Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan has flatly rejected a proposal from Denver Mayor Michael Hancock to create a new special district around Denver International Airport that would divvy up the tax revenues generated by new development at the airport, between Denver and surrounding communities. Officials from Aurora, Adams County, Denver and other cities near DIA have been arguing for months about whether Hancock’s proposal to create an “aerotropolis,” or Airport City, around DIA violates a 1988 agreement…
Reported by bizjournals 4 hours ago.
Aurora rejects Denver’s offer to share money from new DIA development
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Foxborough Legend Tom Nalen to Receive the ‘Best Honor a Player Can Get’ From Denver Broncos
Patch Foxborough, MA --Foxborough native Tom Nalen, who turned 42 on May 13, received a late birthday present from the Denver Broncos on May 22^nd when the team informed its former offensive lineman he had been selected to the organization’s Ring of Fame.
“It's pretty exciting for me," Nalen said via DenverBroncos.com.
Nalen played 15 year in the NFL – all with the Denver Broncos – and helped pave the way for 11 1,000-yard rushers and won two Super Bowls with future Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway. Nalen started 188 games in his career, earning five Pro Bowl selections and three All-Pro selections. Following the 2003 season, he earned the NFL's Offensive Lineman of the Year award.
The former Foxborough High School standout retired in 2009 after suffering a torn bicep in 2008.
While Nalen has the credentials to be an NFL Hall of Famer, he acknowledges he may never get there because of the position – offensive line - he played in the league … something he is perfectly fine with.
For Nalen, honors like the Ring of Fame in Denver and retired jerseys at Foxborough High School and Boston College are more important than the Hall of Fame because of where those respective honors came from.
“It's the best honor a player can get,” said Nalen via DenverBroncos.com. “People say Hall of Fame … I don't believe that because the Hall of Fame doesn't really know you. Your team knows you. …
“Very similar [honor] to Foxborough High School and Boston College, where they knew who you were, and you spent four years in high school and four and a half years in college, and those are the people that know you best, much like the Broncos knew me best here. … This [Ring of Fame] honor is equivalent to the college and high school honor.”
In Foxborough, Nalen’s jersey hangs proudly inside the high school’s gymnasium, reminding the community that their local star’s grit, hard work and toughness epitomize the soul and character of their hometown.
Nalen was born in Foxborough on Many 13, 1971 and grew up on Mechanic Street. He played football for the Warriors (Class of 1989) under head coach Jack Martinelli and went on to play Division 1 at Boston College. To this day, Nalen remains arguably the best player to ever come out of the richly talented Hockomock League.
At BC, Nalen earned numerous postseason awards, including a third-team Associated Press All-America honor and second-team All Big East and first-team ECAC honor, despite being an undersized lineman by the standards of many professional scouts.
On draft day in 1994, Nalen’s size – 6-foot-3, 285 pounds – dropped him to the seventh round when the Denver Broncos decided to take a chance on a kid from Foxborough with the 218^th selection.
That “chance” turned into one of the Broncos best offensive linemen for over a decade and now, one of the best players to ever wear the Denver uniform.
On Sept. 29, Nalen will be recognized as the 24^th member inducted into the Broncos’ Ring of Fame during halftime of Denver’s Week 4 game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Never one for the spotlight, Nalen hopes the 76,000 fans inside Sports Authority Field at Mile High will be making their way to the concessions when it’s time for him to speak.
“At halftime I hope there aren’t 76,000 fans there,” Nalen told Denver media at a recent press conference. “Hopefully [the fans] will be getting a beer when I’m speaking for 12 seconds. I’m not looking forward to that at all, no. I think I’ll put my helmet on and feel much more comfortable.”
While he may not be looking forward to speaking at the ceremony, Nalen admitted he was excited to have his name included with the organization’s all-time greats inside the stadium.
"That's pretty cool," Nalen said via DenverBroncos.com. "My name's going to be in the stadium. … It's pretty wild."
An honor he is already planning to use at home.
“It’s pretty cool that I have that [Ring of Fame honor] in my back pocket,” Nalen said. “[I can tell my kids that] ‘Daddy’s name is going to be on the stadium so do your damn homework.’”
**Nalen’s Best Football Memories**
From Super Bowls to John Elway, Nalen shared some of his best memories over his 15-year career.
“Super Bowls are obvious,” Nalen said. “Especially that ‘97 season. We were 11-4 and just lost to San Francisco on a Monday night and the town was doubting us. Even though we were 11-4, the Chiefs were number one in our division. So for us to play Jacksonville, Kansas City and Pittsburgh [in the playoffs] – teams that beat us [in the regular season and last year’s playoffs] – and then to play Green Bay [in the Super Bowl] was a great feeling … it was a great ending to the season. …
“More than that, the friendships I’ve made with teammates. I think that means a lot more than any win or loss. …
“I was intimidated by John Elway. His last year in ‘98 was my fifth year [in the league] and I couldn’t get the strength to go up and ask him for his autograph. … I just couldn’t do it. …
“Some guys I had to play against – Ted Washington was close to 400 pounds – there were some big human beings I had to block. I think there is a cap to how big an offensive lineman can be and still be effective. If I was drafting a center, 285 pounds would not scare me in the slightest because you can use that to your advantage.”
**Life After Football**
Nalen currently co-hosts the Denver radio show, Les and Tom Nalen, on 102.3 ESPN Radio from noon to 3 p.m. on weekdays and love its.
“It’s been great,” Nalen said. “It challenges me. Football season is easy to talk about but expanding [is a challenge]. I’m a sports fan. I love sports and love to talk about hockey. It’s a good challenge for me, for three years I did nothing more but drive my kids around to crappy sporting events and coach high school football so this is good.”
**Is There Still a Future in Football?**
Nalen admitted he would love to coach football at a higher level than high school but hasn’t been able to find a team interested in his services.
“I’ve tried,” Nalen said. “Obviously I did the high school thing; I spent three years at Denver South, and then I was at Aurora Central last year. But I can no longer coach high school football. I just felt like it’s too remedial from an X’s and O’s standpoint. I’ve tried. I’ve put resumes out to 50 different colleges. I tried through the NFL to get a job.”
For now, radio, family and honors like this will more than suffice for the Foxborough legend.
“It's an awesome honor," said Nalen. "It really is." Reported by Patch 3 days ago.
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Aurora Networks to Showcase New Innovative Technologies at The Cable Show 2013
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Technologies on display enable operators to evolve their networks
Reported by Business Wire 3 days ago.
