Posts tagged kids
City of Boulder News Briefs
0May 8, 2013
Volunteers needed for Boulder Public Library Summer Reading Program
Volunteers are needed to help out with Boulder Public Library’s annual Summer Reading Program, which runs from May 28 to July 5, 2013. Volunteers will help sign kids up for the program, track their reading hours, assist with related programs and distribute prizes.
The Meadows and George Reynolds branch libraries specifically need 24 volunteers to assist with the summer reading program in those locations, in east and south Boulder. Volunteer trainings will be held May 13, 18 and 19.
Please contact Boulder Public Library’s volunteer services coordinator, Grayson Hardman, at 303-441-3114, for more information or to apply. Boulder Public Library website: www.boulderlibrary.org.
Municipal Court closed 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 10
Boulder Municipal Court will be closed from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, May 10, for a staff meeting.
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CU in distant 2nd at NCAA Championship in Vermont
0March 8, 2013
The CU ski has little chance of overtaking the lead with only two events
remaining.
Defending champion Vermont has now led after all three days, and owns a 54-point edge over the Buffaloes. After Friday’s always-risky slalom races, the Catamounts ended the day with 564 points, followed by Colorado (510), Denver (484) and Utah (481). Those four schools remain in the hunt for the title, as fifth place New Mexico (449) and sixth place Dartmouth (405) are likely too far back of UVM to make up that much ground.
Vermont has recent history on its side, as the leader at the midway point has won six straight and 10 of the last 12 times, and schools leading after three days (six events) have won 16 of the last 18. Two of the last three champions, Denver (2010) and Colorado (2011) both led wire-to-wire.
UVM’s 54-point lead is the smallest heading into the final two events since 2009, when it led DU by two points, but the Pioneers overhauled them and won by 56.5 points. The only other school to rally on the final day in the last 20 years was Vermont in 1994, as the Catamounts started in third place and down by 49 points before rallying for a 21-point win.
CU ski coach Richard Rokos
“It was a tough day, as tough as slalom can be,” CU head coach Richard Rokos said. “There are two approaches, go out and give everything like Utah and Denver did, or ski conservatively and hope that everybody else will have bad luck or ski the same way. UVM knows this place well and they took advantage. With us being just behind them, our kids finished six runs diligently, it’s part of the deal. Unfortunately we didn’t catch enough points to catch up or even maintain with Vermont, so they’re still ahead of us.”
Denver won the women’s slalom with 101 points, followed by Dartmouth (90), Utah (86), Vermont (84), New Mexico (78), New Hampshire (67) and then Colorado (seventh, 59). In the men’s slalom, Middlebury won the day with 103, ahead of New Hampshire (95), New Mexico and Vermont (91) and the Buffs (82).
“I have a fundamental problem with the format, we used to throw out three results and use 21 of 24 scores, and that would allow kids to risk a little more in slalom,” he continued. “Now every single point goes in your pocket and you can’t hike and everything counts. And before that, you skied four and counted three. You could survive a crash, a hike, a bad run, etc., and the deeper teams had a little comfort zone.”
Denver freshman Kristine Haugen made it a sweep here, as she claimed the women’s slalom Friday to add to her win in the giant slalom on Wednesday; she is the first to win both since CU’s Lucie Zikova in 2008, and the fifth to do it since 1983 when the NCAA first sponsored women in the sport.
All of CU’s women are freshmen as well, with Jessica Honkonen posting CU’s best finish, her 1:40.78 time placing her 16th, but well behind Haugen’s time of 1:37.97. Brooke Wales finished 18th (1:41.16) and Thea Grosvold 27th (1:42.20). It marked just the second time in the last 14 national slaloms that CU didn’t have at least one finisher in the top 10, the other year coming in 2009.
“We were on the defensive today, we came in without a huge deficit to UVM, we wanted to maintain that difference, but I think we probably held back a little bit too much today,” Wales said. “Hopefully (CU) just finishing with decent runs will pay off and the ‘Nordies’ will get it done. Some other teams hurt themselves by not finishing some racers. But know that tomorrow we will be the No. 1 fans out there tomorrow getting them through the finish line.”
“I told them to make sure to finish, the girls maybe took it a little too much to heart,” Rokos pondered. “They skied fast and clean, it’s hard to compromise. On one hand, you ask them to ski fast, on the other if they don’t finish, it hurts the team. It’s a very hard compromise, and contradictory to what ski racers do.”
The men were led by freshman Kasper Hietanen, who earned second-team All-America honors in tying for eighth place with a 1:40.28 time; New Mexico’s Joonas Rasanen won the top spot on the podium with a two-run clocking of 1:38.96.
“I had a little trouble on the second run, but I was able to make it in the top 10, the top eight, so it was good,” Hietanen said. “It was a little different than the first run, the sun came up, it was softer and slicker, I had a great run until a mistake right before the last flat. That probably cost me a few spots, but all in all it was a decent run. I was going for it, but also I was careful to save points. Even taking it carefully, I had a little mistake, but I kept it in there.”
“Kasper’s had one mistake that cost him probably being in third or even second, but it was still to finish eighth, especially in your first NCAA slalom,” Rokos said. “If you look at the podium, there were no favorites, they were all hiking.”
Freshman Henrik Gunnarsson finished 13th (1:40.76), while junior Andreas Haug tied for 16th (1:41.62).
The mass start freestyle races will finish off the NCAA meet on Saturday, with the women’s 15-kilometer at 8:00 a.m. MST, and the men’s 20k race following at 10:00 a.m.
