Category: Environment
Corporations, Democracy, Elections, Energy, Environment, Ethics, Fracking, Front groups
The dark money groups, shady astroturfers and wealthy locals backing Measure 1A, the public safety sales tax
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Tim Pollard of “Back the Badge’s” board is the brother-in-law of Josh Penry, who, with Penry operates the astroturfing group EIS Solutions, which is pocketing much of the money raised to promote 1A
Ballot Measure 1A will increase the sales tax in Mesa County by 0.37% to fund the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office and the District Attorney’s office.
It sounds like a good idea, but much of the money behind 1A is coming from unaccountable sources, and the astroturfing groups promoting it may give some people pause. In particular, one big-money donor backing 1A is an aggressively pro-gun group that refuses to reveal its funders and works to push lawmakers out of office who support policies to reduce gun massacres in the U.S., like the one that occurred in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017.
Advertising, Aesthetics, Corporations, Environment
A Solution to the Palisade Gas Station Sign Dilemma
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You’ve seen these signs. They’re big and bright and everyone looks for them on I-70 when they need gas, food or a rest stop.
Palisade residents are gearing up to oppose a 60-foot tall, lit gas station sign that Golden Gate Petroleum, the owners of a proposed 11-pump gas station and convenience store to be built at the Exit 42 offramp in Palisade.
Current town code limits signs to 20 feet in height. Golden Gate says people on I-70 won’t be able to see a 20 foot sign. The Palisade Town Council has already bent the rules and handed the company a variance to build a 60-foot sign, but they shouldn’t have caved so easily. Their town is really worth the fight.
Consumer advocacy, Crazy Republicans, Democracy, Economics, Environment, Ethics, Health, politics, Pollution, Public health, Safety, Worker advocacy
Rep. Scott Tipton: A One-Man Wrecking Ball for Coloradans
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House Rep. Scott Tipton votes against financial transparency in government, against protecting citizens’ health and against American workers
Think House Representative Scott Tipton is on your side? Think again.
In the last couple of weeks, Rep. Tipton has voted against cleaner air, against creating more American jobs, and in favor of keeping financial information secret that would allow Congress to tell if changes President Trump proposes in the U.S. tax code would benefit his family’s income.
Diane Schwenke, Environment, Ethics, Public health, Safety, Security
Grand Junction Chamber Opposes Protections for Public and Environment from Drilling Hazards
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Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce President Diane Schwenke and the Chamber’s Board oppose a legal ruling that protects Colorado residents from drilling hazards.
The Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce is squarely opposed to protecting Colorado residents’ safety when it comes to oil and gas operations, and is demonstrating this by siding with oil and gas companies in an ongoing court case filed by Colorado children who feel their health, safety and the environment are threatened by overly permissive drilling and fracking activity.
Activism, Corporations, Crazy Republicans, Energy, Environment, Ethics, politics, Stupid Republicans
State Senator Ray Scott’s Flawed, Nasty Source of Info on Climate Change
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CO State Senator Rep Ray Scott (R), climate change denier and citer of foul-mouthed climate change denial author
Three days ago, Colorado State Senator Ray Scott (R-Dist. 7) posted a link on his blog to a Forbes article titled “’97% of Climate Scientists Agree’ is 100% Wrong.”
Scott posted the article as a way to tell his constituents who value the environment, “Ha! I told you so! Global warming is fake!”
The author of the article is Alex Epstein, who has a BA in philosophy from Duke University, but no scientific background. Epstein is a staunch, paid philosophical defender of the fossil fuel industry. His biggest claim to fame is a book he authored in 2014 called “The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels,” which seeks to make a philosophical case for fossil fuel use, evidently because a valid scientific case for continued fossil fuel use can’t be made.
Activism, Consumer advocacy, Crazy Republicans, Democracy, Education, Energy, Environment, Grassroots advocacy, politics, Trump Insanity
Hundreds Turn Out for Grand Junction’s March for Science
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A crowd of about 900 people turned out for Grand Junction’s March for Science on April 22, one of about 600 such marches held across the globe on Earth Day to show support for scientific research and scientifically-derived information that enhances life.
The weather was clear, sunny, and around 70 degrees. The march started at the old R-5 High School at 7th and Grand, went east to 12th Street and then turned north to Lincoln Park, where an Earth Day celebration and festival was being held. The crowd was big enough to fill the sidewalks for most of the distance.
Aesthetics, Consumer advocacy, Environment, Ethics, International, politics, Stupid Republicans
How does Moab Feel about a “MOAB” Bomb Being Dropped on Afghanistan?
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Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb, the largest non-nuclear conventional bomb in existence
Moab residents are not happy that the name “MOAB” is being associated with the massive bomb the Trump administration dropped on Afghanistan yesterday.
The largest non-nuclear bomb in the United States’ weapons arsenal, the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB), nicknamed the “Mother of All Bombs” (MOAB). It was dropped yesterday, leading the acronym MOAB to be broadcast over national news repeatedly for the last 24 hours.
