Colorado carrot growers are reporting great sales this summer. Many local farms have begun harvesting carrots as their main crop. Hail that accompanied severe weather recently damaged many farmers' crops -- influencing current market value. Despite increases in operating costs, many growers are reporting positive numbers so far for the summer. Since the recession began, many supplies like fertilizer, seed, packaging and boxes have spiked -- creating higher costs to farmers. As a result, carrot prices are up about 15-percent over last year.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Congress moving quickly on debt and spending deal
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congress is moving quickly on an agreement to avert a potentially devastating default on U.S. obligations, with legislation that mixes a record increase in the government's borrowing cap with the promise of more than $2 trillion in spending cuts.
After a tense weekend of bargaining, President Barack Obama and congressional leaders announced the agreement Sunday night, providing an instant boost to Asian financial markets and a huge dose of relief to an administration and Congress frazzled by months of partisan warfare and the chance that a default could send the still-fragile economy into recession.
The Senate seems likely to vote first on the measure while House GOP leaders work to assemble support for it. Democratic votes are certain to be needed to pass the measure in the Republican-dominated House, just as Republicans will be needed to clear the measure through the Democratic Senate. Liberal Democrats were already carping that Obama had given away too much to GOP leaders.
"Now, is this the deal I would have preferred? No," Obama said. "But this compromise does make a serious down payment on the deficit reduction we need, and gives each party a strong incentive to get a balanced plan done before the end of the year."
The still-unreleased legislation would slice more than $2 trillion from federal spending over a decade and permit the nation's $14.3 trillion borrowing cap to rise by up to $2.4 trillion, enough to keep the government afloat through the 2012 elections - a key objective for Obama, whose poll numbers have sagged as the summertime crisis dragged on.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, telephoned Obama at mid-evening to say the agreement had been struck, then immediately began pitching the deal to his fractious rank and file.
"It isn't the greatest deal in the world, but it shows how much we've changed the terms of the debate in this town," he said on a conference call, according to GOP officials. He added the agreement was "all spending cuts. The White House bid to raise taxes has been shut down."
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was publicly noncommittal. "I look forward to reviewing the legislation with my caucus to see what level of support we can provide," Pelosi said in a written statement. But Democratic officials said she was unlikely to do anything to try to scuttle the package.
Passage seemed likely if not wholly assured. Support from Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., should guarantee Senate approval, but the House could prove more difficult because of defections from left and right alike.
"This deal trades people's livelihoods for the votes of a few unappeasable right-wing radicals, and I will not support it," said Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz.
Tea party favorite and presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., countered that the deal "spends too much and doesn't cut enough. ... Someone has to say no. I will."
The government presently borrows more than 40 cents of every dollar it spends, and without an infusion of borrowing authority, the government would face an unprecedented default on U.S. loans and obligations - like $23 billion worth of Social Security pension payments to retirees due Aug. 3.
The increased borrowing authority includes $400 billion that would take effect immediately and $500 billion that Obama could order unless specifically denied by Congress. That $900 billion increase in the debt cap would be matched by savings produced over the coming decade by capping spending on day-to-day agency budgets passed by Congress each year.
A special bipartisan committee would be established to find another $1.5 trillion in further spending cuts, probably taken from benefit programs like farm subsidies, Medicare and the Medicaid health care program for the poor and disabled. Republicans dismissed the idea that the panel would approve tax increases.
Any agreement by the panel would be voted on by both House and Senate - and if the panel deadlocked, automatic spending cuts would slash across much of the federal budget. Social Security, Medicaid and food stamps would be exempt from the automatic cuts, but payments to doctors, nursing homes and other Medicare providers could be trimmed, as could subsidies to insurance companies that offer an alternative to government-run Medicare.
The pact was sealed during a weekend of talks in which GOP leaders Boehner and McConnell dealt directly with the White House, especially Vice President Joe Biden. The final battle was fought over Pentagon spending cuts, with Democrats emerging with a face-saving victory for $350 billion in defense spending curbs.
But Republicans set the parameters of the debate, with Boehner successfully winning spending cuts equaling the amount of the debt increase - though the cuts phase in over time and future Congresses will have ample temptation to find ways around stringent spending caps called for in the pact.
Obama said such appropriated accounts would be left with the lowest levels of spending as a percentage of the overall economy in more than a half-century.
The measure capped a long saga: first, meetings in a Biden-led group that fell apart over revenues; then, efforts by Obama and Boehner to forge a so-called grand bargain, cutting the deficit by $4 trillion or more over a decade, including new revenues agreed to by Boehner.
