Posts tagged business
SOPA ^ H.R.3261 – Stop Online Piracy Act; editorial by Jann Scott
Jan 11th
Below is the actual bill before congress. You can read it for yourself. In Boulder there is a severe reaction to this bill by techies led by tech entrepreneur Brad Feld. In a tweet to me he said that he does “not support Piracy or Hacking or theft:” so why is he against this bill??
Privately most techies are hackers, steal songs and movies and feel the internet should remain a lawless wild west. They think everything on the Internet should be in the public domain. They are anti-business anti capitalist though many of them work in so called Start-up business’s. They are anti-protected rights though all techies demand it for themselves. We have come to a cross roads where the US Congress has now taken up the cause of protecting artists and film makers from world wide internet Piracy and Organized crime.
At Boulder Channel 1 we see both sides of the issue. We are concerned about censorship and the far reaching arm of a bad law. We have been victims of it many times. So we don’t like the idea of government reaching into our television channel or newsroom. On the other hand we don’t steal movies or music. We don’t allow criminal enterprises to advertise with us. So we are pretty clean.
Other issues at hand are hacking, corporate espionage, identity theft, credit card theft and theft of anything online. This now becomes a moral crisis for all in the Boulder tech world.
City giving incentive rebates to high-tech company
Jan 5th
City Manager Jane S. Brautigam has approved a flexible rebate application for Boulder-based Tendril for up to $85,000 in rebates. The rebates were authorized for sales and use taxes, and permit-related fees.
The flexible rebate program is one of the city’s business incentives, covering a wide range of fees, equipment and construction use taxes. Under this program, the city manager may consider a specific incentive package for tax and fee rebates to meet a company’s specific needs. The company is then eligible for the rebate after it has made its investment and paid the taxes or fees to the city.
“The City of Boulder is pleased that Tendril, a company founded in Boulder, is growing and able to maintain operations in the city, in part, due to city-offered incentives,” said City Manager Jane S. Brautigam. “Tendril is at the forefront of energy technology and represents the future of the industry.”
Tendril is transforming the way the world interacts with energy. The company’s technology allows consumers to modify their behaviors to reduce both their costs and energy usage and allows the utility to speak with the consumer during peak periods in order to reduce demand. Tendril is expanding and recently renovated and moved into an approximately 52,000 square-foot space at 2560 55th St.
“We are proud to be a Boulder-based company. Boulder provides access to great talent, an unmatched quality of life for our employees and a vibrant technology community that is quickly becoming a center of clean tech innovation,” said David Rayner, chief financial officer at Tendril. “As a leader in clean technology, it is important to us that we ‘walk the walk’ on green initiatives and we’re thrilled to receive recognition from the City of Boulder for our sustainability efforts.”
The flexible rebate program uses social, community, and environmental sustainability guidelines. Companies choose the guidelines that best fit their circumstances, but must meet minimum requirements in order to receive the rebate. Tendril has exceeded the minimum community sustainability guidelines. Of note, Tendril participates in RTD’s Eco Pass program and has a Green Team responsible for managing environmental initiatives, including holding in-house educational sessions, purchasing energy-friendly appliances, and maintaining composting and recycling programs. The company will participate in energy efficiency programs such as receiving an energy assessment for its new facility and participating in the 10 for Change challenge.
Tendril’s flexible rebate application is one of six submitted to the city in late 2011. Five 2011 applications are pending. The city’s approved 2012 budget includes $350,000 in funding for 2012 flexible tax and fee rebates for primary employers.
Boulder citizens, youth give high marks to city in survey
Jan 5th
2011 Community Survey results available
Results of the 2011 Community Survey that was conducted this fall are now available online and will be presented to City Council at its regularly scheduled meeting at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012. Copies of the report are also available in the Main Library, 1001 Arapahoe Ave.
In September and October, surveys were mailed to more than 3,000 households and more than 400 University of Colorado students living in on-campus dormitories. Surveys could also be completed online and were available in Spanish. A total of 971 surveys were returned, which resulted in a 33 percent response rate. That is considered a good rate of return.
The survey asked people about their priorities for the city, quality of life, and their overall satisfaction with government services. Survey responses indicated:
- Perceptions of the quality of life, quality of neighborhoods and the sense of community in Boulder remain high;
- Employment and business related ratings were also high, with 77 percent of respondents rating Boulder as “very good’ or “good” as a place to work, and 69 percent rating Boulder as “very good” or “good” as a place to do business; and,
- Respondents’ priorities for City Council included energy, housing and business development.
The survey results also provided information about public participation and how people would like to obtain information about meetings, issues and programs:
- Approximately 25 percent of respondents said that they had attended a public meeting about city matters in the last year, and about 25 percent had watched a City Council meeting on the city’s municipal Channel 8.
- The Camera (72%), direct mailings (65%), and the city’s website (55%) – www.bouldercolorado.gov – were the most common sources of public information from the city.
The 2011 survey included additional outreach to Spanish speakers through community organizations, and 43 completed surveys were received. Priorities and concerns for these respondents included safety, affordable shopping, housing, adult education opportunities and activities for youth.
A slightly revised survey was also distributed to Boulder youth to help the city determine their concerns and needs. A total of 234 returned surveys indicated that youth priorities include homelessness, improving activities for young people, jobs, discrimination, bike safety and facilities, and the environment.
Survey results will be used to inform the budget process, plan for future projects, develop community outreach and various other ways to help make Boulder a better place to live and work. A complete list of results, responses and methodologies is available at www.BoulderColorado.gov > Hot Topics > 2011 Community Survey Results.
The survey was conducted by Boulder-based National Research Center Inc. Results were weighted and the margin of error is plus or minus three percentage points from the information that would have been obtained if all Boulder adults were surveyed.