Posts tagged city
City events celebrate National Kids to Parks Day Boulder
May 20th
The City of Boulder’s Parks and Recreation and Open Space and Mountain Parks departments will host four events over the weekend as part of National Kids to Parks Day on May 21. National Kids to Parks Day is run by the National Park Trust, and is designed to support First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Outside! campaign and the Interior Department’s Youth in the Great Outdoors initiative.
City of Boulder events include:
● OSMP: Hiking as a Family: Saturday, May 21, 9 to 10:30 a.m. – Naturalists Jennelle Freeston and Debora Martin will share ideas on the importance of getting kids outdoors this summer and beyond. Meet at the Chautauqua Ranger Cottage and be prepared for an easy hike around the trails.
● Parks and Recreation: FREE Tennis Day: Saturday, May 21, 1 to 3 p.m. – Join Parks and Recreation for Let’s Move: Kids in the Park Tennis at the newly refurbished East Boulder Tennis Courts, 5660 Sioux Drive. Kids and adults are welcome to join us for FREE tennis games, prizes, demos and more!
● OSMP: Bird Watching for Kids (ages 6+): Saturday, May 21, 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. – Naturalist Dave Sutherland leads this bird exploration on Enchanted Mesa to show kids the basics: how to “spot” birds by ear, how to use a bird’s color and behavior to identify it, and how to use a field guide. Meet at Chautauqua Ranger Cottage.
● OSMP: Nature for Kids & Parents (ages 6+): Sunday, May 22, 1 to 3 p.m. – Take a journey to May’s Point with Early Childhood Educator/Volunteer Naturalist, Debora Martin, to explore special places in nature, and use an Explorer’s Guide with fun activities to share. Meet at the Flagstaff Nature Center at the summit of Flagstaff Mountain.
Public input sought on Goose Creek ecosystem restoration project
May 16th
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps), in partnership with the City of Boulder, is accepting public feedback from May 16 through 25 regarding a potential aquatic restoration project. The proposed project would improve degraded habitat for approximately 4,000 feet of South Goose Creek, from Foothills Parkway to Cottonwood Pond, as well as Cottonwood Pond itself.
The proposed Goose Creek Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Project would be a joint endeavor by the City of Boulder and the Corps. The project would be led by the Corps, which has been working with the city to plan for the project since 2002. These efforts complement the City of Boulder’s “Greenways Master Plan” and past investments in protecting open space.
Under Section 206 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1996, the Corps can undertake restoration projects in aquatic ecosystems, such as rivers, lakes and wetlands, with a non-federal sponsor, such as the City of Boulder. The program provides up to $5 million in federal funding, based on a 65 percent federal and 35 percent local sponsor cost-sharing agreement.
The Army Corps of Engineers has prepared a Draft Detailed Project Report (DPR) and an Environmental Assessment (EA) on the proposed project. The document is posted under “Related Documents” on the project website.
Comments for the Corps should be submitted to:
ATTN: Ms. Cynthia Upah, CENWO-PM-AC
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District
Planning Branch
1616 Capitol Avenue
Omaha, NE 68102
Cynthia.s.upah@usace.army.mil
402-995-2672
“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
