We don’t care what anybody says: Today is NOT the first day of the second round of the NCAA Tournament. It’s time to Get More Smarter with Colorado Pols. If you think we missed something important, please include the link in the comments below (here’s a good example).
TOP OF MIND TODAY…
► Anyone got an extra $1.73 billion that they aren’t using? We may need it to finish the new VA Hospital in Denver that is actually in Aurora. Also, Rep. Mike Coffman is complaining again that other people aren’t doing stuff.
► Surprise! No, wait…what’s the opposite of surprise? Colorado doesn’t have much room in next year’s budget to fund things. It’s almost like we need a new source of revenue or something.
► We may not have much money in the state coffers, but at least we’re offering tax refunds! Thanks, TABOR: Destroying Colorado one ratchet effect at a time.
► But wait, The U.S. Senate will save the fiscal day! Oh, nevermind.
Get even more smarter after the jump…
SHOULD YOU FIND YOURSELF STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…
► Colorado legislators may have found an agreement to fund three whole offices to handle applications for immigrants seeking driver’s licenses.
► Senate Bill 177, the so-called “Construction Defects” legislation, is moving on to the floor of the State Senate. The Republican-controlled Senate will likely pass the bill (with help from Democrats like Sen. Cheri Jahn, who does whatever CACI tells her to do), before it meets its demise in the State House.
► Colorado Republicans such as Sen. Vicki “Lost” Marble believe that Coloradans should be able to carry weapons without a permit. A full 88% of Americans believe this is a horrible idea.
► Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is a favorite for the Republican nomination for President — at least as far as Colorado Republicans are concerned. In other words, Walker will almost certainly flame out by Christmas.
► New poll numbers for Hillary Clinton are quite impressive. Good thing Republicans made sure to overshadow her email problems with their “Dear Iran” letter fiasco last week.
► Congressman Jared Polis (D-Boulderish) is sponsoring two pieces of legislation to close fracking loopholes. Of course, it would be a miracle if Congress got around to actually doing anything, but at least Polis has some cool names for his legislation: the FRESHER Act and the BREATHE Act. You can research the acronyms yourself.
OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK
► Dave Perry of the Aurora Sentinel wonders why the Colorado State School Board is made up of so many idiots. This might also be the greatest sub-headline of the year:
I doubt that the infamous Ted Haggard of New Life Church and his scandalous foibles for using meth and paying for sex with a masseuse turned a lot of Colorado Springs area teens into raging bi-sexual sex and drug addicts.
► Congressional Republicans are whining that the White House worked to promote Net Neutrality with the FCC. Are they mad about the policy, or just mad that there are people in Washington D.C. who really do work during the day?
► Rain, rain, go away. We’ll vote on rain barrels another day (now it’s scheduled for tomorrow).
► Oh, Stephen A. Smith, why are you talking about politics?
ICYMI
► Send good thoughts and vibes toward the Denver Post’s Lynn Bartels, who is dealing with her father’s death after a long illness.
► Denver City Council candidate Sean Bradley (D-11) apparently does not have the endorsement of former Mayor Wellington Webb.
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Yeah but Bennet had better start making an equal or greater amount of noise or come 2016 if Coffman runs for Senate, to most low info voters, tons of them in a presidential year, he will be that military guy they actually vaguely remember having heard of and his ads will highlight how he fought like crazy for vets. Colorado voters will eat that up. Bennet will still be “who?” to them. And low info apolitical and indie voters don’t like to vote straight ticket. The ones who are mainly voting D will be on the look out for some nice ”moderate” Rs to vote for. If I were Coffman I’d talk loudly and constantly about this for the duration.
Bipartisanship, per Digby:
And it has to do with more than just closing Gitmo. R’s win, they go on that attack; R’s lose, they keep pushing to the right. Dems win, they act reasonable; Dems lose, they call for bipartisanship.
That pretty much covers it.
I know it’s vaguely related to our military, but even so… how is it that constructing a building can come in at FIVE TIMES the initial bid (and possibly more…)?
You would think there would be some penalty clause for these bids wherein any project that comes in at least 100% over bid gets an automatic tight-assed government supervisor and a directive that the bidding company gets to eat the rest of the cost until it’s completed to said government supervisor’s satisfaction.
I know. I’m trying really hard to understand how it can possibly cost that much and take that long compared to other hospitals. Are they literally using money as their primary building material?
You might have something there. At the least I’d check the insulation for long-term investment potential.
I read Electra’s Denver Post article. It seems that the design team blames the contractors for not following their grand aesthetic vision for the buildings, and the contractors are blaming the design team for sticking to an impractical and expensive design, rather than following normal mores for hospital construction.
Both sides were apparently lacking leadership and oversight…somebody needed to have brought the sides to some workable compromises years ago.
Rep. Coffman, this is where the project could have used some hard-nosed military guy who understands veterans issues, and with lots of government contacts and a seat on the Veterans Affairs Committee.
Oh, wait, that was you. Where were you again?
Just love imaginative designers. Years ago I remember checking out a newly built high end spec home with some friends, just for fun, by one of those creative designers. They had the garage on one side of the house and the kitchen all the way on the other side so you’d have to traipse through the whole main floor with your groceries. We all had the same immediate reaction. Are they kidding? One can only imagine how ridiculous the platinum plated design for the VA hospital must be.