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TOP STORIES
Effective and Ethical Government
Worker's Rights and Corporate Accountability
Transportation and Infrastructure
Effective and Ethical Government
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Today’s digest archive: http://media.progressnowaction.org/digest/041907.htm
TOP STORIES
National
High Court Upholds Curb on Abortion
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041800710.html
"The government may use its voice and its regulatory authority to show its profound respect for the life within the woman," Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote. He said the ban on the controversial method for ending a midterm pregnancy is valid because other abortion procedures are still available. Kennedy was joined by Bush's appointees -- Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. -- and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. Kennedy announced the decision before a hushed chamber, and while his opinion did not overturn Roe or the court's subsequent decisions, yesterday's ruling marked an unmistakable shift. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg acknowledged as much moments later, when she solemnly read a statement from the bench explaining her dissent. The majority opinion, she told a stone-silent courtroom, "cannot be understood as anything other than an effort to chip away at a right declared again and again by this court -- and with increasing comprehension of its centrality to women's lives."
RELATED: Abortion law is upheld
RELATED: Anti-abortion activists look to build on court victory
RELATED: High court upholds ban on abortion procedure
RELATED: GONZALES, ATTORNEY GENERAL v. CARHART et al.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=000&invol=05-380
More Gonzales v. Carhart news in NATIONAL/ELECTION, COLORADO/ELECTION
Mayors urge Bush to tighten gun control laws
Mayor Thomas M. Menino urged the Bush administration yesterday to tighten gun control laws and stand up to the National Rifle Association in the aftermath of the massacre of 32 people at Virginia Tech. "The federal government could take action . . . by getting the NRA to back off these issues," Menino said in a telephone interview. "Young kids have guns today. . . . How is this being perpetrated throughout the country? It's not just a Boston problem. It's a national problem." The mayor made his comments as he returned to Boston from New Jersey, where he attended a meeting yesterday of a coalition of mayors united against illegal guns. Menino and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York started the coalition with 15 mayors in April 2006, and it grew to 214 with the addition of 27 mayors from New Jersey yesterday. Like Menino, Bloomberg said yesterday that he will wait for the investigation to be completed before offering extensive comments on the massacre, though he did say that an average of about 30 Americans are slain by gunfire daily.
More Virginia Tech shooting news in NATIONAL/ELECTION, NATIONAL/IMMIGRATION, NATIONAL/CRIME, NATIONAL/EDUCATION, NATIONAL/MEDIA, COLORADO/CRIME, COLORADO/EDUCATION
Bombers Defy Security Push, Killing at Least 158 in Baghdad
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041800799.html
Bombs ripped through several mainly Shiite districts in Baghdad on Wednesday, killing at least 158 people and wounding scores more, police said, in the worst wave of carnage since President Bush announced three months ago that he would deploy additional troops to pacify the Iraqi capital. In the gravest attack, a car bomb killed at least 118 people across from the busy Sadriya market, a shopping area that the U.S. military closed to traffic and fortified with blast walls after a truck bomb killed 135 people at the market in February, in the single deadliest explosion since the war began in 2003.
RELATED: 4 bombings kill at 183 in Iraq
More Iraq war news in NATIONAL/GOVERNMENT, NATIONAL/FOREIGN POLICY, NATIONAL/MILITARY, COLORADO/MILITARY
On the Hill, Gonzales Gets His Chance at Redemption
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041802573.html
When Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales's top aide contemplated the mass dismissal of chief federal prosecutors two years ago, he advocated keeping the "loyal Bushies." Two years later, the question confronting President Bush is whether to keep Gonzales, the very model of a loyal Bushie. As Gonzales heads to Capitol Hill today for a long-anticipated public interrogation about the firing of eight U.S. attorneys, at issue is the very concept of loyalty in Bush's world. With any other president, many in Washington say, the attorney general would already be gone. Bush has defied the drumbeat from both parties to remove Gonzales, but even the White House considers today's Senate hearing make or break.
RELATED: Gonzales to Admit Mistakes in Firings
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041802291.html
RELATED: One Prosecutor’s Ouster Central to Inquiry
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/washington/19attorneys.html?ref=washington
Colorado
Dobson asks followers to seek veto of 4 bills
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5492961,00.html
Saying that traditional morality is under attack in Colorado, Focus on the Family founder James Dobson urged his radio listeners on Wednesday to call Gov. Bill Ritter to oppose four bills, including one that would allow gay couples to adopt children together. "Do you understand how the liberals have declared war on traditional morality and traditional family values in this state?" said Dobson. In a broadcast on Colorado stations, he criticized bills that are either close to being sent to Ritter or already on his desk, including Senate Bill 25, which would bar businesses from hiring and firing based on a person's sexual orientation or religion.
Ritter roadless petition meant to override national rule
http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/04/19/4_19_3a_Ritter_roadless.html
Gov. Bill Ritter’s proposal for Colorado’s 4 million acres of roadless areas is meant to supersede the protections granted under the 2001 Roadless Rule even if the rule withstands legal challenges, his spokesman said Wednesday, clarifying a statement Ritter made last weekend. The state of Wyoming is asking U.S. District Judge Clarence A. Brimmer to issue an injunction against the 2001 rule following his earlier decision declaring the rule illegal. A hearing on the injunction was scheduled for Wednesday in Cheyenne, but at the last minute Brimmer reset the hearing to May 25 because he is presiding over a criminal trial. More than 58 million acres of land on national forests nationwide are protected under the 2001 rule. If Brimmer issues the injunction, or an appeal of a California federal judge’s decision reinstating the 2001 rule prevails, protections to Colorado’s 4 million roadless acres could be lost.
More energy policy news in NATIONAL/ENERGY, COLORADO/ENERGY
Senate panel advances health insurance bill
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/health_care/article/0,2808,DRMN_25396_5492139,00.html
A Senate committee on Wednesday approved a controversial health insurance bill that would prohibit insurers from using health status and claims history in determining rates for small businesses. The Senate State Veterans and Military Affairs committee voted 3 to 2 to let the bill move to the Senate floor. The House approved it last week. Supporters of the bill call it a crucial step toward reforming Colorado's health care system, saying it will make health insurance more affordable and accessible for businesses with 50 or fewer employees. Critics argued the bill would undermine efforts to stabilize rates that are encouraging major insurers to re-enter the small-company market.
RELATED: House supports doctor history bill
http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/apr/19/house-supports-doctor-history-bill/
$150,000 on Amendment 41
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5492317,00.html
Millionaire Jared Polis, a key supporter of an ethics measure that prevents a lobbyist from buying a lawmaker even a cup of coffee, is part of a group that has spent more than $150,000 so far trying to influence legislation to carry out the law. Polis is a lead financial backer of The Article 29 Coalition, a group formed after voters last fall approved Amendment 41. House Minority Leader Mike May, R-Parker, on Wednesday ripped Polis when he heard how much the group has spent on lawyers, lobbyists and consultants. Their latest financial reports were due this week to the secretary of state. "Jared Polis is a rich kid who thinks he can buy the state of Colorado," May said. "He thinks only Jared Polis should have influence in the legislature. He can spend whatever he wants, but not others." But lobbyist Mike Feeley, who has received $17,500 so far from the coalition, says the criticism of Polis is unwarranted. "One thing everyone is clear about is the voters wanted a change between lobbyists and the legislature," he said. "No one has been prevented from the hiring of lobbyists or having their voice heard because they can't take a legislator to a Nuggets game."
RELATED: Ethics law fix stirs up gripes
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5698769
Election
Obama, Romney lead in Colorado fundraising
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/elections/article/0,2808,DRMN_24736_5492621,00.html
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney are the runaway winners in the first round of campaign fundraising in Colorado. And so far, Coloradans have been more willing to open their wallets for the Democratic candidates. Obama, a U.S. senator from Illinois, received 522 donations from Coloradans totaling $565,087 during the first three months of this year, according to finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. That was more than six times the $84,535 that Sen. Hillary Clinton got from 99 Colorado contributions. In fact, Clinton ranked third among Democratic candidates. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson collected $151,950 from 147 donations.
GOP hopefuls in Iowa push issues of abortion, stem-cell research funding
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/elections/article/0,2808,DRMN_24736_5492318,00.html
Meanwhile, second-tier Republican candidates are trying to gain traction on the issue of embryonic stem-cell research, which critics equate to the destruction of nascent human life. The lead congressional backer of expanded research, Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Denver, said she believes the issue has growing support in the public. But she concedes opposition remains. "In the Republican Party, activists tend to be rabid, anti-stem cell factions," DeGette said. McCain has twice voted to expand federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research. Giuliani's campaign has said he supports research but also wants to be "respectful of human life." Romney supports research on embryos being discarded from fertility clinics, but opposes federal funding.
Fitz-Gerald to seek Udall seat
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5695966
State Senate president Joan Fitz-Gerald, a Democrat from Golden, said today that she will run for the 2nd Congressional District seat being vacated by Mark Udall, who is running for the U.S. Senate. "Together, we have accomplished a lot and seen many positive changes here in Colorado, and now it's time for us to help the nation solve tough problems, like our country's health care crisis and getting our troops out of Iraq," Fitz-Gerald said in a news release. She said that as the wife and daughter of military veterans, she supports the efforts in Congress to bring the war to a close. Fitz-Gerald was elected to the state Senate in 2000. In 2005, she became the first woman in Colorado history elected Senate president.
RELATED: Fitz-Gerald is candidate for Congress
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/elections/article/0,2808,DRMN_24736_5492336,00.html
Panel seeks to ensure handicap access to polls
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/elections/article/0,2808,DRMN_24736_5492338,00.html
Secretary of State Mike Coffman has formed a task force to check for hurdles disabled voters could face when they go to the polls in 2008. Polls were required by federal law to be handicap-accessible by 2006, said the secretary's spokesman, Jonathan Tee, on Wednesday. But Colorado has several thousand polling places, often located in schools, churches or businesses, and Coffman wants to make sure they're in compliance. The Voter Accessibility, Independence and Privacy Task Force had its first meeting Monday and will meet monthly to develop fair and consistent policies, Tee said. Its 10 members include Barbara Boyer of the American Council of the Blind of Colorado; Faith Gross from the Legal Center for People with Disabilities and Older People; and Terrance Turner, who is with Atlantis Community. Task force members will also advise Coffman about elections issues that lawmakers are currently studying.
Drop political poop case, judge asked
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5699315
A judge has been asked to drop the criminal case against a retired University of Northern Colorado professor who dropped off excrement from her German shepherd at the office of U.S. Rep Marilyn Musgrave last May. Lawyers for Kathleen Ensz argued Wednesday in Weld County District Court that Ensz - a loyal Democrat - was only exercising her First Amendment right of political expression by packaging her dog's droppings and leaving them in one of Musgrave's mailers at the office of the Fort Morgan Republican. Ensz faces a misdemeanor charge of "use of a noxious substance." Her lawyers on Wednesday asked Weld County District Judge Frank Henderson to drop the charge, claiming Ensz was being targeted by District Attorney Ken Buck - a Republican - because of her political leanings.
RELATED: Dog doo dispute raises stink
http://greeleytrib.com/article/20070419/NEWS/104180128
Clock ticking on home-rule style government
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20070419/NEWS/104190062
Some Eagle County voters living in the Roaring Fork Valley may have been disenfranchised, politically speaking, without even knowing it. At the same time, the clock is ticking on the question of whether county voters will approve a proposed home rule charter, in an election that is being conducted entirely by mail. Voters who want to have a say in that election, but haven't yet gotten their ballots in the mail, have a short window of opportunity to make sure their vote counts.
RELATED: Briefs: Home Rule ballots have been mailed
http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20070418/NEWS/70418017
Denver's west side home of frustration
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/elections/article/0,2808,DRMN_24736_5492559,00.html
While downtown has boomed and many Denver neighborhoods feel overwhelmed by new development, many residents of the west side feel like their area has gone downhill. They fear that problems with gangs and graffiti could spiral beyond the ability of neighbors to cope. "The area is on the brink," said former City Councilwoman Rosemary Rodriguez. "It could stay the way it is, slide backwards, or really become vital." Rodriguez represented City Council District 3 until earlier this year, when she resigned to take a job in Washington. She sees her former district, which takes in much of west Denver, as especially vulnerable to swings in the economy. "The foreclosure rate is very high," she said. "It's the second- highest neighborhood in foreclosures."