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Alpharetta Resident Wins Men’s Masters Overall Winner at 'Possum Trot'
Patch Alpharetta-Milton, GA --The overall winner in the 35^th Annual Possum Trot was Nathan Haskins of Atlanta, but Mike Stafford, from Alpharetta, was the Men’s Masters Overall Winner
The fast paced 10K race along the Chattahoochee River in Roswell, which benefit the Chattahoochee Nature Center, saw Haskins, 24, make the possum proud with an excellent time of 32:54.70. The second race overall finisher was Reilly Friedman, 15, of Atlanta, with a time of 34:10.98; and finally, Colin Rhoads of Decatur, 31 came in third overall with a time of 35:56.09.
Stafford, 53, finished the race with a time of 36:33.96.
All of the race results are now posted to the Active.com website.
The Women’s Overall Winners were Candace Harrison of Decatur, 27, with a time of 39:59.98 in first place, Patricia Coppel of Sandy Springs, 29, as second place with a time of 41:32.23 and third place was Bettina Davies of Marietta, 46, with a 42:10.16 finishing time. The Women’s Masters Overall Winner was Tracey Rossi of Roswell, 40, who won with a time of 43:26.72.
The One Mile Fun Run for kids running for the possum was led by First Place runner Evan Plummet, 10, of Roswell, who admitted that he was running his first race. Evan’s younger brother, Hill Plummet, finished 4th. The Plummet brothers both attend Roswell North Elementary and are track and field enthusiasts. Evan and Hill’s parents, Patrick and Susan Plummet, were very proud and they obviously encourage their sons to be active and fit.
Started 35 years ago to help provide critical operating dollars to sustain the oldest and largest nature center in Georgia, the Possum Trot is in its 35th year to benefit the mission of the Chattahoochee Nature Center. Runners have many choices to prepare and qualify for the popular Peachtree Road Race, but running to benefit the nature center is a long standing tradition. The race was presented by the Big Peach Running Stores and the city of Roswell.
Whole Foods Market provided healthy fruit for runners at the party after the race. Other sponsors were Aurora Cineplex in Roswell and Pit Stop. Frannie’s Gluten Free gave out muffins and other vendors added to the festivities. Overall and Masters Male and Female finishers in 13 age groups received the coveted Possum Trot T-shirts, goodies and awards at the ceremony held at the conclusion of the race in the Ben Brady Lakeside Pavilion.
Photos of the Possum Trot 2013 Race can be found online at True Speed Photo.
The next race is the Chattahoochee Challenge 10K that is now being planned for February 2014. For more information or directions to the Nature Center, visit www.chattnaturecenter.org. Reported by Patch 3 days ago.
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Decision on James Holmes' insanity plea expected Tuesday
CENTENNIAL — The murder case against Aurora movie theater shooting suspect James Holmes is expected to take a major leap forward Tuesday, with two separate events propelling it
Reported by Denver Post 3 days ago.
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Metro Denver's home sales still cooking
Metro Denver’s resale housing market continues to shine, with the latest national report showing 15 consecutive months of year-over-year price gains, according to Corelogic Inc.'s report released Tuesday. The metropolitan statistical area (MSA) of Denver/Aurora/Broomfield increased by 11.8 percent in April from the same month in 2012. That average also jumped 2.6 percent from March. The average excludes distressed, or real estate owned (REO), property. Statewide, sales prices appreciated 10.8…
Reported by bizjournals 3 days ago.
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Judge Accepts Insanity Plea In Colorado Theater Shooting Trial Of James Holmes
In the trail of *James Holmes*, the man accused of killing 12 and injuring 59 others in a gruesome mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado, has been declared not guilty by reason of insanity. Holmes was charged with 142 counts for his role in that mass shooting.
Reported by Mediaite 3 days ago.
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Aurora apartment fire displaces family; no injuries
An Aurora family has been displaced by an apartment fire. The fire started about 11:40 a.
Reported by Denver Post 13 hours ago.
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ALDI Hosting Job Fairs June 11 and 12 in Naperville, Aurora
Patch Lisle, IL --ALDI is looking for employees to work in a handful of its area stores. The grocery chain is hosting two job fairs early next week in Naperville and Aurora.
Jobseekers will have the opportunity to apply for jobs and meet ALDI representatives on June Reported by Patch 13 hours ago.
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Colo. County A National Leader In Domestic Drone Use
From The Colorado Independent's Susan Greene.
A county in western Colorado has embraced domestic police drones in an era when states are increasingly limiting use of the technology.
The Mesa County Sheriff's Department is one of the few departments in the U.S. authorized to maneuver unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) virtually without geographic boundaries. That means it's allowed to deploy its state-of-the-art cameras almost everywhere within the county's 3,300 square miles.
"We can fly them pretty much anywhere we want," says program director Ben Miller.
Since January 2010, the department has logged 171 flight hours with its two drones. Though they were intended mainly for search and rescue efforts, they've been used in only two such missions, neither of which was successful. The county deploys the drones mostly for police chases and crime scene reconstruction.
The department is helping lead a national push among law enforcement agencies to peel away layers of federal red tape that limit police use of drones.
"Mesa County has done everything by the book with the FAA. But the thing is, the book is pretty thin in terms of federal requirements," says Shawn Musgrave of Muckrock, a national nonprofit watchdog group working with the Electronic Frontier Foundation to monitor the proliferation of domestic drones.
*A tinkerer and an elected boss*
Mesa County's efforts to put eyes in its sky started in 2008 when Miller, a logistics and technology expert with the department, took a personal interest in UAVs, which are also known as unmanned aerial systems (UASs). Miller has always been a tinkerer, having rigged a system of pulleys and strings to flip his bedroom light switch from his bunk bed as a grade-schooler.
Two manufacturers donated drones after Miller started researching how UAVs rigged with high-resolution cameras and thermal imaging technology might help the county's 50 to 60 annual search and rescue efforts. First, Canada-based Dragonfly Innovations gave a helicopter-type drone that's valued at about $20,000, and then Falcon UAV of Aurora donated a fixed wing system worth about $30,000, Miller says. In exchange for the donations, the county agreed to buy parts and materials from both companies.
The cost of operating battery powered unmanned aerial vehicles is estimated to run between 3 percent to 10 percent the cost of operating police helicopters and airplanes. There's no refueling or operator fatigue, and the training takes days rather than months or years.
Mesa County uses its drones about twice a month, not including training and evaluation missions. Since 2009, Miller estimates it has spent $10,000 to $15,000 on the program.
