By Todd Engdahl, EDUCATION NEWS COLORADO
The recent series of teacher “sickouts” in the Boulder Valley schools has received all the attention, but contract negotiations are at impasse in two more of Colorado’s 10 largest school districts.
Impasses have been declared in the Boulder Valley, Jefferson County and St. Vrain Valley districts. (Greeley, the state’s 13th largest district, also is at impasse.)
Otherwise, a proposed contract is up for review by teachers and the school board in Poudre Valley, while negotiations are ongoing in Adams 12 and Cherry Creek. (In Douglas County, salary negotiations were still underway as of May 11, but EdNews wasn’t able to get a more recent update. Dougco teachers are represented by a Colorado Federation of Teachers affiliate, while all other districts are represented by Colorado Education Association units.)
Three other top 10 districts, Aurora, Colorado Springs 11 and Denver have multi-year contracts so aren’t negotiating this year.
The 10 largest districts serve more than 454,000 children, well over half the approximately 818,000 students in the state.
There are some common financial factors underlying negotiations this year. Overall state aid to schools is increasing about $200 million to $3.6 billion, although $110 million of that is off-limits until January, when the legislature will decide whether revenue conditions will allow the state to release that money or withhold it. And, Colorado districts are on track to receive more than $250 million in federal stimulus funds. (Most of the stimulus is earmarked for specific uses, primarily education of the disadvantaged and of the disabled.) Local taxes provide about $2 billion for schools statewide.
Although districts are guaranteed a base per pupil amount, individual amounts of state aid vary widely based on district size, cost of living for staff, percentage of at-risk students, local resources and other factors.
Individual contracts are driven significantly by local conditions and issues such as benefit costs, declining or rising enrollment, district reserve needs and other factors. It’s difficult to compare contracts because districts make different decisions about how much money to put in cost-of-living increases, step increases and benefits.
In Boulder, the district is proposing an overall compensation increase of 6.35 percent but only a 1 percent, one-time stipend across the board, plus another 1 percent to cover two additional professional development days. The Boulder Valley Education Association has asked for a 3 percent cost-of-living increase. The district is willing to reopen negotiations in January if the additional state funds are released.
Jefferson County is offering a 4.5 percent overall but only a 1 percent, one-time across-the-board raise. If the extra state funds are unfrozen in January, that 1 percent would become part of the salary base. The Jefferson County Education Association has proposed a 4 percent cost-of-living increase.
In the St. Vrain district both sides are talking bigger numbers. The administration says its pay and benefits package is 9.1 percent, including a 2.37 percent increase in the salary base. The local union is proposing 14.57 percent overall.
Greeley is at impasse for the fifth time in seven years that has happened. The Greeley Education Association is seeking a 10.25 overall compensation increase, including a 4.9 percent base increase, while the district is offering an overall 2.7 percent with a 1.5 percent cost of living, with possible increases in January depending on the release of state funds.

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Peter Marcus, DENVER DAILY NEWS
DENVER — Vice President Joe Biden Tuesday in Denver praised the state for its renewable energy efforts and said green jobs will save the middle class.
Along with a panel of federal officials, the vice president held the fourth of his White House Task Force on the Middle Class meetings. The meeting Tuesday was titled “Building a Strong Middle Class Through a Green Economy” and was held at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, the second such time this year the vice president spoke at the museum.
In February, Biden joined President Barack Obama when the president signed the $787 billion federal economic stimulus package. Just as was the case in February, Biden again Tuesday in Denver said Colorado was leading the movement to creating jobs in the renewable energy sector.
“It’s great to be talking ‘green’ in a city that has been at the forefront of the movement since before it was fashionable; a city that I think will be among the cities that lead this country in this new century; a city that displays a fervor and a passion for environmental awareness that rivals the fervor and passion you all feel for the Lakers,” joked Biden, referring to the Denver Nuggets’ current playoff match against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Money for job training
Federal officials Tuesday announced $500 million from the recovery package for grants to prepare workers for careers in the energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan made the announcement Tuesday in Denver.
“It will create green jobs that will provide a spring board for many of the families that need to get to where they want to be,” said Biden at the town hall-like meeting.
Biden said there are as many as 450,000 jobs that can be created in the renewable energy sector.
Supporters say green jobs will be the answer for middle class families struggling through the recession. A Denver-based group, Veterans for Green Jobs, attended the meeting Tuesday to voice their support for federal assistance in spurring the growth of the renewable energy sector.
Other local renewable energy leaders who attended the meeting Tuesday included Blake Jones, president and founder of Boulder-based Namaste Solar Electric, and Roby Roberts, the government relations director with Denmark-based Vestas Wind. Vestas is currently investing more than $1.5 billion in new wind power factories across Colorado, which Roberts said will create around 2,500 jobs.