Asked about how Moab residents feel about the name of their town being associated with destruction, Moab City Councilman Kyle Bailey responded, “Mayor Sakrison and the Moab City Council sent a letter to Bush administration in 2003 protesting the association of the name [of this bomb] with Moab. Some people in Moab do like the association.” The city councilman sent a link to the February, 2003 BBC article about the mayor’s protest.
Corruption, Crazy Republicans, Environment, Equal rights, Ethics, politics, Republicans violating laws, Stupid Republicans, Weird Grand Junction Stuff
In Case You Missed It: County Commissioners Officially Approve Collbran Landowner’s Illegal Activity
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Colby Olford broke the law for years, then the Mesa County Commissioners caught up with him — and rewarded him for it.
The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reported on March 15 that Mesa County’s three Republican County Commissioners publicly admonished a Collbran landowner for violating the law by hosting commercial events on his property for years without required permits.
Then they rewarded him by making his activities legal.
Environment, Ethics, Pollution, Public health, Safety, Weird Grand Junction Stuff
Spring Open Burn Season Fouls the Air, Casts a Pall over the Grand Valley
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The Grand Valley’s springtime air is fouled with smoke from open burning
It’s springtime and open burning season is upon us once again, giving Grand Valley residents sore throats, burning eyes, runny noses, headaches and asthma attacks. Beautiful spring days that dawn clear and bright are soon fouled by dense plumes of smoke that drift across the valley forcing people to close their doors and windows and grab their inhalers. KKCO 11 News on March 16 said, “Add in an early allergy season and you have a recipe for a breathing disaster.”
And a disaster it is, for many people, and not just for their health, but for their property, too.
Children, Environment, politics, Weird Grand Junction Stuff
Undeveloped Parks Languish While City Pursues an Events Center
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Matchett Park – Despite the City of Grand Junction putting on a community-wide planning effort in 2014 that resulted in a master plan and preferred alternative for development, and despite the City getting a GOCO grant to cover 75% of the cost it’s construction, nothing ever happened at Matchett Park
The City of Grand Junction owns a number of large land parcels around the valley that are designated as parks, but that are little more than vacant lots unused by the public.
Corporations, Corruption, Economics, Energy, Environment, Equal rights, Ethics, Grand Junction Chamber, politics
What is the Mesa County Federal Mineral Lease District, and Why Should We Care About it?
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A guest post by Janet Johnson
Mesa County’s Federal Mineral Lease District is a huge slush fund that’s supposed to go towards helping areas of the county negatively affected by the oil and gas industry. But instead, most of the money has been getting funneled to Colorado Mesa University and projects that benefit the oil and gas industry itself.
On February 6, Colorado House Representative Yeulin Willett introduced HB-1152 in the Colorado legislature, a bill titled “Federal Mineral Lease District (FMLD) Investment Authority.” The bill certainly does “open an important conversation,” as the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel suggested in its February 2, 2017 op-ed on the subject.
Willett’s bill seeks to give counties “investment authority,” which would allow them to withhold some of the money the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) gives to Federal Mineral Lease Districts and invest it in a permanent fund. This request for and composition of the bill originated with the Mesa County FMLD. The other counties in Colorado that have Federal Mineral Lease Districts are Garfield and Weld County.
Children, Consumer advocacy, Crazy Republicans, Democracy, Energy, Environment, Fracking, Grand Junction Chamber, Human rights, politics, Weird Grand Junction Stuff, Worker advocacy
G.J. Area Chamber of Commerce Continues to be Anti-Worker, Anti-Family and Anti-Local Government
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Family Unfriendly Chamber – The G.J. Chamber’s ad in the Daily Sentinel 2/20/17 says the chamber opposes a bill to require large employers to offer parents limited unpaid time off to attend kids’ academic activities, like parent-teacher conferences, meetings about dropout prevention, truancy, etc.
In its ad in yesterday’s Daily Sentinel, the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce announced it opposes HB-1001, “The Parental Involvement in K-12th Grade Education Act,” a family-friendly bill that requires businesses with 50 or more employees to offer workers 18 hours of unpaid leave per school year to attend their kids’ academic events, like parent-teacher conferences, meetings related to dropout prevention, attendance, special education services, truancy, discipline issues and the like. HB-1001 allows for exemptions in case a business is having an emergency and needs all of its employees, or if an employee’s absence would leave a business unable to operate. The unpaid leave time could not exceed six hours in any one month, and employees would have to request the leave a minimum of a week before it is needed. The bill passed out of the House Education committee on February 6 on a 7-5 vote, and went to the full House, where is passed on the third reading with a 37-28 vote. Western slope House Representatives Dan Thurlow and Yeulin Willett both sided with the Chamber and voted against the measure, making these two legislators family-unfriendly as well. Every single House member who voted against this act was Republican. Every legislator voting for it was a Democrat.