In the end, the deal was a split-the-differences compromise, with plenty for both sides to dislike. House GOP defense hawks came out on the losing end. So too did Democratic liberals seeking tax increases.
© 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
After a tense weekend of bargaining, President Barack Obama and congressional leaders announced the agreement Sunday night, providing an instant boost to Asian financial markets and a huge dose of relief to an administration and Congress frazzled by months of partisan warfare and the chance that a default could send the still-fragile economy into recession.
The Senate seems likely to vote first on the measure while House GOP leaders work to assemble support for it. Democratic votes are certain to be needed to pass the measure in the Republican-dominated House, just as Republicans will be needed to clear the measure through the Democratic Senate. Liberal Democrats were already carping that Obama had given away too much to GOP leaders.
"Now, is this the deal I would have preferred? No," Obama said. "But this compromise does make a serious down payment on the deficit reduction we need, and gives each party a strong incentive to get a balanced plan done before the end of the year."
The still-unreleased legislation would slice more than $2 trillion from federal spending over a decade and permit the nation's $14.3 trillion borrowing cap to rise by up to $2.4 trillion, enough to keep the government afloat through the 2012 elections - a key objective for Obama, whose poll numbers have sagged as the summertime crisis dragged on.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, telephoned Obama at mid-evening to say the agreement had been struck, then immediately began pitching the deal to his fractious rank and file.
"It isn't the greatest deal in the world, but it shows how much we've changed the terms of the debate in this town," he said on a conference call, according to GOP officials. He added the agreement was "all spending cuts. The White House bid to raise taxes has been shut down."
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was publicly noncommittal. "I look forward to reviewing the legislation with my caucus to see what level of support we can provide," Pelosi said in a written statement. But Democratic officials said she was unlikely to do anything to try to scuttle the package.
Passage seemed likely if not wholly assured. Support from Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., should guarantee Senate approval, but the House could prove more difficult because of defections from left and right alike.
"This deal trades people's livelihoods for the votes of a few unappeasable right-wing radicals, and I will not support it," said Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz.
Tea party favorite and presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., countered that the deal "spends too much and doesn't cut enough. ... Someone has to say no. I will."
The government presently borrows more than 40 cents of every dollar it spends, and without an infusion of borrowing authority, the government would face an unprecedented default on U.S. loans and obligations - like $23 billion worth of Social Security pension payments to retirees due Aug. 3.
The increased borrowing authority includes $400 billion that would take effect immediately and $500 billion that Obama could order unless specifically denied by Congress. That $900 billion increase in the debt cap would be matched by savings produced over the coming decade by capping spending on day-to-day agency budgets passed by Congress each year.
A special bipartisan committee would be established to find another $1.5 trillion in further spending cuts, probably taken from benefit programs like farm subsidies, Medicare and the Medicaid health care program for the poor and disabled. Republicans dismissed the idea that the panel would approve tax increases.
Any agreement by the panel would be voted on by both House and Senate - and if the panel deadlocked, automatic spending cuts would slash across much of the federal budget. Social Security, Medicaid and food stamps would be exempt from the automatic cuts, but payments to doctors, nursing homes and other Medicare providers could be trimmed, as could subsidies to insurance companies that offer an alternative to government-run Medicare.
The pact was sealed during a weekend of talks in which GOP leaders Boehner and McConnell dealt directly with the White House, especially Vice President Joe Biden. The final battle was fought over Pentagon spending cuts, with Democrats emerging with a face-saving victory for $350 billion in defense spending curbs.
But Republicans set the parameters of the debate, with Boehner successfully winning spending cuts equaling the amount of the debt increase - though the cuts phase in over time and future Congresses will have ample temptation to find ways around stringent spending caps called for in the pact.
Obama said such appropriated accounts would be left with the lowest levels of spending as a percentage of the overall economy in more than a half-century.
The measure capped a long saga: first, meetings in a Biden-led group that fell apart over revenues; then, efforts by Obama and Boehner to forge a so-called grand bargain, cutting the deficit by $4 trillion or more over a decade, including new revenues agreed to by Boehner.
In the end, the deal was a split-the-differences compromise, with plenty for both sides to dislike. House GOP defense hawks came out on the losing end. So too did Democratic liberals seeking tax increases.
© 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Closing New Raymer Post Office Could Hurt Community
As we told you last week, lots of small towns could lose their post offices, and New Raymer could be one of them. Of the 200 residents, many say the post office is like a community center where folks gather as they're picking up their mail. The postal service says that New Raymer is expensive to run, and with the USPS losing eight billion dollars last year, it is on the list of those post offices up for review.