Old, new faces on Fountain council
http://www.gazette.com/articles/council_21347___article.html/votes_degroot.html
Two longtime residents won seats on the Fountain City Council in a special election Tuesday night. Gabriel Ortega, who was born and raised in the southern El Paso County city, was elected to the Ward 1 seat, while Mary DeGroot, an avid council watcher, received the highest number of votes in Ward 2. Both seats were vacated earlier this year when two council members resigned. Seven percent of registered voters in the two wards cast their votes in the election, a turnout City Clerk Sharon Mosley called average.
RELATED: Postcard blitz targets 4, prompts calls for probe
http://www.gazette.com/articles/city_21350___article.html/candidates_didn?people.html
Effective and Ethical Government
Annan extols rights, the rule of law
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5700096
former secretary-general of the United Nations stressed understanding and rule of law Wednesday in a speech at the University of Colorado. Kofi Annan, who led the U.N. from 1997 to 2006, spoke to students and community members as part of the university's 2007 Distinguished Speakers Board Lecture. Annan stepped down from the U.N. in December. This was his first visit to a U.S. university to speak, according to the University of Colorado at Boulder, and more than 5,700 people gathered in the Coors Events Center for the event. There are five lessons Annan shared with the near-capacity crowd from his decade as secretary-general. Annan said collective security, global prosperity, rule of law, mutual accountability and multilateralism are key to addressing international problems.
RELATED: Annan: 'We're all in the same boat'
http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/apr/19/annan-were-all-in-the-same-boat/
RELATED: Annan: ‘All in the same boat'
http://coloradodaily.com/articles/2007/04/18/news/c_u_and_boulder/news2.txt
Legislature's budget debates left some on losing side
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5698669
The Colorado legislature this week wrapped up its work on next year's $17.8 billion state budget. Although lawmakers made few major changes to the 659-page document submitted by the Joint Budget Committee, there are still winners and losers in the debate.
Bill would boost license fee to shorten lines at DMV
http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070419/NEWS01/704190363/1002
Fort Collins residents could enjoy shorter lines at the Department of Motor Vehicles office if a Senate bill cutting its way through the Legislature passes. The bill would also raise the cost of a driver's license $4.40 to $20. Senate Bill 241 would impose new fees on driver's license renewals and specialty plates statewide to help fund new DMV offices, including one in Loveland. It passed the Senate on third reading Wednesday by a 21-12 vote. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Steve Johnson, R-Fort Collins, and co-sponsored by Sen. Bob Bacon, D-Fort Collins, would free up state funding for the new office by the beginning of July.
I LOVE MY DISCOUNT (Roll Call, April 19)
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5492272,00.html
$7 Hourly wage that Sen. Johnson earns at his mall job, which he started last October. He's working this Sunday night because "we're redoing the store because we've got a new peach fragrance that comes out on April 23rd." "I work there because I like the people, not for the money," he said. "My house is paid off."
7 p.m. was the time, absolutely
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5492623,00.html
When Smoky Hill High School Principal Jeannine Brown says it's time to start a meeting, she means it. Just ask Aurora Councilwoman Molly Markert. Aurora police are investigating Markert for allegedly trying to shove her way last week into a meeting that Brown shut her out of because of tardiness. Markert and her daughter, a senior, were trying to attend a mandatory, pre-graduation meeting headed by Brown.
RELATED: Councilwoman talks to cops over alleged shoving
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5698773
Annexation a future possibility
http://www.gazette.com/articles/city_21377___article.html/forest_black.html
Some landowners who’ve opted out of the proposed city of Black Forest could find themselves annexed against their will in a few years. State law allows municipalities to forcibly annex islands of land known as enclaves inside their borders. Enclaves are surrounded by city land but technically not part of the city. The city of Black Forest could annex the enclaves three years after incorporating, according to state law.
8 apply for vacant Fruita council seat
http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/04/19/4_18_4b_Fruita_candidates.html
Eight people have applied to fill an open seat on the Fruita City Council. The opening stems from the recent death of Darline Merling, who was elected in 2004. Whoever is selected will serve the balance of Merling’s four-year term, which concludes in 2008. Applications are due April 20 and are available online at the city’s Web site, www.fruita.org, or can be picked up at City Hall.
‘State of the city’ speech is Thursday
http://www.longmontfyi.com/Local-Story.asp?id=15842
Longmont Mayor Julia Pirnack will give a “state of the city” speech Thursday as part of the Longmont Area Chamber of Commerce’s Business After Hours event.
Olathe board plans to fill gaps
http://www.montrosepress.com/articles/2007/04/18/local_news/1.txt
The Olathe Board of Trustees decided how to handle vacancies for town employees and discussed the town’s future at its retreat in town hall Tuesday. “I think we need to get the administrator on board. I think if we can hire an assistant for (Finance Director) Pam (Woods) to get us through this then we can do that,” Trustee Ted Jiron said.
Civil Liberties and Equality
Groups support victim of alleged hate crime
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1176994592/9
Hate and rainbow-colored balloons floated off into Pueblo's evening sky Wednesday. It was a symbolic moment on the step of the Pueblo County Courthouse as a group of about 50 released "the projected hate on gay, lesbians and transsexuals in the community," along with the colorful globes. The ceremony, organized by the Southern Colorado Equality Alliance and local gay-support group ClubMale, coincided with Silent Wednesday, an annually recognized event celebrating victims who have overcome hate crimes. The groups also recognized Anthony Hergesheimer, 15, and his "brave efforts" to report a recent alleged hate crime over his sexual orientation.
Marriage and Family Issues
‘Out of sight'
http://craigdailypress.com/section/localnews/story/26199
For nearly three decades, Jim and Roberta Hume have quietly gone about the business of taking in and raising foster children, more than 70 in all. They did so for as basic a reason as any. They could. "We like kids," Mrs. Hume said, "and we figured we had a good environment for them." So they opened their home to the foster children, year after year, for 28 years. They're currently being re-certified through Moffat County Social Services, meaning more children will be under the Humes' care in the future. It's that sense of working on behalf of others that earned the couple words of praise and a standing ovation at Wednesday's honorary volunteer luncheon at the Moffat County Fairgrounds Pavilion.
Health Care and Public Safety
Colo. ranked 43rd in Medicaid
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5699065
Colorado's Medicaid program for the poor, elderly and disabled is among the worst in the nation, according to a nationwide assessment. The state-by-state comparison - conducted by the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit advocacy group Public Citizen - looked at eligibility, the scope and quality of care, and provider reimbursement. Colorado, which ranks 43rd, is the only one in the bottom 10 whose household income isn't well below the 2005 national median. Colorado's median household income ranks 13th in the nation at $50,652. The 2005 national median was $46,242, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
First lady Ritter to speak at CSU on mental health
http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070419/CSUZONE01/704190366/1002/NEWS01
Colorado's first lady couldn't have chosen a more appropriate week to visit Colorado State University. Jeannie Ritter will speak on campus Friday about raising awareness of mental-health issues. The event, scheduled before this week, takes place days after gunman Cho Seung-Hui killed 32 people at Virginia Tech and only two days after a Fort Collins man allegedly threatened to commit suicide by jumping off the roof of a CSU dormitory.
Adams County bars, clubs see go-ahead for smoking
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5492641,00.html
Bars and strip joints are interpreting a county judge's order as a green light to let patrons smoke, but the district attorney warns that they're playing with fire. Nine ashtrays sat on the bar Tuesday at Brewski's Pub & Grill, 1451 Cortez St., in unincorporated Adams County, and half the customers were smoking. "I didn't have a lot of happy people around here" when smoking was banned in bars and taverns on July 1, Brewski's co-owner Lynnette Gilchrist said. The Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act bans smoking in most workplaces, except for casinos, airport smoking lounges and cigar or tobacco bars. Since she started allowing smoking again, Gilchrist said, business has picked up after falling sharply in the first few weeks of the ban. Earlier this month, Adams County Judge Robert S. Doyle ruled that the law was unconstitutional because, while it made exceptions for "tobacco bars," it didn't give taverns a way to establish that they met that standard. Doyle also said it violated the 14th Amendment guarantee of equal protection, because there was no rational reason to allow smoking in casinos but not in bars.
RELATED: Enforcement of ban difficult, police officers tell lawmakers
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5492638,00.html
RELATED: Senate panel tightens smoking ban
RELATED: Wider smoking ban backed
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5698672
Health care plan touted
http://www.gazette.com/articles/_21378___article.html/_.html
Employers in Colorado Springs are being asked to sign on to a new federal government initiative to improve quality and value in health care. Agreeing to support the four pillars of what’s being called the Value-Driven Health Care program will save employers — and employees — money, said Jacy Morris of the Denver regional office of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. “The bottom line is this initiative lowers costs by giving employees access to shop around for their health care,” Morris said. “We’re hoping that will challenge higher-priced hospitals and doctors to bring their prices into a more competitive range.”
County will switch drug that treats gonorrhea
http://www.gazette.com/articles/gonorrhea_21385___article.html/health_drug.html
El Paso County Health officials will follow new federal health recommendations that call for changing how gonorrhea is treated — a move being made because the bacterial infection is becoming resistant to the standard antibiotic drug. “This has come down from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), this is being endorsed by the state STD program, and this is an appropriate change for us to make,” said Dr. Bernadette Albanese, medical director of the El Paso County Department of Health and Environment.
Pro-marijuana speech could go up in smoke
http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/apr/19/pro-marijuana-speech-could-go-up-in-smoke/
The air above the University of Colorado could be filled with high-flown political rhetoric instead of smoke — or at least in addition to smoke — on Friday, a date that's traditionally associated with a pot smoke-out on the campus. Crowds of thousands of pot-smokers have clashed with police in the past on Farrand Field on April 20. Last year, 2,500 people converged on the field, where police took their pictures and later ticketed dozens of them. Farrand Field is closed forrenovations this year, and students say the smoking festivities will likely take place on the nearby Norlin Quad. The unofficial gathering is said to have grown from a northern California tradition of lighting up at 4:20 p.m. But officials from two pro-legalization groups say they're going to be giving "smoke-free" speeches and concerts and handing out promotional materials to support their cause outside the University Memorial Center.
Crime and Penal Reform
Déjà vu for survivor at Tech
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5492248,00.html
The massacre at Virginia Tech brought back painful memories for Regina Rohde, who was a freshman at Columbine High School when Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris went on their shooting rampage in 1999.
RELATED: Truth about Columbine may have helped prevent Va. rampage, Rohrbough says
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5492624,00.html
RELATED: Cho: Killers at Columbine "martyrs"
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5699066
Bill to halve death penalty team rejected
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5492320,00.html
Democrats on Wednesday helped kill a colleague's bill to shift funding from state death penalty prosecutions to an effort aimed at solving cold-case murders. Lawmakers defeated House Bill 1094 on 35-30 vote. The measure would have cut in half the state attorney general's four-member death penalty prosecution team to free up $180,000 to fund a proposed cold- case unit to crack Colorado's 1,200 unsolved murders. Republicans defeated the bill with 10 votes from Democrats, including House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver. Sponsor Rep. Paul Weissmann, D-Louisville, argued that public safety is poorly served by spending $4.5 million annually on capital punishment prosecutions and appeals when the state has executed only one inmate in 40 years.
RELATED: Legislature rejects efforts to reduce number of death penalty investigators
http://greeleytrib.com/article/20070419/NEWS/104180126
Inmate gets life in slaying of cellmate
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5492337,00.html
William Sablan apologized Wednesday to the family of the man he was convicted of killing in the cell they shared at a federal prison in Florence. "I really regret it," Sablan said quietly as he stood between his attorneys. Sablan faced the death penalty for the gruesome 1999 killing, in which he and his cousin were accused of slitting inmate Joey Estrella's throat, then eviscerating him.
RELATED: Inmate gets life in cellmate slaying
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5696307
Arapahoe will pay to aid graffiti fight
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5492105,00.html
The Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office, with the support of the city of Centennial, is offering a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of graffiti vandals. Sheriff Grayson Robinson said the presence of graffiti in any neighborhood can lower property values, encourage additional criminal activity and detract from the overall quality of life of the community.
Feds charge judge's son in child pornography case
http://greeleytrib.com/article/20070419/NEWS/104190120
The son of a Weld County Court judge faces 20 years in a federal prison in a case involving more than 1,000 pieces of pornography of underage boys.