Consumer advocacy, Environment, Grassroots advocacy, politics
It’s Time for Grand Junction to Invest in its Residents
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“What about us?” A GJ grassroots citizens group called PLACE has been lobbying for a community recreation center since 2015
The Grand Junction City Council announced plans to put a measure on the April, 2017 ballot to increase city sales tax by a quarter of a cent to fund construction of a 5,000-seat event center by Two Rivers Convention Center. The tax would cost every G.J. household about an extra $30 per year.
The only problem is, City residents don’t want an event center. Residents have said over and over that they want a community recreation center where people can gather to meet, recreate, learn and have fun indoors and outdoors year ‘round. They want a place where kids can go to have fun and stay out of trouble.
Lack of Amenities
Grand Junction has long suffered with a lack of community places where kids, teens, seniors and families can congregate, have fun and learn.
Corruption, Crazy Republicans, Elections, Energy, Environment, Ethics, Extremism, politics, Public health, Stupid Republicans
Mesa County Commissioner John Justman’s Smug Attitude Toward Constituents
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Mesa County Commissioner John Justman’s attitude toward his “subjects,” as demonstrated by Bugs Bunny
Check out this online exchange between Mesa County Commissioner John Justman and one of his constituents:
On December 14, a Mesa County resident posted a link to an online petition titled “Defend the Arctic Refuge from Oil Drilling” on Facebook along with the comment “Tillerman will drill this.”
The person was referring to Donald Trump’s secretary of state nominee Rex Tillerson, the former CEO of Exxon, who has made drilling for oil his life’s work.
Surprisingly, the first person to chime in in the comment section below the post was none other than Mesa County Commissioner John Justman, who wrote “Good Job Tillerman,” signaling his approval for drilling the Earth to death while repeating the misspelling of Tillerson’s name.
In response, the constituent wrote:
“John sometimes I think you say these things to be funny. The truth is this time it is NOT funny. You will be dead before your grandchildren will have to deal with a entire change in the environment you and I have taken for granted. Today the North Pole had a high of over the freezing level and the “heatwave” is suppose to continue. These fragile areas have iconic creatures you and I are familiar, but your grandchildren will watch the last of those animals perish. If you believe that is good, then I question your fitness to serve as a Commissioner. That position takes great analytical and practical thinking about today and the future.”
To this take-down, Justman thundered back:
animal abuse, Economics, Environment
Cattle Left to Fend for Themselves on Public Lands
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Desperately thirsty cattle on BLM land clamber down into the Grand Valley Canal and break the ice on the few remaining puddles to get water.
Western cattle ranchers often rail against federal government control of public lands, but aren’t averse to taking taxpayer-funded handouts whenever they can get them. Indeed, even famously insurgent Nevada cattle rancher Cliven Bundy took help from a taxpayer-funded public defender after being arrested on 16 charges of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States.
Environment, Ethics, Human rights, Pollution, Public health, Safety, Weird Grand Junction Stuff
City Council to Consider Ban on Open Burning at Tonight’s Meeting
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Open burning in Grand Junction’s residential areas creates respiratory problems for residents, pedestrians, bicyclists as well as visibility hazards for motorists.
Does the smoke from open burning make you choke?
The Grand Junction City Council will consider bringing the City a bit further into the 21st century this evening when they consider an ordinance to ban open burning at their regular meeting.
Below is a summary of what the ordinance will do, taken from page 85 of tonight’s agenda. There are plenty of exceptions to the burn ban, but at least is does make it illegal to burn household and yard waste. That’s better than the “no action” alternative City residents been suffering with.
Looking at what else is on tonight’s agenda, council probably won’t get to this item much before about 7:45 p.m., and probably won’t get to the part where they allow public comment on the ordinance until maybe 8:20 or 8:30 p.m. If you’ve suffered from clouds of stinky, suffocating smoke overtaking your neighborhood during the five months of the year when open burning is still allowed, you might want to weigh in in favor of this measure:
Education, Elections, Energy, Environment, Grassroots advocacy, Media, politics, Propaganda, Worker advocacy
Long Ballot? Don’t Worry. Use AnneLandmanBlog Voter Guide!
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The entire November ballot is in today’s Daily Sentinel, and it takes up 6 pages of fine print, like these two.
Ballots were mailed today in Mesa County, and it’s a long one. The Daily Sentinel has published the entire November ballot in today’s paper, and it takes up six full pages of the paper, in fine print.
If you are worried about all the time it’s going to take to figure out how to vote on all this stuff, worry no more. We’ve done the research for you! We’ve looked into where the big money and corporate influence are coming from on all the issues, and how wealthy corporations are using ballot initiatives to try to trick you out of your rights, and weaken your influence and your ability to protect yourself and your families from their activities. We’ve looked at the ins and outs of all the issues, what’s fair and what’s not, and figured out how people can cast votes in their own interest.
Just go to AnneLandmanBlog Voter Guide 2016 to see the recommended votes on the local, state and federal candidates and ballot issues. The rationale for the votes is toward the bottom of the post.
Happy voting, and remember, after this you can mute all those annoying election TV ads!