A Collective Temper Tantrum
Acting like spoiled children, over a three-day period, several hundred Boulder Valley teachers held a collective temper tantrum. Our government-run education system has trained teachers to expect a raise whether or not the money is available and …
Good News from the Gold Dome
Good picks by a Republican leader! Colorado Senate News has reported that Republican Senate leader Josh Penry will appoint a Democrat to the Interim Committee to Study Financing of Public Schools. The Democrat is education reformer Michael Johnston, …
Debt Detective
Our research found that information on local government debt is available to the public … on two conditions. First, citizens must have Sherlock Holmes-like instincts. Information about local debt can be found, but plan on digging for it. And, second, the results of your search may yield information that is considerably outdated.
An Academic Arms Race: The catastrophic rise of taxpayer-funded salaries at the University of Colorado and its peer institutions
In the last three years alone, CU’s budget has ballooned from $1.9 billion to $2.4 billion, with increases to salaries eating up a big part of the total. Between 2006 and 2009, CU’s three chancellors received a collective annual taxpayer-funded raise of more than $500,000.9 And even in the aftermath of the cuts recently announced by Benson, Denver Chancellor Roy Wilson could still make over $700,000 this year.
Students, meanwhile, have been forced to foot the bill through skyrocketing tuition increases. CU-Boulder undergraduates saw an average tuition increase of 9.3 percent this year; in Denver, the average was 8.5 percent; and in Colorado Springs, 7.5 percent. These increases followed 2007-2008 hikes ranging from 7 percent at CU-Colorado Springs and 14.6 at CU-Boulder.
Bus-rapid Transit Better in These Hard Times
Here is a little-known fact to think about when contemplating another tax increase for FasTracks: The Regional Transportation District runs the emptiest light-rail trains in the country.
Web of Deceptions: 16 Ways RTD Deceived Voters About FasTracks
Voters should not trust anything RTD says. Instead, they should seek out alternatives that will provide far greater benefits than FasTracks at far lower costs.
Why Kids Count Cant Count
So how does it get a 73 percent increase? By serving up artificially low 2000 numbers.
The Dirt on Restaurant Inspections: Health Department Gets Failing Grade
The El Paso County Health Department says it can’t perform all required inspections of retail food establishments, public pools, and tattoo parlors. There is a solution that doesn’t require increasing taxes or added bureaucracy.
Reward rather than Award for RTD
Recently, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) named Denver’s RTD the best transit agency in America. RTD is to be congratulated for receiving this award, but I have to ask, just what criteria did the APTA use to bestow this honor?
If Global Warming is the Problem then Technology Must be the Solution
As concern over global warming grows, urban planning advocates have jumped on the bandwagon by claiming cities should reduce their carbon footprints by investing more in transit and compact development. However, these claims are not supported by the data, most of which show that transit and dense development are no more environmentally friendly than autos and low-density suburbs.
It's RTD versus the little guys
At the corner of West 14th Avenue and Wadsworth Boulevard in Lakewood, one couple’s American Dream lingers on the verge of collapse. The reason, they say: RTD’s overzealous condemnation efforts.
For Better Health, Repeal Political Controls
My wife and I pay $132 per month total for high-deductible health insurance, hundreds of dollars less than we would pay for comprehensive insurance. Our goal is to never need to make an insurance claim. We pay for all of our routine medical care — doctor visits, eye glasses, dental work, prescriptions — out of pocket, and we like it that way.
