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrail
UNDERTAKING HER first major diplomatic foray, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi got an earful. As she met with Syrian President Bashar Assad, she came under immediate, stinging attack. The White House condemned her encounter as counterproductive, asserting that it undermined U.S. policy aimed at marginalizing a so-called pariah regime. The charge is, on its face, absurd. The European Union's top diplomatic envoy just visited Syria. Assad attended the recent Arab League summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Republican and Democratic officials have been traveling to Damascus for months. The Syrian regime is no more isolated in the world than the Bush administration is embraced by it. But the fuss about Pelosi's perfectly legitimate visit obscured a far more intriguing question: What should be done about Syria?
A Black Mark
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041001568.html
IF YOU DON'T like something your government is doing, you should be able to come to Washington, D.C., and say so in peaceful protest. You shouldn't have to worry that the color of your shirt will get you arrested. Or that police will call in the FBI to grill you about your political or religious views. It's distressing, then, when authorities in the nation's capital show so little regard for the basic American tenet of free assembly and trample on the rights of citizens.
Voting for redemption
When convicts complete their time behind bars, they can take one of two roads -- returning to the same activities that got them arrested, or becoming productive members of society. The second option is by far the best for everyone. But in some places, the law discourages ex-convicts from going straight. How? By stripping them of their right to vote, which sends a message that they are irredeemable. Florida has long had one of the harshest policies, mandating that convicted felons permanently lose their civil rights, including the vote. To get them back, convicted felons have to petition the state, a difficult and often futile effort. At least 628,000 people are disenfranchised as a result.
Bush on the Border
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/opinion/11wed1.html
President Bush went to the Mexico border in Arizona on Monday and showed once again that immigration is an issue he understands. He said America suffers from a system that exploits people who come to do jobs that citizens won’t do. He said the country needed “a practical answer” that promotes an orderly flow of legal immigrants, eases pressure at the border and opens a path to citizenship for the hidden 12 million who keep our economy humming. And he urged Congress to find that answer through a “serious, civil and conclusive debate.” It was good that Mr. Bush made these points, as he periodically does. But there was a dissonance in his speech, because it came only two weeks after he and a group of Senate Republicans circulated a list of “first principles” about immigration that amounted to a huge step backward for efforts to fix a broken system in a reasonable, humane way.
Brownstein: Collision on coal is coming
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-brownstein11apr11,0,6374470.column?coll=la-opinion-center
AN OMINOUS collision is approaching between Washington's legislative and regulatory agenda and the investment plans of the nation's largest utilities. Unless these blueprints are aligned, meaningful progress against global warming could be foreclosed for years, or even decades. Mandatory limits on carbon dioxide and other gases that contribute to global warming appear inevitable after a Supreme Court decision last week. By ruling that greenhouse gases qualified as air pollutants under the Clean Air Act, the court virtually required the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate them — and increased the likelihood that Congress will impose limits as well. But with President Bush opposed to compulsory reductions, none are likely until he leaves office.
Jackson: Cheney the grandfather gets it right
WHAT A BETTER society this would be if Vice President Dick Cheney were our national grandfather instead of our global grump. Last week, after attacks on Iran, Congress, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Cheney told ABC Radio he was "looking forward" to the arrival of a new grandson, being born to his lesbian daughter, Mary.
Meyerson: A Dream Short-Circuited
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041001309.html
On March 28, Circuit City announced that it was laying off 3,400 of its salesclerks. Not because they had poor performance records, mind you: Their performance was utterly beside the point. They were shown the door, said the chain, simply because they were the highest-salaried salesclerks that Circuit City employed. Their positions were not eliminated. Rather, the store announced that it would hire their replacements at the normal starting salary. One can only imagine the effect of Circuit City's announcement on the morale of the workers who didn't get fired. The remaining salesclerks can only conclude: Do a good job, get promoted, and you're outta here. It was, in short, just a normal day in contemporary American capitalism.
Ignatius: A Ghost of the Cold War
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041001312.html
Roll back the tape to January 1964: America is still reeling from the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and investigators don't know what to make of the fact that the apparent assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, lived for three years in the Soviet Union. Did the Russians have any role in JFK's death? Then a KGB defector named Yuri Nosenko surfaces in Geneva and tells his CIA handlers that he knows the Soviets had nothing to do with Oswald. How is Nosenko so sure? Because he handled Oswald's KGB file, and he knows the spy service had never considered dealing with him.
MacKinnon: Where Democrats and Republicans should boldly go
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-mckinnon11apr11,0,7168857.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrail
Why the U.S. needs a bipartisan push to fund manned flights to the moon and beyond.
Kurtz: Hillary & the Military
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2007/04/10/BL2007041000480.html
When Hillary Clinton jumped into this race, I wondered whether we would have to endure an endless rerun of Travelgate, Whitewater, Rose Law Firm billing records, cattle futures, Monica, vast right-wing conspiracy and all the other controversies of the '90s. But at least, I figured, we wouldn't have to go through all the military mishegoss, as with her husband avoiding the Vietnam draft or John Kerry being challenged to prove that he really deserved those Purple Hearts. We are now being invited to ponder the question of whether Hillary really tried to enlist in the armed forces, as she has maintained. It's an odd little episode, and I have no reason whatsoever to think that the senator is making it up. But there are enough people who don't believe anything she says that I doubt we've heard the last of this one.
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