Economy
No verdict yet; jury heads into day six
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/tech/article/0,2777,DRMN_23910_5492622,00.html
Deliberations in former Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio's insider trading case will continue for a sixth day when jurors return to the federal courthouse this morning. The jury of eight men and four women spent the day in the jury room Wednesday without reaching a verdict or asking any questions. They had lunch delivered and did not leave the courthouse until U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham sent the group home around 5 p.m. Before excusing the group for the 20th time since the trial started, Nottingham joked about the movie Groundhog Day, in which a man relives the same day over and over. "I think I feel like I'm in the middle of that movie," Nottingham said.
RELATED: Judge likens deliberations to Bill Murray film
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_5698624
Booklet aids recovery from ID theft
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5698786
In an effort to stall the nation's fastest- growing crime, Colorado's attorney general has released a guidebook to help victims of identity theft. The Identity Theft Repair Kit lists 10 steps to prevent or repair a stolen identity, including requesting a fraud alert on your credit file and notifying the Social Security Administration when your identity is stolen. According to the Federal Trade Commission, Colorado had 92.5 identity theft complaints per 100,000 people last year - the sixth-highest rate in the nation.
Millions of BlackBerrys fall silent
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_5698621
Colorado businesspeople who depend on their BlackBerry devices for mobile access to their e-mail said they were inconvenienced but not hobbled by the outage that left millions without service Tuesday night through Wednesday morning.
Sheriff's investigating copper wire theft
http://greeleytrib.com/article/20070419/NEWS/104180125
Weld County Sheriffs deputies are investigating suspects who they believe stole about 30,000 feet of copper wire from property owned by Union Pacific Railroad north of Fort Lupton. The incident happened Tuesday about 10 a.m. Sheriff's deputies did not release the names of the suspects and said the wire stolen was used for communications applications.
RELATED: Suspected [Pueblo] copper thief grounded
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1176994592/16
Worker's Rights and Corporate Accountability
Mines' grads strike pay dirt
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/energy/article/0,2777,DRMN_23914_5492636,00.html
Elio Dean sat through just one job interview last fall. And the 25-year-old petroleum engineering senior at Colorado School of Mines nailed it. Or you could say his employer, Exxon Mobil, landed him. He will join the company after he graduates in May. His salary: the mid-$80,000s plus a hefty bonus. But the chance to work abroad was the real dealmaker, he said. "Exxon is the best entrance into the international side of the oil industry," said Dean, who's fluent in Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese.
Housing and Homelessness
State foreclosure experts doubt RealtyTrac figures
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/real_estate/article/0,1299,DRMN_414_5491968,00.html
A national report released Wednesday that claims Colorado's foreclosure rate is the second-highest in the nation was met with widespread skepticism by local experts. RealtyTrac, based in Irvine, Calif., said only Nevada has a higher foreclosure rate than Colorado. In Colorado, the company said 6,267 foreclosures were filed in March, which equates to one out of every 292 homes in foreclosure. That is close to "what it should be for the entire first quarter, not one month," said Zach Urban of the nonprofit Brothers Redevelopment. Urban also heads the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline. Last week, the Rocky Mountain News reported that more than 6,200 foreclosures had been filed in the seven-county Denver area in the first three months of 2007, a 30 percent increase over last year's record pace. The Rocky relied on reports from county trustees.
RELATED: Home woes spread west
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_5698623
Mesa County foreclosure filings down again this month
http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/04/19/4_19_Foreclosure.html
Foreclosure filings in Mesa County were down for the second straight month, even though activity spiked in most other parts of Colorado, a survey found Wednesday. Filings in Mesa County dropped to one per every 1,211 households in March, from one per every 850 households in February, according to RealtyTrac, an Irvine, Calif.-based firm that tracks foreclosure activity nationwide.
Media
Court rules in favor of new Lookout Mountain tower
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5491545,00.html
A Jefferson County district court judge today ruled that the county commissioners did have the authority to rezone land on Lookout Mountain so a digital television tower could be built. The city of Golden and other tower opponents filed suit against the rezoning, but District Court Judge Brooke Jackson ruled against the challenge.
RELATED: TV tower gets OK after years of static
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5699316
Education
School leaders revisit 'academic bill of rights'
http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/apr/19/university-of-colorado-school-leaders-revisit-of/
The University of Colorado has done little to uphold a 2004 agreement with state legislators that spells out how to protect politically diverse speech in college classrooms, some school leaders said Wednesday. Top leaders from the state's universities, including then-President Elizabeth Hoffman, made an "academic bill of rights" agreement with legislators three years ago after drawing criticism from Republican lawmakers who complained that college classrooms were sometimes hostile toward conservative students' thoughts and values. The legislators had heard testimony from conservative college students across the state who said their professors retaliated against them because of their political beliefs by unfairly grading them and even harassing them in class. The agreement partly says students shouldn't be penalized because of their political opinions and that they should feel comfortable challenging professors' opinions. But CU President Hank Brown told the regents that the board never formally adopted the agreement, nor are the document's tenets reflected in the university's rules. He suggested that CU reopen the debate and set off a universitywide discussion. Brown recommended the regents either abandon the agreement entirely by not enforcing it, or agree to it and set rules to reflect their commitment to it. A third option he put forward suggests they write a new policy, drawing from the original agreement but also incorporating recommendations that come from CU students, faculty members and staffers.
DPS panel reveals draft of school closing criteria
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/education/article/0,1299,DRMN_957_5492673,00.html
A citizens group studying the possible closure of Denver schools released on Wednesday a first draft of the criteria that may soon determine which buildings stay open - and which don't. The draft criteria, while broad and still subject to weeks of revision, is specific enough to signal a reprieve of at least two years for some schools. That includes Lake Middle School in northwest Denver, where Principal Hans Kayser is implementing the academically rigorous International Baccalaureate program to stem years of declining enrollment. By one criteria, Lake and more than 40 other DPS schools appear to be in trouble.
RELATED: Report offers standards for DPS closings
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5698768
Charters' enrollment exploding
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/education/article/0,1299,DRMN_957_5487626,00.html
Lured to Denver to work for Mayor John Hickenlooper, Peter Chapman moved his family from Boston to the far-northeast neighborhood of Green Valley Ranch in fall 2004. He and his wife, Gail Busby, quickly enrolled their son, Evan, in a neighborhood public school. Before the year was over, they had signed him up to go elsewhere.
RELATED: Issue: Rebuilding an image
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/education/article/0,1299,DRMN_957_5487628,00.html
Tattered Cover owner takes education post
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/other_business/article/0,2777,DRMN_23916_5491967,00.html
Tattered Cover owner Joyce Meskis will take over as director of the University of Denver Publishing Institute in January, succeeding founding director Elizabeth Geiser, who is retiring after 32 years. The four-week summer program is an intensive, graduate- level course designed to prepare students for careers in all aspects of book publishing. Meskis, who bought a 950-square-foot Cherry Creek North bookstore in 1974 and has since expanded to three locations, has been one of the program's regular faculty members. She has also served on the board of the American Booksellers Association, and has taught seminars abroad on the book industry.
CU athlete graduation rate tops other students
http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/apr/19/university-of-colorado-cu-athlete-graduation/
Academically, women skiers at the University of Colorado hold the best record among athletic teams, with a grade-point average of 3.4. Men's basketball players fare the worst, with a 2.39. Provost Phil DiStefano, the top academic officer on the Boulder campus, presented regents Wednesday with the average grade and graduation statistics for the university's 335 student-athletes. The cumulative grade-point average for athletes is 2.76, compared with about 2.9 for the entire student body.
PCC president finalists named
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1176994592/5
The Colorado Community College System announced Wednesday four finalists for the president's position at Pueblo Community College. The candidates, which include an administrator from Colorado State University-Pueblo, will participate in interviews and campus visits beginning Wednesday.
The Colorado PTA (On the side, 4/19)
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5698671
Senate Joint Resolution 34 was introduced to recognize the Colorado Parent Teacher Association and commemorate its 100th anniversary this year.
Gleason: I’m the source
http://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/2007/apr/18/email_source_revealed/?local_news
Former Steamboat Springs School Board member Pat Gleason provided the Pilot & Today with copies of e-mails sent by John DeVincentis during his last year as principal at Strawberry Park Elementary School.
Science and the supernatural clash
http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/apr/19/cu-lecture-science-and-the-supernatural-clash/
Is the universe filled with ghosts, UFOs and psychics? Can human destinies really be mapped by astrology? Not simply nagging mystics, theologians and conspiracy theorists, those questions are tugging at the very foundation of science and compelling some scientists to look critically into matters of the paranormal. Nahum Arav, a researcher with the University of Colorado's Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, is one scientist whose fascination with the supernatural runs deep. Studying the connection between science and different faith-based beliefs is his hobby. Arav will head a lecture and discussion at CU's Fiske Planetarium and Science Center addressing the central principles underlying science and certain less-empirical forms of belief.
Hotline working in Colorado
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5699082
Leaders of Safe2Tell, a program established after the Columbine High School shootings and credited with warding off several threatened attacks at Colorado schools, are now talking of expanding the effort to colleges in the wake of the Virginia Tech bloodbath.
Bomb scares, threatening note shut down two Jeffco schools
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5492250,00.html
Pleasant View Elementary School in Golden received two bomb threats Wednesday, and a threatening note was found at Wheat Ridge High School, officials said. No explosive devices were found at the elementary school and no one was hurt at the high school, said Lynn Setzer, spokeswoman for the Jefferson County School District. The threats came in the wake of Monday's shootings at Virginia Tech that killed 32 people.
RELATED: Student barred from CU campus
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5492249,00.html
RELATED: CU student bonds out of jail
http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/apr/19/cu-student-bonds-out-jail/
RELATED: ‘Yeti' publisher defended
http://coloradodaily.com/articles/2007/04/18/news/c_u_and_boulder/news1.txt
RELATED: Boulder High attendance down today, no new threats
http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/apr/19/boulder-high-attendance-down-today-no-new-threats/
RELATED: FCHS locked down in test response
http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070419/NEWS01/704190368/1002
RELATED: CMC president responds to shootings
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20070419/NEWS/104190067
RELATED: Threats, scares at Colo. schools
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5699333
RELATED: Colleges taking closer look at security
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5699334
RELATED: Colleges increase security in wake of tragedy
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1176994592/4
Man threatens to jump, shuts down CSU campus
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5491020,00.html
A 33-year-old Fort Collins man climbed on the roof of a three-story student residence hall at Colorado State University early this morning and threatened to jump, forcing a lockdown of students and sealing off of the campus.
RELATED: Stunt, massacre prompt security meeting
http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070419/CSUZONE01/704190362/1002/NEWS01
College official recovering from stab wounds
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5492898,00.html
An administrator at the Community College of Denver was recovering Wednesday from stab wounds allegedly inflicted by his wife during the weekend. Michael Bautista, associate vice president of CCD's Department of Arts and Sciences, was stabbed and left bleeding for about 90 minutes in his Jefferson County home before his wife notified a relative, according to a sheriff's report.
Probe of day care over infant photos continues
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5699312
Summit County investigators conducted additional interviews Wednesday but did not file criminal charges against child-care workers at Copper Mountain. Two unidentified staff members at the ski area's Pumpkin Patch Day Care are accused of posing infants for provocative photos, and a supervisor failed to report the incident promptly, according to an order of summary suspension that forced the facility to close over the weekend. The allegations were brought to the attention of the Colorado Department of Human Services on March 27.
Ex-teacher sentenced for explicit Web chat with 'girl'
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5492611,00.html
Dana Glazier was an outstanding teacher at Green Mountain Elementary School, a youth soccer coach, a former Peace Corps volunteer and the last person his friends and colleagues thought would ever get caught in an Internet sting operation. But Glazier did, and Wednesday he was sentenced to 20 days in jail and two years' probation for having a sexually explicit Internet conversation with an undercover officer he believed was a 13-year-old girl.
Warrant out for man in Internet sex case
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5492612,00.html
An arrest warrant was issued late Wednesday for a former high school athletic director who allegedly tried to entice a teenage girl into sex with Internet chats.
