It's the economy, stupid.
While chairmen of the Big Three auto-makers jetted by private plane to Washington, D.C., looking for a handout last week, hundreds of out-of-work Coloradans lined up before each prospective employer at job fairs across the state last Thursday. And on Saturday, 40,000 people descended on a Weld County field to glean the last of a harvest. Which all explains why Colorado Senate President Peter Groff and Speaker-designee Terrance Carroll aren't waiting for the next legisl
Just received word that Diane Reeves, a Denver native and four-time Grammy Award-winning jazz vocalist, is slated to open the Colorado Senate's 67th general assembly. Tomorrow morning at 10 a.m., Reeves, a George Washington High School and University of Colorado alumna, will join Senate president Peter Groff and his colleagues at the State Capitol, where she'll sing the national anthem. No word on whether Groff and his associates briefed Reeves in advance in an effort to avoid any Rene Marie-esq
The total number of job losses across the country announced yesterday range from 65,000 (according to the New York Times) to over 71,000 (CNN). But no matter how you add things up, the outlook looks gloomy.
Better polish your rose-colored glasses for Colorado's dual announcements coming today: Governor Bill Ritter will deliver legislators a revised budget for next year (which starts July 1), while his Department of Labor and Employment will present the latest unemployment figures for right no
Barack Obama spilled way past 60 Minutes talking about the economy last night, and there's still plenty of talk to come.
Trump University is in session, offering four days of classes on how you can "make a fortune" in real estate; today's are at 1 and 6 p.m. at the Westin Westminster; tomorrow's at the Sheraton Denver Tech Center. For details, go to www.trumpuniversitydenver.com. But to save you time, read the small print: "Donald Trump will not appear at event."
You can bank on Don Childear
State senator Morgan Carroll.
Earlier this week, the Denver Post published a story about Morgan Carroll, a Democratic state senator from Aurora, who had angered the leadership in the legislature after posting a blog last month criticizing the way they treated Senate Bill 166, "which sought to ban drug companies from giving gifts to doctors or reselling patient prescription information for marketing purposes." In the article, Carroll shrugged off criticism from the likes of Senate President Pete
ETHNICITY WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE AN ISSUE IN WELLINGTON WEBB'S SEARCH FOR AN EDUCATION CZAR. IT IS NOW.THE BLACKBOARD BUNGLE HOW MAYOR WEBB'S SEARCH FOR AN EDUCATION CZAR WAS HIJACKED BY RACIAL POLITICS.
Photo by Mark MangerMichael Johnston, with a certain President of the United States, circa May 2008.
On the surface, Michael Johnston might have seemed an unlikely choice to fill the seat of Peter Groff, the departing president of the state Senate. After all, Groff is an African-American, as are Rosemary Marshall, Anthony Graves and Renee Blanchard, the three candidates aside from the Caucasian Johnston for the position. And yet Johnston's profile has risen into the rarefield political air than
So long, succulence.
Is it almost dinnertime?
Today in Cafe Society:
• Ruth's Chris shutters downtown Denver location.
• Guess where I'm eating?
• Drink beer out of a bowling pin. No, really!
• A Crush on Cans: Ska Brewing.
• The Gelato Spot: One more reason to visit 13th Avenue.
Today in Backbeat Online:
• Meese reveals track list and cover art for new album.
• Kid Hum's Fossil Fuels turn into Offshore Drilling.
• More on Wentworth Kersey's CD giveaway.
Today in The Latest W
Both Governor Bill Ritter and Lieutenant Governor Barbara O'Brien were out of town yesterday (he to the Western Governors' Association meeting in Utah, she to an education confab in North Carolina). And who did that leave in charge?
By the Colorado Constitution, the State Senate President. But Brandon Shaffer, who won that post after Peter Groff resigned near the end of the session, didn't have a chance to pardon anyone or do anything very quasi-gubernatorial during his reign of error. Unless
