State Legislative Candidates Briefed on K-12 School Finance, Cost-Saving Reforms
On Tuesday, August 3, nearly 40 state legislative candidates and other guests attended a briefing hosted by the Independence Institute. During the morning session, policy analyst Ben DeGrow gave a presentation on K-12 school finance policies, potentially cost-saving reforms and other considerations.
Ben DeGrow Talks Union Opt-Out Periods on 850 KOA’s Mike Rosen Show
The dog days of August are here. Most Colorado K-12 schools are gearing up for the 2010-11 year, while a few already are underway. August and September are a very busy time for those who work in our public schools. That’s why it shouldn’t be a surprise that for many teachers it’s the only time of year they have to make choices about their professional memberships.
Spending Revolt Bus Tour – Grand Junction, Dillon, and Idaho Springs
The Independence Institute will be participating in the Spending Revolt National Bus Tour and will tentatively be making its first stop in Colorado on Thursday, August 12 in Grand Junction. The red and blue emblazoned Spending Revolt Bus is bringing speakers, events, and a mobile activist hub to hundreds of locations nationwide to demonstrate how the […]
Explaining Colorado Amendment 63: Right to Health Care Choice
Barring unforeseen obstacles, The Colorado Right to Health Care Choice Initiative (Colorado Amendment 63) will be among the ballot measures Colorado voters can vote on in this November’s election – in addition to others in Colorado politics. Some people are bound to misunderstand what the amendment would do, and not do, as Representative Diana DeGette […]
Spending Revolt Bus Tour – Colorado Springs
The Independence Institute will be participating in the Spending Revolt National Bus Tour and will tentatively be making its first stop in Colorado on Thursday, August 12 in Grand Junction. The red and blue emblazoned Spending Revolt Bus is bringing speakers, events, and a mobile activist hub to hundreds of locations nationwide to demonstrate how the […]
Despite TIF, the Bells Don’t Toll
Tualatin, a distant suburb of Portland, is the proud owner of three large and expensive bells that may never toll (there were supposed to be four, but one was stolen). The bells were purchased with TIF (tax-increment finance) money as a part of a $12 million subsidy to Tualatin Commons, a New Urbanist development. But […]
NCTQ’s Green Light Indicates Colorado is a Likely Race to the Top Winner
So now that the Colorado State Board of Education has signed on to Common Core Standards, the question is what are the state’s chances to win up to $175 million in federal funds from Race to the Top (RTTT) Round 2? Thanks to Ed News Colorado’s Daily Churn, I learned that the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has given Colorado’s latest RTTT proposal a green light (thanks in no small part to SB 191). So what does that mean?
Can Missouri’s Prop. C block Feds from enforcing mandatory insurance?
The St. Louis Business Journal reports:
Voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition C at Tuesday’s election, but it will likely be overturned in court, law and health-care experts say.
Proposition C creates a law banning the government from forcing Missourians to buy health insurance under the federal health-care overhaul [HR 3590] starting in 2014.
“The Constitution clearly states […]
The Climate Trust Scam
A couple of years ago, the Antiplanner described a Portland program of accepting carbon-offset funds to do traffic signal coordination. While I support signal coordination, the claimed benefits seemed outlandish. When I found out that the money came from an organization called Climate Trust that was co-founded by the director of Portland’s Office of Sustainable […]
Stossel on Road Privatization
John Stossel says new roads should be built by private entities and paid for with tolls. He supports the privatization of existing roads as well. Subsidies to roads are small, but we don’t need to subsidize them at all and private owners would manage them better, says Stossel. The Antiplanner spent Wednesday in New York […]
Edujobs Bailout Clears Hurdle in Congress: My Debt Grows to Protect Union Dues
I don’t have time to rehash why Congress’ education jobs bailout bill doesn’t make any sense. I just don’t have time. The beach beckons. You know, summer vacation and all that. What once was a $23 billion bailout is now only a $10 billion bailout. (Phew! For awhile I thought we were talking about real […]
DeGette misrepresents Colorado health care choice initiative
In the 9 News article reporting that 130,000 signatures for the Colorado Right to Health Care Choice Initiative (Colorado Amendment 63) were delivered to the Secretary of State’s office, Rep. Diana DeGette has an strange interpretation of the Initiative’s content:
It’s hard to imagine that there are too many Colorado seniors who don’t want the […]