Books Look Good
Fort Morgan's books are in good shape, that from an independent auditor who told city council last week that the city received a good opinion. The audit did show that money in one fund wasn't spent fast enough, but auditors were not very worried about it. The auditor suggested that the council hire a second accountant in the finance department, and that the city look at adjusting gas and electric rates to meet bill collections.
Missing Wyoming deputy found dead in North Platte River
DOUGLAS, Wyo. (AP) — The body of a Wyoming deputy who jumped in the North Platte River to assist a struggling girl was discovered Sunday.
It was the fourth day of searching for 29-year-old Bryan P. Gross, of the Converse County sheriff's office, who went in the river Thursday evening after a teenage girl who appeared to be struggling. The girl survived, but Gross was swept away in the river swollen by heavy snowmelt.
County Sheriff Clinton Becker said Gross' body was found late Sunday morning in the river about a mile and a half from where Gross entered.
Searchers from several law enforcement agencies and civilian volunteers checked the banks of the river. Divers, dogs and a helicopter helped in the search. The sheriff did not describe how Gross was located.
It was the fourth day of searching for 29-year-old Bryan P. Gross, of the Converse County sheriff's office, who went in the river Thursday evening after a teenage girl who appeared to be struggling. The girl survived, but Gross was swept away in the river swollen by heavy snowmelt.
County Sheriff Clinton Becker said Gross' body was found late Sunday morning in the river about a mile and a half from where Gross entered.
Searchers from several law enforcement agencies and civilian volunteers checked the banks of the river. Divers, dogs and a helicopter helped in the search. The sheriff did not describe how Gross was located.
Service marks 35 years since Big Thompson Flood
DRAKE, Colo. (AP) — A 35th anniversary remembrance service for more than 140 people who lost their lives in the Big Thompson flood of 1976 is planned Sunday evening at a memorial marker near Drake.
The flash flood on the Big Thompson River on July 31, 1976, swept away cars, flooded Loveland and washed out roads in Weld County. President Gerald Ford declared Larimer County a disaster area. A handful of victims were never found.
The flood in Big Thompson Canyon happened during the celebration of Colorado's centennial. A 20-foot wall of water raced down the canyon after a rare stationary thunderstorm near the upper section of the canyon.
At the memorial service, scholarships will be presented to six of the victims' great-grandchildren.
The flash flood on the Big Thompson River on July 31, 1976, swept away cars, flooded Loveland and washed out roads in Weld County. President Gerald Ford declared Larimer County a disaster area. A handful of victims were never found.
The flood in Big Thompson Canyon happened during the celebration of Colorado's centennial. A 20-foot wall of water raced down the canyon after a rare stationary thunderstorm near the upper section of the canyon.
At the memorial service, scholarships will be presented to six of the victims' great-grandchildren.
Colorado now enforcing car-seat expansion
DENVER (AP) — Car-seat requirements in Colorado are getting tougher today.
A new state requirement being enforced today raises the car-seat requirement to age 8. Previously, children have had to be in car seats through age 6.
The expanded child passenger safety law passed in 2010, but the state conducted a yearlong education period to inform parents and caregivers about the change. Starting today, the state is going to enforce the new law.
The Colorado State Patrol says that from 2006 to 2010, 20 kids, ages 4 through 7, died in traffic crashes in Colorado, and 11 of them were unrestrained or improperly restrained.
Starting today, parents could be fined $82 for not complying with the car-seat requirement.
A new state requirement being enforced today raises the car-seat requirement to age 8. Previously, children have had to be in car seats through age 6.
The expanded child passenger safety law passed in 2010, but the state conducted a yearlong education period to inform parents and caregivers about the change. Starting today, the state is going to enforce the new law.
The Colorado State Patrol says that from 2006 to 2010, 20 kids, ages 4 through 7, died in traffic crashes in Colorado, and 11 of them were unrestrained or improperly restrained.
Starting today, parents could be fined $82 for not complying with the car-seat requirement.
59th Cowboy Breakfast Coming Up
The 59th Annual Sterling Lions Club Cowboy Breakfast is more than a week away, on Wednesday, August 10. We just thought you'd like to know a week in advance so you can start preparing for it: breakfast starts at 6:30 a.m. and keeps up the tradition of kicking off the Logan County Fair. The pancakes, scrambled eggs and sausage will be cooked on the Elks Club's Mega-Grill right outside the front door. There'll also be coffee, milk and juice, and that's the menu. Hungry? Be at the Elks Club on the 10th. Tickets are five dollars and you can get them from any Lions Club member.