“The Nordic races are a little more predictable, which is obvious after today here,” Rokos said. “We’ll see how we do tomorrow, we’re not out of it but need to have a great day. We’ll do everything to get every kid through the finish line in the fastest possible way, and we’ll be there cheering them on as much as we possibly can.”
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Zombies to invade Fairview with message illuminating common student crises/issues.
0February 13, 2013
by Ron Baird, news editor
in News
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BOULDER, CO: An army of zombies, a catalyst in bringing awareness to critical student crises/issues, is set to invade Fairview High School at noon on Tuesday, Feb. 19. Richard Goode-Allen, of CU-Boulder, will be shooting an Awareness Drive week “zombie-video” about problems such as substance abuse, cutting, stress, depression and eating disorders.
“A lot of kids aren’t getting the help they need,” Goode-Allen said. The goal of Awareness Drive week is to provide tools, internal and external resources, and guidance to students dealing with critical personal crises and issues. The zombies in the video represent the “zombie emotions” that can cause destructive behaviors, such as cutting and eating disorders, Goode-Allen said. “It will give the students the ability to look metaphorically at these issues.”
The video, to be available during the week long event and online at a planned AwarenessDrive.org website, will help make students aware of the support that is available to them to deal with these challenges.
“The commonality is that we really need to promote awareness, tools, support and make sure students don’t feel like they are alone,” Goode-Allen said.
The Awareness Drive week events are as follows: Tuesday, March 19 – “Voices Out of Silence” to present in Choir classes Wednesday, March 20 – Resource Fair during block lunch Thursday, March 21 – Resource Fair and Denver Gay Men’s Chorus presentation during block lunch Friday, March 22 – “We Are Fairview” Day
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Healthy vending snacks on the rise
0February 6, 2013
Written by Ann Schimke on Feb 5th, 2013. | Copyright © EdNewsColorado.org
Jamie Marrufo, a senior at Greeley West High School, noticed right away that the vending machine in the student commons looked a little different when she got back from winter break.
One of the new vending machines offering healthier snacks in the Weld School District 6.
“I was like, ‘Where are the Snickers?’”
They were gone.
So were the rest of the candy bars as well as the fried potato and corn chips. In their place were baked chips, honey wheat pretzels, Chex Mix, beef jerky, granola bars, and pouches of trail mix, peanuts, almonds and sunflower seeds. The change was part of a district-wide vending machine makeover intended to offer snacks lower in fat, sugar and calories.
Although Marrufo, who buys snacks from the machine about twice a week, loves Snickers bars, she likes the new vending machine choices too.
“It’s healthy food,” she said. “I think it’s good.”
Her friend Aimee Veenendaal, a junior who doesn’t like candy, also approved of the changes.
“I actually like it because that’s basically what I eat…the healthier stuff.”
Weld County School District 6 launched the new snack vending program in early January with the help of a $157,329 grant from the Colorado Health Foundation. The grant paid for the district’s 16 food vending machines, a vending truck, the salary of a district vending employee for one year and marketing materials to promote the new program.
Jenna Schiffelbein, the district’s wellness specialist, said the impetus for the switch was feedback from a district-wide wellness assessment in 2011-12. With the exception of some nut products, the new vending snacks, which are accessible to students only at the district’s four high schools, all adhere to the district’s standards on fat and sugar content. In addition, each snack is coded with a red, yellow or green sticker indicating that, nutritionally speaking, it is “good,” “better,” or “best.”
The district has not changed the contents of its beverage vending machines as part of the new program, though Schiffelbein said that may come later. Currently, beverage machines in all Colorado districts are regulated by the state’s Healthy Beverages Policy standards, which prohibit soda from being sold to students.
Do your homework
- Colorado’s Healthy Beverage Policy standards
- Colorado law banning trans fat from school food, effective 9/1/13
- Resources for healthy vending programs from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation
- Colorado Legacy Foundation: School Nutrition Data Snapshot
- Colorado laws on “School Food Environment” from the National Association of State Boards of Education’s“State School Healthy Policy Database”
- Centers for Disease Control report: “Competitive Foods and Beverages in U.S. Schools: A State Policy Analysis”
Healthy vending programs increasing
Weld District 6 is part of a growing group of Colorado districts that have slimmed down their vending machine snacks in recent years. While there is no hard data on the number of districts that have launched healthy vending programs, school nutrition leaders agree that more and more districts are heading in this direction.
Denver Public Schools and Jeffco Public Schools launched healthy vending programs several years ago, Boulder Valley joined the club last year, and Adams 12 is currently in the process of making the switch.
Jane Brand, director of the Colorado Department of Education’s Office of School Nutrition, said a variety of factors have driven the change, including the USDA’s updated nutrition standards for school meals, which took effect last fall, and its new, long-awaited “Smart Snacks in Schools” proposal, which came out Feb. 1.
Greater awareness about health and wellness in schools and high-profile initiatives such as Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign have also contributed to the push for healthier vending snacks, she said.
Naomi Steenson, director of Nutrition Services and Before and After School Enrichment in Adams 12, said, “It’s the right thing to do for the kids.”
The Jeffco experience
In Jeffco Public Schools, the largest district in the state, the vending program was revamped with healthier food in 2007-08 after a state audit found the district in violation of the federally-mandated “Competitive Foods” rule barring vending items from being sold when school meals are served. Linda Stoll, executive director of Food and Nutrition Services, said the district’s vending machines were supposed to be on timers that would disable them at the appropriate times, but because they lacked the technology the machines were always on.
