November 19, 2015 11:07 AM UTC

Get More Smarter on Thursday (Nov. 19)

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• by: Colorado Pols

The Colorado Pols Quadruple Doppler (with Cheese) predicts zero inches of snow accumulation 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…

► Governor John Hickenlooper continues to speak out about his decision to allow Syrian refugees into Colorado. As 9News reports:

During a press conference Wednesday, Gov. John Hickenlooper (D-Colorado) defended his announcement that he would not block Colorado from accepting Syrian refugees – a stance contrary to a number of other governors and mayors who spoke out earlier in the week.

Hickenlooper said he thought the federal government would do a sufficient job in screening the refugees ahead of their arrival in the United States, and that he trusted the judgment of the Obama administration, which is allowing 10,000 Syrian refugees into the country over the next year.

Critics of the refugee policy cited fears following last week’s terrorist attacks in Paris, which left 129 people dead and scores more wounded. At least one of the attackers was carrying a Syrian passport – but French officials said Saturday that the passport was a fake.

Meanwhile, fear-mongering Republicans such as Rep. Scott Tipton (and the never-classy Tom Tancredo) are still rattling cages about preventing Syrian refugees from entering the United States. Nevermind that refusing to accept refugees is exactly how ISIS was hoping the right-wing would react.

► The Washington Post’s “fact checker” easily disproves silly claims from Republican Presidential candidates that President Obama has agreed to allow as many as 250,000 Syrian refugees into the United States. You won’t be surprised to note that Ben Carson doesn’t understand the process for setting the maximum number of refugees allowed into the country each year.

► Introducing…for the first time in Colorado history…weighing in at a healthy 480 pages…Colorado’s first Statewide Water Plan!!! As Bruce Finley reports for the Denver Post:

Colorado officials are unveiling an unprecedented water plan, after a decade of statewide negotiations, that prioritizes water-saving in a $20 billion push to allow population growth in the face of huge projected shortfalls.

State water planners on Thursday will present a roughly 480-page document to Gov. John Hickenlooper.

“Our footing is better now than it has ever been,” Colorado Water Conservation Board director James Eklund said Wednesday.

Priority action for the coming year: figuring out funding. Most of the $20 billion needed by 2050 would be paid by Front Range water providers. State costs of $3 billion to $6 billion — or $100 million a year, Eklund said — could come from new fees, private funders or a water tax if voters approve.

This all sounds very exciting, but we’ll probably wait for the Cliff’s Notes version to be published.

Get even more smarter after the jump…

IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► Congress has managed to really hose transportation safety as lobbyists get their meat hooks on critical highway infrastructure legislation. As Politico reports:

The bipartisan push to deliver the first major highway bill in a decade is drowning out warnings from safety groups about big changes they say will make the nation’s roads more dangerous: teenagers at the wheel of big rigs, budget cuts for the automobile safety watchdog and a loophole that lets auto dealers loan out defective cars.

That’s because of pressure from industry groups and lobbyists who’ve managed to insert items from their long-standing wish lists into a $350 billion bill that covers highway spending into the next decade for projects ranging from fixing crumbling bridges to studying the impact of marijuana-impaired drivers.

“This year’s bill drives safety off a cliff,” said Jackie Gillan, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. “It is packed full of pro-industry giveaways.”

Ladies and gentlemen, your Republican-led Congress at work. Perhaps it might actually be a good thing that Congress is taking a break for most of 2016.

► In a surprising development, the Colorado Springs Utility Board agreed on Wednesday to close the coal-fired Martin Drake Power Plant by the year 2035. The Utility Board has typically been a staunch supporter of the Drake Power Plant, but community activists and a downtown partnership in Colorado Springs apparently made some convincing arguments.

► Colorado and Israel have forged a mutual research and development agreement that both sides expect will have significant economic impacts for Colorado.

► House Speaker “DJ Paulie D” is cracking down on Republican troublemakers in Congress (theoretically, anyway) by pushing through big changes for the steering committee of the House Republican Conference.

► Talk about your all-time backfires: Just weeks after Garfield County Commissioners voted to cut $1,500 in county funding for Planned Parenthood, an online fundraising campaign has generated more than $25,000 in donations.

► The Presidential campaign of former Florida Gov. Jeb! Bush continues to flail away. The Bush campaign has spent about $20 million on TV ads already — more than twice the amount spent by any other candidate or interest group — and his poll numbers are still sadder than a Peyton Manning pass.

OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK

► Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal finally dropped out of the Republican field for President this week. Back home in Louisiana, Jindal has a pretty astounding 70% disapproval rating. Chris Cillizza at “The Fix” says Jindal’s Presidential campaign bared little resistance to the candidate himself.

► Quinnipiac has the results of its dart-throwing contest in Colorado.

ICYMI

► Colorado Gov. Ralph Carr is remembered for his courage in dealing with immigrants.

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