Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Comment Archives: stories: Columns: Between The Lines
Re: “We fight, or you'll lose”
"We don't write stories ahead of time, then try to confirm preconceived notions." Since when? Both the Indy and the Gazette have long forgotten the rules for journalists.
Posted by
Doris Sumner
on 02/16/2012 at 1:12 PM
Re: “We fight, or you'll lose”
Gee Ralphie, that (sniff) sure is sad. You say "A huge part of the role of a newspaper ... is to hold government accountable." You might get a more sympathetic ear if you and the Indy attempted to hold all government accountable and not just the conservative side of it.
See how that works, Ralphie?
Posted by
smartestman
on 02/16/2012 at 10:46 AM
Re: “We fight, or you'll lose”
Good luck. I hope the press will prevail. This mayor has a cold war mentality. It us and them, my way or the highway. I predict one term and he'll be out. But that won't help you in the meantime. He really needs some media advisers that don't constantly tell him what he wants to hear. I'd be happy to volunteer!
Posted by
staunchliberal
on 02/16/2012 at 8:54 AM
Re: “Komen: shaken to the core”
Regardless of Komen's policy reversal and that Karen Handel has left Komen, they'll never get another cent from us. We'll send that money to NARAL make even larger donations to Planned Parenthood.
We know Planned Parenthood will use the money wisely; putting birth control info and products into the hands of those who need it, which reduces unwanted pregnancies and thereby reduce the incidence of abortion. Too bad the "religious right" (they're neither) can't figure this out for themselves and be part of the solution, they just want to fling fear and take donations to support the palace on Briargate Pkwy.
Posted by
OldCrank
on 02/09/2012 at 12:05 PM
Re: “Lamborn: Yes, we're upset”
As Ben Franklin once said, empty barrels make the most noise. Mr. avgjoepolitico makes a lot of noise over his perception that Ralph Routon contradicted himself. Routon wrote he would not resort to name-calling, yet Mr. avgjoepolitico found two examples of name-calling in the article.
On closer examination, it turns out that both of these example are in a section clearly labeled as the opinions of "readers of the Denver Post," not his own. Mr. Routon kept his word not to resort to name-calling, but he also reported what other people are saying.
As one of those others who are not averse to calling a spade a spade, I personally think Lamborn is a traitor.
Posted by
Mr. K--
on 02/07/2012 at 6:16 AM
Re: “Lamborn: Yes, we're upset”
avgjoepolitico, another extremist voice crying in the right-wing wilderness, defending racism by blaming the victim.
Posted by
Mr. K--
on 02/06/2012 at 12:21 PM
Re: “Lamborn: Yes, we're upset”
"We won't stoop to his level, resort to a blast of name-calling, then shrug our shoulders and move on" . . . "this plays well to his crazy consituency [sic] in the Springs."
• "A standard joke around here is to make fun of the Republic of Boulder, well it seems like the Kingdom of Colorado Springs has taken the title of the most goofy, out of step, city in the State. Colorado Springs, you have asked for buffoons like Doug Lamborn and Douglas Bruce to represent you. ... Welcome to Colorado's laughing stock city, Colorado Springs."
@ Ralph Routon . . . . just like a leftest loon to contradict himself. Shoot the messenger often? What a scrotum sac you are! Somehow you neglect to mention that Obama vowed to calm the waters and restore tranquility in Washington. Yet, right after the convention, he turned to race baiting and set the country back 100 years; all he knows is divide and conquer, from using the communist manifesto as a pillow at Columbia. We went from the great divider to the great decider. Ralph, you're a joke! You can't see the forest through the trees!
Posted by
avgjoepolitico
on 02/05/2012 at 12:28 PM
Re: “Circular thinking on rebirth”
@Fiscal Realist-I think that what you describe is certainly part of the problem. Having said that, CS and El Paso Cnty aren't alone in their land use decisions. You can look at just about any town or city, or county in America and see the exact same thing. As I said, the growth model post WWII is based on cheap energy and cheap land, and a transfer of wealth from the Federal to the State to the local level. By way of example I look to the column that Rich Tosches wrote several months ago regarding the new intersection at Woodman and Academy "Cheering the New Concrete" (http://www.csindy.com/colorado/cheering-th…). 50 Million to save drivers seconds on their commute or trip to the grocery store! My simple question...What is the return on investment (ROI)? Are those seconds saved greater than or equal to 50 Million? I doubt it.