CU trying to snuff campus pot fest tradition
BOULDER (AP) - More than half of
University of Colorado students who took
part in a school survey say they attended
or watched a marijuana outdoor smoking
festival last spring, despite efforts from the
school to snuff the campus "4/20 smoke-o
ut" some students believe is a university-
sanctioned event. The school released
results of its first-ever student survey on
the 4/20 event to the Daily Camera
newspaper. The pot fest has drawn up to
10,000 people in recent years.
Survey results requested by the Camera
showed that about 24 percent of some
3,700 students surveyed smoked pot or
ate food containing marijuana at the
gathering. About 11 percent joined the
crowd but didn't consume pot. Just less
than half of students, or 48.4 percent, said
they had nothing to do with the smoke-out.
The remaining students watched it from a
distance.
Kelsey Laszlo, a CU junior studying physics
and Japanese, said she watched the
gathering her freshman year. She said the
4/20 smoke-out seems like a "campus
tradition" - but students shouldn't be
fooled that it's a drug-law protest.
"It's an excuse to get high," Laszlo said.
Only 9 percent of students said the smoke-
out could be described as a political
movement. The majority - 52 percent -
said it's a recreational or social gathering.
Campus spokesman Bronson Hilliard said
the university needs to do a better job
communicating to students that just
because there are police officers at the
event to monitor safety and minimize
disruptions, CU doesn't sponsor the
smoke-out.
"Drug policies aren't made on a college
campus," he said. "We'd love to see it
migrate to the state Capitol."
Nearly all students surveyed said they received the e-mail administrators sent
trying to dissuade them from participating
in 4/20, but still about 50 percent of
respondents said it seemed like the
smoke-out was a university-sponsored
event.
The 4/20 gathering - which some
participants say is a demonstration against
drug laws - should not be happening on a
college campus, Hilliard said. He doesn't
want to displace the event elsewhere in
Boulder, though, because that would make
CU a "bad neighbor."
Deb Coffin, interim vice chancellor for
student affairs, said the data from the
survey helps the university better target its
messages to non-resident students and
shape orientation sessions.
"We're trying to help them understand
we're concerned about their health and
welfare," she said.
Donald Misch, assistant vice chancellor for
health and wellness, said that because
marijuana is being prescribed for
medicinal purposes, students are
underestimating its potential to distract
them from learning.
"It's not an easy message," he said.
"Students think that because it's being used
for medicinal purposes that it's benign. But
marijuana use interferes with learning and
memory."
The survey results show that students "age
out" of 4/20 and that the crowd tends to d
raw first-year students in heavier
numbers.
"Students hear about it before they even
come to campus, and they are interested
to see it," said Carly Robinson, CU Student
Government's vice president of internal
affairs.
CU's Alcohol Research and Initiatives
Committee partnered with Wardenburg's
Community Health program to conduct the
survey. It survey was sent out following this
year's smoke-out, and 3,478
undergraduates responded.
University of Colorado students who took
part in a school survey say they attended
or watched a marijuana outdoor smoking
festival last spring, despite efforts from the
school to snuff the campus "4/20 smoke-o
ut" some students believe is a university-
sanctioned event. The school released
results of its first-ever student survey on
the 4/20 event to the Daily Camera
newspaper. The pot fest has drawn up to
10,000 people in recent years.
Survey results requested by the Camera
showed that about 24 percent of some
3,700 students surveyed smoked pot or
ate food containing marijuana at the
gathering. About 11 percent joined the
crowd but didn't consume pot. Just less
than half of students, or 48.4 percent, said
they had nothing to do with the smoke-out.
The remaining students watched it from a
distance.
Kelsey Laszlo, a CU junior studying physics
and Japanese, said she watched the
gathering her freshman year. She said the
4/20 smoke-out seems like a "campus
tradition" - but students shouldn't be
fooled that it's a drug-law protest.
"It's an excuse to get high," Laszlo said.
Only 9 percent of students said the smoke-
out could be described as a political
movement. The majority - 52 percent -
said it's a recreational or social gathering.
Campus spokesman Bronson Hilliard said
the university needs to do a better job
communicating to students that just
because there are police officers at the
event to monitor safety and minimize
disruptions, CU doesn't sponsor the
smoke-out.
"Drug policies aren't made on a college
campus," he said. "We'd love to see it
migrate to the state Capitol."
Nearly all students surveyed said they received the e-mail administrators sent
trying to dissuade them from participating
in 4/20, but still about 50 percent of
respondents said it seemed like the
smoke-out was a university-sponsored
event.
The 4/20 gathering - which some
participants say is a demonstration against
drug laws - should not be happening on a
college campus, Hilliard said. He doesn't
want to displace the event elsewhere in
Boulder, though, because that would make
CU a "bad neighbor."
