CO-04 (Special Election)
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(R) Greg Lopez
(R) Trisha Calvarese
90%
10%
President (To Win Colorado)
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(D) Joe Biden*
(R) Donald Trump
80%
20%↓
CO-01 (Denver)
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(D) Diana DeGette*
90%
CO-02 (Boulder-ish)
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(D) Joe Neguse*
90%
CO-03 (West & Southern CO)
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(D) Adam Frisch
(R) Jeff Hurd
(R) Ron Hanks
40%
30%
20%
CO-04 (Northeast-ish Colorado)
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(R) Lauren Boebert
(R) Deborah Flora
(R) J. Sonnenberg
50%↑
15%
10%↓
CO-05 (Colorado Springs)
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(R) Dave Williams
(R) Jeff Crank
50%↓
50%↑
CO-06 (Aurora)
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(D) Jason Crow*
90%
CO-07 (Jefferson County)
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(D) Brittany Pettersen
85%↑
CO-08 (Northern Colo.)
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(D) Yadira Caraveo
(R) Gabe Evans
(R) Janak Joshi
60%↑
35%↓
30%↑
State Senate Majority
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DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
80%
20%
State House Majority
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DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
95%
5%
August 05, 2013 07:09 AM UTC
22 Comments
One of many things, real useful news actually, that you won't be reading in the Denver Post or the Pueblo Chieftan . . .
Saboteurs in the Potato Salad
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/01/saboteurs-in-the-potato-salad/?_r=0
. . . of course, you will, undoubtedly, read breathless coverage of these important meetings, and the pearls of wisdom uttered by Lamborn, Coffman, Gardner, and Tipton (… awfully quiet on that western front lately — perhaps an alien abduction?)
You covered the "Important" topics!
Excellent piece….
And if Romney were in office now, the Republicans would be nominating him (probably themselves too) for sainthood for achieving the above results.
Fine piece. This is indeed what the GOP has sunk to.
Suggestion for the Dept of Tourism:
I'm over in France right now to visit my daughter now that her internship has ended (poor baby – having to spend the summer in France doing research 🙂 ). France is a wonderful place to vacation, much better than I expected. We'll come back we've enjoyed it so much.
So lessons in what Colorado could do to increase tourism. These are items that will have tourists return, and tell their friends to come here.
Do the above and we'll increase tourism from Europe & Asia substantially over the next couple of years. Making the trip comfortable is gigantic for repeat and referral business.
What Department of Tourism? The only way to 'eliminate tips' is to require that servers be paid a real wage, which means that all the GOP electeds just voted against it. Servers in Europe have healthcare, subsidized ediucation, workable transit. etc. etc. etc.
Yep. Eliminate tips and you'd eliminate servers, you know, eating and stuff.
I take it you didn't read the specifics of what I wrote:
Who includes it? Who requires that? Are you suggesting that some govt entity or legislation do away with tips and mandate say an 18% across the board tip? And what makes you think that would go over with the cheapskates here that getaway with 10% or compensate for good nights when a server walks away with 20%? By what mechanisms and how do you see this working?
I mean if you throw out ideas and expect them to be taken seriously please show how they are remotely practical.
I think restaurants should implement it individually. Most presently say there will be an automatic 18% tip for parties of 8 or more. Here's an example. So clearly practible.
And it can be set to an amount that is a little above what people presently average. So people will make as much as they are now.
If it's voluntary, it won't happen. Especially not via the state's "Department of Tourism".
Restaurants have long lobbied to have their waitstaff exempted from minimum wage laws, and they don't like the whole tips+wages minimum wage, either. If it's not a law, the industry simply won't go for it.
http://www.colorado.com/colorado-tourism-office-0
You understand a 'Department' is a certain level of 'office' correct? This is not that.
Not to be a pain in the butt, but your ideas would never work. Their is no authority that can wipe out tips and insist that servers get living wages (which in the US might be significantly higher than in a 'European-Socialist' state like France. How would one get from, say, Gypsum up alley to Vail without a car on $2.01 or $7.25/hour? We don't all live where we can jump on the Hop and Skip. Tourists like it out here, but the service industry lives–literally–on tips.
'There'. I usually ace that test too. Or I mean two.
Will NYC, reported by Fox News, suffice as an example you find acceptable? http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2013/06/11/nyc-restaurant-bans-tipping-opts-instead-to-pay-workers-set-wage-and-increase/
{sigh} A (singular) restaurant (singular) in New York City (urban) is not the same as a diner in Eagle.
You wrote:
And mentioned a Department of Tourism (which sounds like an actual state entity) to mean: individual restaurants should opt to do that?
Lots of restaurants do that, for parties of '6 or more' or whatever.
But you seemed to suggest a system where the innocent tourist can just roam about and sleep with good conscience knowing their servers have all been fairly compensated without having to bother calculating what 15% is. That's not individual restaurants implementing something separately on their own. Which was the point I was raising.
It’s a nice idea, but we're not Europe for ill and good. Or NYC. If restaurants, associations etc. want to implement and advertise that, I say go for it, nothing is stopping them. That did not sound like what you were proposing.
Plus, when I travelled there last all my servers were glad to accept tips–although I had heard 10% was more customary. We may move in different circles.
(PS-Have a great trip, I'd love to be in France, tipping or included in tab either way).
So lessons in what Colorado could do to increase tourism – See more at: http://coloradopols.com/diary/47026/monday-open-thread-28#comment-522004
Hi;
I figure the best approach is for the Tourism Office (right, not a dept) should suggest that individual businesses do the translating, built in service charge, etc. And then when it works well for some, spread the word to others.
As for tips over here, we've been told that you don't tip on top. In fact, there's no way to do so as they come to the table, take your card, and print the receipt right there with no place to add a tip.
The one law the state could implement is lower the drinking age. The tea party Congresspeople keep yelling the feds should not tell us what to do – so undo the no booze till 21 federal law.
David –
I'm curious how you've handled alcohol at home. My plan is to teach my kid to handle alcohol beginning at about 16 – small glass of wine at dinner and so on, with the goal of developing a healthy respect and appreciation for alcohol. She is 12 now. What if anything did you do?
I told them to first drink more than they should when they were in High School – so I could come get them if necessary. My wife and I always stressed being safe so no getting in a car if the driver is drinking, don't drink to the point that you make really bad decisions, etc. Oh, and to not drink Tequila as their first booze.
Because it wasn't forbidden, it was no big deal and all we ever faced was the occasional hangover. Oh, and I would speak really loudly and we would find something requiring serious exertion when they were hung over – so the after effect was more painful.
There's also the example. A beer/week was heavy drinking for me and I think what the parents do counts for a lot.
With all that said, maybe I did a lousy job parenting and was just lucky 🙂
Polster makes the big time:
Groundwork Laid, Growers Turn to Hemp in Colorado
Why compete when you can get a judge to make it impossible for others to operate?
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_23801122/judges-proposed-rules-would-probably-drive-uber-out