Biden praises Hickenlooper
Mayor John Hickenlooper also received several nods from Biden for his dedication to sustainable government policy, including the creation of Greenprint Denver.
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Denver, joined the panel Tuesday, arguing that the future of America rests in its ability to create green jobs.
“It’s not just about the economy, it’s about our health care system, it’s about education and it’s about imagining what the future ought to be,” said Bennet.
Former Senate President Peter Groff, a Democrat from Denver who recently accepted a job with the Obama administration as the Director of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives for the U.S. Department of Education, said Tuesday at the meeting that community colleges will be an essential tool to training the workforce for green job readiness.
Jones and Roberts agreed that training is essential. Both said their companies hire employees based on how well trained they are in the solar and wind power fields, respectively.
Local environmental groups were quick to praise the vice president for his meeting and announcement in Denver Tuesday.
“Vice President Joe Biden hit the nail on the head when he said that he and the Obama administration ‘get it’ when it comes to the nexus between building a clean energy economy and ensuring America is on the path to a strong economic recovery,” said Pam Kiley, legislative program director of Environment Colorado. “By leading an effort for a green economic recovery, we can create good jobs and a strong middle class America.”

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By Don Knox, STATEBILL.COM

GOLDEN – A total of 14 people ran for two vacant Senate seats this month in Denver, but a similar election in central Jefferson County could be a solo sprint.
Max Tyler, 61, a “semi-retired” businessman and the House District 23 chair who twice got Rep. Gwyn Green elected, is the odds-on favorite for Green’s vacant seat. Green announced during the session that she would step down for health reasons and to spend more time with her grandchildren.
A second candidate, small-business consultant Mary Ceynowa, filed to run but is said to be considering withdrawing from the race after gauging her support among 63 electors, which includes Democratic precinct committee persons, and party and elected officials.
“I would say she has a very impressive background and is a very capable person,” Tyler said of his would-be opponent. “I’ve been working with the people of this district for four or five years. I know these folks, and I think it might have an impact on the election.”
Candidates may also be nominated from the floor. If Tyler winds up being the only candidate, the vote will be taken “by acclimation,” said Jefferson County Democratic Party Chair Ann Knollman.
The election is 7 p.m. Wednesday at the American Legion Hall, 1655 Simms St., Lakewood.
In an interview with StateBill.com, Tyler said he has lived in Jefferson County for many years, where he built up and sold two small businesses, a typesetting company called Campro Systems and a computer consulting and networking company called Compro.
Today, he does process-reengineering consulting under the name of “The Star Group.”
“I make businesses more effective in using their information systems, and I work on database and content management Web sites,” Tyler said.
Asked why he’s running for Green’s House seat, Tyler said he’s been civically involved “almost all of my life.” He chaired the small-business council of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, and he served a three-year stint on the chamber’s board. He also was the founding chairman of Denver’s small-business incubator.
In the past four or five years, he said he’s spent a lot of time getting Democratic candidates elected to office in Jefferson County.
“I was very much involved with Gwyn Green’s campaign,” he said. “I helped take her from a 47-vote margin (of victory) in 2004 to a much more substantial one” in 2006, and also 2008.
Tyler said his work knocking on “thousands of doors” on behalf of Green and of newly elected Lakewood councilwoman and political novice Cindy Baroway “makes me a good candidate to carry on her tradition.”
Green’s primary passion, Tyler said, is protecting children, and she’s also focused on creating jobs and reasonable transportation and promoting and getting more people covered with healthcare.
Adding one interest of his own, he said, “It’s vitally important we get off the dirty carbon and start promoting whatever we can for renewable energy and encourage people to take different modes of transportation.”
Tyler said he’s been a proponent of RTD’s West light rail line, now under construction through Jefferson County.
“It’ll be a good model for change,” he said, noting that he’s attended meetings for a group that’s looking at redevelopment opportunities for a planned station on Lamar Street.
Asked about the controversy involving business owners whose property is being condemned near 13th Avenue and Wadsworth Boulevard, Tyler said, “You noticed they’ve been real quiet lately. They’ve settled with RTD. They got a price that RTD probably thought was too much, and that they thought was too little. Lakewood also has offered some help.”
Tyler said the eminent domain battle was contentious and high profile, and he quoted a friend who was involved in one of the first “takings” on the T-Rex line to the Denver Tech Center.
“Eminent domain is a horrible thing … but it sometimes absolutely has to be done,” he said the friend said.

