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POLITICS

The hits just keep on coming at the Colorado General Assembly. And believe me, we're not saying these folks are rock stars. Just the opposite perhaps.

Today's headliner is House Majority Leader Alice Madden, a Boulder Democrat who, until late Monday, served on the board of the Energy & Environmental Security Initiative at the University of Colorado Law School. Meanwhile, she was sponsoring a bill to to give that group $317,000 in state money.
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POLITICS

Call it a Web of conspiracy or maybe just grassroots activism on a whole new platform.

Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, creater of the Daily Kos, is in Denver and Boulder this week, promoting
"Crashing the Gate" the book he co-authored with Jerome Armstrong. In it, he lambastes the old-timers in the Democratic Party and advocates a takeover from within.

After talking with Jay Marvin on AM 760 and podcasting for ProgressNow Action, a group of bloggers got together to chat about blogging, politics and the new grassroots.

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LION ATTACK

"Mountain lion attacks boy"

With that headline Sunday, the Daily Camera and other area media kicked off intense coverage of a mountain lion attack on Flagstaff Mountain Saturday evening. The rare attack in an area often populated with people hiking, picnicking and getting married resulted in the killing of the young female cat early Sunday.
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POLITICS

Boulder County long has been known as a Democratic haven. But Republicans have typically been able to point to officeholders - from former county commissioner and treasurer Sandy Hume to former state Rep. Bill Swenson of Longmont - and a slate of candidates in general elections.

This year, though, the GOP is having trouble finding candidates to run for everything from county offices to the state legislature. The Longmont Times-Call reports that county GOP Chairwoman Marty Neilson's call for nominations for county posts such as commissioner, treasurer, sheriff and clerk drew no takers Saturday.

No Republicans are challenging House Majority Alice Madden of Boulder or Rep. Paul Weissmann of Louisville, either. (The Libertarian Party of Boulder County is actually considering endorsing Weissmann, according to their Web site. The Libertarians already have a candidate to run against incumbent County Commissioner Tom Mayer, too. It's Randy Luallin, who ran as an independent four years ago.)

There's still time for the GOP to get folks on the August primary ballot - vacancy committees may nominate candidates, but it has to be done by June 2.

POLITICS

All may seem quiet on Colorado's election front now, but the storm should be in full form by fall.

Continuing to wield his veto pen, Gov. Bill Owens on Thursday nixed a measure allowing pharmacists to dispense the morning-after pill. It's the second year in a row Owens has vetoed a bill on providing emergency contraception to women.

That's spurring some women to take the measure directly to voters in the fall. But if it makes it on the ballot, improving access to Plan B, as it's known, could end up being one of the less controversial measures put to Coloradans.
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GOVERNMENT

Colorado students should be raising their pop cans in a toast to Gov. Bill Owens this afternoon, followed, perhaps, with a bag of chips.

Owens today vetoed House Bill 1056, sponsored by House Majority Leader Alice Madden, a Boulder Democrat. The measure would have required school districts to stock healthy snacks in vending machines.
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THE UNIVERSITY

The University of Colorado may be facing another student death related to alcohol and/or drugs.

It's definitely too early to say what happened to Jesse Gomez, the 18-year-old student from Lakewood found dead in his Willard Hall dorm room Sunday afternoon. The Boulder County Coroner is waiting for toxicology reports on the case, which could take weeks. No signs of trauma or foul play were evident.

The Daily Camera does a good balancing act reporting more about the death the honors student who listed engineering as his major. The story includes quotes from family and friends about the sophomore's activities and honors. But it also notes that Gomez received a ticket for underage drinking last fall; a police report indicated he was so drunk he could barely stand.
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THE UNIVERSITY

We're back on the bus - the RTD strike is over - and there's a week of deep - and sometimes wacky, irreverent and controversial - thinking ahead in Boulder.

The 58th annual Conference on World Affairs kicks off today at the University of Colorado with speakers ranging from rappers to writers to policy wonks. Film critic Roger Ebert is back, of course, for his annual Cinema Interruptus, a weeklong examination of a single film, this year Richard Altman's "The Long Goodbye."
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SPORTS

It was all about baseball for my two kid brothers and dad when we were growing up in central Iowa.

We often went to see the Iowa A's, then a AAA farm club for Oakland, especially if Vida Blue was pitching, because he could hit the long ball, too. (I'm talking the '70s ballplayer here, not the band.)
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THE UNIVERSITY

OK, so University of Colorado Interim President Hank Brown still has a few hoops to jump through before he gets rid of the "interim" label.

But what's been clear all along came to pass Wednesday evening when the CU regents voted unanimously to make Brown the sole finalist for the president's job abandonded by Betsy Hoffman in the face of athletic and academic uproars.
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