City News
This is news from the city of Boulder, about the city or any of its departments
Boulder gets heavy hitter law firm for first swing at Xcel
Jan 23rd
Law firm chosen to aid city in potential condemnation proceedings with Xcel Energy
The City of Boulder has selected the law firm of Duncan, Ostrander & Dingess, PC to help the city as it begins potential condemnation proceedings for the electric utility system within city limits that is currently owned by Xcel Energy. The firm will advise the city in all matters related to the acquisition of electrical distribution facilities and will work to determine the fair value of those facilities.
The city has retained this counsel to provide expert assistance as it moves towards potential municipalization of the electrical distribution system in Boulder, which stems from the passage of ballot items 2B and 2C in November. The city has said it intends to hire outside legal counsel, as well as engineering consultants, to perform some of the work necessary to determine the final costs associated with acquiring Xcel’s system and starting a city-owned electrical utility. City Council will not make a decision about whether to issue bonds to pursue municipalization until those costs are known.
If the city decides to proceed with asset acquisition, and a price cannot be negotiated with Xcel Energy, Duncan, Ostrander & Dingess, PC will file all legal actions that may be necessary to work through the condemnation process. The firm will work closely with city staff and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) counsel, engineers and appraisers as the city creates a separation plan and conducts negotiations.
Duncan, Ostrander & Dingess, PC was chosen from a field of 10 original submissions that was narrowed down to three finalists after a review of all credentials. In evaluating submitted proposals, the city looked at whether the firm had prior experience representing governments in condemnation proceedings, and the nature and extent of its practice in Colorado.
Duncan, Ostrander & Dingess, PC has more than 30 years (as individuals and then as a firm) of service helping governments, urban renewal authorities and utility companies to acquire property for public projects in a timely manner and at fair prices, and has previously represented the City of Boulder in condemnation proceedings. In 2011, U.S. News & World Report designated the law firm as “Best Lawyers Tier One – Eminent Domain and Condemnation, and Litigation – Eminent Domain and Condemnation.”
The firm and its individual members have served as lead counsel for a number of high-profile public projects that required acquisition of multiple parcels in numerous jurisdictions under time restraints imposed by bond financing or other public financing. These include E-470, T-REX, Prairie Waters, FasTracks, the White Cliffs Pipeline and the Rocky Mountain Express Pipeline.
For more information on Duncan, Ostrander & Dingess, PC, visit www.dodpc.com. Visit www.BoulderEnergyFuture.com for more information on the city’s work related to potential municipalization.
CU: Out with the old, in with the “new” journalism
Jan 11th
FIRST CLASS OF CU-BOULDER UNDERGRADUATES
SHOULD BE COMPETENT IN THE DISCIPLINES THEY REPORT ON, ACCORDING TO PLAN
SHOULD BE COMPETENT IN THE DISCIPLINES THEY REPORT ON, ACCORDING TO PLAN
As a new year and the spring semester begin, the University of Colorado Boulder is welcoming the first class of journalism students entering under a new undergraduate degree structure called “Journalism Plus” that CU officials say will create better journalists, better news content and, over time, a more informed society.Currently, more than 45 new students are expected to enroll for spring semester under the new Journalism Plus requirements. Journalism Plus stipulates that students supplement their journalism degree requirements with an additional field of study in a specific arts and sciences discipline, an approach that Journalism Director Chris Braider says will make better journalists and communication professionals, better university students and better citizens.
“Journalism Plus ensures that the journalists and communicators CU produces will not only possess the updated skills they need to create and deliver messages, but will also possess the analytical abilities, research tools and knowledge of a subject to communicate something of value in those messages,” Braider said.
Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward–the
“old” journalism?
“Our students will understand, with depth and context, the content they will create as journalists. We think this will set them apart from other journalism programs across the nation.”
Journalism and Mass Communication will continue to grant the Bachelor of Science degree in one of five sequences: advertising, broadcast news, broadcast production, media studies and news-editorial. Under the new requirements, students also will enroll in a 30- to 33-credit-hour additional field of study, the equivalent of work in a major in a discipline of their choice — anything from English, physics and history to political science, environmental studies or film studies.
Students admitted prior to spring 2012 have until May of 2016 to earn a degree under the former requirements, or they can elect to complete the Journalism Plus degree requirements.
The changes, say CU-Boulder Provost Russell L. Moore, were deliberate and in line with CU’s larger goals for its students.
“We want CU-Boulder students to be both knowledgeable and engaged in the world they live in,” said Moore. “So the goal for us was never to make journalism go away, but to pair it with a discipline that would add the depth of knowledge of a liberal arts degree to the skills developed in a journalism curriculum.
Lyndsay Lohan is news? Who decides?
I think this is going to answer a call we’ve heard from media professionals — don’t just send us skilled graduates, send us graduates who can interpret and understand the information they gather with some depth and context.”
At a practical level, Braider says, this will mean better, more contextual reporting to inform and shape our democratic society.
“In this model, science writers will possess first-hand knowledge of the sciences they report on,” Braider said. “Reporters covering government or business will bring an in-depth knowledge of political science and economics to the events they chronicle. Advertisers and graphic designers will explore the full range of expressive arts on which their professions rely.”
As Journalism Plus is implemented, more students will be admitted directly to Journalism and Mass Communication as freshmen.
The university is continuing on a path to creating a new interdisciplinary college or school of information, communications, journalism, media and technology, which will one day house journalism and companion disciplines in an environment of sharing, innovation and scholarship.
Journalism and Mass Communication continues to be accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education for Journalism and Mass Communications. In two years, the accrediting council will make a determination on accreditation for the following four years.
Boulder’s Valmont bike park makes short list
Jan 11th
Valmont Bike Park selected as one of three finalists to host 2014 and 2015 USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships
Boulder’s Valmont Bike Park has been selected as one of three finalists to host the 2014 and 2015 USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships. The three potential host cities are Asheville, N.C. (Biltmore Estate), Austin, Texas (Zilker Park), and Boulder (Valmont Bike Park).
“The news that Valmont Bike Park is one of three finalists to host the 2014 and 2015 United States Cyclo-cross National Championships further establishes Valmont Bike Park as an industry leader in bike park construction for both event hosting and daily use,” said Kirk Kincannon, director of the Parks and Recreation Department. “Valmont Bike Park was specifically designed and built to accommodate world-class cycling events like the USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships. We are honored to receive this consideration.”
The United States Cyclo-cross National Championships is expected to bring in at least 1,500 athletes and even more spectators.
“This is exciting news for Boulder—and for all of the organizations who have helped make Valmont Bike Park an exceptional facility,” said Mary Ann Mahoney, executive director of the Boulder Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We would be honored and thrilled to host this amazing event. With the metro area’s concentration of cycling fans, this world-class facility and Boulder’s amazing array of bike shops, restaurants, hiking, biking and running trails, I believe we could deliver a phenomenal experience for both riders and spectators.”
USA Cycling evaluated six potential host cities using various criteria, including: accessibility, community support, course options, technical expertise and the organization’s commitment to volunteer recruitment, marketing and lodging. USA Cycling will conduct site visits in early 2012 before making their final selection.
“We are extremely excited about the quality and depth of the bids we received for this event,” USA Cycling National Events Director Kelli Lusk said. “All of the cities offered spectacular presentations. We’re confident that any of these three cities would make a great host for these two championship events in 2014 and in 2015.”