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FACE THE STATE
DENVER — Secretary of State Bernie Buescher is soliciting citizen input for a “Best Practices and Vision” elections advisory commission. Lucky for you, experience at the ballot box is all you need to meet the minimum qualifications for appointment.
In a Friday press release, Buescher outlined his plans for the commission. He is looking for 11 people “consisting of county, municipal and special district election administrators, political parties and other members of the public.”
Last November’s state election was highly scrutinized for a variety of reasons, ranging from voter fraud to voting equipment malfunctions, some of which may have resulted in lost or uncounted votes. Buescher is hoping the commission will provide constructive feedback on how to make the voting procedure less complicated and more accessible.
This isn’t the first attempt at reform in recent years. Last year, Gov. Bill Ritter signed a bill carried by former Senate Majority leader Rep. Ken Gordon, D-Denver, to establish the state’s Election Reform Commission, a body designed to study voting systems and recommend changes to the state legislature.
Buescher’s spokesman Rich Coolidge says the new commission will “pick up” after work done by the previous commission.
“The Secretary of State’s Best Practices and Vision Commission will cast a broader net by including more members from different backgrounds and expertise,” wrote Coolidge in an e-mail to Face The State “It will also have more time to review and identify best practices and efficiencies used in Colorado’s election process.”
The term is just one year long, and applications are due by June 15. For more details, visit the Secretary of State’s Web site.

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By Peter Marcus, DENVER DAILY NEWS
DENVER — The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Colorado edged down one-tenth of a percentage point to 7.4 percent in April, state labor officials said on Friday.
But Donald J. Mares, executive director of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, said he expects the unemployment rate to slide back up again.
“While this marks the first time since October 2007 that the unemployment rate has fallen, continued job loses will likely push Colorado’s unemployment rate sill higher in the upcoming months,” he said.

Big change from a year ago
A year ago, the unemployment rate stood at 4.7 percent.
Labor officials said the increase marks an additional 13,200 employed Coloradans, bringing the total to over 2.5 million. Unemployment declined by 2,200 to 201,300.
But despite the increase, total employment has fallen 62,900 over the past year. The number of Colorado residents unsuccessfully seeking work has risen 74,000 since last April.
First-time filings for unemployment insurance through the first four months of this year have doubled compared with the same period last year, said labor officials. The number of continued weeks claimed for unemployment benefits also remains at very high levels.
Colorado still remains below the national unemployment rate, which was 8.9 percent in April.
The lowest unemployment rate in Colorado was found in Cheyenne County with a jobless rate of 3.3 percent. Dolores and San Juan counties posted the highest rates at 14.9 percent and 10.8 percent, respectively.
Nonfarm employment was down 3.8 percent in April compared to a year ago. Leisure and hospitality cut 4,600 positions as the winter recreation season came to a close.

Professional, business services up
Professional and business services marked the biggest increase in employment during April, adding 2,200 positions due to seasonal hiring in its administrative and business support services sector.
Construction also saw its first increase since last June with an additional 900 jobs. Unfortunately, that increase only represents about one-quarter of its normal April growth.
Education and health services added 700 positions, all in the health care and social assistance subsector.
Overall, eight industries are now registering lower employment levels than a year ago, equating to widespread job losses, said labor officials. The hardest hit industries have been professional and business services, down 31,500; construction, down 23,500; and trade, transportation and utilities, down 17,900.