RELATED: High school official to be arrested
http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/04/19/4_19_1a_Walker_warrant.html
RELATED: Online investigator has targeted others
http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/04/19/4_19_1a_Walker_side.html
Dance teacher facing sex charge
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5492319,00.html
A Denver dance instructor faces a charge of unlawful sexual contact after a student complained that he did more than teach her to tango. Charles Gale, 54, was served a summons on the misdemeanor charge and is scheduled to appear April 25 in Denver County Court.
Reunion organizer guilty of theft
http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/apr/19/reunion-organizer-guilty-of-theft/
A Louisville woman was found guilty Wednesday of bilking her classmates out of nearly $18,000 while organizing a 20-year reunion. A Boulder County jury of six men and six women deliberated less than a day in the trial of Norma Ann Veach before returning two guilty verdicts — theft over $15,000 and unauthorized use of a transaction device.
Military
Salazar says Army must protect ranch economy
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1176994592/2
Unless the Army can devise a way for the ranching economy of Southern Colorado to survive the expansion of the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site, Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar said he will oppose adding more acreage to Fort Carson's training site southwest of La Junta. Salazar, a Democrat, said that simply increasing the 238,000 training area by another 418,000 acres would create "a big hole" in the agriculture-based economy of the region. During a telephone press conference Wednesday, Salazar was surprised to learn the Army's initial planning to expand Pinon Canyon looked at adding 1.4 million acres to the training site. Fort Carson officials acknowledged that larger figure at a town hall meeting in Pueblo on Tuesday.
Bill targeting Army training site OK'd
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5698670
A bill backed by ranchers who oppose the expansion of the Army's Piñon Canyon training site in southeastern Colorado is on its way to Gov. Bill Ritter. The Senate voted 30-3 to give final approval to the measure, House Bill 1069, on Wednesday. It tells the Army it can't use its eminent domain power to force landowners to sell their land for the expansion. The Army wants to nearly triple the size of the maneuver site in order to train soldiers from Fort Carson. The three lawmakers who voted against the bill - Sens. John Morse, Ron May and Andy McElhany - represent Colorado Springs, the home of Fort Carson. Two lawmakers were absent. Morse is a Democrat. May and McElhany are Republicans.
RELATED: Pinon Canyon measure receives final approval
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1176994592/3
Marine’s family to pass through valley
http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/04/19/4_19_1B_Phelps_walk.html
Gretchen Mack and Kelley Phelps-Orndoff will walk into the Grand Valley on Friday, marking their arrival in the place where their son and brother, respectively, spent his formative years. U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Chance Phelps, a Palisade High School graduate, died April 9, 2004, in Iraq. He was 19. His mother and sister are about 900 miles into their walk to raise money, in his memory, for wounded soldiers and other veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
Victory for veterans
http://craigdailypress.com/section/localnews/story/26200
U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar and U.S. Rep. John Salazar, Democrats and brothers, announced Wednesday that the Department of Veterans Affairs will open a community-based outreach clinic in Craig. A VA press release said the nurse-run clinic will open no later than Sept. 30 and will provide part-time service five days a week "in leased or donated space." The estimated 4,200 military veterans in Northwest Colorado have had to drive to Grand Junction or Denver for medical services. "This new community-based outreach clinic in Craig will mean real access for these rural Colorado veterans to the health care our nation promised," Sen. Salazar said.
RELATED: Veterans outreach clinic to open in Craig
http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/04/19/4_19_4b_VA_Craig.html
ALLARD: IT'S TIME TO BRING PUEBLO HOME (EXTRA!, April 19)
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5492672,00.html
On Jan. 23, 1968, the USS Pueblo, a Navy vessel on an intelligence-gathering mission, was seized by North Korea, which claimed it had violated its territorial waters. Now, U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., wants it back. On Wednesday Allard reintroduced a resolution in the Senate demanding the return of the ship and sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asking for her help in getting the vessel. "The return of the USS Pueblo is long overdue," Allard said.
Religion
Diocese loses bid to chuck sex cases
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5492108,00.html
The Archdiocese of Denver has lost its second attempt to have a group of sex abuse cases involving the late priest Harold Robert White dismissed in Denver district court. Twelve lawsuits moved closer to trial Tuesday when Judge Robert Hyatt rejected the church's argument that the cases should be dismissed because they exceeded the statute of limitations. That makes a total of 15 cases involving White that are now moving forward. Last month Judge John McMullen issued a similar ruling on three cases. White, a defrocked priest, was 73 when he died last November of an apparent heart attack while vacationing in Mexico. The archdiocese has battled more than 30 lawsuits involving either White or Leonard Abercrombie, a priest who died in 1994.
RELATED: Briefs: Archdiocese loses move to dismiss suits
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5698785
Haggards leave Springs for new home in Phoenix
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5492321,00.html
The Rev. Ted Haggard moved Wednesday from his longtime home in Colorado Springs to Phoenix, where the disgraced minister will join the same church that helped fallen televangelist Jim Bakker. Haggard, 50, resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals last year, after a former male prostitute alleged a three-year cash-for-sex relationship. The man also said he saw Haggard use methamphetamine. Haggard confessed to undisclosed "sexual immorality" and said he bought meth but never used it. As part of his severance package from New Life Church, a 14,000-member congregation he started in his basement, Haggard agreed to leave Colorado Springs, a city he helped make an evangelical center.
RELATED: Haggard moves to Phoenix to continue "restoration"
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5698787
Episcopal parish in Springs invited to join breakaway group
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5492780,00.html
An Anglican bishop on Wednesday night made the case to members of an embattled Colorado Springs parish on why they should secede from the Episcopal Church. "Frankly, the decision you're facing is the biggest decision your church will ever make. You should make it together," Bishop Martyn Minns told about 150 parishioners at Grace and St. Stephen's Church. The parish's rector, the Rev. Don Armstrong, is being threatened by the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado with civil and criminal lawsuits involving allegations that he misused hundreds of thousands of dollars of church money. Armstrong says the diocese is persecuting him for his conservative views.
Energy Policy
Transmission lines measure up in air again
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1176994592/12
Rep. Cory Gardner blocked an attempt Wednesday to scuttle an oft-debated, heavily altered measure to help rural Colorado erect transmission lines for renewable energy projects. After more than two months of making alterations in the Senate to a measure designed to help bring high-voltage electricity lines to regions of Colorado that are off the state's power grid, some House members tried to kill it.
PUC says Xcel unit skirted power rules
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_5698622
Colorado utility regulators criticized Xcel Energy on Wednesday for allegedly violating power planning rules but stopped short of ordering development of a new coal-fired power plant. The Public Utilities Commission tabled action on a proposal to force construction of the power plant to ensure that Xcel has adequate long-term power supplies. Xcel said it has planned for most of its future-generation needs and later this year will file a plan that will complete its power portfolio through 2013 - without the need for a new coal-fired plant.
Tri-State delays 2nd power plant
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_5698644
Tri-State Generation and Transmission disclosed Wednesday it will delay plans for two of three previously announced coal-fired power plants. The Westminster-based wholesale power supplier said earlier this month it would slow development plans for one of its plants in Kansas. The second delay is for a coal-fired plant near Lamar. Robert "Mac" McLennan, a Tri-State senior vice president, said the company will instead install or acquire natural gas generation resources to meet near-term energy needs, among other strategies.
W. Slope wells sell for nearly $1 billion
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_5698643
Plains Exploration & Production Co., a U.S. oil and natural-gas producer, agreed to buy oil and gas wells on the Western Slope from an undisclosed private company for an estimated $946 million to grow production in the Rocky Mountains. Plains Exploration will pay for the purchase with $900 million in cash and issue 1 million shares of common stock, the Houston- based company said Wednesday in a statement. The stock portion of the accord is based on Tuesday's $45.42 a share closing share price. Plains may have bought the assets from Denver-based Laramie Energy LLC, according to Michael Bodino, an analyst at Coker & Palmer in New Orleans who rates the shares "buy" and doesn't own any. Bodino asked a question about Laramie on Wednesday's conference call with analysts and investors. CEO James Flores named Laramie in his response.
Transportation and Infrastructure
RTD privatization amendment stirs debate
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5492274,00.html
A battle erupted in the Senate Wednesday over a Democratic measure that some Republicans claim could hurt RTD's ability to privatize some of its bus service. Opponents argued the bill could cost the transit agency tens of millions of dollars in additional costs annually at the same time RTD is struggling financially to get FasTracks off the ground and expand routes to serve the disabled. "A vote for this bill is a vote against flexibility and cost savings," said Sen. Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield.
RELATED: Senate bill would erase RTD's contract mandate (Under the dome, 4/19)
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5701490
High maintenance: CDOT paints bleak picture
http://www.montrosepress.com/articles/2007/04/18/local_news/2.txt
Transportation needs are great, but the funding is weak — and it will get worse before it gets better, Colorado Department of Transportation officials told county commissioners Monday. “The current picture is pretty grim in terms of having the resources necessary,” Doug Aden, CDOT Transportation Commissioner for Montrose, Ouray and Chaffee counties, said of infrastructure funding. “We just don’t have the money to do what needs to be done.”
Critic wants FasTracks back in voters' hands
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5492271,00.html
FasTracks' biggest critic said Wednesday that RTD should put the program back on the ballot and let voters have another crack at saying yes or no now that costs are way up and revenues are down. But RTD's boss shot down the idea, saying he intends to deliver the $4.7 billion rail and bus expansion substantially as promised, on time and within budget. Jon Caldara, head of the free-market Independence Institute in Golden, had RTD chief Cal Marsella as a guest on his weekly KBDI-Channel 12 television show, Independent Thinking. Caldara was a leader of the campaign against the November 2004 FasTracks election that increased the RTD sales tax 0.4 cents to a full penny on the dollar. The taped program airs Friday evening at 8:30. It also features Randal O'Toole, an associate of Caldara's who directs the Oregon-based Thoreau Institute and who worked with Caldara's group against the 2004 FasTracks referendum.
RELATED: FasTracks "as advertised"
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5698788
I-70 tunnel a difficult crack to case
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5698770
Highway officials are still brainstorming on how best to fix a growing crack over the eastbound lanes of the Hanging Lake Tunnel, even as contractors begin work on shoring up the repair area. "We're in this situation of designing as we go," said Colorado Department of Transportation engineer Joe Elsen. "Typically, we design something, and then put it out for bid." Elsen is the program engineer for the tunnel repair, which has narrowed traffic to one lane in each direction on Interstate 70 east of Glenwood Springs.
Large rockslide closes McClure Pass for week
http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/04/19/4_19_3a_McClure_Pass_closed.html
A massive rockslide early Wednesday morning closed Colorado Highway 133 over McClure Pass, and it likely will remain closed for a week or longer, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.
RELATED: Massive Rockfall closes McClure Pass
http://postindependent.com/article/20070419/VALLEYNEWS/104190029
Environment and Conservation
SLV water system bill cleared
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1176994592/11
On a 50-14 vote, the House gave final approval to a measure Wednesday that gives a San Luis Valley water panel authority to create a program to take irrigated farmland out of production on a rotating basis. The measure is designed to help the valley better manage dwindling groundwater supplies, and stave off the state's water engineer from having to do so himself, said the bill's sponsors, Rep. Rafael Gallegos and Sen. Gail Schwartz. "They're trying to bring a whole water system back into balance," said Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village. "This is about the long-term health of the aquifer."
West Slope legislators highly unhappy with canyon water decision
http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/04/19/4_19_1a_Black_Canyon.html
A Western Slope legislator pleaded with the Colorado Department of Natural Resources not to attack agreements signed by Gunnison Valley irrigators who hoped to avoid harm in the fight over water rights for the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. “The irrigators in my basin must have the protection these stipulations provide if they are going to stay in business,” state Rep. Kathleen Curry, D-Gunnison, wrote April 11 to Harris Sherman, executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. Five days later, on Monday, the state filed an objection in the Montrose Water Court aimed at gutting those stipulations, which Curry said affect 106 families.
Whisper it: The drought is over
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5492609,00.html
Colorado's drought is over, but still . . . Water officials gathered at a monthly state water supply meeting Wednesday were loathe to actually say those words, even as they conceded a key drought index shows - for the first time since 2002 - that it's true. Instead, water watchers spent much of the meeting urging caution despite a bright outlook for Front Range supplies. "It's a more complex picture than, 'Things look really good,' " said Jack Byers, deputy state engineer. Even so, compared with most recent years, some things do look good.
