Carbondale–A fire ban has been instituted in Carbondale by Fire Chief Ron Leach. The fire ban affects private property and will be in effect until further notice.
Glenwood Springs–Garfield County Attorney Andrew Gorgey has accepted the job to be the full time County Manager. Since January, Gorgey has done double-duty but decided to accept the County’s offer to take over the Manager’s position effective June 1st. The County will once again look to California-based professional headhunting firm Peckham and McKenney to find a new attorney. Assistant County Attorney Carrie Gagnon will handle all legal matters in the meantime.
DENVER (AP) – Colorado Sen. Mark Udall says President Barack
Obama supports extending a tax break for wind energy that
supporters say is vital to the state’s wind-turbine industry.
Udall, a Democrat, said Thursday that Obama’s support is
welcome. State officials say about 5,000 people work in the wind energy
industry in Colorado, the fifth-highest total in the country.
Danish wind turbine maker Vestas has four plants and 1,800
employees in Colorado. The Senate rejected an extension of the tax break in March because sponsors hadn’t identified any spending cuts to offset the
loss of revenue. Udall and others introduced a revised version two days later
that is focused more narrowly on wind, hydro, geothermal and
biofuels energy.
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) – The University of Colorado Boulder’s
administration and student government spent more than $278,000 for
a crackdown on the 4/20 marijuana celebration on the Boulder campus
last month. University officials say it was necessary to protect student
safety and education. After more than 10,000 people attended last year’s marijuana rally on Norlin Quadrangle, university officials decided this year
to ramp up police presence and to apply stinky fish-based
fertilizer to the area. In past years, the unsanctioned April 20 pot smoke-out cost the school about $50,000, with expenses including hiring event staff and extra police officers from outside agencies.
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) – Western lawmakers are seeking to elevate
the plains bison to a status similar to that of the iconic bald
eagle with legislation to declare the burly animal America’s
“national mammal.” Bison advocates launched a “vote bison” public relations
campaign Friday to coincide with the bill.
The National Bison Legacy Act introduced in the Senate is backed
by lawmakers from Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, New Mexico,
the Dakotas and Rhode Island. The largely symbolic measure would provide no added protections for the estimated 20,000 wild bison in North America.
Tens of millions of bison, also known as buffalo, once roamed
most of North America. Overhunting reduced the population to about
1,000 animals by the turn of the 20th century.