As a result of the violation, the district launched a new vending bid process, specifying nutrition guidelines from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, an organization focused on reducing childhood obesity. The guidelines use a common rule called the “35-10-35” standard, which stipulates that no more than 35 percent of a snack’s total calories can be from fat, no more than 10 percent can be from saturated and trans fat, and no more than 35 percent of a snack’s weight can be from sugar. Boulder Valley also uses these guidelines while Weld 6 uses a slightly stricter “30-10-35” standard.
In addition to a version of the 35-10-35 standard, some districts opt for additional parameters. For example, Boulder Valley also bans vending fare with non-nutritive sweeteners, hydrogenated or trans fat, artificial dyes, additives or preservatives. Jeffco prohibits high fructose corn syrup.
Not all snacks that met the letter of Jeffco’s standards were approved by Stoll. She vetoed MoonPies because she believed they were unhealthy though somehow they met the guidelines.
Stoll said she hopes the changes, which affected students in 17 high schools, have encouraged students to make healthier food choices.
“I’m sure kids miss Flamin’ Hot Cheetos but I haven’t heard a lot of complaints,” she said.
Impact on sales
While many food service directors expect some decline in sales after switching to healthier vending fare, it’s hard to quantify since individual schools often manage the day-to-day details of vending machines.
A vending machine containing healthier snacks at Greeley West High School.
At Fairview High School in Boulder, sales have dropped about 44 percent since new healthier vending snacks were introduced last winter. Still, school treasurer Ronda Pendergrass said the decrease may have nothing to do with a lack of interest in healthier choices. Instead, she believes it’s because the old machines weren’t properly programmed to be disabled during the school’s lunch periods until a few months into the 2011-12 school year. Thus, they racked up more sales than they should have.
Vending proceeds at Fairview benefit the athletics program, paying for sports equipment, signing parties for college-bound student athletes and some scholarships, said Pendergrass.
In Weld District 6, Nutrition Services Director Jeremy West said with the new vending selection in place, “Sales may dip a little bit. We do not have candy bars in there. We do not have gummy worms in there.”
Ultimately, West’s goal is for the new vending program is to break even, fully supporting itself after the grant funding is gone. Under the new program, 15 percent of vending sales will return to the schools that house the machines and 85 percent will go to the nutrition services department.
Ann Cooper, director of nutrition services for Boulder Valley School District (and an expert on EdNews Parent), said she’s not concerned about whether sales have dropped since the district switched to healthier vending items last winter.
“Our job is to serve kids full, healthy lunches…how much money we bring in in vending is not the priority.”
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Bomb threat, “Hit List” closes Niwot High
0January 11, 2013
from the Longmont Times-Call via Huffington Post
Niwot High School in Boulder, Colo. is closed Friday as authorities investigate a threat to blow up the school and a 30-name “hit list.”
A threat that the school would “blow on the 11th” was found scrawled on a bathroom Monday and made public Tuesday. Officials decided to close the school when the threat escalated upon Thursday’s discovery of the threatening hit list filled with students’ names, The Longmont Times-Call reports.
Parents were notified of the decision and investigation in a letter Thursday. Deputies are using dogs to comb the school for bombs, and the school is offering a $1,000 reward for anyone with information about the perpetrator.
“We made a recommendation to the school district that they don’t have school on Friday for safety reasons, for the students,” Cmdr. Rick Brough of the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office told KUSA-TV. “It gives us more time to do an investigation and see if we can identify who is responsible, and whether the threat is credible.”
Schools across the country are still on high alert as parents nervously sent their children back to class after the Dec. 14 Sandy Hook school shooting. Districts nationwide have tightened security measures and increased campus patrols, and hypersensitivity to any unusual activity or perceived threats have already resulted in numerous lockdowns.
“Ten years ago this wouldn’t have been a problem, and now it’s a real problem. And my child’s name is on the list, and it’s very concerning,” parent Ellen Ross told TheDenverChannel. “I just really hope that the parents talk to their kids and try to find out what is going on because some child knows. No child does this and doesn’t tell anybody. I really want the parents to talk to their kids and find out who’s doing this.”
Weekend activities, including a girls’ basketball game and wrestling tournament, have also been canceled, KDVR reports.
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CU Men Outlast Trojans – With Much Difficulty
0January 11, 2013
By B.G. Brooks, CUBuffs.com Contributing Editor
BOULDER – The Colorado Buffaloes’ road woes of a week ago disappeared Thursday night in the Coors Events Center against Southern California . . . sort of.
Once again, CU lost a large lead – but this time held on to a game. The Buffs outlasted the Trojans 66-60 for their first Pac-12 Conference win of the season and set up a get-to-.500 date with UCLA on Saturday.
“Hopefully our guys understand we have to play for 40 minutes,” CU coach Tad Boyle said. “We have to do it Saturday or UCLA will come in here and beat us . . . this is not rocket science.”
Improving to 8-0 at home this season and 39-4 at the CEC under Boyle, the Buffs (11-4, 1-2) used a 23-5 run in the first half to overtake the Trojans (6-10, 1-2) and avoid their first 0-3 conference start since the 2008-09 season.
CU encountered the same problem with prosperity it had last week in conference-opening road losses at No. 3 Arizona and Arizona State. The Buffs were outscored 20-9 over the game’s final 8 minutes, helping them squander a 17-point second-half lead. Plus, they hit only 14 of 26 free throws and were outrebounded 39-30.
But the Trojans provided an assist in the turnover department, committing a season-high 23 that the Buffs converted into 21 points. A chest injury slowed Trojans point guard Jio Fontan; he got 16 first-half minutes (no points, three assists, three turnovers) but didn’t play in the second half. CU had 16 fast break points and outscored USC 34-20 in the paint.
