Archive | December, 2010
Flyin’ high in Mississippi – stayin’ honest in Colorado
If you want to understand why Mississippi ranks last among the 50 states in virtually every metric, read Politico’s piece about Gov. Haley Barbour’s recent taxpayer funded junkets in a state-owned jet. Barbour spent half a million bucks flying himself to Vegas, to Republican fundraisers, to the Cotton Bowl, and to wherever his porcine little [...]
Continue reading...Archie, Reggie and Jughead grow up…and run for Mayor?
23. December 2010
Remember Archie, Betty, Veronica, Reggie, and Jughead? These teenagers, who sprang to fictional life in 1941, have led their ageless fantasy lives for nearly seventy years. As a kid in the 50s, I much preferred the dark, funny fantasies of Harvey Kurtzman, Will Elder, and Bill Gaines – not to mention the rollicking adventures of [...]
Continue reading...Strong-mayor race: Old politics vs. new politics
20. December 2010
Old politics: You decide to run for something; you line up a few supporters; you announce your candidacy, and you run. New politics: You coyly suggest that you might run; you huddle with potential supporters; you commission a poll; you tell some people you’re in the race; you tell others you’re not, you feed the [...]
Continue reading...Paige vs. Merrifield?
17. December 2010
Sean Paige vs. Mike Merrifield for the District 3 city council seat? Now that’s a race that might eclipse the mayoral contest, except for one insignificant detail. It’s a race about nothing. In its post-strong mayor incarnation, city council will have little power, and will find it difficult to exert that power in any effective [...]
Continue reading...Can Skorman win?
16. December 2010
Richard Skorman’s formal entry into the mayoral race makes an already interesting contest absolutely fascinating. Like Gov.-elect John Hickenlooper, Skorman is a doer, not a fighter. He started his first business, Poor Richard’s Feed & Read, immediately after graduating from Colorado College more than thirty years ago. A third of a century later, it’s still [...]
Continue reading...Council goes for the (Columbian?) gold with pot shops
15. December 2010
Far be it from me to take a potshot at city council for approving appropriately mellow regulations for marijuana dispensaries; to the contrary, I’m glad that our friendly local medical marijuana dealers won’t have to take a hit. As a Westside resident, I’ve watched the once-darkened storefronts along Colorado Avenue light up as players in [...]
Continue reading...City Council: Nighttime is the right time?
13. December 2010
Councilmember Sean Paige would like to see city council meetings moved to the evening, when more citizens could conveniently attend them. That’s an idea that gets floated every few years, and abandoned after council members actually try evening meetings. Here’s what happened back in the 90s, when I was a proudly idealistic member of that [...]
Continue reading...Real unemployment rate: 17 percent
3. December 2010
Measure Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted Nov. 2009 Oct. 2010 Nov. 2010 Nov. 2009 July 2010 Aug. 2010 Sept. 2010 Oct. 2010 Nov. 2010 U-1 Persons unemployed 15 weeks or longer, as a percent of the civilian labor force 5.6 5.5 5.5 5.8 5.7 5.5 5.5 5.7 5.8 U-2 Job losers and persons who completed [...]
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27. December 2010
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