Shop Watch
“In Colorado, about 420 people die by suicide each year using a gun,” writes Amy Hamilton, in The Daily Sentinel. Her story chronicles the efforts of The Western Colorado Suicide Prevention Network to educate gun shop owners about signs of suicidal behavior.
Field Research
Boulder-based researchers will conduct 15 flights over oil fields in the West to measure air quality. These scientists from the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are on the watch for levels of loose methane. Via the Daily Camera.
Coal Facts
A coal train jumped the tracks near Husdon, Colorado, on Sunday, spilling tons of coal from at least 27 cars, according to The Fort Collins Coloradoan. No injuries have been reported. This derailment is the latest in a spate of many. The number of rail cars carrying crude oil is way up, from 9,500 in 2008 to almost 500,000 in 2014, according to the Association of American Railroads.
Rough Roads
Governor John Hickenlooper imported Shailen Bhatt, from Delaware, to head the Colorado Department of Transportation. Upon arrival, he started making wisecracks about the state’s tax-resistant politics, describing the planned opt-in toll lanes between Denver and Boulder as a “libertarian’s dream.” Via Monte Whaley of The Denver Post.
Bloated Budget
Years behind deadline, Department of Veterans Affairs officials are scrambling to explain the jaw-dropping $1.7 billion budget now tacked to the new Aurora hospital. They failed to listen to the contract; they failed to examine the plans; the plans weren’t complete, they said. Now, some in Washington are refusing to sign away more money to the department without a specific explanation of what went wrong, reports the Aurora Sentinel.
Head Start
Ted Cruz is going to announce today that he’s running for president in a speech at Liberty University, making him the first candidate to be officially in the race. And he just might have a better chance than you think. If you want a great look at Cruz, read this Erica Greider profile — The Man in the Arena – that ran last year in Texas Monthly.
Recorded Facts
Marco Rubio says Obama says nicer things about Iran than he does about Israel. Uh, let’s go to the tape. Via New York magazine.
False Fears
As Obamacare hits its 5-year anniversary — if you start counting from when Obama signed it into law — it turns out that most of the predictions were dead wrong. Via The National Journal.
Shooting Squad
A Southern California lawyer wants to put a “shoot the gays” initiative on the state ballot. The initiative — which would allow citizens to kill gays — obviously can’t go very far, but The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the attorney general may have no choice but to allow signatures to be collected.
Photograph courtesy of Kool Cats Photography