Josh Scott
“In league play, you figure out a way to win when you don’t play your best basketball,” Boyle said. “The first half I was pleased; our second half wasn’t very good . . . thank God for Sabatino Chen and Josh Scott; those two kids really picked us up when we needed it.”
Scott, the 6-10 freshman, led the Buffs with 14 points on six-of-seven shooting from the field. Chen, a senior on a mission, had 10 points and four steals. Each of his five field goals were of the pick-the-Buffs-up variety.
CU sophomore Askia Booker added 12 points and junior Andre Roberson had 11. Boyle didn’t start Roberson for the first time this season, keeping him out for 41/2 minutes as a penalty for the player being late to a team function.
“He overslept . . . it’s not a big deal,” said Boyle, who started freshman Xavier Johnson in Roberson’s place.
Eric Wise led USC with 16 points, while J.T. Terrell added 11 – all in the second half – and Byron Wesley and DeWayne Dedmon added 10 each. The 7-foot Dedmon also collected a game-best nine rebounds.
Roberson entered the game with 15:30 left in the first half and CU up 8-6. That’s the way the game’s first 8 minutes went, with six lead changes and five ties – and USC made the initial attempt to pull away.
The Trojans, who had beaten Stanford and lost to California in league play, might have felt good after a 7-0 run that opened their largest lead of the first half – 17-10 – with 12:01 left before halftime.
But it paled alongside what was coming from the Buffs. After a three-pointer by Eli Stalzer from the right corner turned them on, they stayed hyperactive for the rest of the half and were up by 15 (41-26) by intermission.
Over the half’s final 12 minutes, CU outscored USC 31-9, limiting the Trojans to four field goals during that span. The Buffs’ take-control run – 23-5 – occurred immediately following a banked-in jumper by Dedmon that gave the Trojans their seven-point advantage.
During that surge, Scott collected seven of his team-high 11 first-half points. All 10 players used by Boyle in the first 20 minutes scored. “Our bench was good – and that’s a positive sign,” he said. “But we have to get better.”
But as dominant as the Buffs appeared over the first half’s final 12 minutes, that dominance disappeared in the opening 5 minutes of the second half and again in the final 8 minutes. The Trojans outscored them 10-2 to open the final 20 minutes and cut their 15-point deficit to seven (43-36).
If CU had established any bad traits on its two-game Arizona swing, the most apparent was letting leads wither. It was something the Events Center crowd (10,344) had no taste for – and neither did Boyle.
Chen surmised the Buffs might be losing leads because they get “too comfortable and relaxed” when their opponents fall behind and “get in desperation mode . . . it’s hard to say.”
But Boyle wasn’t buying the comfortable angle: “I’m not comfortable on the bench (and) until our guys play for 40 minutes we’re not going to beat good teams . . . why (his players) would feel comfortable, I don’t know.”
After a sheer hustle play by Chen – he made a diving steal, got to his feet, retrieved the ball and drove for a layup for CU’s first second half points – the Buffs temporarily righted themselves.
Over the next 71/2 minutes, the Buffs held the Trojans to a pair of free throws and outscored them 14-2 to take a 17-point (57-40) lead – their largest of the night to that point – with 7:55 remaining.
But as they did in the desert – losing leads of 17 and 13 points respectively at Arizona and Arizona State – the Buffs had great difficulty staying in control.
The Trojans pulled to within 63-55 with 1:31 to play, then 64-57 with 38 seconds left. After Booker converted a layup (66-57), Byron Wesley answered with a three-pointer. It was 66-60 . . . and fortunately for the Buffs, time ran out on the Trojans.
“We’ll learn from this like we learn from every game we play,” Boyle said. “These young guys have got to grow up quick before Saturday at noon.”
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Vote Polis, Proud to Be a Boulderite By Scott Hatfield
0October 31, 2012
by Boulder Channel 1
in News
Vote Polis, Proud to Be a Boulderite
By Scott Hatfield
For too long, our Rep in CD 2 has downplayed their connections to Boulder even though Boulder County might make up 55% of the voters. We now have a Congressman who is proud to be from Boulder and to represent our values. Folks here should appreciate being embraced rather than shrugged and support Polis at the polls. Jared Polis grew up in the City of Boulder and was extremely well known in town personally even before running for Congress.
Jared Polis formed his core values protesting Rocky Flats with his parents while growing up. Given his stated priority for the morality of stopping an ever escalating nuclear arms race, there is a reasonable expectation that he cares about the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) more than most Democratic Reps. The NPT has been the cornerstone of foreign policy for many nations, not just the USA and Russia. The NPT obliges its signatories to work in good faith toward a nuclear weapon free world as well as guaranteeing the right to nuclear energy and uranium enrichment. As the President has stated, that includes Iran. While knowing and publicly stating that Iran is not attempting to produce a nuclear weapon and simultaneously beating the drums of war over the guaranteed right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes, elements in the USA and Israel could be more interested in undermining the NPT. The nuclear weapons industrial complex is very powerful and wants its profits back. We need a Congressman who can stand up to these entrenched interests. A strong NPT makes the world a safer place for all nations.
Education has been a cornerstone of Jared’s priorities for a long time as well. He was on the Colorado School Board for 6 years and founded five schools. His work to get more kids headed to college should serve the University of Colorado and its role in Boulder well. He believes that education is the single most meaningful investment America can make in its economic future and in its people. Having the University here in town puts the role of the educational system into great prominence locally.
Jared Polis also prides himself on being a champion for environmental issues which has been a CD 2 legacy.
Scott Hatfield has been a member of the Central Committee of the Colorado Democratic Party and the Executive Committee of the Boulder Democratic Party since 1996.