Newmont to divest Indonesia mine stake
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_5698635
Newmont Mining Corp., the world's second-largest gold miner, plans to divest a further 7 percent stake in its Batu Hijau copper-gold mine in Indonesia and offered the shares to the government for about $325 million. "We've made the offer, based on a value of $4.65 billion for the mine," Newmont spokesman Rubi Purnomo said in Jakarta on Wednesday. The offer to the government is part of Newmont's plan to reduce its stake by March 2008, Mangantar Marpaung, the Indonesian energy ministry's director for coal and mineral-resources development, said in a phone text message from Beijing. Batu Hijau is the only productive mine in Indonesia for Denver-based Newmont Mining. The stake sale is part of a divestment schedule mandated by Indonesian law to place a greater share of the unit, PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara, in the hands of local investors.
Wide Open Spaces
http://www.longmontfyi.com/Local-Story.asp?id=15841
Almost 30 million acres of Colorado land — about 45 percent of the state’s total surface area — have some form of legal protections against being privately developed, according to a statewide open space inventory released this week. The total includes more than 28.6 million acres of property either owned by federal, state and local government or by conservation organizations such as land trusts. The 29.9 million-acre open space tally also includes 1.3 million acres that are privately owned but covered by conservation easements that restrict or bar further development. Colorado State University’s National Resource Ecology Lab conducted the open space inventory and mapping study, assisted by Southpaw Consulting, a Longmont firm.
Proposal might relieve water demands
http://postindependent.com/article/20070419/VALLEYNEWS/104190026
A man with a big plan met with the directors of the Colorado River Water Conservation District Wednesday to promote his idea for a 400-mile pipeline to carry water from Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Wyoming and Utah to eastern Colorado. The pipeline would connect into a utilities trench along Interstate 80 and cross into Colorado south of Laramie, then connect with municipal water systems as far south as Pueblo.
Lower Ark board waits on lawsuit
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1176994592/1
The Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District board voted 7-0 Wednesday to look at all legal avenues to challenge the Bureau of Reclamation’s proposed contract with Aurora, but won’t file a suit unless a contract is actually issued. Lower Ark Chairman John Singletary has indicated the district is considering a lawsuit ever since Reclamation issued a finding of no significant impact and draft contract last month, but the board Wednesday agreed to instruct its water attorney, Peter Nichols, to simply prepare for the lawsuit. “We can’t file a suit based on an anticipated action,” said Pueblo County Director Melissa Esquibel, a lawyer.
RELATED: Lower Ark funds test of sediment extractor
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1176994592/10
1 in 5 delinquent in paying city stormwater fees
http://www.gazette.com/articles/city_21371___article.html/people_enterprise.html
More than half of Colorado Springs’ billings for stormwater fees have not been paid by property owners, and one in five invoices issued are now delinquent. That means the city has collected only $1.6 million of the roughly $4 million it hopes to bring in by April 30. The city’s newest enterprise expects to collect $14.6 million in fees this year. But scofflaws needn’t worry, at least for a while. Stormwater manager Ken Sampley said the city won’t try to collect delinquent accounts until the year’s third quarter, at the earliest.
Wilderness group sees growth surge
http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20070418/NEWS/70418019
Nobody said being a leader in environmental activism would be easy — or cheap. Wilderness Workshop, the oldest locally-based environmental organization, doubled its staff and increased its revenues 86 percent this year compared to 2005. The growth coincides with the organization’s expanding role as a watchdog for issues affecting wilderness and other national forest lands. Wilderness Workshop does everything from trying to prevent gas companies from drilling on leases they hold on forest lands to earning wilderness protections for more land Colorado.
Recycling computers a problem
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_5698625
From the illegal dumping of hazardous waste in foreign countries to selling old hard drives to identity thieves, recycling an old computer today raises myriad concerns. As Americans purchase more consumer electronics - $145 billion worth in 2006 - they're also learning more about problems associated with dumping old devices. "It's one of the issues rising to the top right now because of general growth of awareness about components in those pieces of equipment and how they can affect public health if not properly handled now," said Marjorie Griek, executive director of the Colorado Recycling Association.
Opinion
Littwin: Could've, would've, should've
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/news_columnists/article/0,1299,DRMN_86_5492340,00.html
There weren't just warning signs. Cho Seung-Hui, the Virginia Tech killer, might as well have sent up flares. Everyone noticed Cho was a deeply disturbed young man. It was, in fact, difficult to miss. The question everyone is asking now is why nobody did anything about it. If that sounds like a chillingly familiar question, it is.
RELATED: Crazy but deliberate
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/editorials/article/0,2777,DRMN_23964_5492005,00.html
RELATED: Tragedy raises questions as campus, nation grieve
RELATED: Carlisle: Carlisle: While tragic, Virginia Tech shootings are still an anomaly
http://summitdaily.com/article/20070418/COLUMNS/104180047
RELATED: Hackett: Avoiding the Blame Game
http://www.denverpost.com/opinionheadlines/ci_5698319
Columbine memorial will be place to reflect
http://www.denverpost.com/opinionheadlines/ci_5698655
Knowing the Columbine anniversary was approaching Friday, we'd planned to write a piece imploring Coloradans to dig deep and come up with donations still needed to finish a permanent memorial. It was time, we thought, that the community had a place to reflect on the fragility of life, and on the victims whose lives ended too soon in the unaccountable spasm of violence on April 20, 1999. In our worst nightmare, we would never have imagined that as we discussed the Columbine memorial, an equally horrific scene, with an even larger death toll, was unfolding on the campus at Virginia Tech University.
Court misfires on abortion
http://www.denverpost.com/opinionheadlines/ci_5698657
The U.S. Supreme Court, fortified by recent conservative appointments, voted by a slim majority to uphold a nationwide ban on partial-birth abortions. Activists who have fought abortion rights for three decades instantly cheered. In upholding the 2003 law, the 5-4 majority held it didn't violate a woman's constitutional right to abortion. Anti-abortion activists quickly moved to make the decision a rallying cry to overturn abortion rights solidified in the 1973 Roe vs. Wade ruling. Of course that has been a concern of many Americans who fretted over the recent retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. The ruling will affect few women since the procedure is rarely used, and for advocates of choice, the written decision does not seem to threaten the basic right to abortion - indeed, it acknowledges it. However, the force of the ruling will likely open the door to further state and federal laws imposing "reasonable regulations" on choice.
Sudan's 'last chance'
http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/apr/19/sudans-last-chance/
Sudan has one "last chance" to follow U.N. directives, President Bush said Wednesday. That kind of tough talk preceded Bush's invasion of Iraq and the nightmarish quagmire that has resulted. But this ultimatum — if it is an ultimatum — isn't backed by the threat of a reckless invasion. At best, it would precede stronger economic sanctions. That is a modest response to the Sudan's crimes against humanity.
A budget solution for K-12
http://www.denverpost.com/opinionheadlines/ci_5698656
Forty Republican legislators who signed a letter denouncing Gov. Bill Ritter's proposed "freeze" in property taxes may have actually done the Democratic chief executive a favor. By turning what should be a fair-minded discussion of how to pay for public schools into a test of partisan zealotry, the Republicans reminded everyone that voters last fall entrusted majority Democrats with the responsibility to solve Colorado's basic problems. In our opinion, it's time for the Democrats to do just that. Approving the "freeze" - which could reach the House floor Monday - would be a good start.
Statewide commission makes sense
http://greeleytrib.com/article/20070419/TRIBEDIT/104190118/-1/TRIBEDIT
Money -- and the lack of it -- is always a great motivator. In cash-strapped Colorado, it can also be a means to innovation, as lawmakers look for creative ways to tackle problems without simply throwing money at them. In that vein, we support the idea of a statewide criminal justice commission. House Bill 1358, which is waiting to be heard by the House Appropriations Committee, would create a new Colorado Criminal and Juvenile Justice Commission.
A stinker
http://pueblochieftain.com/editorial/1176994592/1
Selling off the Lottery to some huge gaming corporation may “sound good” at first blush, but over the long haul it would be a stinker - not in Colorado’s best interest.
Kamau: Curb cruelty to animals
http://www.denverpost.com/opinionheadlines/ci_5698318
The painful part isn't the actual death, but the fear that animals are subjected to prior to their slaughter. Research on the circumstances surrounding animal slaughter has led Temple Grandin, a professor of animal science at Colorado State University, to conclude that minimizing the terror that animals suffer prior to their deaths leads to a more peaceful transition.
The larger lesson in Corzine's bad example
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/editorials/article/0,2777,DRMN_23964_5492002,00.html
New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine set a bad example for both his constituents and the rest of us, and he is now paying the penalty in a Camden hospital.
Election
Giuliani's Lead Shrinks, Clinton's Margin Holds
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041801866.html
Former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani's lead over his Republican presidential rivals has narrowed considerably, while Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) has maintained her advantage in the race for the Democratic nomination, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), whose candidacy has been buffeted by lackluster fundraising and his embrace of President Bush's troop surge policy in Iraq, runs a solid second among GOP hopefuls. But there is fresh evidence in the new survey that his focus on the war and on attracting conservative support have made him more polarizing as a potential general-election candidate.
Giuliani shifts stance on abortion method
The Supreme Court decision Wednesday upholding a ban on a controversial abortion procedure heightens the issue's visibility in the 2008 presidential race and spotlights a shift in position by Republican candidate Rudolph W. Giuliani. The former New York mayor and other top Republicans vying for the White House welcomed the ruling while leading Democratic contenders said they deplored it. Giuliani, the only major GOP candidate who supports abortion rights, has tried for months to mollify conservative critics. On Wednesday, he praised the court for upholding the ban on the midterm procedure. "The Supreme Court reached the correct conclusion in upholding the congressional ban on partial-birth abortion," Giuliani said in a statement. "I agree with it."
RELATED: Court Ruling Catapults Abortion Back Into ’08 Race
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/us/politics/19react.html
McCain Says He Backs No Gun Control
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/19/AR2007041900430.html
Republican presidential candidate John McCain declared Wednesday he believes in "no gun control," making the strongest affirmation of support for gun rights in the GOP field since the Virginia Tech massacre. The Arizona senator said in Summerville, S.C., that the country needs better ways to identify dangerous people like the gunman who killed 32 people and himself in the Blacksburg, Va., rampage. But he opposed weakening gun rights and, when asked whether ammunition clips sold to the public should be limited in size, said, "I don't think that's necessary at all." GOP rival Rudy Giuliani, too, voiced his support for the Second Amendment on Wednesday, but not in such absolute terms. Once an advocate of strong federal gun controls, the former New York mayor said "this tragedy does not alter the Second Amendment" while indicating he favors the right of states to pass their own restrictions.
Thompson Meets With House GOP; Does Not Say if He's a Candidate
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041802273.html
Former senator Fred D. Thompson (Tenn.) met yesterday with more than 50 Republican House members on Capitol Hill, fielding questions about his views on issues such as abortion and immigration and even his relationship with his first wife, but offering no new insight into whether he would join the field of Republican presidential candidates. Many of the members said they left the meeting impressed with the "Law and Order" star and are eager to see him run, believing he would capture the excitement of some Republicans who are not content with the current field of candidates.
RELATED: Ex-senator Thompson visits Congress, '08 speculation in tow
Effective and Ethical Government
No budge on Iraq war funding bill
Moving closer to a showdown over funding the war in Iraq, President Bush and congressional Democratic leaders emerged from a much-anticipated White House meeting Wednesday without progress toward ending an impasse over an emergency spending bill. Despite Bush's veto threat, the Democrats continued to press ahead with legislation that would force the administration to begin withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq. "We cannot give the president a blank check," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) said after the meeting, which included House and Senate Republican leaders. Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and other senior Democratic lawmakers are intensifying their efforts to unite congressional Democrats behind a single plan for bringing U.S. forces home.
RELATED: No Solution in Sight as Bush and Lawmakers Discuss Iraq Spending Measure
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/washington/19prexy.html?ref=washington
RELATED: Bush to get spending bill soon
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-04-18-bush-iraq_N.htm
FBI Searches Congressman's Home
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041801959.html
The FBI on Friday raided the Northern Virginia home consulting business owned by the wife of Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-Calif.), whose ties to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff have been under investigation for two years, sources familiar with the matter said. Agents seized computers and documents. Doolittle's wife, Julie, operates Sierra Dominion Financial Services Inc. out of the couple's home in Oakton. Since 2005, a Justice Department task force has been looking into payments made by Abramoff and other lobbyists to Doolittle's wife and the spouses of other lawmakers.
