Deadline approaching for public input to Community Wildfire Protection Plan
Jan 6th
Boulder County, Colo. – Boulder County is in the process of developing a Community Wildfire Protection Plan to help mitigate the impact of future wildfires. The county and its partners are seeking input from residents in the form of policy and programmatic recommendations to be included in the plan and volunteers to serve on the plan’s Advisory Team.
The deadline for submitting recommendations and signing up for the Advisory Team is Wednesday, Jan. 12. Guidelines and submission forms are available at www.BoulderCountyCWPP.org.
“We have already received many important recommendations from residents on our website,” said Jim Webster, Community Wildfire Protection Planner in the Boulder County Land Use Department. “However, we know there are others who have come up with noteworthy ideas during this past year that have not yet shared their recommendations.”
Topics of the recommendations received to date include improving communication, planning evacuation and access routes, educating the public on wildfire mitigation, installing fire danger signs, collecting slash, funding fire suppression, and declaring and enforcing county fire bans.
“After this past year, not many initiatives are of equal importance,” Advisory Team member Kitty Stevenson said. “It is really exciting to see a community plan being developed on a larger countywide scale. It is important that people from all parts of Boulder County participate.”
COLORADO BUSINESS LEADERS OPTIMISTIC GOING INTO FIRST QUARTER, SAYS CU LEEDS SCHOOL INDEX
Jan 5th
Colorado business leaders’ confidence bounced back to pre-recession levels going into the first quarter of 2011, according to the most recent quarterly Leeds Business Confidence Index, or LBCI, released today by the University of Colorado at Boulder’s Leeds School of Business.
For the first quarter of 2011, the LBCI posted a reading of 54.8 — just shy of the 54.9 registered in the second quarter of 2007 — up from 48.6 last quarter. Business leaders are optimistic about industry sales, profits, employment, capital expenditures and state economic growth.
While the index overall is quite strong, certain components are much stronger than others, according to Leeds School economist and Business Research Division Director Richard Wobbekind, who conducts the quarterly survey. In particular, he said the expectations were extremely positive for sales and profits, but not as rosy for capital expenditures and hiring.
“I think the index suggests that business leaders are telling us that they think their business is back, but they are not telling us that they are planning on hiring,” Wobbekind said.
An index of 50 is neutral. An index greater than 50 indicates positive expectations, while an index lower than 50 indicates negative expectations, according to Leeds School researcher Brian Lewandowski, who compiles the survey results for the index.
Overall, business leaders in Colorado believe the state’s economy is in better shape than the national economy.
“Our business leaders think we are doing better than the rest of the nation, and I think that really comes down to the fact that they aren’t focused so much on employment growth as they are on sales growth and profitability, and they see their businesses doing well in those areas,” Wobbekind said.
The first quarter index measuring the prospects for the state economy rose to 56.4 from 49.0 in the fourth quarter, while the national economy index rose from 42.6 to 53.3.
Hiring and capital expenditures had indexes of 52.5 and 53.6 respectively, up from 48.7 and 49.0 last quarter, according to Lewandowski. Business leaders’ sales expectations for the first quarter increased to 58.3 from 52.8 in the fourth quarter, and their profit expectations increased from 49.8 last quarter to 54.9.
“I think the overall reading is a pleasant surprise in terms of the total number being as strong as it is,” Wobbekind said. “I see this as a sign that the survey respondents believe the economy is on track.”
To access the complete report visit .
Boulder Public Library offers workshop series, “Our Courts”
Jan 4th
The Boulder Public Library, in cooperation with the Colorado Judicial Institute and the Colorado Bar Association, presents “Our Courts,” a free series of workshops to further public knowledge and understanding of the state and federal courts in Colorado. Presenters will address the role of fair and impartial courts in applying and preserving the rule of law. Founded in 2007, this series takes no position on any court cases, legislation, ballot issue or proposed change to the court system.
All sessions are held on Wednesdays, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Canyon Theater at the Main Boulder Public Library, 1001 Arapahoe Ave.
Session Topics
Our State Courts – Jan. 12
Our United States Courts – April 13
See You In Court: The Life of a Civil Lawsuit – July 13
Law & Order: The Life of a Criminal Case – Oct. 12
An overview presentation in Spanish will be offered on Wednesday, Jan. 19, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Canyon Theater at the Main Boulder Public Library: Las Cortes Estatales de Colorado y Las Cortes Federales/Our State Courts and Our United State Courts.
For more information, please contact Ghada Elturk, 303-441-4941 or Selene Neuberg, pleintern@cobar.org.