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Four Boulder County homes win $10,000 second-prize Home Energy Makeovers
0October 30, 2012
Grand Prize winner to be announced later this week
Boulder County, Colo. – Four lucky Boulder County homeowners received a pleasant surprise today when EnergySmart staffers showed up to award them with $10,000 worth of home energy upgrades.
The four homes announced today won equal second-place prizes in EnergySmart’s Home Energy Makeover contest. The prizes include a new energy efficient furnace, home air sealing and insulation upgrades, and $1,500 to use toward a recommended energy upgrade of the homeowner’s choice. Each winning home was randomly selected from all entries of homes needing these upgrades.
Second-Prize Winners
- Cara Owen, Longmont
- The Owens’ master bedroom was scorching in the summer and frigid in the winter. They bought a space heater and didn’t realize until EnergySmart came in that insulation and air sealing could fix the temperature by using less energy instead of more. They want to leave their home in better condition than when they bought it, so someday another family can be happy there.
- Matt and Katie Birkholz, Boulder
- The Birkholz family recently moved into their home to be close to the kids’ school. They bike every day and try to be sustainable, but their home is pretty leaky and uses an old heating system. They’re looking forward to being more environmentally friendly and much cozier after these new upgrades.
- LaToya Braun, Louisville
- When she was shopping for her family house, LaToya loved the neighborhood so much that she didn’t realize how inefficient the house was. The original coal-burning furnace was converted to natural gas, and the original windows add charm, but not much warmth. She’s excited to be staying a lot warmer this winter!
- Wendy Wyss, Unincorporated Boulder County
- The Wyss family wanted to invest in long-term value, and put solar panels on their home shortly after moving in. When they got an energy assessment from EnergySmart, they were surprised at how leaky the house was, especially around the kitchen can lights. They’re looking forward to tightening up the house and reducing their wasted energy.
The Home Energy Makeover grand prize, valued at approximately $20,000, will be announced later this week. The Grand Prize package includes a new energy efficient furnace, air sealing and insulation upgrades to the attic and crawlspace/basement, an energy efficient water heater, cooling system upgrades, and $4,000 to use for recommended energy upgrades of the homeowner’s choosing.
Contest prizes were largely donated by local contractors:
- Insulation/air sealing: EcoHandyman, ThermalCraft Insulation, EcoSmart Homes, ERC Insulation.
- Furnace installations: Service Experts, SAC Mechanical
- Grand Prize package: Solar City
EnergySmart focuses on improvements that will reduce energy waste, improve comfort, and produce cost-savings for both residential and business participants. Services include energy assessments and expert advisor assistance with finding contractors and all available rebates and financing options for energy efficiency upgrades. Since the program’s launch in January 2011, EnergySmart has helped more than 6,600 residents and 2,200 businesses throughout Boulder County.
EnergySmart is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the U.S. Department of Energy’s BetterBuildings grant program and is sponsored in partnership by Boulder County, the cities of Boulder and Longmont, Xcel Energy and Platte River Power Authority. For more information, visitwww.EnergySmartYES.com or call 303-544-1000 (for homes) or 303-441-1300 (for businesses).
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Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner talks about Child Safety
0October 26, 2012
The Jessica Ridgeway abduction and murder on her way to school has a lot of parents concerned. In this video Boulder Police Cief Mark Beckner talks about Child Safety and how to keep kids safe on their way to school.
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Health Fair for children on Friday, Aug.3
0July 24, 2012
Dia de los Ninos/Children’s Day celebration set for Aug. 3
Free dental checkups and low-cost immunizations available for kids
Boulder County, Colo. – Salud Family Health Center’s Longmont Clinic will host its annual Dia de los Niños/Children’s Day celebration on Friday, Aug. 3.
The health fair provides low-cost immunizations, free vision screenings, and free dental checkups in a fun, safe environment to celebrate and encourage good health for children. The Boulder County Healthy Kids Initiative will also be on hand to help families enroll in Medicaid and the Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+).
“Medical expenses can make or break family finances and enrolling in Medicaid or CHP+ helps families achieve financial stability and promotes self-sufficiency,” said Stephanie Arenales, Project Coordinator for Boulder County Healthy Kids. “Reliable access to healthcare will improve children’s lives now and in the future.”
What: Children’s Day celebration and healthcare enrollment fair
When: Friday, Aug. 3, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Where: Salud Family Health Center, 220 E. Rogers Road, Longmont
The event is for children of all ages. The Medicaid and CHP+ programs are available for children up to age 19 and pregnant women. Some parents may also be eligible for Medicaid as long as they have a Medicaid-eligible child and meet the income limits.
To qualify for Medicaid or CHP+, an applicant must:
- Meet income eligibility guidelines and age requirements
- Be a Colorado resident
- Be a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident for at least five years
Background
Boulder County Healthy Kids (BCHK) is a countywide effort to enroll eligible children, their families, and pregnant women in Colorado’s public health insurance programs, Medicaid and Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+), and to assist families in securing a medical home. Created in 2008, BCHK supports Boulder County’s commitment to improving access to affordable health, dental health, and mental health services and family self-sufficiency for its most vulnerable residents. In the last year, BCHK has helped nearly 5,500 people secure Medicaid or CHP+ coverage and demonstrated an enrollment rate of 98 percent.
Medicaid is a no-cost health insurance plan for low-income Colorado children, pregnant women, parents with dependent children, and elderly or disabled individuals. CHP+ is a low-cost health insurance plan for Colorado’s uninsured children and pregnant women who cannot afford private health insurance but whose household income is too high to qualify for Medicaid.
