Thanks for Latino history
I wanted to write and say how much my partner and I are enjoying the articles of the early history of Hispanics in Boulder County.
My partner’s family has roots in Boulder County reaching back to the mid 1800s; she has told me many firsthand stories of discrimination and marginalization both she and her family have experienced. Thank you for shed ding light on Boulder’ s shameful past.
D.L. Butler/Denver
Thank you very much for your continuing series (in collaboration with Marjorie) on the history of Latinos in Boulder County. I know that it has taken a lot of time and effort, to uncover this harsh past. Reminders should remain up front so that we never forget them.
Mary Young/Boulder
Bad NBC news
Hi, I wanted to let you know that the North Boulder Cafe closed this weekend. The day your article came out about the awesome home fries at the NBC (Feb. 20) was their last day. This is a total shame, as the NBC rocked and had some of the best food around at a reasonable price. The flood was devastating for Julie (the owner), she was closed for five days, and business from Jamestown and Lyons evaporated and never came back. … I am very sad; I, too, loved those home fries. Let’s rally the community and find a new location for the NBC and get Julie and her awesome cooks back in business. I want my home fries back.
Karyl Verdon/via email
Dry up, Danish
Paul Danish, in the Feb. 20 edition, proposes a water supply plan in defiance of all principles of economics and common sense: Colorado should build desalination plants off the coast of California in exchange for an equal amount of California’s allocation of Colorado River water. Obvious surprise and indignation aside, there are three serious flaws in his plan: first, it contains very bad applied economics, second, it’s a bad deal for California, and third, it’s a bad deal for Colorado.
To the first point, Mr. Danish claims that for $2.5 billion dollars we could “double Denver and Boulder’s water supply.” But where exactly would we put all this water? I would love to hear where Mr. Danish proposes to build over 600,000 acre-feet of new reservoirs on the Front Range. Without new storage, the water we bought from California will run downhill toward the Pacific Ocean, where I guarantee California will be happy to use it anyway. Mr. Danish attempts to assuage us by citing the low cost of Hoover Dam. To be blunt, Hoover is a dam, and desalination plants are not. Hoover represents one large sunk cost paid off with sales of cheap water and hydropower. Desalination plants use electricity, not produce it, to make water, so there is less reason to believe that the project would be paid off. Most water projects in the West have never overcome their initial costs, and most of them didn’t require electricity to run. Why would California choose to use these expensive operations rather than low-cost water from the Colorado River? Right now California gets to use 4.4 million acre-feet of Colorado River water even if water levels in the river are historically low. Throwing away any of that allocation, which costs them only some pump operation and treatment, in exchange for very expensive desalinated water, is a losing proposition for California.
Finally, it’s a whale of a loser for Colorado. First, assuming we also built sufficient storage space, this new 600,000 acre-feet of water is just as drought-prone as the 600,000 we already have. If the Rockies suffer a drought like that of the Sierras this winter, there won’t be 600,000 acre-feet of new supply to divert through the mountains to Denver and Boulder, much less 1.2 million. Our shiny new reservoirs could sit as empty as our pocketbooks.
Brian Devine/Boulder
Arizona and Frasier
Arizona Governor Ms. Brewer would be wise to learn from the mistakes of her neighbor to the northeast and ignore extremist demands that would deny human rights to their fellow Americans. One example of fiscal bad-decision-made-into law is the fact that the TV show Frasier was originally planned to take place in Denver, but was moved to Seattle as a result of Colorado’s Amendment 2, which would have repealed anti-gay discrimination laws (later declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court). Frasier ultimately went on to record-breaking award nominations and viewership, with the Seattle space needle as a backdrop instead of Colorado’s Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. (Massive free publicity anyone?) If Arizona really wants to show how devolution works, all enlightened Americans can say is, “Please proceed.” Or secede and return to being a part of Mexico. Buena suerte, amigos.
Tommy Holeman/Niwot
Enforce the laws
I wonder often why we need more laws (the General Assembly could meet every other year, saving some money?) when I see those on the books so loosely enforced, if at all. Coming to mind would be “no-call” lists (similar to all the stuff that intrudes on Web pages that the user does not request); heavily tinted, even opaque, vehicle windows; television commercials way louder than the programming. The list goes on. You get my drift.
The ultimate blame — and responsibility — lies with the electorate. I wish that gave me confidence, but it does not. Maybe the next thing voters will legalize is intentional ignorance. Such could find nearly every legislator wearing a hoosegow suit.
Greg Iwan/Longmont
