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Opinion

  •
    Ballot items: Consider the source

    By any account, Colorado has a robust citizen initiative process. Both by law and practice, we are asked to vote on more proposed constitutional amendments and initiated laws than people in other states.

  •
    Spillover from a catastrophe

    There’s something singularly awful about watching the worst environmental disaster in our country’s history and knowing that, with all of America’s wealth and technological prowess, nothing has been done to prevent the ongoing catastrophe that threatens an entire way of life.

  •
    Area residents work to help Haiti

    Long before the earthquake that devastated Haiti hit in January, aid to the island country was in vogue in Evergreen. The latest chapter of the story is a heartwarming tale about how compassion and culture can help ease a terrible situation.

  •
    Could a coalition government work?

    The new government in Great Britain is wasting no time getting down to business. Shortly after taking power, the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition announced spending cuts totaling about $8.2 billion. According to The Economist, “this is a small first step on a long journey.”

  •
    Pinnacol’s excesses an...

    When legislative budget staffers were looking into ways to balance the state’s budget during the 2009 session, they happened onto the fact that Pinnacol Assurance, the quasi-public agency that serves as the insurer of last resort for workers’ compensation, had reserves in excess of half a billion dollars more than appeared to be necessary. When legislative leaders suggested taking some of the money to address budget issues, the reaction from Pinnacol, business interests and Pinnacol customers was swift. They said the state should keep its hands off.

  • On special districts and special...

    Who among you is a card-carrying member of the Evergreen Park and Recreation District? Only a fraction of our Evergreen area residents actually are. Since our two rec centers are used only by a minority of our populace, do we really need them? On the other hand, can you imagine our community without them?

  •
    The law of unintended consequences

    In less than two months, mail ballots will start to arrive for the 2010 primary elections, which means it wonít be long at all before the airwaves start to fill with wall-to-wall political advertising. And more than ever, those advertisements will come from groups with vaguely appealing names (ìColoradans for Mom, Home & Apple Pieî) that leave you with absolutely no idea who is behind them.

  • Please answer the call for EPRD...

    Do you screen your calls before answering the phone? Do you ignore calls if you don’t know the caller? You should make an exception and answer a call from area code 540 if you get one in the next couple of weeks.

  • Greene working to chart a local...

    Christie Greene didn’t have to marry Dan to get green. As a young child growing up in Florida, she felt a visceral connection to the environment, one that led her to Evergreen more than 20 years ago and honed her passion for sustainability.

  • Elections are best of times, and...

    Elections seem to bring out the best and the worst in people. On the positive side, the interest in public service and scrutiny of government services re-energizes us and provides the impetus to update and improve services. On the negative side, the emotions of campaigns inevitably lead to conflicts and vilification of candidates and causes that don’t deserve it. Such was the case with our recently completed Evergreen Park and Recreation District election.

  •
    Tebow a role model? You bet

    In 1983, the Baltimore Colts selected John Elway with the first pick in that year’s NFL draft. Elway had no interest in playing for the Colts, and said he would play professional baseball if they took him. So the Colts traded Elway to the Broncos for two players and a first-round pick in the 1984 draft. The rest is history.

    Since then, Broncos drafts have been pretty ordinary. No big headlines, no huge stories. 

    Until this year.

  •
    Making a case for full disclosure

    Sometimes the story isn’t as big a deal as the story about the story. How much different would United States history look if, the day after the Watergate break-in, President Nixon had said, “Campaigns make people do crazy things,” instead of getting involved in the cover-up that led to his resignation?

    While there is little doubt there is nothing in Scott McInnis’ tax returns or John Hickenlooper’s charitable contributions that rise to the level of Watergate, the principle is the same. The longer questions persist, the bigger the story gets.

  •
    The narrator of Our Evergreen World

    On May 3, 1972, Sylvia Brockner wrote her first column for the Canyon Courier, about pine siskins, and readers flocked to her words about nature’s rhythms and the beauty of Evergreen and its surroundings.

  • A look at the EPRD candidates

    An important election May 4 will determine the direction the Evergreen Park and Recreation District takes in future years, and may affect property taxes. Property taxes provide 41 percent of the current EPRD operating budget. The other 59 percent comes from user fees, grants, etc. EPRD costs will likely remain stable or increase. Tax revenue is projected to decline for the next two years. We consider key issues to be dealing with finances, determining the broad needs of the district (not special interests), and Buchanan Park development.

  •
    Important lessons in government...

    Two weeks ago, my kids returned home from school with new backpacks. The green bags — which more resembled re-usable grocery totes — touted the U.S. census, proclaiming “Be counted” in several languages, with a backdrop of multi-colored hands. 

  •
    Big surprises in state’s...

    Before Coloradans went to their precinct caucuses last month, it looked like U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and former lieutenant governor Jane Norton were on their way to meeting in a combative and expensive race for Colorado’s U.S. Senate seat. What a difference a month makes!

  •
    A republic, if you can keep it

    As the Constitutional Convention wrapped up in September 1786, a woman approached Benjamin Franklin and asked him, “Well, doctor, what have we got — a republic or a monarchy?”

    “A republic,” Franklin replied, “if you can keep it.”

  • An immigrant's fervent prayer

    “Life is a song we must sing with our days

    “A poem with meaning more than words can say.”

    — Michael Card from “The Poem of Your Life”

  •
    Buchanan Park key in EPRD election

    In many ways, the closest thing we have to a city council in Evergreen is the board of the Evergreen Park and Recreation District. While there are other special districts with elected boards here, the combination of EPRD’s mission and the facilities it manages gives it a much more overreaching presence than other districts.

  • We need our community paper

    In many ways, the Canyon Courier is the lifeblood of our community. The Courier is the only comprehensive source of timely information about what is happening in Evergreen and what is happening to Evergreen. Without the Courier, there would be no way for most of us to know of the many important local issues that affect our health, safety, property taxes, property values and much more. The Courier is our only timely source of information about the behavior (and misbehavior) of our elected and unelected officials at the local and county level.