Update, 1/29: More coverage on Colorado Spending Transparency and Ed News Colorado, as well as a kind link from the Open Records blog. This morning the Colorado Senate Education Committee got a bit of a surprise, it might seem, with a slew of concerned citizens coming forward to testify in support of Senate Bill 57 (PDF) (sponsored by state senator Ted Harvey) - which would bring something akin to full-fledged financial transparency to Colorado public schools. It's unusual to see more than 15 average citizens come forward to testify for a piece of legislation - and rarer yet, to have many of them do so quite eloquently. Most were from the metro Denver area, a couple hailed from Weld County, and one of them drove three hours over the … [Read more...]
$7.9 Billion: RTD FasTracks Now Nearly 70 Percent Over Original Cost
The Denver Post reports today that the price tag for Regional Transportation District (RTD)'s taxpayer-funded FasTracks plan has jumped again:The price of the FasTracks rail expansion — if it is to be completed by 2017, as promised to voters — has jumped from $6.1 billion to $7.9 billion, according to officials familiar with RTD's latest analysis of the program. Approved by voters in 2004 for $4.7 billion, estimates later rose to $6.1 billion - a 30 percent increase. Now they have skyrocketed to $7.9 billion, nearly 70 percent higher than original estimates. According to the Post, RTD either has to narrow the scope of the project, delay its implementation, or ask for more tax money:Centennial Mayor Randy Pye, who heads the 37-member … [Read more...]
Would Katie Casey Still Want to be Taken Out 100 Years Later?
Obscure question: What special connection does the name Katie Casey have to baseball aficionados today? Well, it was 100 years ago today (May 2, 1908) that America's universal musical standard Take Me Out to the Ball Game was published. Jack Norworth penned the words; Albert von Tilzer the unforgettable melody. To clear up the connection, Norworth's and Van Tilzer's Tin Pan Alley creation was written to be sung by a young female character:Only a handful of fans realize that the two verses of the song are about Katie Casey (later changed to Nelly Kelly), a girl who was mad with baseball fever as she asked her young beau to take her to a ballgame rather than a show. This faint whiff of romance added to the song's success on vaudeville, … [Read more...]