The price tag, he says, made the program easy to sell to his boss, Sheriff Stan Hilkey. The decision to use and fund aerial surveillance was Hilkey's alone, not the Mesa County Commission's.
"That's one of the benefits of a sheriff's office. You work for an elected official. Had this been a police department, it would have been more complicated running it up the food chain," Miller says. "The Sheriff thought about the potential risks involved and it didn't take long to realize that we had no intentions of doing stuff that gets people nervous."
Launching the program took patience. The Federal Aviation Administration requires authorities to fill out reams of paperwork to fly the same drones hobbyists can fly after reading a single page of guidelines. Despite the disparities in certification procedures, the rules for police are essentially the same as for hobbyists: No flying above 400 feet, near airports, at night or over heavily populated areas.
*Search-and-rescue letdowns*
Miller is a true believer in drones. He sees great potential for them in the vast rural county where he works -- a place where hikers, rock climbers, mountain bikers, ATV riders and hunters are drawn to its mesas and craggy backcountry, 75 percent of which is public land. All too often, hunters get lost tracking an antelope or elk, climbers forget to secure their ropes and guys with inflatable mattresses and six packs lose control in the currents of the Colorado River. Out-of-towners, especially panicked and injured ones, often aren't very helpful describing their locations to 911 operators.
"That's why a bird's-eye view is so important," Miller says.
The fixed-wing Falcon system is capable of flying back and forth grid patterns that augment rescue-team efforts. It also can photograph terrain that's too hazardous for rescuers to reach on foot.
Despite Miller's enthusiasm, the county's drones were unsuccessful in the two search and rescue missions in which they were deployed -- searches for a suicidal woman in February and for lost hikers last May. So far, he is frustrated to admit, "We've never found anyone yet."
"Four years ago I was all like 'This is gonna be cool. We're going to save the world.' Now I realize we're not saving the world, we're just saving tons of money. I know this conversation would be very different if we could say we've saved somebody."
Instead of searches and rescues, Miller says Mesa County generally uses its drones for crime scene reconstructions in which they shoot aerial photos that can be turned into three-dimensional models for investigators. They've been deployed in a few police chases and the department offered one of its drones to help reconstruct a murder scene in Hinsdale County.
"I bet by year's end, I'll be able to say that we've put people in jail who are guilty of murder," says Miller.
He recently offered a drone to Mesa County's public works department to help determine the volume in its landfill. This summer, he hopes to deploy drones to track wildfires.
At first, there was a novelty for Miller and the three other department staffers trained to operate the remote-controlled flying machines.
"But you realize very quickly that it's not 'Top Gun,' it's not the sexy stuff in the military. You go into environments that are hot or cold and you sit and look at a computer screen all day."
*Battling drone bureaucracy*
Miller says he gets calls every week from other sheriff and police departments throughout the country seeking to start their own drone programs. Most, he says, are daunted by the FAA's lengthy application process.
"When I explain how much paperwork it involves, nobody wants to do it by the book. I bet half of them go out and [fly the drones] anyway without approval. What it ends up doing is creating a culture of noncompliance for police agencies who, ironically, are the ones who are supposed to be following the law."
What initially started as an effort to save lives, Miller says, morphed into a mission to convince "the FAA these rules are ridiculous and you're standing in the way of an incredibly important tool." He has testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and is working with the FAA to "try to find better ways" to make drones more accessible to local law enforcers.
According to a Government Accountability Office report released last year, Mesa County was one of nine local law enforcement agencies with a "certification of waiver or authorization" to use drones. Such waivers "represent exceptions to the usual aircraft certification process" reads the report (PDF).
The University of Colorado - Boulder has applied to run one to six drone test sites across the country. The university filed its application on behalf of dozens of private companies, five industry associations, 10 regional economic development agencies, seven universities and two state agencies, although it has not revealed specifics. A decision should come in December.
The number of FAA waivers is expected to grow as local law enforcers can now choose from about 150 types of small drones manufactured by more than 50 companies. As technology advances, drones are being made that are as small as birds or large insects. Every year brings improvements in the resolution of the images they produce and the capabilities of their thermal imaging. Their capacity to intercept wireless communications also is advancing.
"FAA's goal is to eventually permit, to the greatest extent possible, routine [drone] operations in the national airspace system while ensuring safety. As the list of potential uses for UAS grows, so do the concerns about how they might affect existing military and non-military aviation as well as concerns about how they might be used," reads the GAO report.
*Security, air safety, surveillance*
One concern is security. The Transportation Security Administration has warned that drones could be used by terrorists to drop dirty bombs. In 2012, the FAA fined a private UAV operator $10,000 for flying a small drone over the heavily populated campus of the University of Virginia.
There are also air-safety concerns. "To date, no suitable technology has been deployed that would provide [drones] with the capability to sense and avoid other aircraft and airborne objects and to comply completely with FAA regulatory requirements of the national airspace system," according to the GAO report. Transponders are on the market, but not widely used because they're expensive.
Wider concerns pivot on privacy and civil-rights violations. A survey by the Monmouth University Polling Institute shows overwhelming support for drones as search-and-rescue and border-control tools, but found 80 percent of people expressed some level of concern about privacy infringements by law enforcement drones with high-tech cameras.
In a recent speech at the National Press Club, Sen. Mark Udall said Coloradans "hold sacred their open spaces, seclusion and privacy both in the furthest wilderness areas and in the center of their greatest cities. It's part of who we are in the West."
"So it's not surprising that it would give them pause to hear that with a few hundred dollars, a UAS operator could record or broadcast live audio and video of a family eating dinner or anyone sitting in their back yard. The potential for surveillance raises real concerns. It is invasive and can be done unprotected," Udall said.
"If police start flying a drone and start snooping and spying, it might get a bit unreasonable as they see what they can get away with," says Jeff Orrok, chairman of the Libertarian Party of Colorado.
"Mesa County is a very private community. They want to be left alone out there," adds Stephen Saint, who left his job with the Mesa County Sheriff's Department in March to move to South Dakota. "You gotta worry about someone being elected sheriff and going rogue. You gotta consider that drones could get in the hands of the wrong people."
The GAO report points out that it's "not clear what entity should be responsible for addressing privacy concerns... Many stakeholders believe that there should be federal regulations for the types of allowable uses of UAS to specifically protect the privacy of individuals as well as rules for the conditions and types of data that UAS can collect."