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By Gene Davis, DENVER DAILY NEWS
DENVER — While the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment reported that Colorado had 92,000 fewer jobs last month in comparison to the same time last year, one sector is bubbling with good news — the local bartending industry.
Colorado bartending schools have reported a large increase in enrollment since the recession began. The Colorado Bartending and Casino College says enrollment for its bartending training program is up more than 35 percent compared to the same time last year, and the ABC Bartending School in Denver says enrollment is up more than 15 percent.
“We’re doing very well,” said Ron Skaggs, regional director of the Bartending and Casino College for the western states. “To be honest, the recession helps our schools.”
The Colorado Bartending and Casino College has seen a significant increase in the amount of former white collar workers who have been laid off and are looking for a new line of work, according to Skaggs. Before the recession began, bartending students were predominately from a low-income demographic who were looking to upgrade their job and make more money by being a bartender, he said.
Skaggs added that the former white collar workers who are laid off and become bartenders typically lose a little bit of prestige, but that they don’t necessarily lose money.
“It’s just a different style, a different lifestyle change,” he said.
Aaron Smith, director of Denver’s ABC Bartending School, said his bartending school has also been attracting some former white collar workers who “want to bartend and have a social life or else they’re going to murder people.”
“There’s no polite way to say it, but lots of people (sign up for bartending school) to get laid and bag cocktail waitresses,” he said.

No surprise?
Denver bartenders said they were not surprised that enrollment at bartending school has gone up. Three bartenders in the downtown Denver area said they have not seen a drop-off in business due to the recession, and that their job has always felt secure over the past year.
“People are still going to drink and go out for entertainment,” said Stephen Elkins, a bartender who has worked at The Falling Rock Tap House off and on for 10 years. “If anything, people come in here after they get laid off.”
Lizzie Fitzgibbon, a bartender at the Blake Street Tavern, echoed Elkins comments, adding that while her friends who work in fine dining have not had an easy time in the recession, she has never worried about job security.
“Anything that’s a little bit cheaper is going to make more money (in a recession),” she said.
Denver in particular is a good market for bartenders because it’s a young, vibrant, eclectic city that likes to goes out to bars, according to Skaggs. Also, since people only have to be 18-years-old to be a bartender in Colorado, it opens up jobs to a wider demographic.
“People drink during good times and drink during bad times,” Skaggs said. “We hope for continued success, but there’s ups and downs in everything. We don’t expect to stay at this level for ever.”

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By Peter Marcus, DENVER DAILY NEWS

DENVER — Even the sponsors of a bill that will extend health insurance benefits to same-sex partners of state employees didn’t know the governor signed it on Monday.
But Rep. Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, sponsor of Senate Bill 88, said he could care less that Gov. Bill Ritter signed the measure quietly and with little fanfare. He’s just happy that all government employees are being treated the same.
“It shows that we are going to treat employees fairly and equitably no matter if their partner is of the same sex or opposite sex,” said Ferrandino. “It shows that we value the state employees who are in gay and lesbian relationships.”

Health and dental benefits
The measure will extend health and dental insurance benefits to same-sex partners of about 79 state employees. It was co-sponsored by former Sen. Jennifer Veiga, Colorado’s first openly gay candidate to be elected to the Legislature. Veiga recently resigned so that she could move to Australia to be closer to her partner’s family.
She was replaced Wednesday night by Denver Democrat Pat Steadman, the first openly gay man to serve in the state Senate.

Defying voters?
Critics of SB 88 say the proposal flies in the face of Colorado voters, who in 2006 passed a ban on gay marriage and rejected spousal benefits for same-sex couples.
“It’s completely out of step with the people of Colorado,” Sen. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud, told the Denver Daily News in a past interview.
Lundberg lobbied in 2006 for Amendment 43, a citizens initiative that defined marriage as between one man and one woman in the state constitution. Voters essentially eliminated the prospect for gay marriage in the state.
That same year, voters also opposed Referendum I. The measure would have granted gay couples much of the same legal rights and responsibilities that married couples currently enjoy.
But proponents believe that SB 88 will help the state to attract and retain state employees.
“I think it’s a good piece of legislation that will ensure that we can compete with the private sector, as well as other public entities to attract and retain good qualified employees,” said Ferrandino.
A spokesman for Gov. Bill Ritter pointed out that Colorado joins a third of all states that have similar legislation, as well as 17 cities and five counties in Colorado.
“Public and private employers across the country recognize partner benefits as an inexpensive option to attract and retain the best employees and to promote fairness and equality in the workplace,” said Evan Dreyer, Ritter’s spokesman.
Gay advocates applauded the governor for signing legislation that they see as bringing Colorado in line with much of the rest of the nation.
“It’s a very important piece of legislation in that it shows that the state is going to treat GLBT employees with the dignity and respect that they deserve,” said Mindy Barton, legal director for the GLBT Community Center. “I’m proud of Colorado for deciding now to include those protections.”