For more information about Medicaid or CHP+ eligibility call 303-441-1589 or visit www.bchealthykids.org. For more information about the enrollment fair, call 303-772-1906.
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“Moonrise Kingdom” a Weird Piece of Crap
0June 30, 2012
“Weird Piece of Crap”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Moonrise Kingdom is the latest film from acclaimed writer and director Wes Anderson, and if you thought his previous films were weird and offbeat, get ready for this one.
To say that the films of Anderson are an acquired taste would be an overstatement. Each of his films is an acquired taste, and this latest one left a bad taste in my mouth.
The cast doesn’t lack for fame and talent, and it includes Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, and Harvey Keitel, but all of them play supporting roles in the story, which is about two 12-year-old misfits who fall in love and decide to run away together.
Now, if you think that is quirky, even the location of the story is quirky. It takes place in 1965 on an island off the coast of New England.
We learn that a year earlier Sam Shakusky and Suzy Bishop had met when she was appearing in a pageant and he went backstage where Suzy was in makeup and asked her, “What bird are you?”
They took a liking to each other, apparently because they were both troubled kids without any friends, and they became pen pals, writing to each other regularly for the past year and making plans to escape together.
Now, remember that they are both 12 years old and living on a small island, and so you can see some ready-made flaws in their plan, right?
Anyway, they meet on schedule and take off to a small cove where they plan to hide out. The adults discover that the kids are missing, and so they start searching for them.
There is also a storm coming that is going to turn into a hurricane.
We see many scenes of Sam and Suzy swimming and dancing around in their underwear that are uncomfortable to watch, especially when Sam paints a picture of Suzy lying down that is a direct copy of the painting scene in the 1997 Titantic, except for their ages and their underwear.
Also, everyone–including the adults–acts deadly serious, which must have been the director’s choice for comic effect, but it just comes across as stupid.
And just when you think it couldn’t get any weirder, it does.
Moonrise Kingdom is just a piece of weird, stupid crap.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
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LEGO Kids Festival
0April 28, 2012
Boulder Channel 1 and Denver Channel 1 visit the LEGO KidsFest at the Denver Convention Center April 27 through April 29 2012. The event is sold out. The LEGO KidsFest brings all of the creative hands-on, minds-on fun of LEGO building and experiences together in one activity- and entertainment-packed family event for children of all ages and builders of all skills and interests. In this special event we bring you to the festival, watch kids hard at work building tons of LEGO constructions and a personal interview with Chis one of the LEGO Master builders who tells us about the things kids can participate in and lots of cool LEGO models to check out.
Find out more about the event at http://www.legokidsfest.com/
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City of Boulder Backs CU in shutting down 420 pot fest : the whole story
0April 18, 2012
The Boulder city council voted 7-2 to back the University of Colorado in it’s move to keep a bunch of pot smoking hippie outsiders off their campus on Friday April 20th 2012. The day, which lives in infamy in Colorado history is the day when Klebold and Harris gun down 13 high school students in Denver. It is also Hitlers birthday.
2012 Boulder City council
The city of Boulder is under fire by the US attorney for allowing ”pot shops” near schools. They have closed ten MMJ drug dealing operations this past month.
The city is also under fire from the DEA for it’s lax attitude toward illegal drug sales. The DEA has promised to target Boulder in the same way it id certain cities in California for massive busts under the Federal controlled drugs acts.
The council was almost reluctant in its 7-2 vote, but had to support the university if for political reasons. The two notoriously don’t get along and the city has tried to extend an olive branch over the past decade. Not supporting the 420 shutdown would have been a huge blunder.
Health professionals see the city council as largely responsible for Boulders burgeoning drug addiction problems when it allowed 100s of pot selling operations to open in the past 10 years.
Boulder also has so called Pain Clinics where class two narcotics can be purchased in the same way marijuana is sold. A phony diagnosis by a corrupt doctor and a prescription. The city too has enormous number of liquor outlets and more coming this year.
Boulder is know world wide as the biggest party school in the USA. Boulder has an extremely high drug addiction rate and alcoholism rate. It has since the feds started doing studies in the 1950′s The University has to be trying to put a stop to that notion.
A lot of drug addicts spoke at council last night in support of more drugs on campus, but their pleas fell on deaf yet sympathetic ears. The council has long been known to be a bunch of pot smoking elder hippies.
But in the end this years 420 pot binge is expected to be a nice party for CU students only on campus with music food and fun. No one else is invited.
University of Colorado closed to unauthorized visitors, non-affiliates on April 20
The University of Colorado Boulder announced today it will be open to students, faculty and staff on April 20, but closed to unauthorized non-affiliates due to the disruption caused by the 4/20 gathering.
“The gathering disrupts teaching and research right in the heart of the campus,” said CU-Boulder Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano. “The size of the crowd has become unmanageable, and limits our faculty, staff and students from getting to class, entering buildings and doing their basic work. It needs to end.”
Further the event is attended mostly by CU freshman from campus. The outsiders come from all over the state. It has been their premier rally for legalizing marijuana in the USA. Pot lobbyists and activists use the event to promote drug use. With nice weather crowds could exceed 50,000. The university does not want to be know as the hippie pot smoking capital of the universe. With larger crowds expected, rampant illegal drug dealing, the university has finally had enough.
The ACLU has taken up the pot smokers cause, but legal experts say it is a lost cause: The university has a right to shut down in the face of massive criminal activity .
