Questions for Colorado’s leaders
March 8th, 2011 by John Creighton in B.O.E.
Tags: Colorado, Public Leaders, St. Vrain
LONGMONT — There is political consensus in Colorado that the state’s budget woes won’t go away even when the economy recovers. Authors of a report released by the University of Denver Center for Colorado’s Economic Future assert that even fifteen years of strong job growth is not enough to dig Colorado out of its hole. Colorado’s problems are caused by a structural mismatch between the state’s obligations to fund K-12 Education, Medicaid, the state’s prison system, and a variety of [...]
Read more...Austerity comes to Colorado
February 18th, 2011 by John Creighton in B.O.E., Dispatches
Tags: Colorado, Leadership, Public Leaders, Public Values, St. Vrain
LONGMONT, Colo. — Governor John Hickenlooper, Colorado Democrat, proposed an austerity budget this week that would make Republican counterparts such as Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie proud. Governor Hickenlooper deserves credit on many levels for his budget proposal. But, twelve, eighteen or twenty-four months from now, his ideas, if enacted, are just as likely to foster greater public antipathy toward government and politicians as it is to build good will. Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper addresses [...]
Read more...“I chose to live”
November 15th, 2010 by John Creighton in Snapshots
Tags: Colorado, Longmont, Neighbors
What would you do if your health was slipping away and doctors said you couldn’t be cured? Anne Garcia McCullough, co-founder of Hopeology, chose to live. Anne experienced something we all want to believe is possible but are highly skeptical that it actually exists: A miracle. Imagine sitting in a dark room. You are enveloped in fear. The walls of your dank existence close more tightly around you. You are all alone. Even faith struggles to survive in this place. [...]
Read more...Dear Michael Bennet, Ken Buck, John Hickenlooper and Dan Maes…
August 11th, 2010 by John Creighton in Dispatches
Tags: Colorado, Public Leaders
FLORISSANT, Colo. (8/11/10) — Congratulations Misters Bennet, Buck, Hickenlooper and Maes for your victories in the Colorado primary. You endured contentious contests — with the exception, of course, of the unopposed Mr. Hickenlooper. Some of you struggled with ethics issues and said sort of whacky things. Others made the modern error of speaking without notes in the presence of opposition video cameras. But, all that to the side for a moment. I admire anyone who is willing to put themselves [...]
Read more...Board Resolution – Fix the State Budget
April 28th, 2010 by John Creighton in B.O.E.
Colorado’s state budget crisis is causing “historic budget cuts” in many Colorado school districts. Virtually all of Colorado’s 178 school districts face an unprecedented 6.3 percent cut in education funding under this year’s School Finance Act, according to Education News Colorado. This cut comes on top of state-imposed rescissions of 2.3 percent in the 2009-10 school year. Next year is not expected to be better. Colorado needs a long term fix to its budget problems. Our constitution is in a [...]
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