Council, public need to meet in the middle on public speaking

(A version of this speech was made at the Open Forum in Longmont City Council Chambers 1/17/12)
Once again, and it’s far from the first time, there have been suggestions to limit Public Invited To Be Heard at Longmont City Council meetings.  I want to make it clear that I am not in favor of that.

Main Street Radio 1/16/12

Main Street Radio on the Radio Colorado Network (KRCN 1060AM) LIVE from Longmont, Colorado on January 16, 2012. Featuring Tom Chenault, former Mayor Bryan Baum, and blogger/activist Chris Rodriguez.

Highlights include: City Manager applicants and the ongoing discussion of Public Invited To Be Heard at Longmont City Council meetings.

The show airs on Mondays between 6pm-7pm, the call-in number is (877)711-5611
The RSS link to all shows on iTunes can be found here
Link to this particular show can be found here

Denver Post: Current fracking rules are enough

The usually left-leaning Denver Post editorializes that local governments shouldn't be piling on excessive fracking regulations such as moratoriums, and State Senate President Brandon Shaffer (D-Longmont) agrees.  Maybe the real excess against fracking is coming from Mayor Coombs and the local progressive/enviro crowd?     

Read the editorial at Denver Post

Update (Jan. 13):  Percy Conarroe responds to the Post editorial...

Thank you for injecting some common sense into the controversy over using hydraulic fracturing to extract oil and gas.

Longmont sits atop the Wattenberg oil field of the Denver Basin. As drilling activity picks up again, our community is ripe for local doomsayers, especially those of an anti-corporate bent, to spread their mischief.

One such critic analogizes the practice of fracking to Rocky Flats’ plutonium, acid rain, nuclear power-plant meltdowns, and claims it has caused earthquakes in Ohio and Oklahoma.

I agree with The Post: The Colorado Oil and Gas Commission does not need more legislation that will only hamstring its work.

Percy Conarroe, Longmont

This letter was published in the Jan. 13 edition of the Denver Post.

Main Street Radio 1/2/12

Main Street Radio on the Radio Colorado Network (KRCN 1060AM) LIVE from Longmont, Colorado on January 2, 2012. Featuring Tom Chenault, former Mayor Bryan Baum, and blogger/activist Chris Rodriguez.

Highlights include: County commissioner fiasco, GOP candidates, Safe and Sound Auto Accessories, Sears and Twin Peaks Mall, City Manager prospects, and how to make Longmont a better city.

The show airs on Mondays between 6pm-7pm, the call-in number is (877)711-5611
The RSS link to all shows on iTunes can be found here
Link to this particular show can be found here

Donald R. Cage: Beware of the Boulder County Land Use Comprehensive Plan

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Camera staff

This letter is WARNING to all those who support the Boulder County Land Use Comprehensive Plan, and policies – to those that believe it’s a legitimate use of Governmental power to control private rural farmland, the methods of its use, the types of produce grown, the species of animals raised, the subsidizing of selected products and rents, and the commandeering of private property rights by which to accomplish these, all under the guise of “protecting the environment.”

Read the rest at Daily Camera: Letters to Editor Blog

Hatred, jealousy, and bigotry alive and well on the Longmont Left

From the cluttered desk of the editor...
Again, welcome to Longmont Politics.  And by the traffic numbers both on this site and the downloads of the KRCN 1060AM radio show we've been on, we're off to a great start.  By design, this site links to Longmont related political stories mostly from other sources.  But occasionally we'll throw in some opinion of our own.  Like this.

Main Street Radio 12/19/11

Main Street Radio on the Radio Colorado Network (KRCN 1060AM) LIVE from Longmont, Colorado on December 19, 2011. Featuring Tom Chenault, Kiki Wallace, former Mayor Bryan Baum, and blogger/activist Chris Rodriguez.


Highlights include: Public speaker treatment at last council meeting, advisory board appointments, Chris takes a councilmember to the woodshed, interesting interactions between council members, El Comite asks for more city money, Bryan gives kudos to Clay Evans for his recent editorial about cronyism, an airplane has a "Christmas Miracle" on Hover, and Kiki goes after the City Manager for his attack on the former mayor.

The show airs on Mondays between 6pm-7pm, the call-in number is (877)711-5611
The RSS link to all shows on iTunes can be found here
Link to this particular show can be found here

Deny public money to political organizations

On the Tuesday December 20, 2011 Longmont City Council meeting agenda, there is a request from El Comite for $6,900 from the Council Contingency Fund.  This fund currently has a balance of $26,982, El Comite is asking for a quarter of it.  City Council should deny this request and end the ongoing subsidies to this and all political organizations.

Election 2011: Longmont has a hard time leaving party behind

Party matters. Even in a non-partisan race.  That's the conclusion political science professor Kenneth Bickers of the University of Colorado reached after studying Longmont's local election results from November. Even with no "R" or "D" on the ballot, he said, voting choices consistently tended to break down along party lines.

Read the rest at Times-Call

Judge dismisses marijuana case against Longmont

Medical marijuana dispensaries in Longmont have lost their fight to reopen after a city ban.  Boulder District Judge Ingrid Bakke on Friday dismissed the dispensaries' lawsuit against the city, in a ruling that mirrored her Aug. 19 decision to not block the city's ban of marijuana-related businesses.

Read the rest at Times-Call