RELATED: FBI searches the home of Rep. Doolittle
Small's House Rarely Used For Business
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041802772.html
Lawrence M. Small, the former secretary of the Smithsonian, rarely used his Northwest Washington mansion for institution-related entertaining in the past four years, despite receiving a housing allowance totaling $1.1 million since 2000 to make his residence available for official functions, institution records released yesterday show. Small used his property for Smithsonian events only four times in the past four years and had not used it since 2005. The new details emerged in a 13-page letter from Roger Sant, chairman of the Smithsonian Board of Regents executive committee, to Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), whose office has been investigating abuses at nonprofits such as the Smithsonian. Inquiries into Small's controversial compensation and expenses resulted in Small's resignation last month.
Florida’s New Governor Steps Outside the Jeb Bush Mold
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/us/19florida.html?ref=us
Gov. Charlie Crist called himself a “Jeb Bush Republican” on the campaign trail last year, but he is proving a far different leader than his highly ideological predecessor.
Civil Liberties and Equality
Advocates Sue Yahoo In Chinese Torture Case
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041802510.html
A human rights group sued Yahoo on Wednesday, accusing the Internet giant of abetting the torture of pro-democracy writers by releasing data that allowed China's government to identify them. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, says the company was complicit in the arrests of 57-year-old Wang Xiaoning and other Chinese Internet activists. The suit is the latest development in a campaign by advocacy groups to spotlight the conduct of U.S. companies in China. As they seek a slice of the booming Chinese market, Yahoo and other American companies have sometimes set aside core American values, such as free speech, to comply with the communist government's laws. The suit, in trying to hold Yahoo accountable, could become an important test case. Advocacy groups are seeking to use a 217-year-old U.S. law to punish corporations for human rights violations abroad, an effort the Bush administration has opposed.
RELATED: Chinese Political Prisoner Sues in U.S. Court, Saying Yahoo Helped Identify Dissidents
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/technology/19yahoo.html?ref=business
Foreign Policy
Bush Unveils And Delays Sanctions For Sudan
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041801022.html
President Bush unveiled a new package of sanctions against Sudan yesterday for failing to cooperate with international efforts to end what he described as the "genocide" in the Darfur region -- but promptly postponed it to give the U.N. secretary general time to pursue a diplomatic solution to the crisis. Until Tuesday night, the White House had been planning to use the speech to impose a "Plan B" for Sudan, a long-anticipated plan that includes new financial sanctions targeting 29 companies owned or controlled by the Sudanese government, as well as three people involved in fomenting violence in Darfur. Bush and his aides have been increasingly frustrated by their inability to prod Sudan to cooperate in efforts to end the humanitarian crisis in the troubled region, where as many as 450,000 people have died and more than 2 million have been made homeless after attacks from government-sponsored militias.
RELATED: Bush Presses Sudan on Darfur, Citing Possible U.S. Sanctions
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/world/africa/19policy.html?ref=washington
U.S. seeks Egypt's help in stabilizing Iraq
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Wednesday appealed to Egypt for help in stabilizing Iraq, arguing that if the rising sectarian violence was not controlled it could spread across the Middle East. If Americans and Iraqis fail to create a stable state in Iraq, Gates said, extremist movements will be emboldened and sectarian strife will spread across national borders, affecting the entire region. "The first and secondary effects of a collapse in Iraq — with all of its economic, religious, security and geopolitical implications — will be felt in capitals and communities of the Middle East well before they are felt in Washington and in New York," Gates said in a lunchtime speech to the American Chamber of Commerce in Cairo.
British hand over province to Iraqi control
With the flourish of a pen and a businesslike handshake, the British on Wednesday turned over a lawless stretch of desert and marshland to Iraqi provincial control. Maysan was the fourth of Iraq's 18 provinces to be handed over and the third by British-led troops. Britain has started drawing down its forces in the four southern provinces even as the U.S. increases its troop strength in Baghdad and elsewhere. British officers say they are responding to a different set of problems than their American counterparts.
Boost in Iran's Capacity To Enrich Uranium Noted
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041801916.html
Iran has doubled its capacity to enrich uranium in the past two months but remains far from the technological know-how the Bush administration fears and the capabilities that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently claimed, according to an official letter written by a senior U.N. nuclear inspector yesterday. The letter to Iranian officials from Olli Heinonen, a deputy director general at the International Atomic Energy Agency, confirmed that, in a visit earlier this week, inspectors saw eight separate lines -- or "cascades" -- with 164 centrifuges each operating at a nuclear enrichment facility in the town of Natanz and that "some uranium is being fed into those cascades." A copy of the letter was made available to The Washington Post.
RELATED: UN confirms Iran uranium enrichment
RELATED: Killings of 'morally corrupt' absolved
RELATED: Gates: Diplomacy with Iran is 'working'
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-04-18-gates_N.htm
Jordan's King Hosts Israeli PM for Talks
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/19/AR2006121900341.html
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert made a surprise visit to Jordan Tuesday for talks with King Abdullah II on ways to revive Mideast peacemaking. The palace also said Abdullah was offering to host a meeting in Jordan to help resolve Palestinian infighting between the Hamas and Fatah movements. As the statement was issued, the two groups waged fierce gunbattles in Gaza City. Olmert's visit came in response to an invitation by Abdullah, who is eager to see Israel resume peace negotiations with the Palestinians, a senior palace official said.
3 Bible-Sellers Slain in Turkey In Latest Attack on Christians
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041802591.html
Assailants on Wednesday slit the throats of three employees of a publishing house that distributes Bibles, the latest in a series of attacks targeting Turkey's small Christian minority. The attack added to concerns in Europe about whether the predominantly Muslim country -- which is bidding for membership in the European Union -- can protect its religious minorities.
RELATED: 3 killed in attack on Bible publisher in Turkey
Nigerian Officials Say Presidential Vote Will Proceed Despite Opposition's Objections
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041800218.html
Nigerian officials on Wednesday vowed to go forward with Saturday's presidential election despite opposition demands for a delay and growing evidence that last weekend's gubernatorial vote was severely tainted by violence and fraud. Also Wednesday, soldiers battled Islamic extremists who call themselves "the Taliban," killing at least 25 of them in the northern city of Kano, according to news reports. The clashes raised the death toll to 37 since the group raided a police station Tuesday morning.
RELATED: Nigeria's Military Reports Killing 25 Suspected Militants
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041801389.html
Koreas talk aid despite reactor dispute
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-04-18-koreas-nuclear_N.htm
South Korea began talks with North Korea on possible aid to the communist regime despite its failure to make progress on an international agreement to dismantle its nuclear programs. The economic talks in Pyongyang, which began Wednesday and run through Saturday, come as the two Koreas restore relations that suffered a blow last year following the North's missile and nuclear tests that rattled regional stability. The dialogue was restored after the North pledged in February to take steps to dismantle its nuclear weapons programs in exchange for energy aid and political concessions.
Low-Crime Japan Seeks Answers to Killing of Mayor of Nagasaki
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/world/asia/19japan.html
Japan, a nation that prides itself on low crime rates, was searching for answers on Wednesday in the death of this southern Japanese city’s mayor in a murky gang-related killing. The mayor, Kazunaga Ito, 61, who used the name Itcho Ito in public life, was shot twice in the back on Tuesday night on a sidewalk here after a campaign speech, said Hirozumi Chiyoda, a spokesman for the Nagasaki prefecture police. He died hours later in a local hospital from blood loss, Mr. Chiyoda said.
Philippine police: Foul play likely in American's death
Campbell's family has said the daughter of a former U.S. Marine captain was an "alert and careful traveler" who would not easily be duped by people with "malevolent intent." "She knows how to look out for herself. Julia Campbell is not an easy target," the family said in a profile they put together during the 10-day search for her. In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the U.S. did not have any information on what happened to her. "We're working very well with the Philippine authorities. They're taking this case quite seriously. And we are going to work with them until we are able to get to the bottom of this and get all of those answers for Julia's family," he said.
U.S. seeks to reassure on missile defense
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-04-19-missile-defense_N.htm
The United States was intensifying efforts Thursday to defuse Russian anger and allay European concerns over plans to extend American anti-missile defenses to Europe. Speaking ahead of talks with Russia and NATO allies, the director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency said the strategic defense shield was needed to deter Iran and others in the Middle East from developing long range rockets that could threaten Europe or North America. "Nations like Iran, Syria and others see these weapons as very valuable weapons because historically there has no been defense against those," Lt. Gen. Henry A. Obering told a conference on Wednesday in Poland. "But we are at a point now that we have a defense against these weapons." Obering and Eric Edelman, the U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy, were to brief allies and Russian officials at NATO headquarters.
French Front-Runner's American Style
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041802245.html
He urges young people to embrace Martin Luther King Jr. as a role model. He is a devotee of Hollywood movies, and his favorite author is Ernest Hemingway. He wrote a book preaching the gospel of the American work ethic to a nation that clings to a 35-hour workweek. None of which may seem remarkable, except that the man in question -- Nicolas Sarkozy -- is running for president of France, which typically turns up its nose at such flagrant displays of Yankee Doodlism. And he is leading in all the polls.
19 Killed as Police Battle Drug Gangs in Rio
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041802542.html
Shootouts involving rival drug gangs and police in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday left at least 19 people dead and sent pedestrians scrambling for shelter, intensifying the Brazilian city's growing concerns about deadly violence. The main shootout began in the early morning when two of the drug trafficking gangs that control many of the city's shantytowns began fighting for control of Morro da Mineira, a disputed area located near the city's downtown. Police eventually joined in the battle, and the shooting spilled out of the shantytown-- known in Brazil as a favela -- and into a bordering neighborhood and cemetery.
Inflation is at the heart of Argentina's election debate
How much are prices going up here? That is the question of the day, with many residents saying costs are rising rapidly even as the Argentine government reports moderate increases. The discrepancy is no small issue during an election year in a country where the hyper-inflation of the past is easily recalled. In newspaper columns, on radio talk shows and in grocery aisles, consumers talk about the soaring prices of food, from lettuce to fruit to meat, the national staple. "It's not just that prices rise from one week to the next, but we see prices shoot up from day to day — or the same day," said Mariela Martinez, 60, who was shopping Wednesday at a popular supermarket. "In my house, it's been a long time since we ate an expensive cut of meat," Martinez said. But the chorus of complaints is not reflected in the official consumer price index. The most recent statistics show the cost of food staples declining in March, a finding widely ridiculed here.
Armed men storm Tijuana hospital; 3 dead
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-04-18-mexico-hospital-shooting_N.htm
Police and soldiers battled gunmen at a hospital in the border city of Tijuana Wednesday in violence that left at least three people dead before the authorities subdued the attackers, officials said. Shooting first erupted when about seven masked gunmen entered the public hospital and were confronted by a group of state police who happened to be escorting prisoners for routine treatment, said Tijuana Police Commander Jaime Niebla. Two state police officers and one of the gunmen were killed in the clash, Niebla said. Red Cross representative Fernando Esquer said he believed the gunmen were trying to free one of the prisoners receiving treatment.
Immigration
When ethnicity brings an unwelcome focus
Korean Americans are praised and criticized for blaming themselves in shooting. But there is no unified view, even among themselves.
RELATED: Korean-Americans Brace for Problems in Wake of Killings
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/us/19korea.html?ref=us
Public favors giving illegal immigrants a break
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-04-18-illegal-immigrants_N.htm
While Congress and the White House remain divided over what to do with the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants living in the USA, a new poll shows the American public appears to have reached a consensus on the question. A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken last weekend found that 78% of respondents feel people now in the country illegally should be given a chance at citizenship. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., who is drafting legislation to grant illegal immigrants an opportunity to stay in the USA, said: "As with so many issues, the American people are ahead of Washington on immigration reform. They know that only a plan that offers a path to earned citizenship will fix our broken system." Disagreements about the fate of the nation's illegal residents were a major factor in the deadlock that kept Congress from enacting an immigration bill last year, despite the support of key Democratic and Republican leaders, as well as President Bush. The president and members of his Cabinet, including Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, have said it would be prohibitively expensive to deport all the nation's illegal residents.
