craigdailypress.com

harkner (Neal Harkner) says…

I don't have a problem arguing the effects of state and federal regulations on coal-fired power plants in regard to increased costs to providers and consumers, job losses due to conversion of existing plants from coal to natural gas, and the overall effect on the state's generating capacity due to the amount of costs required to bring a new facility online.

The nonstop propaganda and half-truths, however, wear me out to no end.

The biggest one lately is that if the EPA has its way the coal mines are all gonna shut down. Really? Because we're the only country in the world using coal? Even if the feds clamp down on coal (not likely), the coal mines are safe because they're still going to have customers.

Two big potential customers come to mind in India and China. China still doesn't have enough coal to power the Pullman Towns that make all the cheap crap we buy from Wal-Mart on a daily basis, and India has ravenous consumer demand for coal as well. As an added bonus selling our coal to the Chinese gives us a chance to bend them over the same barrel they've had us bent over for 25 years.

harkner (Neal Harkner) says…

Unfortunately relocating bears isn't a cure-all, either. Last week the DOW relocated the bear that made news in Boulder for roaming onto the CU campus.

They placed the it in a wilderness area 50 miles west of Boulder, but it came right back and was hit and killed by 2 cars on the Boulder Turnpike yesterday morning.

harkner (Neal Harkner) says…

Yet another casino out in the middle of nowhere. Who are they trying to attract? Salt Lake City residents? You can get from SLC to Wendover, NV, on better roads (I-80) in half the time and the stakes will be higher.

harkner (Neal Harkner) says…

That would require the right hand to know the left hand even existed, let alone know what it's doing…

harkner (Neal Harkner) says…

When we drive up to Colorado from Texas we take US-287 and skip Kansas completely.

When we hit the Oklahoma border on 287 we're 2/3 of the way to our destination and only 45 miles from Colorado. When we cross the Oklahoma border on I-35, we're less than 10% of the way into our drive and have the beating that is OK and KS in front of us.

harkner (Neal Harkner) says…

Not really. Moffat County placed 44th out of 57 counties ranked in overall health…the CDP ran an article on it.

http://www.craigdailypress.com/news/2…

harkner (Neal Harkner) says…

This “lack of funding” is becoming more glaring with each passing day. Our country is rotting from the inside out because elected officials have spent the better part of the last 50 years ignoring infrastructure.

Within the last decade we've seen a massive freeway bridge collapse that killed 13 people, a natural gas main rupture and explosion that killed 8 people and destroyed nearly 40 houses in a suburban San Francisco neighborhood, a blackout that left 45 million people in the northeast without power for 12 hours, and countless breaks in hundred year old water mains across the country.

Our infrastructure in this country was state of the art at one time, but now it's a rotten, patchwork pile of garbage. A solid, reliable, well-functioning infrastructure is vital to our economy. Without it we're sunk.

harkner (Neal Harkner) says…

SmallTowner - While I agree that our ballooning debt is a major hurdle, I disagree with your assertion that Republicans are saviors on horseback. The state of Texas is about as hard-right conservative as you can get, yet the state is facing a $20 billion plus budget shortfall (2nd only to California).

The initial cost-slashing proposals have come down hard on public education, which is ironic considering that Texas ranks near the bottom in graduation rates, literacy, and per-pupil spending.

At the same time that they're talking about cutting education and closing nursing homes, the White Knights From the Right continue to pour taxpayer dollars into poorly-audited corporate slush funds that Governor Perry uses to curry favor with rich donors.

One fund, the Texas Enterprise Fund, has only created about 40% of the jobs that recipients promised would be created. Perry gave $1.2 million from the TEF to Frito-Lay to upgrade their business management system even though Frito-Lay could have easily afforded to pay their own way. You see, Republicans only hate welfare when it's not given to corporations.

As for your belief that Democrats raise fees while Republicans lower them, the last time Texas ran a shortfall ($12 billion in either 2003 or 2005), the Republican legislature raised state fees across the board and all the 'Pubs patted themselves on the back while proclaiming (disingenuously) that they'd met all their revenue goals without raising taxes. They're at it again, too. There's talk right now in Austin about pumping up the vehicle registration fee by $100 to raise revenue.

harkner (Neal Harkner) says…

silentman - You have managed to completely mangle the logic of my original statement. I never said paying teachers more money makes them better. I said districts that pay more have the upper hand when it comes to competing with neighboring districts. The same rule applies with all jobs, public AND private sector. Capitalism 101. Tenure doesn't put quality teachers in more affluent districts. It allows underperforming teachers to stay where they are. Good teachers don't use tenure as a crutch.

We live in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and staff turnover is the single biggest problem that our district faces. The next district over pays their teachers about 20% more than ours does. We typically get teachers who are fresh out of college. They cut their teeth in our district and then they simply switch to the other district without even having to change residences. There is very little staff continuity at our high school and its performance has suffered dramatically as a result.

Ward Churchill wasn't a 10th grade math teacher in the MCSD. There are knuckleheads in every district and university in this country. Churchill stuck out because of the asinine things he said. Had he kept his mouth shut would he be available for you to pillory right now? Probably not.

harkner (Neal Harkner) says…

As much as it sucks, that's how it usually works. The districts with more money can afford to pay their teachers more. More pay typically translates into better teachers. Plus you also have to factor in socio-economic conditions. School is only one part of the equation. Kids also learn a fair amount at home, and the more affluent districts tend to have better educated families.

Here's a quick snapshot from www.city-data.com (all values are 2009 estimates):

Colorado
Median Household Income - $55,430
Median House Value - $237,800

Craig
Median Household Income - $46,441
Median House Value - $134,392

Steamboat Springs
Median Household Income - $62,418
Median House Value - $470,578

Delta
Median Household Income - $33,586
Median House Value - $153,064

Fort Morgan
Median Household Income - $42,036
Median House Value - $132,171