Law enforcement officials say they are prepared for 1000′s of arrests if need be. Over 1000 police are expected. 300 swat officers will be held in reserve and over 5000 National Guard will be held in ready reserve able to deploy in 1 hours notice. One legal official told us the fines are so steep for everything that it won’t be worth it to even attempt to come to Boulder. DUIs cost an estimated $20,000. State patrol will be targeting hippies driving in from Denver.
Boulder County will have out door jail space for 10,000 ready to go. One university official said: We aren’t fooling around.
On Friday, April 20, CU-Boulder’s normal academic activity will continue as scheduled, but the following measures will be in place:
- Students, faculty, staff and all CU-Boulder affiliates will need their Buff OneCard IDs to get on, and around, the campus. Those not affiliated with CU-Boulder will not be permitted on campus and face tickets for trespassing. Those cited for trespassing face punishment of up to six months in jail and a $750 fine. District Attorney Stan Garnett has discussed April 20 enforcement operations with CU Police officials. His office will handle the prosecution of those who receive tickets. “As always, the District Attorney’s Office will work to support the efforts of the CU Police Department,” Garnett said.
- For those visitors who have tickets for CU events on April 20 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., or who are participants in academic meetings, symposia, conferences or other officially sanctioned activities, limited access to campus will be provided via a special registration program. Visitors will check in at the CU-Boulder East Campus Administrative and Research Center at 3100 Marine St. Please register for this service by going online to http://www.colorado.edu/april20 beginning Monday, April 16 at 8 a.m. or call the CU information line at 303-492-4636. After 6 p.m., no special access to the campus is required, though visitors should be advised that traffic getting into and out of the campus is likely to be heavy.
- Police will be checking for Buff OneCard IDs, and have checkpoints set up at all major campus entrances.
- Norlin Quad lawn areas will be closed to all people. Anyone, regardless of campus affiliation, who enters these areas may face a ticket for trespassing. Closure signage will be clearly displayed in this area. All areas of the campus – including other fields – will be closed to non-affiliates.
- Visitors will not be allowed to park on campus. Attendants will check those traveling to campus for BuffOne IDs and parking permits.
- CU Police issued tickets for marijuana possession last year. Officers will do the same this year. However, this year people will see a larger presence of officers.
- Those who smoke marijuana can face a ticket, which can result in a $100 fine, revocation of a person’s medical marijuana registry card upon conviction, and sanctions against students who receive tickets by CU’s Office of Student Conduct.
- A large presence of police officers from CU-Boulder and regional agencies will be present. The Colorado State Patrol will conduct enhanced patrols on U.S. 36, Colo. 93, the Diagonal Highway and other highways throughout the day, looking for drivers under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.
- The Colorado Department of Revenue’s Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division will have a team of officers deployed on campus and throughout Boulder to monitor medical marijuana centers and ensure compliance with licensing regulations.
- CU organizations and academic units have been advised to move non-essential meetings and gatherings that require visitors, partners and stakeholders to more convenient times later in the spring semester.
- Regent Drive will be closed to through traffic from approximately 1:30 to 6 p.m. Buses will be allowed to use Regent Drive, but drivers should plan alternate routes.
- The Buff Bus and RTD Stampede, 209, and J routes will be impacted between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Please seehttp://www.colorado.edu/pts/news/index.html for details on how these routes will be altered and/or delayed.
The university announced on April 3 that a concert with the performer Wyclef Jean, sponsored by the CU Student Government in partnership with CU-Boulder’s Program Council, will be hosted at the Coors Events Center. Doors open at 2 p.m. and all CU students with BuffOne cards are invited to attend. The show is expected to end at 7 p.m. No non-CU students will be admitted.
The city of Boulder shut down the Halloween Mall Crawl in 1990 after crowds of over 50,000 became wild, a media circus and put huge financial strains on the city. It is hoped with this new shut down that CU students who want to celebrate 420 will do it quietly and not turn it into a national sensation embarrassing the entire University of Colorado. Parents who see this will be less likely to send their kids to CU and this event sends the wrong message. Which is if you are a doper CU is the place to come.
Drug addiction has been a problem on the CU campus since the late 1960s. Shutting down 420 will help to solve this health issue too.
by BC1 staff
CU News services contributed to this story
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University of Colorado Boulder shuts down annual 420 Pot Bash
0April 14, 2012
University of Colorado closed to unauthorized visitors, non-affiliates on April 20
The University of Colorado Boulder announced today it will be open to students, faculty and staff on April 20, but closed to unauthorized non-affiliates due to the disruption caused by the 4/20 gathering.
“The gathering disrupts teaching and research right in the heart of the campus,” said CU-Boulder Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano. “The size of the crowd has become unmanageable, and limits our faculty, staff and students from getting to class, entering buildings and doing their basic work. It needs to end.”
Further the event is attended mostly by CU freshman from campus. The outsiders come from all over the state. It has been their premier rally for legalizing marijuana in the USA. Pot lobbyists and activists use the event to promote drug use. With nice weather crowds could exceed 50,000. The university does not want to be know as the hippie pot smoking capital of the universe. With larger crowds expected, rampant illegal drug dealing, the university has finally had enough.
The ACLU has taken up the pot smokers cause, but legal experts say it is a lost cause: The university has a right to shut down in the face of massive criminal activity .
Law enforcement officials say they are prepared for 1000′s of arrests if need be. Over 1000 police are expected. 300 swat officers will be held in reserve and over 5000 National Guard will be held in ready reserve able to deploy in 1 hours notice. One legal official told us the fines are so steep for everything that it won’t be worth it to even attempt to come to Boulder. DUIs cost an estimated $20,000. State patrol will be targeting hippies driving in from Denver.
Boulder County will have out door jail space for 10,000 ready to go. One university official said: We aren’t fooling around.
