News, Colorado Springs Independent

City and county oil and gas regulations

Pam Zubeck — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

by Pam Zubeck El Paso County commissioners adopted oil and gas regulations in early 2012. While they at first insisted on retaining authority over water quality, they backed off after the Colorado Attorney General's Office muscled in to say oil and gas rules fall under the state's jurisdiction.…

Manitou leaders say visitors and residents will be protected in a flood

J. Adrian Stanley — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Fear not, tourists by J. Adrian Stanley As of May, Saturday and Sunday driving along Manitou Avenue has become a miserable experience. The cars are bumper-to-bumper.…

No movement on fire study, PERA haggling continues, more

Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Noted Waldo study stalls Although several players are on board for a look at how various agencies interacted during the Waldo Canyon Fire last summer, no one seems to know who will oversee the study, when it will be done, and by whom.…

Indy demands severance contracts from city

Independent staff — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

by Independent staff Severance agreements between Mayor Steve Bach and numerous city employees should be released in accord with open records laws, according to a letter submitted to the city Monday on behalf of the Independent. The city has denied access to the agreements, although it has released the amounts paid to some 23 employees since Bach was elected in mid-2011.…

Fracking's eco-impact

Matthew Schniper — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Long Story Short by Matthew Schniper While preparing for my interview with controversial Gasland filmmaker Josh Fox last week (see here), I spoke with an old friend who'd not-long-ago left the notoriously underpaid world of cheffing to become a rather lucratively compensated oil driller. Or fracker, if you wish.…

Bach says teens who smoke pot may lose their memory forever

Bryce Crawford — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

The mayor and the mind eraser by Bryce Crawford Recently, Mayor Steve Bach's been walking around, dropping heavy-handed hints about what he plans to recommend Colorado Springs City Council do about recreational marijuana at its May 28 meeting. It started at his May 14 press conference, when he called recreational marijuana a "public-safety issue" and compared retail outlets to adult bookstores (see here), and continued at a town hall meeting the next day.…

As water worries complicate its fight with the city, Smokebrush plans to relocate

Pam Zubeck — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Digging in, but heading out by Pam Zubeck Two months ago, the Smokebrush Foundation sued Colorado Springs over carcinogens blowing onto its property from a city demolition site. The suit remains ongoing, but executive director Don Goede says Smokebrush won't be holding tight as it plays out; instead, the foundation will up and move.…

Recalling a past public-safety sham, Josh Fox returns to the fracking fracas

Matthew Schniper — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Contami-Nation by Matthew Schniper Of all things flammable in the wide world, tap water shouldn't be one of them. At least that's the consensus — call it crazy — among environmentalists and fracking foes, for whom the phenomena, supposedly brought on by nearby hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas extraction, has grown into quite a powerful symbol.…

Colorado Springs joins the Waldorf-charter wave

J. Adrian Stanley — Wed, 15 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Think differently by J. Adrian Stanley The charter school movement was supposed to bring a sense of experimentation into education, a chance to throw new ideas at the wall and see what stuck. In reality, however, most Colorado charters have followed the same principle: "back to basics."…

Parkside residents get handed the bill for repairs

Pam Zubeck — Wed, 15 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Charging ahead by Pam Zubeck As concrete mixers churn out the next driveway in the Parkside subdivision, some residents are fuming over the idea of being forced to pay for damage in common areas. Nearly a year after the Waldo Canyon Fire destroyed 141 homes in Parkside, the association wants to extract a special assessment of $1,700 from all Parkside residents, even those whose homes didn't burn, to pay for sprinklers, drainage infrastructure and other repairs.…

$3.2 million building for sheriff, dean nominee at AFA, Rockey paintings on the move, more

Pam Zubeck — Wed, 15 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Noted by Pam Zubeck, Kirk Woundy, Edie Adelstein and J. Adrian Stanley County's $3.2 million deal On Tuesday, El Paso County commissioners were expected to approve a deal to buy warehouse facilities located at 3755, 3815, 3825 and 3845 N. Mark Dabling Blvd., for use as the El Paso County Sheriff's Office of Emergency Management.…

Professor Barbecue to the Broadmoor

Bryce Crawford — Wed, 15 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Long Story Short by Bryce Crawford If everything goes as planned — $300 (plus tax and shipping) magically falling from the sky — I'll soon be christening my recently purchased home with five smoked chickens, three briskets and a canister of spent post-oak, all thanks to the sexiest piece of squat steel this side of a ribbed grain silo: the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker. This baby's been on my wish list ever since I found out it was possible to sit at home and pour smoke over a fatty piece of meat until it melted into An Experience.…