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By Nancy Mitchell, EDUCATION NEWS COLORADO

DENVER — More than half of all Denver Public Schools’ sixth-graders are telegraphing behaviors – an F in reading or math, missing 20 days of class – that signal they’re at risk of dropping out of high school, researchers told DPS leaders recently.
“These students are giving warning signals years in advance,” reads the report from the Center for Social Organization of Schools at Johns Hopkins University, which has found similar trends in Baltimore and Philadelphia.
The DPS data comes from an analysis of the Class of 2007, including tracking students back in time for four years by looking at records of their attendance, behavior and course failures. Researchers then studied the district’s current middle school and ninth-grade students for “warning signals.”
To improve the district’s 50-percent graduation rate, “We really need to go back to middle school,” researcher Martha Abele MacIver told three DPS board members and Superintendent Tom Boasberg.
The study documented strong links between attendance problems, failed classes and dropping out:
More than 60 percent of the dropouts in the Class of 2007 had missed more than 20 days of school the prior year. That compares to 35 percent of those in the class who went on to graduate.
Students who had failed classes as ninth-graders were more likely to drop out. Seventy-seven percent of dropouts had failed at least one class; 65 percent of graduates had no class failures.
Poor attendance was a key reason the students failed their classes – more than 90 percent of those who failed at least one class had missed 15 or more days of school.
MacIver urged DPS leaders to tackle the district’s well-documented attendance issue. A June 2007 report found 42 percent of West High School students missed more than 65 days in 2006-07. Among all ninth-graders that year, 64 percent had missed 20 or more days of school.
That trend didn’t suddenly appear in high school. Almost half of DPS students in grades 6 to 8 missed more than 20 days of school in 2006-07.
“You have to get on top of attendance in middle school,” MacIver said. “Eighth-grade attendance is a better predictor of dropping out than anything else.”

Creating an ‘early warning system’
She recommends DPS adopt an early warning system that uses district data to identify students with potential problems. Teams of teachers at the school level would share responsibility for groups of students and would meet regularly to tackle problems.
Some Denver schools already are trying good strategies, MacIver acknowledged, but “we’re trying to figure out how to help schools pull things together in a coordinated, integrated way.”
Several Denver principals said they like the focus on middle school – and they could use the help.
“We have the best opportunities for changing behavior at middle school,” said Greta Martinez, principal of Grant Middle School in southwest Denver. “It’s way too late at the ninth grade.”]
But teachers already are working hard on improving their classroom instruction in a school where fewer than half the eighth-graders are proficient in reading and math, she said. So adding another layer of responsibility – working through attendance issues – would be tough.
“We just simply need more help,” Martinez said.
Lincoln High School Principal Antonio Esquibel said the school’s summer academy for students entering the ninth-grade has helped bump freshmen attendance rates from 78 percent in 2006 to 89 percent last school year.
But he said his ninth-grade teachers would be helped by having data about their incoming students sooner – on the first day of the summer academy, for example, instead of six to eight months later.
“If our English freshman academy teacher could sit there on day one or even at the end of the (previous) school year in May, she could have a profile of each one of the kids she will have in her classroom … I think that would get us on the right track better,” he said.
Boasberg said district staff is working on loading student profiles onto teachers’ desktop computers by late summer or early fall.
“Let us know what your teachers need to see,” he told Esquibel. “We should be able to provide most of that.”
DPS has announced that it will funnel some of President Obama’s economic stimulus dollars into expanding the district’s ninth-grade freshmen academies and into opening its first sixth-grade academies this summer.

Recommendations coming in June
Antwan Wilson, DPS’ instructional superintendent for high schools, said he will make recommendations to the Denver school board in June on changes to improve the district’s dropout rate, including tweaking its high school graduation requirements.
DPS board members in 2006 adopted the most rigorous graduation requirements in the state. They apply to this year’s sophomore class. Boasberg said he had not seen data on how those students are coping with the tougher guidelines and he declined to elaborate on what his staff might propose in June.
But Wilson said there will be no attempt to water down the new requirements. He said he wants to discuss “ways to ensure we are helping our students meet them.”
Also in June, the board is expected to hear recommendations on new alternative programs for students at risk of dropping out.
Kim Knous Dolan, associate director of the Donnell-Kay Foundation, which helped fund the Hopkins study, presented data showing the district doesn’t have enough classroom seats in the right areas to serve its dropouts.
Nearly 4,000 students drop out of DPS every year while another 7,800 students are not on track to graduate in four years.
Knous Dolan presented a map showing southwest Denver, which has the highest number of dropouts of any DPS region, has the fewest programs to serve them. The district has no alternative options in far northeast Denver, which has the second-highest number of dropouts.
“The distribution of alternative options in the district is in direct opposition to the student dropout data,” she said.
School board member Bruce Hoyt said the district recognizes the inadequate supply of seats and has publicly sought help from the operators of alternative programs.
“And yet we fail to get good proposals,” he said.
In April, DPS received 21 new schools proposals, including several alternative options. District staff will recommend to board members next month which they should approve for opening in fall 2010.

