http://clips.progressnow.org/ en alan@progressnow.org Copyright 2008 2008-05-12T13:53:00-07:00 http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/may/12/pe241a-webb-urge-party-unity/ http://clips.progressnow.org/index.php/clips/2008/05/12#When:12:55:00Z http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/may/12/pe241a-webb-urge-party-unity/ For a brief moment, former Denver Mayor Federico Pena appeared angry. "I will not tolerate any hissing," he said. He was addressing an auditorium full of Democrats from the 2nd Congressional District hoping to become delegates to the national convention. Pena praised Barack Obama, outlining why he thinks he should be the next president, and then mentioned Hillary Clinton. The hisses that ensued immediately subsided when Pena chastised the crowd Saturday. "I admire the courage she had to run," he said. "We as Democrats ought to be proud that we have such an extraordinary candidate who happens to be a woman, and we have such an extraordinary candidate who happens to be an African-American." Minutes later, former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb echoed the same theme to the same crowd. Webb, who is backing Clinton, stressed the importance of the party coming together after a candidate is picked. Election 2008-05-12T12:55:00-07:00 http://aspentimes.com/article/20080512/NEWS/998994955 http://clips.progressnow.org/index.php/clips/2008/05/12#When:12:24:00Z http://aspentimes.com/article/20080512/NEWS/998994955 It was “non-negotiable, an absolute must.” Colorado needed to find $500 million a year to fix and maintain its crumbling roads and bridges. Building new roads and adding transit to ease congestion would cost another $1 billion, according to a gov­ernor’s task force. That was before the Legislative session that ended last week. Despite lawmaker warnings that Col­orado is playing “structurally deficient bridge roulette”, the Democratic-controlled Legislature and Gov. Bill Ritter didn’t find a solution. Democrats and Republicans were quick to fix blame for the failure of a “fix it first” plan that would have raised $300 million at most. That did nothing to change the statis­tics: Colorado has one of the highest state gasoline taxes in the nation. But 17 percent of its bridges don’t meet current design standards or have significant deterioration. Transportation and Infrastructure 2008-05-12T12:24:00-07:00 http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2008/05/10/news/denver_bureau/doc48254ead06ae9246895267.txt http://clips.progressnow.org/index.php/clips/2008/05/12#When:12:10:00Z http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2008/05/10/news/denver_bureau/doc48254ead06ae9246895267.txt Only time will tell how many ballot measures Colorado voters will need to decide this fall. Although 128 ballot titles had been requested by citizens groups during this year's election cycle, dozens of them already have gone by the wayside, including 10 proposals that came as a result of infighting between home builders and attorneys. On Friday, the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association announced that it was withdrawing its nine proposals, which ranged from increasing liability for construction professionals to a limit on compensation for real estate brokers. That happened after the association reached an agreement with a Colorado Springs home-builders' group to withdraw its proposed measure that would have limited how much attorneys could charge in contingency cases. Election 2008-05-12T12:10:00-07:00 http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_9228183 http://clips.progressnow.org/index.php/clips/2008/05/12#When:11:50:00Z http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_9228183 There are no respites in politics, just new votes to win. That is why, only days after the end of the 2008 legislative session, state lawmakers have begun turning their attention to the races this year that will help determine what the legislature looks like and can accomplish next year. Democrats, who hold a 15-seat majority in the state House and a five-seat majority in the Senate, hope to build on that lead by switching more traditionally Republican districts. "It will be another challenging year," said Sen. Brandon Shaffer, a Longmont Democrat. "It's never easy. Every year we've got to work hard to win seats, retain incumbent seats and look to pick up seats." Republicans want to chip away at the majority's seats and have cautious hopes of picking up the three extra seats needed to flip control of the Senate back to their party. Republicans are much less likely to gain control of the House, though House Minority Leader Mike May, R-Parker, said he is playing to win. "We're going to take back the House," he said with a light-hearted swagger. "That's my official response. . . . If you don't have a plan to get to the majority, then you should get out of the game." But independent political consultant Eric Sondermann said it will be difficult for either party to significantly change the legislature's makeup. Election 2008-05-12T11:50:00-07:00 http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_9197797 http://clips.progressnow.org/index.php/clips/2008/05/09#When:12:00:00Z http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_9197797 Legislation that would bolster embryonic stem-cell research shouldn't be used as a political pawn in November's election, the Republican sponsor of the bill said Thursday. Rep. Mike Castle of Delaware, who is teaming with Rep. Diana DeGette on new stem-cell legislation, said he'd oppose a new vote simply to challenge President Bush. He told DeGette that Thursday during a break in a hearing on the research. "I pointed out to Diana on the (House) floor that I hope we wouldn't do this for political reasons," Castle said. "We need to keep taking positive steps and not steps that have a political result." DeGette, a Denver Democrat who along with Castle crafted stem-cell legislation that Bush has twice vetoed, on Thursday called federal funding of the research "a positive wedge issue." In November's election, DeGette said, "I