Boulder renters get a new rate on security deposits
Dec 16th
New interest rate on tenant security deposits for 2012
The City of Boulder has calculated the interest rate for tenant security deposits for the 2012 calendar year to be 0.3 percent, effective Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012. This is the mathematical average of the one-year certificate of deposit from the top three financial institutions in Boulder, based on market share data as of Dec. 15, 2011.
This calculation has been prepared in accordance with Ordinance 7320, which was adopted on Feb. 17, 2004. Relevant code language may be found in sections 12-2-2 and 12-2-4 through 12-2-7 of the Boulder Revised Code.
Tenants may contact their landlord if there are questions about their lease. The city offers support for lease questions and tenant/landlord issues through Community Mediation Services at 303-441-4364. Another resource for tenants who are University of Colorado students is Off-Campus Student Services –www.colorado.edu/OCSS.
Native Boulder sacred site to be cleaned
Dec 15th
Valmont Butte settlements reached; cleanup to begin
The City of Boulder, Honeywell International Inc. and Tusco, Inc. recently reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice in the amount of $350,000, to resolve the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) costs for its past investigations at the Valmont Butte.
The Valmont Butte property, located at the intersection of 63rd Street and Valmont Road in Boulder County, is comprised of an abandoned ore milling complex and associated tailings ponds. The city purchased the property in 2000. In 2004 and 2005, the EPA investigated the site and prepared a site assessment report.
The City of Boulder also recently reached settlements with Honeywell and Tusco to resolve their liabilities as past owners and operators of the Valmont Butte mill site. Under those settlement agreements, Tusco will pay $300,000 and the remaining costs for remediation will be split 50/50 between the City of Boulder and Honeywell, with the option to resolve the final allocation of costs between the city and Honeywell in an abbreviated, mini-trial process. Honeywell will also be responsible for covering the EPA costs.
The city is now preparing to move forward with cleanup activities at the property. These activities will include the consolidation of contaminated soils into the area of the primary tailings pond, the placement of an engineered cap over the contaminated soils, and the preservation or removal of buildings and structures. Work is expected to begin January 2012 and is expected to be complete in late summer 2012. When work is being conducted in sensitive areas, a tribal monitor and/or an historic archaeologist will observe the excavations.
More information about the settlement agreement and about the Valmont Butte is available at www.valmontbutte.net. For questions about the upcoming work at the Butte, contact Bill Boyes at 303-441-4125.
Occupy & others create a Human Oil Spill in Boner’s Ohio office
Dec 14th
Occupy & 350.org Crash Boehner’s Office over Backroom Attempt to Revive Keystone XL
Fossil fuel industry spent over $42 million to elect politicians involved; Activists respond with “Human Oil Spill” on Boehner’s front door
Cincinnati, OH- Members of Occupy Cincinnati joined climate activists in storming House Speaker John Boehner’s West Chester, Ohio office this morning with a “human oil spill” in response to last night’s vote to force through Keystone XL. The fossil fuel industry has poured an estimated $42,000,000 into campaign coffers of the 234 House members voting in favor, including $1,100,000 to Rep. Boehner alone, according to OpenSecrets.org. The industry lists the pipeline as a top priority.
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“The House brings shame on itself when its members take tens of millions in big oil money and then do the industry’s bidding. Keystone XL creates no net jobs and pours carbon into the atmosphere. That’s why millions across the country opposed it,” said Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org. “Its only beneficiaries are the fossil fuel industry and the politicians they support.”.
A Cornell Global Labor Institute study found that any jobs stemming from the pipeline’s construction were likely be outweighed by the environmental damage it caused and a rise in gas prices in the Midwest.
Activists upset by corporate influence on the process created a “human oil spill” in front of Rep. Boehner’s office early today. Dressed in black, they used their bodies to represent the toxic tar sands oil that would likely spill over precious farmland and critical aquifers in the heart of our nation if the pipeline is built.
“Hundreds of Ohioans travelled to Washington, DC to stop the Keystone XL pipeline. Now John Boehner is trying to push it through despite mass opposition from his constituents. I’m fed up with politicians doing the bidding of their corporate benefactors,” stated Casey Abernathy, a computer software engineer and member of Occupy Cincinnati
Today’s rally is the latest in a 4-month national grassroots uprising in response to the proposed pipeline. The campaign kicked off in August with a two-week protest that resulted in more than 1,200 arrests. The most recent featured 12,000 people circling the White House which resulted in President Obama delaying his decision on the pipeline