As I sidebar, having just looked at the map again I'll throw out a hypothetical situation. Say I live close to that interchange (perhaps at Shrider and Grashio) and I want to have dinner with my wife at Pei Wei. It would be easier, and quicker, for us to walk there(it's a little over 1,000 feet), or better yet, ride our bikes (so we can pretend like we're young and in love again...). However, my wife and I aren't crazy. We inherently recognize that the interchange is NOT for people on foot or bike. Effectively, our ability to CHOOSE a mode of transport we may prefer has been taken away from us..we've become limited to one choice only (which isn't really a choice if it's only one option) So instead, we get in our car and drive a half mile, search for a parking space, and end up walking about 1/3 of the distance we would have walked if we had a choice in the first place (unless we park in the handicap spot...). After dinner my wife says "Oh...I just LOOOOOVVVEEEE Pinkberry! How about we get some?" In a traditional neighborhood we'd just walk across the street (400-500 feet in this case) and grab some Pinkberry before heading home. Along the way we might pop into another local business with a cute window display and perhaps spend a little more money. In Colorado Springs' case, we again MUST get in our car, drive 400-500 feet, and again find a place to park. The Fiscal Realist in ME ends up at home pissed that I just spent money on gas that I wouldn't have had to spend if I lived in a traditional neighborhood.
Up to this point we've been able to borrow for our growth, but it seems clear that we no longer have that luxury (and we've reached the end of the 1st and 2nd lifecycles for the infrastructure we built. It must be replaced). We must start to maximize ROI with public funds! The funny thing is that, though many of us have known only this type of development, it's been an experiment for the last 60+ years. I say "experiment" b/c this model of "growth" has literally never been seen in the history of mankind prior. We HAD TO design on a human scale. "Human" scale development maximizes ROI (vs. Automobile scale. Think of what you are able to see on foot vs. what you see at 45 mph).
Think of the best small and big town downtown areas that you've been to in your life. I guarantee that each one had buildings that came to the properties edge (not set-back behind acres of parking) and engaged the public realm, had public art, wide sidewalks, slow moving traffic, and lots of people walking around looking at window displays, shopping, and people watching. There was probably a good mix of uses...businesses on the bottom floor, apartments and lofts on top. It probably provided easy connections on foot or bike to the surrounding neighborhoods. The surrounding neighborhoods had a population density high enough to support the broad range of businesses in the downtown area and the grid design of the streets allowed that density without neighbors feeling like they lived "on top" of each other. Like the neighborhoods surrounding downtown CS, the car was relegated to the area behind the homes, along with the trash and utilities allowing the porch to be the most prominent feature of the home (Porches are FANTASTIC community builders! They allow you, the homeowner to have privacy if you'd like while being able to invite your neighbor up for a chat or a cup of joe...oh, and it also put "eyes on the street", crucial to public safety. The public face of most new homes in the US today is a GARAGE...not exactly conducive to being a good neighbor and not particularly welcoming). There was probably a larger civic space or park that held farmers markets, concerts, political rally's, etc. Any one block in that downtown area cost less to build and maintain than it's suburban counterpart at the same time it captured more value. It had a high return on investment. That's the way we used to build space...for people not cars. It's time to do that again.
Posted by
rt
on 02/02/2012 at 3:31 PM
Re: “Circular thinking on rebirth”
IIRC we already have a $53M Olympic gimmick downtown. If another one gets built it will have to be done with private money. If such a place comes to pass it has to be very well designed and a real treat for visitors or it risks being just another forgettable roadside folly, like all those endless "gator-land" attractions in Florida. Dangerous thing is that museums full of static displays are largely a one-time visit, okay for tourists, but locals only need to see it once and they're done with it -- unless it hosts special events to bring in the locals and visitors.