Udall, who serves on the Senate's Select Committee on Intelligence, promises to craft such legislation.
In the absence of that kind of oversight, states are taking action. This year, legislatures in Virginia, Idaho, Montana, Tennessee and Florida passed laws limiting drone surveillance. Lawmakers in 36 other states, not including Colorado, proposed similar legislation, according to the ACLU.
By all accounts, Miller has tried to be as transparent as possible about Mesa County's drone project. He is aware of public sensitivities about domestic drones, which he blames partly on a February 11 Time Magazine cover depicting a large military grade drone flying over an American house.
The word "drone" evokes fear among some critics that police Peeping Toms might ogle backyard sunbathers. It triggers concerns about authorities spying on recreational marijuana cultivation. And it evokes anxiety among anyone who remembers Winston Smith, the main character in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, cowering in the one spot in his apartment where he could avoid the watch of "Big Brother," the totalitarian dictator who ruled through mass surveillance.
"If the American public views these promising technologies in a negative light, envisioning a sky full of drones watching their every move, however exaggerated that vision may be, this industry will always be behind the eight ball and never reach its full potential," Udall said in his speech.
*Two toy-sized flying machines*
Miller is eager to ease those fears by saying his department has never used its drones for surveillance, which he defines as "flying around watching people until they do something bad." When residents call with concerns, he invites them into the sheriff's department conference room, unzips two backpacks on the conference table and pulls out the two toy-sized flying machines.
"You should see the looks on their faces, when they're thinking it's a Predator drone and you show them these devices, which aren't much more advanced than the toys you can buy at Walmart," Miller says. "There has to be a public confidence in what we're doing with these things. Without it, people aren't going to trust our department."
The department set in place a drone policy this year ensuring that "Any flight that has been deemed a search under the 4th Amendment and does not fall under court approved exceptions will require a warrant. A pilot will not conduct a mission deemed a search under the 4th Amendment without possession of a signed warrant or personal knowledge that one has been issued."
The policy also says that "Any private or sensitive information collected that is not deemed evidence will be deleted."
Watchdogs laud Miller and Mesa County for their transparency.
"A lot of departments aren't nearly as willing to talk about their drones," Musgrave said.
His group, Muckrock, and its partner, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, launched their research into domestic drones after news that the Seattle Police Department spent more than $80,000 in federal money on two surveillance drones in 2010 without approval by the city council.
"One of our concerns we had is departments are getting access without consulting their communities," Musgrave says. "We want to make sure that there are formal, not just informal, policies in place and that the public is weighing in on whether their agencies use drones and, if so, how they should be using them."
In Colorado and nationally, the American Civil Liberties Union is calling for oversight of police drones.
"We need to have regulations in place by policymakers, not police," says Denise Maes, public policy director at the ACLU of Colorado.
Maes is not persuaded by arguments such as Mesa County's that small UAVs present less of a privacy threat than do big ones.
"A drone by any other name is still a drone," she says. "The fact that they're getting smaller and can go unnoticed is precisely why they're more dangerous. The smaller they are, the more they can invade your privacy." Reported by Huffington Post 7 hours ago.
A county in western Colorado has embraced domestic police drones in an era when states are increasingly limiting use of the technology.
The Mesa County Sheriff's Department is one of the few departments in the U.S. authorized to maneuver unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) virtually without geographic boundaries. That means it's allowed to deploy its state-of-the-art cameras almost everywhere within the county's 3,300 square miles.
"We can fly them pretty much anywhere we want," says program director Ben Miller.
Since January 2010, the department has logged 171 flight hours with its two drones. Though they were intended mainly for search and rescue efforts, they've been used in only two such missions, neither of which was successful. The county deploys the drones mostly for police chases and crime scene reconstruction.
The department is helping lead a national push among law enforcement agencies to peel away layers of federal red tape that limit police use of drones.
"Mesa County has done everything by the book with the FAA. But the thing is, the book is pretty thin in terms of federal requirements," says Shawn Musgrave of Muckrock, a national nonprofit watchdog group working with the Electronic Frontier Foundation to monitor the proliferation of domestic drones.
*A tinkerer and an elected boss*
Mesa County's efforts to put eyes in its sky started in 2008 when Miller, a logistics and technology expert with the department, took a personal interest in UAVs, which are also known as unmanned aerial systems (UASs). Miller has always been a tinkerer, having rigged a system of pulleys and strings to flip his bedroom light switch from his bunk bed as a grade-schooler.
Two manufacturers donated drones after Miller started researching how UAVs rigged with high-resolution cameras and thermal imaging technology might help the county's 50 to 60 annual search and rescue efforts. First, Canada-based Dragonfly Innovations gave a helicopter-type drone that's valued at about $20,000, and then Falcon UAV of Aurora donated a fixed wing system worth about $30,000, Miller says. In exchange for the donations, the county agreed to buy parts and materials from both companies.
The cost of operating battery powered unmanned aerial vehicles is estimated to run between 3 percent to 10 percent the cost of operating police helicopters and airplanes. There's no refueling or operator fatigue, and the training takes days rather than months or years.
Mesa County uses its drones about twice a month, not including training and evaluation missions. Since 2009, Miller estimates it has spent $10,000 to $15,000 on the program.
The price tag, he says, made the program easy to sell to his boss, Sheriff Stan Hilkey. The decision to use and fund aerial surveillance was Hilkey's alone, not the Mesa County Commission's.
"That's one of the benefits of a sheriff's office. You work for an elected official. Had this been a police department, it would have been more complicated running it up the food chain," Miller says. "The Sheriff thought about the potential risks involved and it didn't take long to realize that we had no intentions of doing stuff that gets people nervous."
Launching the program took patience. The Federal Aviation Administration requires authorities to fill out reams of paperwork to fly the same drones hobbyists can fly after reading a single page of guidelines. Despite the disparities in certification procedures, the rules for police are essentially the same as for hobbyists: No flying above 400 feet, near airports, at night or over heavily populated areas.
*Search-and-rescue letdowns*
Miller is a true believer in drones. He sees great potential for them in the vast rural county where he works -- a place where hikers, rock climbers, mountain bikers, ATV riders and hunters are drawn to its mesas and craggy backcountry, 75 percent of which is public land. All too often, hunters get lost tracking an antelope or elk, climbers forget to secure their ropes and guys with inflatable mattresses and six packs lose control in the currents of the Colorado River. Out-of-towners, especially panicked and injured ones, often aren't very helpful describing their locations to 911 operators.