would hope that we pick up, No. 1, a pro-stem-cell president. And, No. 2, that we would win enough seats in Congress to pass this through." Health Care and Public Safety 2008-05-09T12:00:00-07:00 http://greeleytribune.com/article/20080509/NEWS/821075973 http://clips.progressnow.org/index.php/clips/2008/05/09#When:12:00:00Z http://greeleytribune.com/article/20080509/NEWS/821075973 Negotiators in the U.S. Congress announced their final agreement Thursday on a $300 million farm bill, and as the White House and other conservatives announce their opposition, key Colorado lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are urging its approval. Both Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., and Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Colo., were involved in negotiating the final details of the legislation that would stop the government from giving subsidies to crop farmers making more than $750,000 per year from farm income. President George Bush has said he will veto any bill with such a dollar figure because he considers the $750,000 cap too generous to rich farmers, and he would like to see it lowered. The Bush administration initially proposed a cap for people making more than $200,000 in annual gross income, but said it could accept a limit of $500,000. Under the drafted bill, people who make more than $500,000 from nonfarm income also would be ineligible for subsidies. The current limit is $2.5 million. Economy 2008-05-09T12:00:00-07:00 http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/05/08/050908_9b_vote_system.html http://clips.progressnow.org/index.php/clips/2008/05/09#When:11:59:00Z http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/05/08/050908_9b_vote_system.html Mesa County won’t use the state’s new voter-registration database in the November election because of problems uncovered in election trials. The State of Colorado Registration and Election System could fail under the pressure of Election Day and possibly during early voting, Mesa County Elections Director Sheila Reiner said. “We don’t believe it’s quite ready,” she said. The new system offers a serious benefit during off-election months, allowing clerks across the state to make real-time changes to registrations, Reiner said. With that feature, voters changing registration from one county to another can have the changes reflected immediately instead of having to wait for a period of days, she said. Election 2008-05-09T11:59:00-07:00 http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/may/08/disabled-win-hearts-and-votes/ http://clips.progressnow.org/index.php/clips/2008/05/09#When:11:45:00Z http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/may/08/disabled-win-hearts-and-votes/ Advocates for the developmentally disabled were stunned and saddened when Rep. Michael Garcia resigned suddenly Feb. 1. The influential assistant House majority leader had championed a special legislative committee last summer to help 7,000 disabled adults and their parents who have been waiting more than a decade for critical support services. But the campaign to help Colorado's most vulnerable citizens did not die with Garcia's departure. A bipartisan cadre of lawmakers picked up the banner. They passed a dozen bills this session to cut the waiting list, to encourage jobs programs for the developmentally disabled and to remove obstacles that keep disabled adult children living with their families from qualifying for state services. Health Care and Public Safety 2008-05-09T11:45:00-07:00 http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2008/05/08/news/local/doc4822a8d377fb4432853609.txt http://clips.progressnow.org/index.php/clips/2008/05/08#When:12:55:00Z http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2008/05/08/news/local/doc4822a8d377fb4432853609.txt Colorado Sen. Wayne Allard has been among the steadiest, most-dependable backers of President Bush's policies in the war on terror, but the retiring Republican said he is willing to side with Senate and House Democrats who want Iraq to take over the burden of paying for its own reconstruction from oil revenues. "I think the Iraqi people can afford to start paying for their own infrastructure," Allard said in a telephone press conference Wednesday. "I've said for a long time that people can get addicted to welfare and we need to press the Iraqis to stop leaning on us so hard and address their own problems." As gasoline prices have climbed above $3 per gallon in the U.S., both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have taken a harder look at how Iraq is spending its oil revenues. The U.S. is spending $2 billion a week on the war in Iraq and both House and Senate leaders are looking at legislation that would force Iraq to take over most or all of the costs of rebuilding. Effective and Ethical Government 2008-05-08T12:55:00-07:00 http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_9187174 http://clips.progressnow.org/index.php/clips/2008/05/08#When:12:45:01Z http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_9187174 Democrats in Colorado's congressional delegation who've yet to pledge their superdelegate vote stayed uncommitted Wednesday after the latest primaries. "I don't think it's up to the superdelegates to make a decision," said Rep. John Salazar, a Manassa Democrat. "It's up to the people of this country." Salazar; his brother, Sen. Ken Salazar; and Rep. Mark Udall of Eldorado Springs haven't picked between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama. All three said they want to wait until after the final primary on June 3. Mathematically, it's almost impossible for either Obama or Clinton to reach the number of needed delegates for the nomination without the superdelegates. Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper said in March that the close primary race was hurting fundraising for the Democratic National Convention to be held in the city in August because private donors like to know who the nominee will be. Denver's host committee was $5 million short of a March deadline to raise $28 million. Election 2008-05-08T12:45:01-07:00