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By Joshua Wolpe, DENVER DAILY NEWS

DENVER — With the recent launch of large solar power systems in some prominent buildings in Denver, more local attention is being paid to renewable sources of energy than ever before.
The financial numbers call into question the viability of solar power, but rebates from Xcel Energy, tax credits from the federal government and rising costs of traditional sources of power help provide the impetus for change.

New systems
Nestle Purina PetCare last week unveiled their new 467-panel solar power system, which is Colorado’s largest, privately owned solar-panel installation. The system covers approximately 21,000 square feet on the roof of the plant located at York Street and I-70.
REC Solar, which has an office in Westminster, installed the 100-kilowatt system, which accounts for about 1 percent of the plant’s electricity needs. Nestle Purina declined to say how much the solar system cost.
“Basically under no circumstances does solar power make economic sense,” said Cary Hayes, REC Solar’s regional sales manager. “Rebates and tax credits are what drives the solar market right now. Moving forward, the ‘holy grail’ is grid parity — to the point that when the cost of a solar system is less than the prevailing rates of power, then it’s a no-brainer.
“We enjoy some low energy costs in Colorado with our access to cheap coal. However, when that changes, and energy costs go up over time, we’ll get closer to that grid parity point.”
Another prominent Denver building to recently enter the world of solar power is the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. The system consists of 465 panels, and is owned and operated by Hybrid Energy Group, which sells the electricity it generates back to the museum under the terms of a 20-year contract. The museum has a clause in the contract that allows them to buy the system after six years. As a non-profit, the museum is not eligible to take advantage of rebates or tax credits.
“This is the first step — we intend to add more after we see how it works,” said Dave Noel, vice president of operations at the museum. “This 100-kilowatt system takes care of anywhere from 2-5 percent of our energy depending on what the exhibits demand. All of our power production information is available at our Web site. We are a public institution and we try to be as transparent as possible.”

Xcel Renewable
Energy Standard
Colorado voters passed legislation in 2004 that set a renewable energy standard and applied a significant mandate to Xcel Energy, the state’s largest utility.
Amendment 37 requires Xcel to obtain 10 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2015. That mandate was increased last year to require Xcel reach a 20 percent level by 2020.
“We hit that (10 percent) mark in 2007 and we expect to meet the 20 percent mark by 2015-2017,” said Mark Stutz, spokesman for Xcel. “We are not just doing it because we have to — it is a good idea to diversify supply. It is what voters want and we embraced it very quickly and early.”
Xcel provides an incentive to those who install solar power systems, a program called “Solar Rewards.” Most of the money allotted to the program comes from an agreement with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission for a renewable energy rider, which is 2 percent of a customer’s monthly bill.
Xcel says that customers can recoup roughly 50 percent of the cost of a solar panel system through a combination of the Solar Rewards program and federal tax credits.
“As it stands today, solar power is more expensive than just getting it off the grid,” said Stutz. “If you decide to install a system, then cost may not be your primary concern — you might want to lower your carbon footprint and cost may not be your biggest factor.”
In addition to Xcel’s rewards program, the federal government’s tax credit will cover up to 30 percent of the cost.