"That's why a bird's-eye view is so important," Miller says.
The fixed-wing Falcon system is capable of flying back and forth grid patterns that augment rescue-team efforts. It also can photograph terrain that's too hazardous for rescuers to reach on foot.
Despite Miller's enthusiasm, the county's drones were unsuccessful in the two search and rescue missions in which they were deployed -- searches for a suicidal woman in February and for lost hikers last May. So far, he is frustrated to admit, "We've never found anyone yet."
"Four years ago I was all like 'This is gonna be cool. We're going to save the world.' Now I realize we're not saving the world, we're just saving tons of money. I know this conversation would be very different if we could say we've saved somebody."
Instead of searches and rescues, Miller says Mesa County generally uses its drones for crime scene reconstructions in which they shoot aerial photos that can be turned into three-dimensional models for investigators. They've been deployed in a few police chases and the department offered one of its drones to help reconstruct a murder scene in Hinsdale County.
"I bet by year's end, I'll be able to say that we've put people in jail who are guilty of murder," says Miller.
He recently offered a drone to Mesa County's public works department to help determine the volume in its landfill. This summer, he hopes to deploy drones to track wildfires.
At first, there was a novelty for Miller and the three other department staffers trained to operate the remote-controlled flying machines.
"But you realize very quickly that it's not 'Top Gun,' it's not the sexy stuff in the military. You go into environments that are hot or cold and you sit and look at a computer screen all day."
*Battling drone bureaucracy*
Miller says he gets calls every week from other sheriff and police departments throughout the country seeking to start their own drone programs. Most, he says, are daunted by the FAA's lengthy application process.
"When I explain how much paperwork it involves, nobody wants to do it by the book. I bet half of them go out and [fly the drones] anyway without approval. What it ends up doing is creating a culture of noncompliance for police agencies who, ironically, are the ones who are supposed to be following the law."
What initially started as an effort to save lives, Miller says, morphed into a mission to convince "the FAA these rules are ridiculous and you're standing in the way of an incredibly important tool." He has testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and is working with the FAA to "try to find better ways" to make drones more accessible to local law enforcers.
According to a Government Accountability Office report released last year, Mesa County was one of nine local law enforcement agencies with a "certification of waiver or authorization" to use drones. Such waivers "represent exceptions to the usual aircraft certification process" reads the report (PDF).
The University of Colorado - Boulder has applied to run one to six drone test sites across the country. The university filed its application on behalf of dozens of private companies, five industry associations, 10 regional economic development agencies, seven universities and two state agencies, although it has not revealed specifics. A decision should come in December.
The number of FAA waivers is expected to grow as local law enforcers can now choose from about 150 types of small drones manufactured by more than 50 companies. As technology advances, drones are being made that are as small as birds or large insects. Every year brings improvements in the resolution of the images they produce and the capabilities of their thermal imaging. Their capacity to intercept wireless communications also is advancing.
"FAA's goal is to eventually permit, to the greatest extent possible, routine [drone] operations in the national airspace system while ensuring safety. As the list of potential uses for UAS grows, so do the concerns about how they might affect existing military and non-military aviation as well as concerns about how they might be used," reads the GAO report.
*Security, air safety, surveillance*
One concern is security. The Transportation Security Administration has warned that drones could be used by terrorists to drop dirty bombs. In 2012, the FAA fined a private UAV operator $10,000 for flying a small drone over the heavily populated campus of the University of Virginia.
There are also air-safety concerns. "To date, no suitable technology has been deployed that would provide [drones] with the capability to sense and avoid other aircraft and airborne objects and to comply completely with FAA regulatory requirements of the national airspace system," according to the GAO report. Transponders are on the market, but not widely used because they're expensive.
Wider concerns pivot on privacy and civil-rights violations. A survey by the Monmouth University Polling Institute shows overwhelming support for drones as search-and-rescue and border-control tools, but found 80 percent of people expressed some level of concern about privacy infringements by law enforcement drones with high-tech cameras.
In a recent speech at the National Press Club, Sen. Mark Udall said Coloradans "hold sacred their open spaces, seclusion and privacy both in the furthest wilderness areas and in the center of their greatest cities. It's part of who we are in the West."
"So it's not surprising that it would give them pause to hear that with a few hundred dollars, a UAS operator could record or broadcast live audio and video of a family eating dinner or anyone sitting in their back yard. The potential for surveillance raises real concerns. It is invasive and can be done unprotected," Udall said.
"If police start flying a drone and start snooping and spying, it might get a bit unreasonable as they see what they can get away with," says Jeff Orrok, chairman of the Libertarian Party of Colorado.
"Mesa County is a very private community. They want to be left alone out there," adds Stephen Saint, who left his job with the Mesa County Sheriff's Department in March to move to South Dakota. "You gotta worry about someone being elected sheriff and going rogue. You gotta consider that drones could get in the hands of the wrong people."
The GAO report points out that it's "not clear what entity should be responsible for addressing privacy concerns... Many stakeholders believe that there should be federal regulations for the types of allowable uses of UAS to specifically protect the privacy of individuals as well as rules for the conditions and types of data that UAS can collect."
Udall, who serves on the Senate's Select Committee on Intelligence, promises to craft such legislation.
In the absence of that kind of oversight, states are taking action. This year, legislatures in Virginia, Idaho, Montana, Tennessee and Florida passed laws limiting drone surveillance. Lawmakers in 36 other states, not including Colorado, proposed similar legislation, according to the ACLU.
By all accounts, Miller has tried to be as transparent as possible about Mesa County's drone project. He is aware of public sensitivities about domestic drones, which he blames partly on a February 11 Time Magazine cover depicting a large military grade drone flying over an American house.
The word "drone" evokes fear among some critics that police Peeping Toms might ogle backyard sunbathers. It triggers concerns about authorities spying on recreational marijuana cultivation. And it evokes anxiety among anyone who remembers Winston Smith, the main character in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, cowering in the one spot in his apartment where he could avoid the watch of "Big Brother," the totalitarian dictator who ruled through mass surveillance.
"If the American public views these promising technologies in a negative light, envisioning a sky full of drones watching their every move, however exaggerated that vision may be, this industry will always be behind the eight ball and never reach its full potential," Udall said in his speech.
*Two toy-sized flying machines*
Miller is eager to ease those fears by saying his department has never used its drones for surveillance, which he defines as "flying around watching people until they do something bad." When residents call with concerns, he invites them into the sheriff's department conference room, unzips two backpacks on the conference table and pulls out the two toy-sized flying machines.