On Friday, April 20, CU-Boulder’s normal academic activity will continue as scheduled, but the following measures will be in place:
- Students, faculty, staff and all CU-Boulder affiliates will need their Buff OneCard IDs to get on, and around, the campus. Those not affiliated with CU-Boulder will not be permitted on campus and face tickets for trespassing. Those cited for trespassing face punishment of up to six months in jail and a $750 fine. District Attorney Stan Garnett has discussed April 20 enforcement operations with CU Police officials. His office will handle the prosecution of those who receive tickets. “As always, the District Attorney’s Office will work to support the efforts of the CU Police Department,” Garnett said.
- For those visitors who have tickets for CU events on April 20 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., or who are participants in academic meetings, symposia, conferences or other officially sanctioned activities, limited access to campus will be provided via a special registration program. Visitors will check in at the CU-Boulder East Campus Administrative and Research Center at 3100 Marine St. Please register for this service by going online to http://www.colorado.edu/april20 beginning Monday, April 16 at 8 a.m. or call the CU information line at 303-492-4636. After 6 p.m., no special access to the campus is required, though visitors should be advised that traffic getting into and out of the campus is likely to be heavy.
- Police will be checking for Buff OneCard IDs, and have checkpoints set up at all major campus entrances.
- Norlin Quad lawn areas will be closed to all people. Anyone, regardless of campus affiliation, who enters these areas may face a ticket for trespassing. Closure signage will be clearly displayed in this area. All areas of the campus – including other fields – will be closed to non-affiliates.
- Visitors will not be allowed to park on campus. Attendants will check those traveling to campus for BuffOne IDs and parking permits.
- CU Police issued tickets for marijuana possession last year. Officers will do the same this year. However, this year people will see a larger presence of officers.
- Those who smoke marijuana can face a ticket, which can result in a $100 fine, revocation of a person’s medical marijuana registry card upon conviction, and sanctions against students who receive tickets by CU’s Office of Student Conduct.
- A large presence of police officers from CU-Boulder and regional agencies will be present. The Colorado State Patrol will conduct enhanced patrols on U.S. 36, Colo. 93, the Diagonal Highway and other highways throughout the day, looking for drivers under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.
- The Colorado Department of Revenue’s Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division will have a team of officers deployed on campus and throughout Boulder to monitor medical marijuana centers and ensure compliance with licensing regulations.
- CU organizations and academic units have been advised to move non-essential meetings and gatherings that require visitors, partners and stakeholders to more convenient times later in the spring semester.
- Regent Drive will be closed to through traffic from approximately 1:30 to 6 p.m. Buses will be allowed to use Regent Drive, but drivers should plan alternate routes.
- The Buff Bus and RTD Stampede, 209, and J routes will be impacted between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Please seehttp://www.colorado.edu/pts/news/index.html for details on how these routes will be altered and/or delayed.
The university announced on April 3 that a concert with the performer Wyclef Jean, sponsored by the CU Student Government in partnership with CU-Boulder’s Program Council, will be hosted at the Coors Events Center. Doors open at 2 p.m. and all CU students with BuffOne cards are invited to attend. The show is expected to end at 7 p.m. No non-CU students will be admitted.
The city of Boulder shut down the Halloween Mall Crawl in 1990 after crowds of over 50,000 became wild, a media circus and put huge financial strains on the city. It is hoped with this new shut down that CU students who want to celebrate 420 will do it quietly and not turn it into a national sensation embarrassing the entire University of Colorado. Parents who see this will be less likely to send their kids to CU and this event sends the wrong message. Which is if you are a doper CU is the place to come.
Drug addiction has been a problem on the CU campus since the late 1960s. Shutting down 420 will help to solve this health issue too.
by BC1 staff
CU News services contributed to this story
Related posts:
“Jeff, Who Lives at Home” Is Good, but Unoriginal
0March 25, 2012
“Good, but Unoriginal”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Jeff, Who Lives at Home may strike you as being familiar as you reach the end, which once again proves what I have been saying for years: Hollywood has run out of ideas.
If you have seen the 1998 Simon Birch, when you get to the climax in this movie, everything that leads up to it will suddenly become clear and you will quickly realize that you might have been watching a remake, only with the title character of this movie grown up from the title character of the previous movie.
However, the biggest clue comes at the beginning of the movie when Jeff says in a voice-over, “I can’t help but wonder about my fate.”
Jeff is played by Jason Segal, he is 30 years old, he lives in the basement of his mother’s house, and he believes that everything happens for a reason.
So, when he answers the phone and the caller is looking for someone named Kevin, that starts a series of events that guides Jeff through the rest of the movie, and they are mostly comic events.
Jeff’s mother, Sharon, played by Susan Sarandon, also calls Jeff from her workplace, and she sends Jeff on an errand that contributes to this day in the life of Jeff, who lives at home, also.
Then there is Pat, Jeff’s older brother who is played by Ed Helms. Pat is married, although there are problems in the marriage, and Pat doesn’t help their problems any when he surprises his wife by buying a new Porsche that they can’t afford.
The story takes place in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and thus it is possible that Jeff and Pat could run into each other while Jeff is out fulfilling his errand, it is possible that while Pat is showing off his new Porsche to Jeff that they happen to see Pat’s wife and believe that she is having an affair with the man she is meeting, and it is also possible that the subplot involving their mother with a co-worker could bring everyone and everything together for the climax at the end.
And, yes, it is possible that the filmmakers of this movie didn’t realize they were copying the plot of that previous movie, only with grownups instead of kids.
Jeff, Who Lives at Home is good, but not original.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
