Wednesday May 23, 2012

MESACO FIRE BAN
Mesa County is the latest to enact a fire ban.  It takes effect at midnight , and it's different from other bans.  This one includes the Sheriff's Office, BLM and Grand Junction Fire Department.  The restrictions are based on vegetation moisture content, weather predictions and fuel content in the county, and allow fires only in government designated fire pits. No restrictions are in place in higher elevation forest lands in Mesa County.

KANNAH CREEK/GJ FIRE DEAL
Kannah Creek Brewing Company is teaming up with the Grand Junction Fire Department on their path to a new brewery. An abandoned building on the property where the new brewery will be built along the Colorado River has to go, and the Grand Junction Fire Department has agreed to demolish it as part of training for new recruits.  That training starts tomorrow.

6&50 25RD CLOSURE
If you thought the construction on Highway 6 & 50 at 25 Road was no big deal, you'll probably change your mind starting next Tuesday.  C-DOT says work in the intersection will restrict left turns in all directions.  Right turns will be permited.  The intersection is expected to be closed for a maximum 18 days.

ACLUvGARCO
The Colorado ACLU is accusing the Garfield County Sheriff's Office of putting undocumented domestic violence victims and witnesses at risk by referring them to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  They say that may deter victims from contacting authorities in domestic situations.  GarCo Sheriff Lou Vallario calls the accusations slanderous and lies.  He says the Sheriff's Office has never turned over a victim of a crime to any organization.

HILLTOP ACCREDITATION
Hilltop's Life Adjustment Program has received its 6th 3-year accreditation by the international accrediting body.  That means Hilltop has shown a commitment to promoting quality, value and optimal coutcomes of services to enhance the lives of those in the LAP.  The Life Adustment Program serves traumatically brain-injured adults on a track to independence.

DOLORES RIVER PROJECT
Colorado's Dolores River Tamarisk Removal project is one of ten projects outlined by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar as part of America's Great Outdoor Rivers Initiative.  The program's designed to conserve and restore key rivers across the country and expand outdoor recreational opportunities and support jobs in local communities.  One river project in each state has been named.

ENERGY IMPACT FUNDS
Energy Impact money funneled from local governments to the state to balance the budget is going back to municipalities for the first time in two years.  Governor John Hickenlooper says the state is making $20 million in severance tax money available through the state's Energy and Mineral Impact Assistance Grant Program.

D-51 BUDGET
The District 51 budget for next year, isn't a done deal, but it's getting closer.  The School Board last night heard about proposed cuts totalling $5.76 million, and including the elimination of 23 teaching and counseling jobs and 30 support positions.  Two more hearings are scheduled before the budget is formally adopted June 19th.

OBAMA VISIT
President Obama is making his second visit to Colorado in less than a month when he arrives for the morning commencement speech at the Air Force Academy, and a Denver fundraiser.  The Graduation is at 11:00.  The fundraiser at the downtown Hyatt Regency Denver is a few hours later.  Tickets begin at $250 per person and go all the way to as much as $40,000.

NOBLE ENERGY GROWTH
Noble Eenrgy is spending $8 billion to drill Colorado's shale oil fields, only not in western Colorado, on the eastern plains near Greeley.  According to the Denver Post, the company is developing horizontal wells stretching nearly two miles underground, with increasing density of wells drilled from the same pads.  Noble has identified 4,000 drill sites in Colroado.

SKIER LAWSUIT
The wife of a skier killed in a January avalanche inside the Winter Park ski area has filed suit against the Denver-owned ski area's operator.  The attorney for Salyndra Fleury says the people running a ski area are responsible for making sure it is safe, and tells the Denver Post conditions the day the father of two was killed represent gross negligence.  The attorney says they'll test the Colorado industry standard Ski Safety Act which limits a resort's liability in lawsuits filed by family of those killed to $250,000.