"You should see the looks on their faces, when they're thinking it's a Predator drone and you show them these devices, which aren't much more advanced than the toys you can buy at Walmart," Miller says. "There has to be a public confidence in what we're doing with these things. Without it, people aren't going to trust our department."
The department set in place a drone policy this year ensuring that "Any flight that has been deemed a search under the 4th Amendment and does not fall under court approved exceptions will require a warrant. A pilot will not conduct a mission deemed a search under the 4th Amendment without possession of a signed warrant or personal knowledge that one has been issued."
The policy also says that "Any private or sensitive information collected that is not deemed evidence will be deleted."
Watchdogs laud Miller and Mesa County for their transparency.
"A lot of departments aren't nearly as willing to talk about their drones," Musgrave said.
His group, Muckrock, and its partner, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, launched their research into domestic drones after news that the Seattle Police Department spent more than $80,000 in federal money on two surveillance drones in 2010 without approval by the city council.
"One of our concerns we had is departments are getting access without consulting their communities," Musgrave says. "We want to make sure that there are formal, not just informal, policies in place and that the public is weighing in on whether their agencies use drones and, if so, how they should be using them."
In Colorado and nationally, the American Civil Liberties Union is calling for oversight of police drones.
"We need to have regulations in place by policymakers, not police," says Denise Maes, public policy director at the ACLU of Colorado.
Maes is not persuaded by arguments such as Mesa County's that small UAVs present less of a privacy threat than do big ones.
"A drone by any other name is still a drone," she says. "The fact that they're getting smaller and can go unnoticed is precisely why they're more dangerous. The smaller they are, the more they can invade your privacy." Reported by Huffington Post 7 hours ago.
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Growing Demand Continues To Fuel Sales At Neal In May
Southwest Florida's most experienced builder does it again--another month of sales success and exceeding company goals.
Sarasota, Florida (PRWEB) June 07, 2013
Continuing a record-breaking sales season, Neal Communities sold 65 homes in the month of May, an almost 50-percent increase from May 2012, with 45 sales. Year to date, the Lakewood Ranch-based, new home builder has increased sales by more than 60-percent with 239 at this time last year, compared to 382 in 2013.
“The continuing trend that we are seeing is the market’s pent up demand,” said David Hunihan, director of sales for Neal Communities. “Consumers who held off purchasing— perhaps due to timing, being conservative with funds, or even inability to purchase because of economic conditions— are now starting to free up. Couple that with low Inventories and it is just simple supply and demand,” he said.
Sales took place across sixteen of Neal’s communities, spanning from Manatee County to Lee County. After recent grand openings, Neal sold its first homes at two of its newest communities: Villa Palmeras in Estero and Verandah in Ft. Myers. Other notable neighborhoods were Central Park at Lakewood Ranch with 13 sales, Grand Palm in Venice with nine sales, and Forest Creek in Bradenton with six sales.
Also this month, the Lakewood Ranch-based, new homebuilder sold out of its Harborage community in Bradenton. Additionally, Neal is one-quarter sold out of its new condominiums after just one month of sales. Currently, Neal’s condos are only available at Miramar in Lakewood Ranch.
“The market is still incredibly strong, even though it’s the so-called off-season. People see prices going up and want to take advantage of that value plus great interest rates,” said Hunihan.
Traffic to Neal models is double what it was this time last year, with 1,683 visitors in May 2013 compared to 755 visitors in May 2012, with 7,933 year to date.
“We still see sales and traffic spikes throughout the year but we’re not really seasonal like we used to be,” said Leisa Weintraub, Neal Communities’ Vice President of Marketing and Creative Director. “March is always our biggest month for traffic but we also see big upticks in August –October,” she noted.
Neal Communities was named one of 2012's "America's Best Builders" by BUILDER Magazine. The company is ranked #1 locally by Metrostudy and by Hanley Wood Market Intelligence based on number of home sales and ranked #64 nationally among home builders by BUILDER Magazine. To date, Neal has built over 9,000 homes in Southwest Florida. As the area's largest and most established, locally-owned and operated private builder, Neal Communities is continually striving for excellence in every aspect of the home building and development business. John Neal Homes, Neal Signature Homes, Charlene Neal PureStyle, Waterscapes Pools & Spas, and Allegiant Title Professionals all contribute to the firm's continued, record-setting local success. The company's honors and accolades include 29 Parade of Homes 2013 awards, 49 Aurora Awards, 5 Best in American Living Awards, and hundreds of local and regional industry awards. For more information, please visit http://www.nealcommunities.com. Reported by PRWeb 2 hours ago.
Sarasota, Florida (PRWEB) June 07, 2013
Continuing a record-breaking sales season, Neal Communities sold 65 homes in the month of May, an almost 50-percent increase from May 2012, with 45 sales. Year to date, the Lakewood Ranch-based, new home builder has increased sales by more than 60-percent with 239 at this time last year, compared to 382 in 2013.
“The continuing trend that we are seeing is the market’s pent up demand,” said David Hunihan, director of sales for Neal Communities. “Consumers who held off purchasing— perhaps due to timing, being conservative with funds, or even inability to purchase because of economic conditions— are now starting to free up. Couple that with low Inventories and it is just simple supply and demand,” he said.
Sales took place across sixteen of Neal’s communities, spanning from Manatee County to Lee County. After recent grand openings, Neal sold its first homes at two of its newest communities: Villa Palmeras in Estero and Verandah in Ft. Myers. Other notable neighborhoods were Central Park at Lakewood Ranch with 13 sales, Grand Palm in Venice with nine sales, and Forest Creek in Bradenton with six sales.
Also this month, the Lakewood Ranch-based, new homebuilder sold out of its Harborage community in Bradenton. Additionally, Neal is one-quarter sold out of its new condominiums after just one month of sales. Currently, Neal’s condos are only available at Miramar in Lakewood Ranch.
“The market is still incredibly strong, even though it’s the so-called off-season. People see prices going up and want to take advantage of that value plus great interest rates,” said Hunihan.
Traffic to Neal models is double what it was this time last year, with 1,683 visitors in May 2013 compared to 755 visitors in May 2012, with 7,933 year to date.
“We still see sales and traffic spikes throughout the year but we’re not really seasonal like we used to be,” said Leisa Weintraub, Neal Communities’ Vice President of Marketing and Creative Director. “March is always our biggest month for traffic but we also see big upticks in August –October,” she noted.
