City News
This is news from the city of Boulder, about the city or any of its departments
Boulder Public Library cuts, retirements, resignations, book cuts, hours cut No end in site
Oct 21st
October 21, 2010 ,Boulder, Colorado is considered one of the country’s most intelligent cities. but, with severe budget cuts looming, it’s the Boulder Public Library which is suffering. According to several sources at the Library, under the previous library director, Tony Talbott, books were culled from the stacks if they weren’t used for a number of years and magazines, too.
That started the ball rolling but his resignation brought Donna Gaertman into the picture as Library Director Pro Tem. She’s retiring on December 31, 2010 along with long-standing management personnel, Assistant Library Director Lyn Reed, whose husband Judge Tom Reed is retiring, and finance director James Marshall. There’s no continuity!
According to a city source, a $100,000 budget increase was to go toward 2% bonuses for those management personnel. But, since they are leaving, where is that money going? And, according to the City and library personnel, when several full time employees took retirement, they were not being replaced. Instead, City management decided to bring in temp employees who wouldn’t require benefits. Anyone can see the stress on the faces of those long-term librarians and other library personnel wondering what will happen next.
While there is no confirmation from the City to this statement, Jennifer Miles is looking for a possible move to become Library Director. She came up in the ranks after being put into place at the library by former library Director Marcelee Graalap.
As one member of the library management recently said, “Time will tell if we will even have a library here any more considering the cuts!”
Arrest at library
Oct 6th
The crime was reported to police the following morning when the employee returned to work and saw the suspect outside the library. The suspect was contacted by officers and the victim made a positive identification.
The suspect, identified as Manuel Rodriguez-Calanche, date of birth of Feb. 2, 1965, was initially arrested on municipal charges. After consultation with the District Attorney’s Office and prior to his first court appearance, those charges were dismissed and replaced with state charges of bias-motivated crime and harassment, both of which are misdemeanors. He was booked into the Boulder County Jail. Bond was set at $2,500.
The case number for this incident is 10-12318.
SOURCE: City of Boulder news release
NEWS:A Boulder Rally for Homeless Justice
Sep 28th
We urge:
§ a halt to cruel and unusual punishment (8th Amendment)
§ support for ACLU appeal on case # 10CV716 involving Boulder’s camping ordinance
§ an immediate moratorium on camping tickets
revision of Boulder’s no camping ordinance safe places to sleep for all Boulder’s homeless residents. “The mere act of searching out a public place and seeking shelter from the elements at night, whether it be under a discarded newspaper, a threadbare blanket, or a tattered sleeping-bag, exposes an individual to criminal liability under Boulder’s ordinance. It matters not that the act is done out of necessity, and in response to the involuntary human need for warmth, sleep, and protection from the forces of nature; and, it matters not that the essential freedom to move about and remain in public places is perhaps the most fundamental and valuable liberty that homeless individuals enjoy. Boulder’s “anti-camping” ordinance … has significant potential to encumber a substantial amount of protected activity.” –from ACLU Appeal # 10CV716 In Washington, D.C. One Nation Working Together will demand cuts in military spending to fund community needs, an end to the current U.S. wars, peace abroad and renewable energy at home.
Sponsors: Homeless Organized for More Equality (HOME), Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, Denver Voice, Boulder County Interfaith Working Group for Social Justice
Contact number: 303-444-6981, ext.2