Parity by 2015?
While solar power may not be the most affordable option right now in Colorado, the future will tell a different story, according to Gov. Bill Ritter’s Energy Office.
“Looking ahead, the German firm Deutsche Bank is predicting parity for solar power vs. traditional energy sources globally by 2015 just by comparing the steady drop in the cost of solar with the steady rise of traditional electricity rates,” said Todd Hartman, media relations manager for the governor’s energy office.
“In some states, including California, solar is already cost-competitive with traditional energy sources. In Colorado, utility rates are among the lowest in the country, creating a greater economic challenge for solar energy here.”
Hartman went on to note that the side effects of traditional power sources are not always obvious and can come at a great cost to society.
“In addition, we often forget the public costs associated with conventional fossil fuels are not included in the tab, such as the environmental impacts to air, water and land, and the associated public health effects,” he said. “And, by extension, we — as a society — have spent enormous sums, in blood and treasure, employing our military to ensure a steady supply of oil from troubled regions of the world. In fairness, these expenses need to be part of any conversation about energy costs.”

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Online resources
Xcel Solar Rewards: www.xcelenergy.com
Federal tax credits: www.energystar.gov
Denver Museum of Nature and Science: www.dmns.org
Nestle Purina: www.purina.com

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By Hereward Bradley, IWANTMYROCKY.COM

As newspapers make heavy cuts in staffing and budgets, or in some cases even fold, a debate has caught fire within the industry on whether the recent decline in print media will allow government corruption to flourish. Some journalists have gone so far as to suggest that the loss of newspapers, and the elimination of the traditional watchdog role newspapers have played, threatens the very foundation of democracy. While I wouldn’t be so presumptuous as to give such a lofty position to newspapers, the fear of losing the “eyes” that traditionally have watched over government agencies is very real.
One could make a good argument, given the recent spike in layoffs and newspaper closures, as to whether newspapers could duplicate the efforts of The Washington Post in the early 1970s when it allowed two young reporters the time and resources to flush out corruption that eventually cost Richard Nixon his presidency. Other than instincts and a nagging feeling that something was amiss, there was no guarantee that the amount of time and effort by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward to dig into the Watergate break-in would end in one of the biggest political stories of the 20th century. To put it another way, it ultimately could have fizzled out as a dead-end story. But the Post had the resources to pursue its suspicions. Today, even the Post, which has gone through serious staff cuts during the past year, would find it harder to justify such efforts.
Let’s face it, good journalism is expensive, and expensive is not part of the vocabulary in newspaper boardrooms. The Watergate example is just the tip of the iceberg. On the state and local level, hometown newspapers are slashing budgets and cutting staffs to survive. Closer to home, the Pueblo Chieftain informed its bureau chief in Denver that he would be laid off at the end of the legislative session. And the Rocky Mountain News, one of Denver’s two daily newspapers, folded at the end of February after nearly 150 years of publication. The Denver Post, the city’s other daily paper, has tightened its belt with staff and budget cuts.
At a recent conference in Princeton, N.J., on “The Newspaper Crisis,” it was pointed out that fewer New Jersey reporters are covering local and state governments, thus opening the door to allow corruption to flourish.
“Who will perform the monitoring and investigative reporting that has traditionally been provided by newspapers? What happens when they disappear?” NewJerseyNewsroom.com quoted Richard Keevey, director of the Princeton University Policy Research Institute. Keevey said online sites that have emerged do not currently have the resources to produce good investigative reporting.
David B. Offer, a retired executive editor at the Kennebec Journal in Maine, wrote this month that some of the roles traditionally filled by newspapers could shift to others, including television, bloggers and Internet news sites. “But most of these alternate sources lack the resources – money, manpower and experience – required for serious journalism. “
And then there is something called trust. Offer tells of his time as a reporter at the Hartford Courant in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when sources, both in the agencies and the community, came to trust him after he spent several years on local and state beats. The sources gave him tips on where to look for stories. That in turn, Offer says, led to investigative projects that revealed information readers needed to know but officials did not want to disclose.
“All this took time; hours, sometimes days reading budgets, comparing them with budgets from prior years; reading proposals and reports and comparing them with budgets, talking to staff members and commissions,” Offer said. “I don’t think that would be possible today.”
Again, deep and time-consuming journalism is expensive. As newspapers decline in number at a growing rate, and editors give less time to beat reporters to do their jobs well, one can only wonder how many pubic officials’ driveways and patios are being paved by county workers at taxpayer expense; how many contracts are being steered to relatives or pals of commissioners or councilors; how many officials are tapping budgets for personal gain. It happens, but will the taxpayer find out? Until newspapers come up with a new financial model to once again become profitable and healthy, one can only ask how many corrupt officials are being given a free pass.
Hereward Bradley is a former Rocky Mountain News copy editor

Distributed by Colorado Capitol Reporters

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