February 17, 2016 12:51 PM UTC

Get More Smarter on Wednesday (Feb. 17)

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• by: Colorado Pols

We celebrated the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington this month. Here’s another birthday of (slightly less) note: Basketball great Michael Jordan is 53 today.  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…

► State Senate President Bill Cadman sorta kinda rebuked Congress on Tuesday after Congressional leaders declared that they would refuse to hold confirmation hearings to replace Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who died suddenly over the weekend. We can’t say with any certainty that we understand what Cadman was trying to do here, but this was probably not the outcome he was looking for when he was quoted as saying, “Dear Congress: Do your job!” As we wrote this morning:

So what really happened here, you ask? There’s no way to know for sure, but there’s little ambiguity in Cadman’s original remarks to leave room for completely backpedaling them–as his second statement does with no real attempt to reconcile the two. That’s a pretty clear indicator that Cadman messed up very badly, and mostly likely got taken to the proverbial woodshed by his betters in Washington.

With Republicans in Washington, D.C. taking yet another heedless political risk by stonewalling against an Obama Supreme Court nominee with nearly a year left in his term, obviously the last thing they need is a high-ranking Republican lawmaker in the states telling them to “do their jobs.” The speed with which Senate President Cadman’s remarks yesterday spread took everyone by surprise, from fellow Republicans trying to spin their tenuous position to the gobsmacked reporters putting it out on the wire.

► The first candidate debate among Republican contenders for the U.S. Senate in Colorado took place last Thursday evening. There wasn’t a lot of reporting done on the first 2016 forum featuring 7 of the 13 GOP Senate candidates, so we decided to watch the entire debate on YouTube and create two “Debate Diaries” from the two and-a-half hour discussion. Click here to read part 1 of 2 (Part 2 arrives later today).

Get even more smarter after the jump…

IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► The “Sports Castle” has fallen after succoming to a siege of bankruptcy attorneys and accountants. As the Denver Business Journal reports:

Sports Authority — reportedly poised to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection — will close at least three metro Denver stores, including its flagship Sports Castle store at 1000 Broadway, as part of a plan cut as many as 140 locations nationwide, the Denver Business Journal has confirmed.

The Englewood-based sports retailer will also close a store at 9000 E. Peakview Ave. in Greenwood Village and a branch of its S.A. Elite brand at 1750 29th Street in Boulder, a company spokesperson confirmed Wednesday.

Thanks, Obama.

► The state legislature is once again humming from the misinformed rants of the anti-vaxxer crowd. State Sen. Kevin Lundberg seems to think that it would be a good idea if the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment was not involved in tracking cases where parents are opting out of childhood vaccinations.

► A group of angry giants is causing problems on I-70 after hurling a bunch of boulders onto the road in Glenwood Canyon. That’s not exactly what happened, but we like our version of this story better. As the Denver Post reports:

A massive rock slide on Interstate 70 in Glenwood Canyon forced thousands of motorists onto a circuitous, 146-mile detour and could prompt delays on the heavily traveled route for up to a month.

Officials say Monday night’s slide underscores the challenges of managing hundreds of miles of Colorado roads winding through rockfall-prone slopes that cycle through repeated freezes and thaws.

The closed interstate will reopen partially Thursday afternoon at the earliest, with traffic alternating each direction in the eastbound lanes. Workers must repair the damaged roadway and shore up unstable rocks towering above before traffic can start moving again.

A solid timetable for full reopening has not been announced, although officials estimate it could be up to a week before vehicles can simultaneously head in both directions. It will be about a month before fixes are complete.

► Drilling (and fracking) for oil and gas in Adams County is getting awfully close to residential neighborhoods. As Conservation Colorado notes in a media advisory:

Conservation Colorado is releasing a website and mapping project showing where residential drilling could be coming soon to the neighborhoods of Adams County. The publicly available data clearly portrays the challenge local governments and Adams County residents face as oil and gas development continues across Colorado. Local community members and decision makers will be joining Conservation Colorado for a telepresser to explain the information and answer questions about this project and what it means for Colorado’s communities in close proximity to oil and gas development…

…The information package released during the teleconference will include:

1. Summary of the project and statements from teleconference participants.

2. Maps of oil and gas leases in Adams County with supplemental maps focusing on Hunter’s Glen, Northglenn, Thornton, Westminster, Brighton, and school districts.

3. Scope and Limitations document detailing how this data was collected and mapped.

4. Addresses of several active wells.

5. Photo of the digital billboard on I-25 presenting the project to the public.

► Republican Presidential candidates are preparing for Saturday’s South Carolina Primary by turning up the fearmongering to Level 10. From the Washington Post:

Trump’s rivals are going out of their way to show that they are even more hawkish than the front-runner. This conservative state, known for its warrior ethos, has a large military presence and a huge population of veterans.

At a rally last night outside Myrtle Beach, Marco Rubio declared: “We’re keeping Guantanamo – forever! It’s a good base.” As the crowd cheered, a man yelled: “Waterboard Hillary!” The Florida senator did not rebuke him. Instead, he laughed it off. “The press is here,” he said, per Sean Sullivan. “I didn’t hear what they said. I know it wasn’t a bad word, that’s all that matters!”

His campaign also went on TV yesterday with a commercial called “Fear” that stars South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy. “No one is stronger for America’s security than Marco Rubio,” Gowdy, best known for leading the Benghazi inquest, says to camera.

Vote for Marco Rubio or we will all die a fiery death. Or, will we all die a fiery death if Rubio is elected? We get confused about these things.

► The Colorado Springs Independent has more coverage from Saturday’s big Democratic fundraiser featuring Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK

► Republican Presidential candidate Ben Carson received his first Congressional endorsement on Wednesday. Politico has more on the genius who decided that it was a smart political move to jump on a bus careening toward a crater:

Rep. Andy Harris, a Maryland Republican, threw his support to Carson and joined him on the trail in South Carolina at a town hall on veterans issues.

Harris, like Carson, is a physician, and he hails from the state in which Carson launched his storied career as a Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon.

Harris told reporters that in addition to their 30-year relationship stretching back to their medical careers, he is supporting Carson because he “understands the historic constitutional background” of the country. He added that Carson can “truly restore the greatness of America — not as a catchphrase.”

Asked whether his endorsement is coming too late to help Carson, who is languishing in polls, Harris added: “Last count, we did two out of 50 [primaries], and that’s if you don’t count the territories and the district. There’s a lot of this campaign left.”

We suppose Rep. Harris is correct in a sense: Carson still has 48 more states to lose!

► Republican Presidential frontrunner Donald Trump is absolutely unloading on South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham.

ICYMI

► Former Colorado State University Athletic Director Jack Graham officially kicked off his campaign for U.S. Senate on Tuesday.

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