In the way of repeat visitors, a good attraction is a stadium in the lower downtown, one to host our Skysox minor league baseball team, a minor league football team, a minor league soccer team and other sporting events. This creates a repetitive draw for thousands of local and regional fans. The existing Skysox stadium could be used by local high school and college baseball and football teams. Think outside the box and get the USAF to buy Security Service Field and use if for the USAFA baseball team, and open it to the high school teams on some sort of revenue sharing basis. Anything is possible if there's the will.
Too bad the World Arena is where it is, as it would be a natural for downtown too, but....
A real attraction in the downtown requires a large destination eatery, like Cheesecake Factory or its corporate twin the Grande Luxe Cafe, or a Rainforest Cafe, or some other place that has a lot of buzz for families and people on dates.
Any major draw downtown will almost certainly involve a lot road work and some sort of people mover like Denver's 16th Street free bus.
Posted by
OldCrank
on 02/02/2012 at 11:15 AM
Re: “Circular thinking on rebirth”
Mr. RT:
Could what you describe be a direct result of the fact we have two local governments, innumerable civic groups and 'leadership organizations' - - - all talking but not to each other? And there is no central structure to bring all the available talent in the community to focus ON the community? Only on each other and getting re-elected?
Posted by
Fiscal Realist
on 02/02/2012 at 10:19 AM
Re: “Circular thinking on rebirth”
Mr. Routon, an olympic anything is simply a gimmick. Until you address the serious land use issues of the Springs you won't have any new big ideas that will actually work. The springs has based it's prosperity on an outmoded system that relies on cheap energy and cheap land to make it work. You've hallowed out your downtown so that suburban folks can have easy access to personal motor vehicle storage. Your tax base can't support the sprawl infrastructure you've created, at least not over multiple lifecycles. You trade short term prosperity (in the form of taxes on new developments) for long-term obligations (in the form of infrastructure maintenance...not to mention fire/ems, police, schools, hospitals) every time a new subdivision is created. The big box retailers seen on the eastern plains come nowhere near providing the city a return on investment =/> than a denser area like downtown creates...even at a time when, from all accounts, downtown is at a low ebb (I'm basing this on a per acre basis btw).
You've created a place where it is impossible to truly accomplish basic daily tasks without the use of a motor vehicle. Gen X and Y'ers are consistently looking to the urban core areas to live in (I cannot find the Nat. Assoc. of Realtors study but here is a brief article: http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/kbenfiel…. These areas have grocery stores, restaurants, bars, coffee houses or "third places" where they can have those spontaneous connections that are so important in a knowledge economy. Many are rejecting the stale suburban environments they grew up in for places that are vibrant, with a wide range of people and activities AND transportation OPTIONS.
Many baby-boomers are finding that they too, like the amenities that urban core areas have. They are also expressing a desire to "age-in-place", without having to drive to get groceries or go to the bank or rely on their families to get them there. Even AARP has been making "livability" and "aging-in-place" a new focus for their organization. http://www.aarp.org/home-garden/livable-co…
The problem isn't that you don't have attractions or things to do, it's that you've spread yourself out so much it's impossible to get to those attractions without a personal motor vehicle (or you could rely on your excellent *cough cough* public transit system) and the places in between no longer have enough value to support what you've built around them.
Take a look at some of the following websites for more information:
http://www.strongtowns.org/
http://www.pps.org/
http://bettercities.net/
http://placeshakers.wordpress.com/
http://www.cnu.org/
Posted by
rt
on 02/02/2012 at 9:51 AM
Re: “Circular thinking on rebirth”
Mr. Routon has hit the nail on the head.
There are probably hundreds upon hundreds of people sitting in restaurants all over town asking the same question: Where is the leadership?
