Posts tagged legal
Survey shows Boulder voters support creation of a city-owned electric utility by a wide margin
Aug 1st
Other key findings include:
Seventy-one percent of those surveyed said the city would be better at offering renewable sources of energy and reducing carbon emissions than Xcel Energy.
A smaller, but majority, percentage (57 percent) thought the city could do a better job at finding innovative solutions to energy problems than Xcel Energy.
Xcel Energy, on the other hand, scored higher (67 percent) in providing reliable energy and (52 percent) in keeping monthly energy bills stable.
Reliability, service, control, energy sources and cost all received high marks as community priorities. Three of these were weighted against each other – low cost, increased renewable sources and having a say in utility decisions. Increasing renewable sources of energy were considered the prevailing priority among these by a majority of residents.
Sixty-five percent of those surveyed indicated they support the issuance of bonds to purchase Xcel’s system. Seventy-seven percent said they would either strongly support or somewhat support the extension/expansion of either the Climate Action Plan or Utility Occupation Tax to cover interim legal and engineering expenses necessary to determine final acquisition and start-up costs.
Ninety-one percent of those surveyed said they would support an increase of between 5 percent to “as much as it takes” in their monthly electric bills to reduce carbon emissions and/or increase renewable sources of energy.
Voters were even more likely to support the creation of a city-owned electric utility if there was a possibility of spending limits, a re-evaluation of final costs before a decision is made about whether to issue bonds and rates within 10 percent of those offered by Xcel Energy. Education about the existence of the 29 other locally-owned utilities in Colorado also made a positive difference.
“The decision our community makes regarding our energy future will be a historic one. These results show that the City of Boulder has listened carefully to our community as we have set our objectives and studied our energy supply options,” City Manager Jane S. Brautigam said. “While we are on the track that many voters support, we also know that taking a measured and prudent approach to this analysis is crucial. We pledge to continue working responsibly and objectively to understand the potential impacts and benefits to all segments of our community.”
The survey, conducted by National Research Center Inc. in Boulder, reached 1,265 registered voters and resulted in 400 completed responses. The response rate of 32 percent was one of the biggest the survey firm has seen in recent years. The results have a margin of error of +/-4.5 percent. The survey occurred between July 6 and July 18.
Tomorrow night’s council meeting will begin at 5 p.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, Aug. 2, in Council Chambers, 1777 Broadway. Elected officials are expected to hear a brief presentation about the survey findings and ask questions before discussing and then voting on ballot language related to how Boulder gets it energy in the future. There will be an opportunity for public input. The decisions council makes at this meeting are expected to form the basis for a third – and final – reading of ballot language on Tuesday, Aug. 16. The election is Tuesday, Nov. 1.
The complete survey report is available at http://www.boulderenergyfuture.com.
CU-BOULDER MOURNS LOSS OF DAVID GETCHES, FORMER CU LAW DEAN
Jul 5th
Getches joined the faculty of Colorado Law in 1979 as a nationally renowned expert in natural resources and Indian law issues. He wrote several books on water law, natural resources law and Indian rights issues and his work has appeared in numerous publications.
“On behalf of the entire University of Colorado community, I wish to express my deepest and heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of David Getches,” said Chancellor Phil DiStefano. “David provided exceptional leadership as dean of the Law School for close to a decade and had an outstanding career as a scholar and teacher. He will be greatly missed as a friend, colleague and member of the CU community, as well as by members of the legal profession throughout the United States.”
Getches served as dean of Colorado Law from 2003 to 2011. Under his leadership the university financed and constructed the $46 million Wolf Law Building and expanded the academic offerings at the law school, which include an endowed Experiential Learning Program, three Master of Laws degrees, three legal clinics, three certificates and eight dual-degrees.
“David Getches came along at exactly the right time for the American West, which has undergone such sweeping changes over the past half century,” said Charles Wilkinson, Moses Lasky Professor of Law and longtime friend. “As a wise advocate and leading public intellectual, David brought vision, common sense and passion to pressing issues of water, land and Indian rights. Now Indian tribes, universities, government offices, conservationists and the rivers themselves will grieve aloud. We will not see his kind again.”
Phil Weiser, who took over as dean of Colorado Law on July 1, said, “David leaves a remarkable legacy of integrity and commitment to excellence. All of us in the Colorado Law community will miss him greatly and I will miss him dearly as a mentor and a friend. His memory and spirit will remain a blessing to us all.”
From 1983 to 1987, Getches was executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources under Gov. Richard D. Lamm. Getches earned his undergraduate degree from Occidental College in California and his law degree from the University of Southern California School of Law. He began his legal career in 1967 with the law firm of Luce, Forward, Hamilton and Scripps in San Diego. In 1968, he was co-directing attorney for California Indian Legal Services and in 1970, he moved to Colorado to become the founding executive director for the Boulder-based Native American Rights Fund, a national, nonprofit Indian-interest law firm.
A memorial service for Getches is being planned and will be announced at a later date.
Contributions may be sent to the David H. Getches Scholarship Fund. Additional information is available at http://www.cufund.org/GetchesScholarship.
WHITE HOUSE ADVISER ON TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION PHIL WEISER NAMED CU LAW DEAN
May 31st
“I am delighted today to name as the next dean of CU’s esteemed law school a legal scholar, a public servant and a great thinker and innovator: Phil Weiser,” said CU-Boulder Provost Russell L. Moore. “Phil has amassed a critical body of legal scholarship and has distinguished himself as a researcher, a teacher, and aleader. His work in technology law has made him a seminal figure in that discipline, his leadership in building the Silicon Flatirons Center represents a very significant accomplishment, and I look forward to the energy, imagination and vision he will bring in leading Colorado Law.”
Weiser joined the CU-Boulder faculty as a professor of law and telecommunications in 1999. Prior to joining the White House, Weiser served as the deputy assistant attorney general at the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. Weiser took that post in July 2009, taking a leave of absence from the University of Colorado Law School where he served as a professor of law, associate dean for research, and the executive director and founder of the Silicon Flatirons Center for Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship.
“I am honored by this appointment,” said Weiser. “Over the years I have enjoyed the opportunity to work with and learn from the Colorado Law family — its faculty, staff, students, alumni and supporters. I am both humbled and excited by the opportunity to lead this community in the years ahead.”
Before joining the CU-Boulder law faculty, Weiser served as senior counsel to the assistant attorney general at the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division from 1996 to 1998, law clerk to Justices Byron R. White and Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the U.S. Supreme Court from September 1995 to August 1996, and law clerk to Judge David Ebel at the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver from September 1994 toAugust 1995. He received his law degree from New York University School of Law and his bachelor’s from Swarthmore College.
Weiser replaces David Getches, who is returning to teaching after eight years as head of the law school. Under Dean Getches’ leadership, financing and construction of the $46 million Wolf Law Building was completed and the academic offerings at the law school have been greatly expanded. New programs include an endowed Experiential Learning Program, three Master of Laws degrees, three legal clinics, three certificates and eight dual-degrees.
“I want to thank David Getches for his strong leadership over the last eight years,” said Moore. “Today, CU’s law school is academically sound, a national leader in a variety of legal disciplines, and positioned as one of the nation’s great law schools. It is a great resource for the people of Colorado, and David is one of the key reasons why.”