Neal Communities was named one of 2012's "America's Best Builders" by BUILDER Magazine. The company is ranked #1 locally by Metrostudy and by Hanley Wood Market Intelligence based on number of home sales and ranked #64 nationally among home builders by BUILDER Magazine. To date, Neal has built over 9,000 homes in Southwest Florida. As the area's largest and most established, locally-owned and operated private builder, Neal Communities is continually striving for excellence in every aspect of the home building and development business. John Neal Homes, Neal Signature Homes, Charlene Neal PureStyle, Waterscapes Pools & Spas, and Allegiant Title Professionals all contribute to the firm's continued, record-setting local success. The company's honors and accolades include 29 Parade of Homes 2013 awards, 49 Aurora Awards, 5 Best in American Living Awards, and hundreds of local and regional industry awards. For more information, please visit http://www.nealcommunities.com. Reported by PRWeb 2 hours ago.
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Colorado Non-Profit Healthcare Provider Hiring 80 New Employees
Colorado Access will be holding job fairs for interested and qualified individuals.
(PRWEB) June 07, 2013
Colorado Access, a Denver-based health plan is hiring approximately 80 new employees to staff a new line of business.
“We’re looking for people with care management and adult care experience, and customer service representatives with at least two years of healthcare call center experience,” says Gretchen McGinnis, senior vice president of public policy and performance improvement at Colorado Access.
“This is a natural expansion of our business that clearly aligns with our core mission and we are eager to build the team. We encourage individuals to apply online or in-person at one of our job fairs. Colorado Access offers a competitive benefits package that includes, medical, dental, vision, 401K and paid time off.”
Colorado Access will be holding job fairs for interested and qualified individuals at the Red Lion Hotel (3200 S. Parker Rd., Aurora, CO 80014) on Thursday, June 6th from 4-7 p.m. and Saturday, June 8 from 9 a.m. -4 p.m.
Founded in 1994, Colorado Access is a local, nonprofit health plan that serves more than 500,000 Coloradans. The company’s members receive healthcare under Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+), Medicaid Behavioral and Physical Health programs, or Medicare Advantage. In 2011, Colorado Access was awarded three (3) of the seven (7) Regional Care Collaborative Organizations (RCCOs) under the State’s Accountable Care Collaborative Medicaid program. Access Health Benefit Solutions provides Third Party Administrator services to employers offering customized employer-funded health insurance and wellness plans to their employees. For more information, visit http://www.coaccess.com Reported by PRWeb 2 hours ago.
(PRWEB) June 07, 2013
Colorado Access, a Denver-based health plan is hiring approximately 80 new employees to staff a new line of business.
“We’re looking for people with care management and adult care experience, and customer service representatives with at least two years of healthcare call center experience,” says Gretchen McGinnis, senior vice president of public policy and performance improvement at Colorado Access.
“This is a natural expansion of our business that clearly aligns with our core mission and we are eager to build the team. We encourage individuals to apply online or in-person at one of our job fairs. Colorado Access offers a competitive benefits package that includes, medical, dental, vision, 401K and paid time off.”
Colorado Access will be holding job fairs for interested and qualified individuals at the Red Lion Hotel (3200 S. Parker Rd., Aurora, CO 80014) on Thursday, June 6th from 4-7 p.m. and Saturday, June 8 from 9 a.m. -4 p.m.
Founded in 1994, Colorado Access is a local, nonprofit health plan that serves more than 500,000 Coloradans. The company’s members receive healthcare under Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+), Medicaid Behavioral and Physical Health programs, or Medicare Advantage. In 2011, Colorado Access was awarded three (3) of the seven (7) Regional Care Collaborative Organizations (RCCOs) under the State’s Accountable Care Collaborative Medicaid program. Access Health Benefit Solutions provides Third Party Administrator services to employers offering customized employer-funded health insurance and wellness plans to their employees. For more information, visit http://www.coaccess.com Reported by PRWeb 2 hours ago.
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Judge Accepts Insanity Plea in Colorado Theater Rampage
A judge has accepted an insanity plea in the case of James Holmes, who is accused of killing 12 and injuring dozens more during a shooting rampage at a late-night screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" at an Aurora, Colo., movie theater last July, the Associated Press reports.
Holmes will next undergo a mental evaluation to determine if he was indeed insane when the shootings occurred.
Related Articles:
Colorado Theater Shootings Lawsuit: Cinemark Claims It Had No 'Right to Control' Suspect
Colorado Theater Shootings: James Holmes Asks How 'Dark Knight Rises' Ends (Report)
Image Caption:
Getty Images
read more Reported by The Wrap 4 days ago.
Holmes will next undergo a mental evaluation to determine if he was indeed insane when the shootings occurred.
Related Articles:
Colorado Theater Shootings Lawsuit: Cinemark Claims It Had No 'Right to Control' Suspect
Colorado Theater Shootings: James Holmes Asks How 'Dark Knight Rises' Ends (Report)
Image Caption:
Getty Images
read more Reported by The Wrap 4 days ago.
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James Holmes Pleads Insanity
As expected , accused Aurora theater shooter James Holmes pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity today, and a judge accepted the plea—setting the stage for a mental evaluation that could take months. Holmes' lawyers repeatedly have said he is mentally ill, but they delayed the insanity plea while arguing...
Reported by Newser 4 days ago.
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Judge Accepts Holmes Insanity Plea in Aurora Shooting Trial
A judge on Tuesday accepted James Holmes' plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, setting the stage for a lengthy mental evaluation of the Colorado theater shooting suspect. The court clerk placed a written advisory of the ground rules of the plea...
Reported by Newsmax 4 days ago.
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James Holmes Insanity Plea Accepted
James Holmes initially pleaded not guilty to the Aurora movie theater shooting that killed 17 people.
Reported by IBTimes 4 days ago.
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JPSO investigating rash of vehicle burglaries in Metairie
Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office deputies are investigating a rash of vehicle burglaries in a Metairie neighborhood. Residents on Sunday reported a total of 11 vehicles burglarized in the 1100 block of Aurora and Phosphor avenues, according to incident reports.All of...
Reported by nola.com 4 days ago.
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Auroran Charged With Battery After St. Charles Bar Manager Punched
Patch St. Charles, IL --Robert Michael Kavanaugh, 26, of the 500 block of South Lincoln, Aurora, was charged with battery at 9:40 p.m. Friday, May 31, 2013 at Alley 64, 212 W. Main St.
Police were Reported by Patch 4 days ago.