Deb Coffin, interim vice chancellor for
student affairs, said the data from the
survey helps the university better target its
messages to non-resident students and
shape orientation sessions.
"We're trying to help them understand
we're concerned about their health and
welfare," she said.
Donald Misch, assistant vice chancellor for
health and wellness, said that because
marijuana is being prescribed for
medicinal purposes, students are
underestimating its potential to distract
them from learning.
"It's not an easy message," he said.
"Students think that because it's being used
for medicinal purposes that it's benign. But
marijuana use interferes with learning and
memory."
The survey results show that students "age
out" of 4/20 and that the crowd tends to d
raw first-year students in heavier
numbers.
"Students hear about it before they even
come to campus, and they are interested
to see it," said Carly Robinson, CU Student
Government's vice president of internal
affairs.
CU's Alcohol Research and Initiatives
Committee partnered with Wardenburg's
Community Health program to conduct the
survey. It survey was sent out following this
year's smoke-out, and 3,478
undergraduates responded.
CO's pot agency renting space from pot lawyer
DENVER (AP) — Colorado's medical-marijuana regulators are renting office space from a lawyer whose clients include pot sellers the agency is charged with overseeing.
The Denver Post reports that the state Department of Revenue's Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division will pay attorney H. Alan Dill nearly $1.3 million in rent over the five-year term of the lease, which was signed in December.
The agency moved into the space near downtown Denver in May, after remodeling work done at Dill's expense. The leasing documents list Dill as the landlord.
Dill is managing partner of a Denver law firm with offices directly across the hall from the Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division's new space.
The coziness of the quarters has raised some eyebrows in the medical-marijuana community. But department spokesman Mark Couch denies any conflict of interest.
The Denver Post reports that the state Department of Revenue's Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division will pay attorney H. Alan Dill nearly $1.3 million in rent over the five-year term of the lease, which was signed in December.
The agency moved into the space near downtown Denver in May, after remodeling work done at Dill's expense. The leasing documents list Dill as the landlord.
Dill is managing partner of a Denver law firm with offices directly across the hall from the Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division's new space.
The coziness of the quarters has raised some eyebrows in the medical-marijuana community. But department spokesman Mark Couch denies any conflict of interest.
Suit challenging CO education funds goes to trial
DENVER (AP) — A lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of how Colorado funds education is going to trial in Denver District Court.
The plaintiffs contend Colorado has underfunded schools by four billion dollars, and violated its constitutional mandate requiring a "thorough and uniform" education system. They say that poorer communities are at a funding disadvantage.
Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper and Republican Attorney General John Suthers say losing the case can cost the state billions of dollars and hamstring the state budget if the Legislature is ordered to allocate more money to education.
The trial is expected to last five weeks. The lawsuit was first filed in 2005 and failed in the lower courts before the state Supreme Court reversed those decisions and remanded the case to district court.
The plaintiffs contend Colorado has underfunded schools by four billion dollars, and violated its constitutional mandate requiring a "thorough and uniform" education system. They say that poorer communities are at a funding disadvantage.
Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper and Republican Attorney General John Suthers say losing the case can cost the state billions of dollars and hamstring the state budget if the Legislature is ordered to allocate more money to education.
The trial is expected to last five weeks. The lawsuit was first filed in 2005 and failed in the lower courts before the state Supreme Court reversed those decisions and remanded the case to district court.
Police: Hit-and-run kills Colo. tow truck driver
ARVADA, Colo. (AP) - Police say a Colorado tow truck driver was killed in a hit-and-run at an accident scene.
Arvada police say officers and a Connolly's tow truck driver were on the scene of a traffic accident just after 1:30 a.m. Sunday. Police say a Nissan Rogue driven by a 28-year-old Zachariah Dobler of Lakewood struck the tow truck driver, 41-year-old Alan Dilley of Wheat Ridge. Dilley was standing next to a vehicle he was preparing to tow.
Police say Dobler left the scene but was pulled over minutes later. Dobler was taken into custody, and police are investigating if he was under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
Dilley was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Arvada police say officers and a Connolly's tow truck driver were on the scene of a traffic accident just after 1:30 a.m. Sunday. Police say a Nissan Rogue driven by a 28-year-old Zachariah Dobler of Lakewood struck the tow truck driver, 41-year-old Alan Dilley of Wheat Ridge. Dilley was standing next to a vehicle he was preparing to tow.
Police say Dobler left the scene but was pulled over minutes later. Dobler was taken into custody, and police are investigating if he was under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
Dilley was pronounced dead at a hospital.
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