Posts tagged Boulder
Boulder police gearing up for 2011 Law Enforcement Torch Run
May 13th
Boulder police gearing up for 2011 Law Enforcement Torch Run
The Boulder Police Department’s 2011 Law Enforcement Torch Run to benefit Special Olympics will be held on Friday, May 20, 2011 at 9:30 a.m. The event will consist of a 4-mile run/bike portion, as well as a 1-mile walk and parade. Dozens of police officers, City of Boulder employees and their families and friends are expected to participate.
The registration deadline for this event is Wednesday, May 18. This year, a youth registration was added and kids under the age of 15 can register for a reduced fee of $20, which includes a T-shirt. The regular registration fee is $30. Members of the public are invited to join officers for the Torch Run. To register online, go to www.firstgiving.com/soco.
The goal of the annual Torch Run is to raise funds and awareness for Special Olympics and people with intellectual disabilities.
Walk/Parade
Participants will start at the Public Safety Building at 1805 33rd St. in Boulder, and then start walking south along 33rd Street to the north sidewalk of Arapahoe Avenue. From there, the group will walk east to the 38th Street underpass for the Boulder Creek Path. The remainder of the walk will be along the creek path to Scott Carpenter Park. Walkers can either reverse their direction along the same path or use the signal light intersection pedestrian crosswalk at 30th Street and Arapahoe Avenue to return to the Public Safety Building.
Run/Bike
The 4-mile run/bike portion will start and finish at Scott Carpenter Park. Participants will use the Boulder Creek Path, leaving from Scott Carpenter Park headed west to a turn-around point at the Library bridge. From there, the route will be back along the creek path, east to the 38th Street underpass and back to the park.
For more inforamtion about the Boulder Police Torch Run and the athletes it helps, contact Sgt. Dave Seper at 303-441-3333 .
Boulder Carbon monoxide detector awakens residents, saves lives
May 13th
Carbon monoxide detector awakens residents, saves lives
The Boulder Fire Department responded to a small fire at an apartment in the 2000 block of Spruce Street at 8:54 a.m. on May 13. The two residents were awakened by a carbon monoxide detector.
The fire was caused by a bathroom fan which had been left running. The residents were able to extinguish the fire by themselves. When firefighters arrived, they made sure the fire was completely out and cleared smoke out of the apartment and attic.
One of the residents’ was taken to the hospital as a precaution to be treated for smoke inhalation. The other resident was not injured.
Boulder Fire Marshal Dave Lowrey says people need to use caution with these types of fans.
“Bathroom fans are not made for continuous use. Boulder Fire Rescue has responded to numerous fires caused by bathroom fans overheating, melting and starting fires. We want to remind everyone to turn off their fans before leaving the house to prevent fires such as these.”
This situation, Lowrey said, is also a good reminder of the value of detectors. The carbon monoxide detector sounded because of the smoke and gases produced by the fire.
“We encourage all Boulder residents to install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in their homes and check them regularly to insure they are working,” Lowrey said. “These devices can help prevent serious injuries and save lives.”
“Boulder is for Startups” from White House Office Of Science and Technology Policy
May 13th
On Monday, I had the pleasure of travelling to Boulder, CO, to participate, along with a number of other Administration officials, in the seventh of eight stops that are a part of the Startup America Roadshow. The local newspaper captured some of the high points in this article. Before touching on my observations from the event, let me first answer the question, “Why Boulder?”
Fifteen years ago, Boulder was considered a sleepy college town known mostly for its great rock-climbing. Today, Boulder is home to one of the strongest entrepreneurial communities in the country, with close to 200 fledgling tech companies and a city campaign that proclaims “Boulder is for startups.” In fact, last year BusinessWeek named Boulder America’s best town for startups, and it was featured in The New York Times for its entrepreneurial scene. Part of its success rests on the fact that Boulder has the highest U.S. concentration of software engineers and PhDs per capita. It is second only to Silicon Valley in percentage of workers employed in the technology sector.
In discussing the success of Boulder as an entrepreneurial success story, I speak from personal experience, having worked at the University of Colorado Law School and run the Silicon Flatirons Center for Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship from 1999 until joining the Obama Administration in 2009. The success of Boulder as an entrepreneurial ecosystem is not merely attracting smart people—it’s really about the community. Notably, in Boulder and the surrounding areas, there is an amazing willingness of successful entrepreneurs to help the up-and-comers.
The rabbi of the Boulder entrepreneurial ecosystem—and someone who has done more than anyone to set this tone—is my good friend Brad Feld, who along with his co-founders of the Foundry Group have given enormous time and energy to building an entrepreneurial community. Brad also brought a number of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists to the White House last summer to talk about what could be done to celebrate, support, and spur entrepreneurship. Along with input from many others, that discussion helped shape the Startup America initiative.
One of the great success stories in Boulder is the rise of TechStars, which is now the top startup accelerator in the world and a key partner of Startup America. Since TechStars was founded in Boulder by Brad, Jared Polis (now our representative in Congress), and David Cohen, it has since expanded to four other cities, with offices in Boston, Seattle, and New York City. The program accepts applications from early-stage startups and provides them with seed funding and mentorship opportunities from some of the best and brightest minds in tech. Boulder TechStars alums include Brightkite, which was acquired for $1.5 million; Ignighter, which has received $4.2 million in funding; and, Graphic.ly, which also now has received $4.2 million in funding.
Later next week, Boulder will hold its second annual Startup Week. Startup Week Boulder is five spring days full of events and stars from inside and outside the Boulder tech community. From May 18-22, the city’s startups will be rolling out the red carpet for talented developers, designers, marketers, and general startup enthusiasts.
Many entrepreneurial communities ask how they can be the next Silicon Valley? As Brad has often explained, that’s the wrong question. The right question is how any entrepreneurial community—whether Philadelphia, Cleveland, Detroit, Phoenix, or Portland—can be the best it can be. Each community has its own particular attributes and leaders. Working together and supporting each other, as Boulder leaders have done, is a core part of building a more successful ecosystem.
Monday’s discussion reflected the level of engagement and thoughtfulness that I have come to expect from the Boulder entrepreneurial community. We touched on a series of topics, ranging from access to capital to attracting great employees to reforming regulation to enabling better technology transfer from government labs. As the Roadshow effort comes to a close, I know that these ideas will inform a number of ongoing policy development and implementation initiatives, including the Commerce Department’s upcoming report on innovation and competitiveness.
Phil Weiser is Senior Advisor for Technology and Innovation to the National Economic Council Director