New laws lay out the path for Amendment 64's implementation

Bryce Crawford — Wed, 15 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Reefer rulings by Bryce Crawford When it comes to marijuana in Colorado, bills passed by legislators, mandating this shall do that, are hardly the last word. First, because it's on Gov. John Hickenlooper to actually sign the things; then it's up to the state Department of Revenue to create the specifics.…

Broadmoor boosts campaign of Keith King

Bryce Crawford — Wed, 08 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

The former state senator drew on area power players, auto dealers and small donors to raise $72,464 by Bryce Crawford Final campaign-finance reports released last Thursday show that City Council President Keith King enjoyed a windfall as rich as the southwestern district he now represents. The former state senator drew on area power players, auto dealers and a network of small donors to raise a total of $72,464.…

Pueblo's East Coast Pizza eyes expansion under its pastry program's awesome power

Matthew Schniper — Wed, 08 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Holy Cannoli by Matthew Schniper When I first meet Salvatore Giacalone, the stout, 50-year-old Sicilian is wearing a huge smile over a bright red apron. In a very thick accent, broken English really, he's peddling a colorful array of pastries spanning the length of four folding tables under a banner for Pueblo's East Coast Pizza & Bakery.…

Rejected by title board, Springs' anti-frackers strategize

Kirk Woundy — Wed, 08 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

by Kirk Woundy Stymied again last week by the city's Initiative Title Setting Review Board, the petition committee behind Colorado Springs Citizens for Community Rights still plans to fight for a citizen vote on whether fracking should be banned locally. "We think this is really important," says group member Dave Gardner.…

The savory side of East Coast

Matthew Schniper — Wed, 08 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

by Matthew Schniper When we drop into East Coast Pizza around midday, Salvatore Giacalone is finishing his own lunch. Asked what he's eating, he says a calzone with sausage, pepperoni, Alfredo sauce, ricotta, buffalo mozzarella and green chilies.…

How floodwaters flow, a stalled recall, more

Kirsten Akens — Wed, 08 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Noted by Kirsten Akens, J. Adrian Stanley and Kirk Woundy More flood info coming The release of the Watershed Assessment of River Stability and Sediment Supply (WARSSS) study (here) shed much-needed light on the region's flood dangers in the wake of the Waldo Canyon Fire.…

Study shows regular floods can be lessened, but nothing will hold back the big ones

J. Adrian Stanley — Wed, 08 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

A plan, but no salvation by J. Adrian Stanley Dave Rosgen looks like he rode in on a white horse. He has the big belt buckle, the twinkling eyes, even the ivory cowboy hat.…

Found: La dolce vita

Matthew Schniper — Wed, 08 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Long Story Short by Matthew Schniper When's the last time you really spazzed out over a cookie? I'm not talking an all-out Cookie Monster assault, crumbs flying this way and that, but a slow savoring of a sugary bite.…

HB 1081, the sex-ed bill, awaits Hickenlooper's signature

J. Adrian Stanley — Wed, 08 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

by J. Adrian Stanley A bill to change the state standard for comprehensive human sexuality education is awaiting Gov. John Hickenlooper's signature. House Bill 1081 adjusts the state's definition of comprehensive sex ed to be more inclusive, and creates a grant program for schools that want to offer curriculum meeting the new standard (see "Bananarama," News, Feb. 27).…

20- and 30-somethings find little hope, hospitality within recent city politics

Pam Zubeck — Wed, 01 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Youth is curbed by Pam Zubeck If you're a young professional in Colorado Springs, the establishment has three words for you: You don't matter. At least, that's how several young leaders interpret the reaction to their recent attempts to engage in civic and business affairs.…

The twisted road from Amendment 2 to 'I do'

Chet Hardin — Wed, 01 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Hate & love by Chet Hardin It was always just a matter of time. That’s the revelation that those of us, sitting here today, are free to reach.…

HB 1171: A real lifesaver

J. Adrian Stanley — Wed, 01 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

Bill could allow schools to help all kids with severe allergies by J. Adrian Stanley Many children hate school, but few can seriously claim that it may kill them to go. Twelve-year-old Ceasar Sanchez is one of those few.…

Where it's at for the first day of civil unions

Kirk Woundy — Wed, 01 May 2013 04:00:00 -0600

A few ways to celebrate by Kirk Woundy Unlike his counterparts in Boulder and Denver counties, the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder elected not to open at midnight Wednesday to issue civil-union licenses at the first possible minute. But others here have stepped up to commemorate a historic occasion.…