If you would like to participate in on-going monthly opinion surveys and register your comments on how you feel leadership can be created in the community, email Donna: springsunigroup@gmail.com
Posted by
Fiscal Realist
on 02/02/2012 at 8:07 AM
Re: “Lamborn: Yes, we're upset”
Lamborn's perverse need to bash Colorado Springs in the state and national press has to stop. He is a toxic politician without a positive vision for the region. We need to get rid of politicians like this. He gets paid a lot to damage the town. Time for him to go.
Posted by
looloo
on 01/30/2012 at 12:21 PM
Re: “Lamborn: Yes, we're upset”
smartestman, sorry to see your cold is getting worse. You really need to take something for your sniffles.
Having an "ownership position" in a corporation is not quite the same thing as owning a business, is it? For one thing, stock holders enjoy limited liability in cases of corporate negligence and malfeasance. The legal decision that established that precedent was, I believe, the one that first defined a corporation as a person. Since a corporation is a person, it is obliged to pay income tax. Your claim is like saying that Walmart has already paid taxes on the wages you spend in their stores.
Posted by
Mr. K--
on 01/27/2012 at 12:57 PM
Re: “Lamborn: Yes, we're upset”
It's imperative that, at election time, Lamborn's buffoonery is not only remembered, but brought to the fore. Any "representative" who refuses to seriously entertain opposing viewpoints, as does Lamborn, has no business in elective office. Period.
Posted by
manitou
on 01/27/2012 at 12:32 PM
Re: “Lamborn: Yes, we're upset”
K - I don't know if you are really that obtuse or just pretending for ideological reasons. Your play on semantics doesn't hold up. When a person buys stock in a company, they have an ownership position. Therefore, when a corporation makes money and is taxed on that money it IS the stockholders that are taxed.
And just for your edification, not just the "rich" own stocks. About 50% of the population of the US owns stocks.
Raise the capitol gains tax and punish those 50% as well as the economy.
You have been hanging with your buddy sniff a little too much. You are starting to make about as much sense as he does.
Posted by
smartestman
on 01/27/2012 at 10:18 AM
Re: “Lamborn: Yes, we're upset”
Lamborn pays lip service to the Constitution, but fails to uphold it. Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution states, "He [the president] shall from time to time give to Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." Perhaps the strict constructionists will disagree, but to me that requires the Congress to be present to receive that information.
Even the Supreme Court justices show up, making the State of the Union address the one occasion when the entire federal government meets together in a single chamber in a show of unity and strength that has been the envy of the entire world, in the past. Now, however, the world can see we are not so unified, and will conclude that perhaps we are not so strong anymore, either.
Lamborn's scurrilous actions not only violate the spirit of the Constitution, they border on treason.
Posted by
Mr. K--
on 01/27/2012 at 8:18 AM
Re: “Lamborn: Yes, we're upset”
Lamborn panders to armchair patriots, the war hawks who are always pushing other people into the actual battle.
I am sure Lamborn is glad he did not have to sit through the president's tribute to our armed forces.
Posted by
Mr. K--
on 01/27/2012 at 7:52 AM
Re: “Lamborn: Yes, we're upset”
smartestman, the big lie is entirely yours and Mitt Romney's. That "first tier" of taxation on capital gains is the tax on the corporation, not on the stock holder, and it is a tax on profits, not capital gains.
Furthermore, tax cuts kill the incentive to invest. People like the Koch brothers use their extra income to influence elections, not to create new jobs. Without lower tax rates, they would have to actually invest their money in industry, instead of in politics, to make more money.
Before the Bush tax cuts the economy was booming. After the cuts, we plunged into the worst depression since the 1929 stock market crash.
Tax cuts kill jobs.
Posted by
Mr. K--
on 01/27/2012 at 7:45 AM
Re: “We fight, or you'll lose”
Mr. smartestman might get a more sympathetic ear if he knew what he was talking about. The government is required by law to provide the information requested regardless of whether it supports conservative or liberal issues. In fact, the information sought by news media is most valuable when it exposes corruption, which has no political philosophy. Bear in mind that the city pulls this prank on the conservative Gazette as well as on the liberal Independent. Taking Mr. smartestman's argument to its logical conclusion, the Independent could get the fullest cooperation possible if it did not hold the government accountable at all!