IndyBlog, Colorado Springs Independent

Frack war tonight in Boulder

Matthew Schniper — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:41:00 -0600

If for some reason you can't make (or wait for) tomorrow night's screening of Gasland Part II at UCCS, you could always leave for Boulder. Like, now-ish.…

Portions of Waldo Fire burn area to reopen

Bryce Crawford — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:30:00 -0600

The U.S. Forest Service today announced that roughly 40 percent of the area burned by last summer's Waldo Canyon Fire — and no, there's still no word on what or who started it — will reopen to outdoor enthusiasts this Friday, May 24. Available areas will include Rampart Reservoir, related campgrounds and picnic areas, and Schubarth Road.…

Bach mum on road closing

Pam Zubeck — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:21:00 -0600

Despite the passage of several weeks since the Broadmoor Hotel announced it wants to close a segment of Cheyenne Mountain Boulevard, people still seem to care quite a bit.

The Broadmoor would like to land big-name golf events, such as the U.S. Open, which have certain requirements.…

Get your high-fructose corn syrup here

Matthew Schniper — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:46:00 -0600

The folks at Baskin Robbins want you to know that they released some new sherbet flavored freezer bars. I know this because they sent us a box of them, plus this information from a three-page press release:

Sherbet_bars1.pdf

Sherbet_bars2.pdf

Here's the box:

But more importantly, here's the ingredient list:

Take the Yellow 5 alone and I'd advise against feeding this to your kid.…

J.R. Martinez to speak at Heroes of Mental Health Luncheon

Edie Adelstein — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:51:00 -0600

Tonight's the season finale of Season 16 of Dancing With the Stars, a season that pales in comparison to last year's most-awesome All-Star round, not to mention Season 13, in which J.R. Martinez, a soap star, motivational speaker and vet, took home the mirror ball trophy.

Another reason probably has something to do with the fact that Jacoby Jones is still in the running, and — hello!…

Aimee Cox joins Bach's team

Pam Zubeck — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:37:00 -0600

Aimee Cox, who's worked for the City Council as its first administrator under the council-mayor form of government adopted two years ago, has been lured to the other branch by Mayor Steve Bach. She'll receive an 11 percent raise, to $90,000 a year.…

New Coloradan eyes governor's race

Pam Zubeck — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:33:00 -0600

Gov. John Hickenlooper kicked butt in the last election, after the GOP nominated a relative unknown, Dan Maes, and right-wing loon Tom Tancredo split the vote for Republicans. (U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn endorsed Tancredo, who ran on the Constitution Party ticket.)

In 2014, the same thing might happen, as several candidates appear to be considering taking a run at Hickenlooper, a Democrat whose strong advocacy for business and industry has made him a popular political figure.…

Tonight's flood-insurance meeting is for business owners

J. Adrian Stanley — Tue, 21 May 2013 09:51:00 -0600

Ever since the Waldo Canyon Fire, we've been hearing about the risk of severe flooding off the burn scar. Risk has largely been discussed in terms of lost lives and homes.…

Baby boom at the zoo!

J. Adrian Stanley — Tue, 21 May 2013 09:31:00 -0600

Full disclosure: I get really excited about baby zoo animals.

But this year even those of us not overcome by the "cute factor" should be thrilled about the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo's new arrivals.…

Police chief: Looking at helicopters and drones

Pam Zubeck — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:51:00 -0600

Last week, Police Chief Pete Carey said he was looking at reactivating the Police Department's helicopter unit, as well as unmanned aircraft — drones, in other words.

His comments came during Mayor Steve Bach's town hall meeting at Broadmoor Elementary, after a citizen asked what can be done to get aviation assets to respond to wildland fires quicker and whether drones are viable for early detection of fires.…

Local chef expands into crazy pop-up dinners

Bryce Crawford — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:46:00 -0600

Now that chef Brother Luck is back in town, having run the kitchen at the Craftwood Inn for the last seven months, or so, he's breaking out into one-off dinners through a new company called crEATe719 Kitchen.

"We will be hosting a series of *underground pop up dinners*," Luck writes in an e-mail to the Indy.…

Album release show marathon begins tonight

Bill Forman — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:44:25 -0600

The weekend is upon us, and with it three worthy CD release shows from local artists.

Tonight, local hip-hop collective Bullhead*ded is celebrating the release of its long-awaited debut album, 4Play, at the Black Sheep.…

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Homeless population growing, survey shows

J. Adrian Stanley — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:28:00 -0600

There are at least 1,171 homeless people in El Paso County, a one-day headcount revealed, up from 1,127 in 2012.