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Dem On Why He Backs Gun Control: 'We Had 20 6-Year Olds Shot In The Face'
Sen. John Morse is not backing down after gun-rights activists gathered double the amount of signatures needed to trigger his recall -- the first recall election in Colorado state history -- in response to his support of some of the year's strictest gun control measures.
But Morse responded to the recall effort with defiance. “[W]e had 20 6-year-olds shot in the face, and we have the other side arguing we should do nothing, and I’m sorry, that doesn’t cut it," Morse said in response to the recall effort to the Associated Press referring to the 2012's Connecticut school shooting.
On Monday, a gun rights group, the Basic Freedom Defense Fund, delivered a petition with more than 16,000 signatures (they only needed around 7,000) to the Secretary of State's office asking to recall Senate President Morse for his support of a gun control package that Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed into law earlier this year including expanded background checks to include all private gun sales and transfers and a 15-round limit on ammunition magazines.
Morse also backed a measure that would hold gun manufacturers and sellers legally liable in some cases for damage caused by their weapons, however he eventually dropped the bill when it appeared that it didn't have the votes in the Senate to pass.
Assuming the petition signatures are deemed valid by the Secretary of State, Morse says he will not resign and says that even if he loses his seat the gun control measures were too important to dodge in the wake of 2012's Aurora theater massacre and the Sandy Hook shooting in Conn. “Keeping Coloradans safe from gun violence is very worth your political career," Morse said.
If the signatures are verified, the recall election will happen sometime between August 23 and October 23 of this year.
The AP reported that the National Rifle Association got involved with the recall effort and sent a political mailer saying it was coordinating the effort with local groups, however local recall petitioners denied that the NRA was involved in any way.
"I ran this campaign. The NRA did not run this campaign," said Rob Harris, organizer of the recall effort, to the AP. "We the people are making a stand against the people who refused to represent their constituents."
A Morse-supporter group called A Whole Lot of People for John Morse claims that many of the petition signatures gathered were obtained fraudulently and that outside interest groups paid workers to gather signatures, CBS News reported.
According to the Gazette, since the recall effort was started, it has felt like election season for Morse's district with signature gatherers, radio ads, robocalls, polls and a total of almost $40,000 raised for both supporters and opponents of Morse.
Sen. Morse was recently even asked to sign the petition to recall himself at a local supermarket, 9News reported. "I said no, really, I am John Morse. And I pulled out my wallet and showed my driver's license so that he could see that I wasn't making it up," Morse said.
Morse told KDVR that he understands that his recall is only partially about him, and that it's also symbolic. "It's a litmus test," Morse said and added that he believes the success or failure of the recall effort will be interpreted as a referendum on gun control. “There doesn’t seem to be any question that money’s coming from outside the state to say, look, if you do this, we can take out the Senate president -- we can take out anyone across the entire country if you decide to implement common-sense gun legislation.”
Secretary of State Scott Gessler has 15 business days to determine if the more than 16,000 signatures are indeed valid, and if they are, this will be the first time in history that a Colorado lawmaker has faced a recall vote since the state adopted the recall in 1912, the AP reports. The special election will ask if Morse should be recalled, and if so, who should replace him. Reported by Huffington Post 4 days ago.
But Morse responded to the recall effort with defiance. “[W]e had 20 6-year-olds shot in the face, and we have the other side arguing we should do nothing, and I’m sorry, that doesn’t cut it," Morse said in response to the recall effort to the Associated Press referring to the 2012's Connecticut school shooting.
On Monday, a gun rights group, the Basic Freedom Defense Fund, delivered a petition with more than 16,000 signatures (they only needed around 7,000) to the Secretary of State's office asking to recall Senate President Morse for his support of a gun control package that Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed into law earlier this year including expanded background checks to include all private gun sales and transfers and a 15-round limit on ammunition magazines.
Morse also backed a measure that would hold gun manufacturers and sellers legally liable in some cases for damage caused by their weapons, however he eventually dropped the bill when it appeared that it didn't have the votes in the Senate to pass.
Assuming the petition signatures are deemed valid by the Secretary of State, Morse says he will not resign and says that even if he loses his seat the gun control measures were too important to dodge in the wake of 2012's Aurora theater massacre and the Sandy Hook shooting in Conn. “Keeping Coloradans safe from gun violence is very worth your political career," Morse said.
If the signatures are verified, the recall election will happen sometime between August 23 and October 23 of this year.
The AP reported that the National Rifle Association got involved with the recall effort and sent a political mailer saying it was coordinating the effort with local groups, however local recall petitioners denied that the NRA was involved in any way.
"I ran this campaign. The NRA did not run this campaign," said Rob Harris, organizer of the recall effort, to the AP. "We the people are making a stand against the people who refused to represent their constituents."
A Morse-supporter group called A Whole Lot of People for John Morse claims that many of the petition signatures gathered were obtained fraudulently and that outside interest groups paid workers to gather signatures, CBS News reported.
According to the Gazette, since the recall effort was started, it has felt like election season for Morse's district with signature gatherers, radio ads, robocalls, polls and a total of almost $40,000 raised for both supporters and opponents of Morse.
Sen. Morse was recently even asked to sign the petition to recall himself at a local supermarket, 9News reported. "I said no, really, I am John Morse. And I pulled out my wallet and showed my driver's license so that he could see that I wasn't making it up," Morse said.
Morse told KDVR that he understands that his recall is only partially about him, and that it's also symbolic. "It's a litmus test," Morse said and added that he believes the success or failure of the recall effort will be interpreted as a referendum on gun control. “There doesn’t seem to be any question that money’s coming from outside the state to say, look, if you do this, we can take out the Senate president -- we can take out anyone across the entire country if you decide to implement common-sense gun legislation.”
Secretary of State Scott Gessler has 15 business days to determine if the more than 16,000 signatures are indeed valid, and if they are, this will be the first time in history that a Colorado lawmaker has faced a recall vote since the state adopted the recall in 1912, the AP reports. The special election will ask if Morse should be recalled, and if so, who should replace him. Reported by Huffington Post 4 days ago.
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Magna obtains issuer bid exemption order to permit purchases by way of private agreements from an additional seller
AURORA, ON, June 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - Magna International Inc. (TSX: MG, NYSE: MGA) today announced that the Ontario Securities Commission ("OSC") has issued an issuer bid exemption order (the "June Order") permitting us to make private agreement purchases from an arm's length...
Reported by PR Newswire 4 days ago.
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