Fraud found in religious worker visas
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-04-18-visa-religious_N.htm
The Homeland Security Department plans to begin inspecting religious organizations in an effort to prevent radical groups from using a special government visa program to get terrorists into the country. Officials say they have uncovered rampant fraud in a religious worker visa program that allows thousands of foreigners into the USA each year. "We found that the program had been compromised and the fraud rate was excessively high," said Emilio Gonzalez, head of Citizen and Immigration Services at Homeland Security.
Health Care and Public Safety
Republicans Block Medicare Drug Price Bill
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041802338.html
Senate Republicans blocked legislation yesterday that would have allowed the federal government to negotiate Medicare drug prices, denying Democrats a victory on their 2006 election vow to lower prescription costs for senior citizens. "We'll have plenty of additional chances," said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a supporter of the bill. "This is not the end of the debate." Democrats needed a 60-vote majority to start debate on the measure, but lost 55 to 42. Democratic leaders had low expectations for victory. For one, they faced formidable opposition from the pharmaceutical and health insurance industries, two of the most powerful lobbying forces on Capitol Hill. But the benefit also has gained wide popularity, costing consumers and the government far less than initially projected.
RELATED: Medicare drug price bill stalls in Senate
RELATED: Senate Bars Medicare Talks for Lower Drug Prices
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/washington/19drug.html?ref=washington
IRS Commissioner Named to Lead Red Cross
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041801204.html
One day after taxpayers filed their annual returns, the American Red Cross picked the head of the Internal Revenue Service to take over the disaster-relief agency as it struggles to restore a reputation damaged by its responses to Hurricane Katrina and other recent catastrophes. The Red Cross Board of Governors voted yesterday to name IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson, the nation's top tax man since 2003, as the new president and chief executive of the $6 billion organization. Everson will start next month, a few weeks before hurricane season and just as Congress is expected to approve a broad restructuring plan for the federally chartered agency.
RELATED: At Red Cross, a New Head Is Appointed From I.R.S.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/us/19cross.html
Breast Cancer Drop Tied To Less Hormone Use
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041801843.html
New federal statistics provide powerful evidence that the sharp drop in hormone use by menopausal women that began in 2002 caused a dramatic decline in breast cancer cases, according to an analysis being published today. The statistics show that the number of breast cancer cases being diagnosed began falling abruptly after concerns emerged about the safety of hormone treatment and that the decrease persisted into the following year, strengthening the case that the trends are related, researchers said.
RELATED: Breast cancer death rate bolsters hormone theory
A Houston Fuss Over Breast-Feeding Strikes a Responsive Nerve
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/us/19nurse.html?ref=us
It is an argument that nobody relishes. Not Jessica Mayo-Swimeley, who says that all she wanted to do was breast-feed her 17-month-old twin son Tobin after his surgery for a brain tumor. And not Ronald McDonald House, which says it did not banish Ms. Mayo-Swimeley to her room to nurse her child. But no dispute is obscure in the age of the Internet, so what might have been a local, if tearful, standoff has drawn a national spotlight, after Web postings by the aggrieved mother and her sister over an incident last Thursday crashed the Ronald McDonald House Web site in a deluge of recriminations. Ms. Mayo-Swimeley, 27, an Air Force wife and a homemaker, said a McDonald House manager had admonished her for nursing her son in a lounge after the father of another child complained, and that she was then told to do the nursing in private, in her room, on threat of being evicted.
FDA: Tainted pet food ingredient came from China
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/2007-04-19-recall-usat_N.htm
Testing by the Food and Drug Administration has detected melamine in imported rice protein concentrate from China, and the company who imported it said late Wednesday it had recalled it. The company, Wilbur-Ellis, had shipped the concentrate to five U.S. pet-food manufacturers, but only one company has recalled pet food so far. That company, Natural Balance Pet Foods, on Tuesday said melamine had been found in some of its venison-based foods and it suspected the rice protein because it was the only new ingredient in the food. Natural Balance tested the food after consumers reported dogs and cats suffering kidney failure. The food was made for Natural Balance by Diamond Pet Foods. The other four manufacturers have yet to be named, but are located in Utah, New York, Kansas and Missouri, Wilbur-Ellis said in a news release.
RELATED: P&G vows more control of Menu Foods
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/2007-04-19-pandg-usat_N.htm
Crime and Penal Reform
Gunman Sent Video During Lull In Slaughter
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041800834.html
Cho Seung Hui paused Monday morning during the shootings at Virginia Tech to stop at a post office and mail to NBC News in New York a disturbing package of pictures, writings and video before returning to the rampage. The communications sought to explain his actions but served mostly to display his anger and illness. With threatening images and in a menacing video, America's deadliest gunman photographed himself wearing black and a backward baseball cap and pointing handguns at the camera and himself. He blamed rich people and humanity at large for the perceived wrongs that drove him to kill. A $14.40 U.S. Postal Service express parcel, which had the wrong Zip code and an incorrect street address, was sent from Blacksburg at 9:01 a.m. Monday, about two hours after Cho's first two killings at a dormitory, West Ambler Johnston Hall. About 45 minutes after mailing the package, he went to Norris Hall and killed an additional 30 people before killing himself as police closed in.
RELATED: Shooter took a break to send an angry message
RELATED: Gunman had presented an 'imminent danger' in 2005
RELATED: Officials Knew Troubled State of Killer in ’05
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/us/19gunman.html?ref=us
Guns a staple of rural Virginia
Tense from the events on campus, Virginia Tech junior Cody Wilder sought release Wednesday morning by going to the Blacksburg Shooting Range — where he and his father took a .22-caliber rifle for a little target practice. Though Monday's massacre has made many shudder at the thought of firearms, for some — especially in this part of the country — it has not. In Virginia, the culture of gun ownership dates to Colonial times, and the right to bear arms is considered a bedrock individual freedom, fiercely protected by native son Patrick Henry during the founding of the republic and today by many Democratic and Republican lawmakers.
Prosecution halted in La. for 42 who lack counsel
An irate judge halted the prosecution of 42 criminal defendants yesterday, saying [New Orleans'] underfunded public defender's office isn't providing adequate representation. State Judge Arthur Hunter also ordered 16 of the defendants released from jail even though they have not made bail. However, he acknowledged that a state appeals court would not allow that to happen immediately. Hunter had ordered the 42 people freed last month but delayed that ruling until a hearing yesterday. He has not dismissed the charges, most of which are drug-related. Hunter also set a May 7 hearing for dozens of other defendants who he said are poor but cannot get adequate representation from the Office of Indigent Defenders.
Economy
Narrowing Tax Gap Called 'Unrealistic'
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041802359.html
Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson said yesterday that the Internal Revenue Service would have a tough time wringing money out of the nation's tax cheats without imposing "draconian" new burdens on honest taxpayers. Speaking to a Senate committee led by Democrats eager to raise cash without raising tax rates, Paulson said it was "unrealistic" for them to expect to collect hundreds of billions of dollars from the federal tax gap, the difference between taxes owed and taxes paid. "The tax gap is simply not a pot of gold that we can dip into every time we want to pay for a new or expanded program," Paulson told the Senate Finance Committee. "Nor should it be viewed as an easy solution to existing challenges," such as replacing the alternative minimum tax. Democrats bristled at Paulson's remarks and accused the administration of failing to take seriously its duty to enforce the nation's tax laws.
Blue Chips Set Record High On Component Firms' Earnings
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041800400.html
The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 12,800 for the first time Wednesday, signaling Wall Street's recovery from its steep decline in February as investors rewarded companies with strong earnings. The Dow moved as high as 12,838.46 before slipping slightly to close at 12,803.84, up 30.80, or 0.24 percent. The Dow broke records set on Feb. 20, one week before it tumbled 416 points in a worldwide selloff. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose 1.02, or 0.07 percent, to 1472.50, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 6.45, or 0.26 percent, to 2510.50.
RELATED: Dow within striking distance of 13,000
http://www.usatoday.com/money/markets/2007-04-18-dow-record_N.htm
Democrats Seek Shareholder Voting on Executive Pay
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/business/19pay.html
Shareholders would have the right to a nonbinding vote on the pay packages of senior executives of public companies under a bill that the House began debating Wednesday.
Wolfowitz Offers to Make Changes
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041802357.html
Besieged by rising calls for his resignation, World Bank President Paul D. Wolfowitz met with the institution's senior management team behind closed doors yesterday to acknowledge problems with his leadership and offer to make significant front-office changes, several knowledgeable bank sources said. When one participant suggested that Wolfowitz's departure would resolve the problems, Wolfowitz replied that he had no plans to resign and that leaving "under the current circumstances" would not help the institution. Instead, he offered to change his management style and the "structure" of his office. Several officials interpreted that as willingness to remove or limit the authority of two senior aides, former Bush administration officials Robin Cleveland and Kevin Kellems, who have clashed with bank staff members during Wolfowitz's tenure.
RELATED: Banker Says He’ll Smooth His Style, but Waters Are Choppy
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/washington/19wolfowitz.html
RELATED: Pentagon reviewing '03 contract for Wolfowitz's companion
http://www.usatoday.com/money/2007-04-18-wolfowitz-pentagon_N.htm
IRS extends deadline for taxpayers hit by TurboTax woes
http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/taxes/2007-04-18-e-filers-clog-servers_N.htm
Thousands of frustrated TurboTax customers complained that they missed this week's federal and state tax deadline after heavy last-minute volume swamped the popular electronic tax-filing system. Users of Intuit's TurboTax said they faced hours-long delays as they sat at their computers trying repeatedly — and unsuccessfully — to get their tax returns in on time. "I'm very aggravated. I've been up all night, not by choice," said Theresa Hurd, 43, a Kodak, Tenn., resident who said she was still trying to file her tax return after midday on Wednesday, more than 12 hours after the deadline had passed. "I'm so tired and frustrated, I can't even think straight." Intuit (INTU), a California-based financial management software firm, said it alerted the IRS late Tuesday after volume that ran as high as 60 tax filings per second swamped the company's computer servers. In response, the IRS extended the filing deadline until midnight tonight for taxpayers delayed by the problem.
Software by Microsoft Is Nearly Free for the Needy
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/technology/19soft.html?ref=business
In an effort to expand its global reach in computing, Microsoft plans to offer a stripped-down version of Windows, Office and other software for $3 to people in developing nations. The program, which is being announced in Beijing today by the Microsoft chairman, Bill Gates, represents an ambitious expansion of efforts to introduce products to those who have lacked access to personal computers, especially in developing nations. While these countries have a growing appetite for technology as a means to spur growth and raise living standards, they also have very limited budgets. Some governments have encouraged alternatives to Microsoft’s Windows, notably Linux, a free operating system.
Dell Still Losing Market Share to Hewlett and Others, Data Shows
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/technology/19compute.html?ref=business
Dell’s personal computer sales continued to decline in the first quarter in the United States and across the world, according to analyses of PC sales made public yesterday by IDC and Gartner, two major consulting and market analysis firms.
BlackBerry Addicts Twiddle Their Thumbs
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041800496.html
Carrie Brooks knew something wasn't right when she woke Wednesday morning and didn't see an e-mail from her boss, Washington Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, on her BlackBerry. The mayor, a proud BlackBerry addict who carries three of the devices on his hip, regularly sends an e-mail to her before he goes on an early morning run. But yesterday, there was an alarming absence of e-mail since the night before. The popular BlackBerry handheld e-mail device rarely experiences a hiccup. But when the service goes down -- as it did from about 8 p.m. Tuesday until sometime during the Wednesday morning commute -- it can amount to a mini-crisis for e-mail addicts.
RELATED: Bereft of BlackBerrys, the Untethered Make Do
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/technology/19blackberry.html?ref=business
Housing and Homelessness
Freddie Mac to Refinance Loans
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041802499.html
Freddie Mac, one of the nation's largest mortgage investors, plans to buy about $20 billion worth of mortgages that would primarily refinance the loans of people in danger of losing their homes. The McLean company is targeting the loans of subprime borrowers, who typically have blemished credit records or other factors that make them risky to lenders. Since the housing market softened, many such borrowers have missed payments and defaulted at record rates in parts of the country. Freddie Mac's announcement followed the unveiling earlier this week of a similar campaign by its larger rival Fannie Mae, which plans to allow lenders to qualify more subprime borrowers for refinancing. Richard F. Syron, Freddie Mac's chief executive, announced his company's plan at a Capitol Hill briefing yesterday. The goal is to buy fixed and adjustable-rate mortgages with more affordable terms, starting midsummer, he said.