Performed as a requirement of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the headcount shows how many people were accessing services for the homeless on Jan. 29, 2013.…
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NRA is gunning for Morse

Pam Zubeck — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:52:47 -0600

This just in from Christy Le Lait, who's working to keep Sen. John Morse from being recalled:

A mass mailing funded by the NRA and coordinated with Basic Freedom Defense Fund has gone out to voters throughout Senate District 11 supporting the recall effort of Senate President John Morse and urging voters to join up with BFDF to remove Sen. Morse from office.

“Basic Freedom Defense Fund has released numerous statements to the media and on their website claiming to be a grassroots organization,” stated Christy Le Lait, representative for A Whole Lot of People for John Morse, the issue committee fighting the recall attempt.…
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Bill Elder wastes no time announcing run for sheriff

J. Adrian Stanley — Fri, 17 May 2013 11:46:00 -0600

Remember when there were breaks between election seasons? Take a moment to reminisce, because that's certainly not the case anymore.…
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Bach plays paperboy for Gazette

Pam Zubeck — Fri, 17 May 2013 11:14:22 -0600

Mayor Steve Bach sure has an interesting relationship with the daily newspaper.

Take, for example, what happened when Gazette reporters wrote a perfectly serviceable story about the city's Waldo Canyon Fire After Action Report, released April 3.…
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Federal government fails third-grade punctuation

Bryce Crawford — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:21:00 -0600

I kid you not: The lack of apostrophes in the names of landmarks — Zebulon Pike's peak, for instance — is on purpose. This heinous bit of punctuation slaughter is actually condoned and encouraged by the federal government, comes the word from today's Wall Street Journal.…
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Joey Diamond lives the dream

Bill Forman — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:05:46 -0600

Good news: Joey Diamond is coming to Colorado Springs!

Now if that sentence didn't trigger an endorphin rush, it may well be that you don’t belong to a certain demographic, the same one that’s hormonally predisposed to worship Justin Bieber.…
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Coming soon to Ivywild: ModboCo School of Art

Edie Adelstein — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:50:00 -0600

Today, Brett and Lauren Andrus announced they are starting an art school in the Ivywild School.

The co-owners of the Modbo and S.P.Q.R. galleries will offer classes for adults (which Brett already teaches in S.P.Q.R., one of which I attended), as well as teens and elementary-age children.…
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Guthrie, Helm and Croce set for local summer shows

Bill Forman — Wed, 15 May 2013 17:57:18 -0600

Granted, Colorado Springs doesn’t always get the best-known musicians coming through, but we’ll soon be getting a lot of their offspring. In a genuinely odd coincidence, at least three of them have been booked so far to perform here this summer.…
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Pot-shop limit is an option in Manitou Springs

Bryce Crawford — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:58:00 -0600

Yesterday, Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach called recreational marijuana a "public safety issue," and indicated that he's likely to advocate for a ban on pot shops in his city. Bach added that he'd had discussions with Manitou Springs Mayor Marc Snyder regarding a possible ban in the more liberal tourist town.…
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Funding ban renewed for Pinon Canyon

Pam Zubeck — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:48:00 -0600

For the sixth year running, a ban on funding to expand the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site is making its way into law.

In a news release, Not 1 More Acre!, an advocacy group fighting to keep the Army from claiming more land in southeast Colorado for maneuvers, announced the military construction budget that was marked up in the Military Construction Subcommittee of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee today will continue the funding ban on "any action that relates to or promotes the expansion of the boundaries or size of the U.S. Army's Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site."

Here's the entire news release from Jean Aguerre, president of Not 1 More Acre!

Keeping the funding ban in the law has been a top priority for N1MA!…
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Downtown's Curbside Cuisine now rolling

Matthew Schniper — Wed, 15 May 2013 14:56:00 -0600

As properly prognosticated in my Side Dish column in late April, Curbside Cuisine arrived on the scene today. My colleague posted this pic of curry chicken lunch from the High Grade Catering and Food Truck.…
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Hick signs 'Breakfast After the Bell'

J. Adrian Stanley — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:36:00 -0600

Gov. John Hickenlooper has signed the bill known as "Breakfast After the Bell" into law.

The law means that schools with higher levels of impoverished children will be required — with some exceptions — to serve a free breakfast to all students after the start of the school day.…
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UPDATE: School Districts 2 and 11 want to feed the kids this summer

J. Adrian Stanley — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:21:53 -0600

Colorado Springs School District 11's extensive summer feeding program will continue this year.

Anyone ages 1 to 18 is invited to eat free at one of many locations — both in neighborhoods and schools.…
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