Media
Gunman handed NBC an exclusive and a quandary
Critics say the network is glorifying the Virginia Tech shooter.
RELATED: Package Forced NBC to Make Tough Decisions
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/us/19nbc.html?ref=us
Education
Laws Limit Options When a Student Is Mentally Ill
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/us/19protocol.html?ref=us
Federal privacy and antidiscrimination laws restrict how universities can deal with students who have mental health problems. For the most part, universities cannot tell parents about their children’s problems without the student’s consent. They cannot release any information in a student’s medical record without consent. And they cannot put students on involuntary medical leave, just because they develop a serious mental illness.
Democrat Demands Student Loan Reform
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041802358.html
The chairman of the House education committee said yesterday that the student loan industry was "spinning out of control" and demanded that the Bush administration adopt emergency regulations to end bribery and cronyism in the business. "The Department of Education has been delinquent in its oversight of the student loan industry," Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) wrote to Education Secretary Margaret Spellings. His remarks were the strongest Democratic attack so far on the Bush administration's role in a student loan scandal that has engulfed the $85 billion-a-year student loan industry. An investigation has exposed a complex web of financial connections and conflicts of interest among lenders, universities and government officials.
RELATED: Colleges Review Aid Practices as Loan Inquiry Gains Steam
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/us/19loan.html
Aiming to Free Sallie Mae From Red Tape
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041802506.html
Sallie Mae Chairman Albert L. Lord was tired of having his company's stock price knocked around by a bunch of politicians. Every time a lawmaker complained -- unfairly, in Lord's view -- that student loan providers such as Sallie Mae were getting rich off student loans for needy kids, his shareholders took a hit. He came to think of those setbacks as the inevitable product of the "winds of politics," which he predicted would blow harder. So, Lord began a 17-month journey that culminated this week in the $25 billion sale of the Reston firm -- the nation's biggest student lender -- to a group of private investors that includes J.P. Morgan Chase and Bank of America. It is one of the largest such buyouts in history.
Reading First Paying Off, Education Dept. Says
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041802528.html
Students in the Bush administration's embattled $1 billion-a-year reading program have improved an average of about 15 percent on tests measuring fluency over the past five years, according to an analysis of data by the Education Department. The Reading First program, a central part of the No Child Left Behind law, has been criticized by congressional Democrats who say it has been riddled with conflicts of interests and mismanagement. The House education committee is holding an oversight hearing on the matter Friday.
Military
L.A. man in desertion case freed
A U.S. Army medic who refused to return for a second tour in Iraq was released Wednesday from a military prison in Germany after serving a sentence for desertion, the U.S. military said. Spc. Agustin Aguayo, 35, of Los Angeles was convicted at a court-martial in March of desertion and lesser charges and was sentenced to eight months in prison, well short of the possible maximum of seven years. Agauyo, who had been held since September, was released early because he received credit for time already served, said U.S. European Command spokeswoman Lt. Col. Elizabeth Hibner. Elsa Rassbach, whose antiwar group American Voices Abroad has assisted Aguayo, said his release was bittersweet.
Justice Dept. Probes, Congress Denounces Coast Guard Upgrade
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041802398.html
The Justice Department is investigating the Coast Guard's troubled modernization project, which has been beset by design flaws with its ships, delays and cost increases. Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, contractors on the project, were notified in December about the investigation, spokesmen for their joint venture said. The notice did not specify whether the inquiry was a civil or criminal investigation but said it would focus on communication and technology systems, a patrol boat program and development of ships known as national security cutters, they said. The companies are cooperating with the inquiry, Troy Scully, a Lockheed spokesman said. A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment.
New vehicles protect Marines in 300 attacks
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-04-18-marines-new-vehicles_N.htm
In more than 300 attacks since last year, no Marines have died while riding in new fortified armored vehicles the Pentagon hopes to rush to Iraq in greater numbers this year, a top Marine commander in Anbar province said. Brig. Gen. John Allen, deputy commander of coalition forces in Anbar province, said the Marines have tracked attacks on the vehicles since January 2006. The vehicles' raised, V-shaped hulls deflect the force of blasts from homemade bombs buried in roadways. There's been an average of less than one injured Marine per attack on the vehicles, Allen said. There have been 1,100 attacks on coalition vehicles during the period in Anbar province, the heart of the Sunni Muslim insurgency. Attacks on other vehicles caused more than two casualties per attack, including deaths, Allen said.
Today’s Topic Is Solar Energy Systems
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/business/media/19adco.html?ref=business
QUICK, true or false: Solar energy systems work only on hot, cloudless days. Rooftop systems come in one configuration — big and ugly. And if you generate more energy than you use, there is no way you can sell it elsewhere. For the record, the answer to all of those is: false. But last summer the Sharp Electronics Corporation, one of the biggest makers of rooftop solar panels, asked about 1,000 people those questions and was astounded at how many answered wrong. So Sharp, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Sharp Corporation of Japan and RiechesBaird, the ad agency it hired in July, tabled their original plan to push the virtues of Sharp systems among installers, builders and distributors. Instead, they embarked on a six-month campaign to teach homeowners in California — the state with the most generous government incentives for solar energy — how it works.
Mining battle marked by peaks and valleys
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-04-18-mines_N.htm
In the hamlets scattered across the coal fields of southern Appalachia, the news from the courthouse was a breath of fresh air to many: A federal judge had sided with environmentalists fighting to stop a form of destructive strip mining known as mountaintop removal. Maria Gunnoe, 38, could barely contain her glee. Mountaintop-removal operations are leveling the peaks and forested ridges where she has lived her whole life. Giant machines grind away around the clock at the slope rising behind her 24-acre homestead. The mining companies would like to buy her place, too, but she won't sell. "It was a huge victory," says Gunnoe, an organizer with the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition. "This is going to stop the coal companies from burying us alive." Maybe not. The decision last month by U.S. District Judge Robert Chambers marked the fourth victory for environmentalists in a decade-long legal battle over the future of West Virginia's lushly forested, coal-rich mountains.
Global Effort to Save Endangered Crops Gets $37.5 Million Infusion
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/science/earth/19farm.ready.html?ref=world
Scattered around the world in jars, fields, freezers and vaults are tens of thousands of endangered varieties of wheat, yams and 19 other crops that underpin the global food supply. With disturbing regularity, experts say, this agricultural bounty is eroding as war, storms, scant money or bad management, particularly in the world’s poorest places, cause unique seed varieties to deteriorate or disappear. Iraq’s bank of ancient wheat, barley and other crop strains in the town of Abu Ghraib was looted during the war. An international rice repository in the Philippines was shredded by a typhoon last year. Now, the first international effort to restore, organize and safeguard scattered seed banks holding some 165,000 varieties of the 21 crop plants will receive a $37.5 million infusion, people involved in the project said yesterday: a $30 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and $7.5 million from Norway.
Threat to key water supply reaffirmed
A Superior Court judge has refused to back down from a ruling that in two months could virtually shut down the State Water Project, stopping the flow of Northern California water to Central Valley farms and 17 million Southern Californians. Over the objections of water officials, Alameda County Judge Frank Roesch this week reasserted a preliminary March ruling in which he found that the California Department of Water Resources had not obtained the proper state environmental permits to operate the huge pumps that siphon water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, in the process killing threatened and endangered fish. The judge has given the department 60 days from the issuance of his final order to comply with the California Endangered Species Act, or he will turn off the pumps.
Editor’s note: the New York Times has converted to a subscription-based editorial section. We are no longer clipping their op-ed columnists.
Trachtenberg: Our Worst Nightmare
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041802281.html
The horrifying killings at Virginia Tech on Monday leave us grieving and troubled. They also leave us -- especially those like me who lead colleges and universities -- with difficult questions to ask and, then, to try to answer. The most complex and emotional question is: Could this massacre have been prevented by getting Cho Seung Hui into counseling -- or, as some have suggested, by removing this young man from Virginia Tech's campus? This is a university administrator's nightmare.
RELATED: A Shooter's Signals
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041802299.html
RELATED: Chapman: False lessons from an atrocity
RELATED: Bookman: Easy answers ring hollow
http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/bookman/stories/2007/04/19/0419edbookman.html
RELATED: The Silence of Politicians
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/opinion/19thu3.html
A Shift on Abortions
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041802302.html
Supporters of abortion rights have reason to be alarmed by the majority's decision, for the first time since Roe v. Wade, to uphold an abortion restriction that makes no exception for a woman's health; its elevation of the importance of the state interest in protecting the fetus throughout pregnancy; and its cavalier willingness to uphold the law absent proof that it "would be unconstitutional in a large fraction of relevant cases." That analysis, as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg emphasized in the dissent she read from the bench, represents a dramatic departure: It "cannot be understood as anything other than an effort to chip away at a right declared again and again by this court."
RELATED: A U-turn on abortion
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-abortion19apr19,0,4748632.story?coll=la-opinion-leftrail
RELATED: An erosion of abortion rights
RELATED: Denying the Right to Choose
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/opinion/19thu1.html
Gonzales' performance might not matter
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-gonzales19apr19,0,5006180.story?coll=la-opinion-leftrail
The U.S. attorney general will deny all personal wrongdoing, and defend what was done in his name. His reputation is already beyond repair.
RELATED: Chait: Kremlin justice in the U.S.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-chait19apr19,0,2446688.column?coll=la-opinion-rightrail
RELATED: Vennochi: The White House truth gap
RELATED: A Dozen Questions for Alberto Gonzales
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/opinion/19intro.html
Morrison: 9/11's free speech casualties
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-morrison19apr19,0,2562977.column?coll=la-opinion-rightrail
Two journalists who questioned Bush's leadership weeks after the attacks lost their jobs and faced threats.
Sen. Ima Luddite (R)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041802297.html
THE U.S. SENATE hit a pothole on the road to modernity on Tuesday. A request for unanimous consent by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) for a bill that would require candidates for the Senate to file campaign finance reports electronically was blocked by an anonymous Republican senator hiding behind Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), who announced the move. Would that this Luddite had the courage of his or her convictions to explain publicly said opposition to 21st-century custom. The last time we wrote about the need for this common-sense advance, there was fear that Ms. Feinstein would not get a quorum in the Rules and Administration Committee, which she chairs, to vote the bill out. That hurdle cleared, she sought passage by unanimous consent. That's when Mr. Alexander stepped forward to object on behalf of another senator.
Gun lobby throws weight around
http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/stories/2007/04/19/0419edguns.html
Even as America was dealing with the initial shock of the deadly shootings at Virginia Tech, the National Rifle Association never stopped arm-twisting Georgia lawmakers into approving a measure that would allow employees to keep guns in their workplace parking lots. The group's heartless bullying tactics were in vain; their gun bill eventually failed to pass along with another measure that would have let motorists carry concealed weapons in their cars. Still, Georgians and their elected officials should take note of just how arrogant the NRA has become in its heedless insistence on victory.
Broder: The Media in the Mud
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041802275.html
It pales in comparison to the carnage and loss of life this week at Virginia Tech. But last week the tattered reputation of journalism in this country saw severe damage. The role of the media in the phony Duke lacrosse rape story and the Don Imus firing left large parts of the so-called establishment press embarrassed and besmirched. The Imus story involved the worse offense, for it was wholly gratuitous. CBS Radio and MSNBC fired the millionaire talk-show host only after criticism of his foul-mouthed assault on the Rutgers women's basketball team mounted and advertisers canceled their contracts. It showed no courage on the part of those organizations, which had put up with similar slurs for years and counted themselves lucky to have such a moneymaking act in their stable.
Meyerson: Democrats in Conflict, the GOP in Space
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041802274.html
With the presidential contest well underway, the 2008 political profiles of our two parties, which alter a bit during each four-year cycle, are already taking shape. The Democrats have turned to a new version of their favorite sport, intraparty class warfare. The Republicans, meanwhile, are drifting farther and farther away from their countrymen -- and not just over the war in Iraq.
Akers: Brownback Wins This Week's Fundraising "Award"
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/sleuth/2007/04/brownback_wins_this_weeks_fund.html
Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) has won this week's Most Outrageous Fundraising Solicitation award. In an email to potential supporters today, Brownback, who is running for president, prays for the families of those killed in the Virginia Tech shooting tragedy, then segues to Tuesday's Supreme Court ruling on partial birth abortion, and then - you guessed it - to a request for a donation.
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