THE NATION Common Cause, the nation’s good-government nonprofit, celebrated its 40th anniversary recently at a party in Denver, helped mightily by the humor and smarts of Pat Schroeder. In 1972, Schroeder was the first Colorado woman to be elected to Congress, where she spent a dozen terms focusing on fiscal accountability from the military and […]
Roll up your sleeves and get cranking
Posted inNovember 22, 2010: Hardrock Showdown
Western elections wrap-up
Red states get redder, while key Senate seats stay blue
Posted inNovember 22, 2010: Hardrock Showdown
Tribute to a prickly icon
Matter Journal 13: Edward AbbeyVarious contributors432 pages, softcover: $17.Wolverine Farm Publishing, 2010. The problem with dead authors is that no more work will be forthcoming from them. Without new material to sink their teeth into, both fans and critics of Edward Abbey have long resorted to “secondary sources” — interviews with the curmudgeon’s friends, vintage […]
Posted inNovember 22, 2010: Hardrock Showdown
Sounds suspicious, Senator
I was disappointed with your article regarding Sen. Tom Coburn (HCN, 11/8/10). You allowed the subject to spew a series of incorrect, or irrelevant “statistics” and “facts.” In the future, please do some research, and correct these kinds of errors, rather than let people trot out falsehoods. Jim Evans Dept. of Geology, Utah State UniversityLogan, […]
Posted inNovember 22, 2010: Hardrock Showdown
Snapshot of an election
This article is a sidebar that accompanies the news story, Western elections wrap-up Alarm bells rang early this year when the Supreme Court lifted key restrictions on corporate political spending. The decision gave corporations and unions the right to spend unlimited amounts to explicitly campaign for or against candidates, and allowed independent interest groups to […]
Posted inNovember 22, 2010: Hardrock Showdown
Send us a letter, the sooner the better
Lately we’ve noticed that we haven’t been hearing from our readers as often as we used to. One of the best things about HCN is our sense of community, exemplified by your intelligent, thoughtful letters. We know you’ve got lots of opinions, ideas and reactions to stories to share — so please drop us a […]
Posted inNovember 22, 2010: Hardrock Showdown
Rocky Mountain noir
The Long Slide Blair Oliver and Peter Soliunas 200 pages, softcover: $20. World Audience, Inc., 2010. The first collaboration from authors Peter Soliunas and Blair Oliver, The Long Slide is at once a pulpy romp across the Rockies and a mash note to the works of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. But where those authors […]
Posted inNovember 22, 2010: Hardrock Showdown
Not quite so SAD
Since at least 2004, sudden aspen decline, or SAD for short, has killed trees in five Western states in sweeping fashion. By 2008, in Colorado alone, more than a half million acres were afflicted. But after a few wet, cool years, the fatal phenomenon is finally relenting. “We’re pretty sure that the drought in 2002 […]
Posted inNovember 22, 2010: Hardrock Showdown
Mining Reform: Deja vu again and again
This Editor’s Note accompanies the HCN feature story: Hardrock Mining Showdown. “Mining Reform May Hit Paydirt in 1993.” That was the headline of a story I wrote for High Country News following the election of President Bill Clinton and his appointment of the reform-minded Bruce Babbitt as Interior secretary to oversee the West’s federal lands. […]
Posted inNovember 22, 2010: Hardrock Showdown
Lone shepherd on a distant promontory
From where I sit, I see a lone shepherd on a distant promontory, two trusty dogs at his side, a storm posting with all speed from the cold north as a rogue wolf works the edges of the band. The guard dogs, Great Pyrenees and Akbash, are not quite enough to beat off those wolves, […]
Posted inNovember 22, 2010: Hardrock Showdown
In Tancredo’s corner
The mainstream media routinely distort the position of those opposed to illegal immigration. For example, the Oct. 25, 2010, issue of High Country News called Tom Tancredo, who lost the Colorado Governor’s race, “an anti-immigration rabble-rouser.” Actually Tom Tancredo — as well as the overwhelming majority of Americans — is not “anti-immigration,” but anti-illegal immigration. […]
Posted inNovember 22, 2010: Hardrock Showdown
Dam removal is not for dummies
As a retired engineering geologist and self-styled “dam doctor” who had the honor of breaching a dam before Bruce Babbitt, I would like to add a few cautions to Nick Neely’s story (HCN, 11/8/10). Readers should not think it is simple. The upper-right graphic shows that there were plans developed for the removal of the […]
Posted inBlog
Good news and bad news for New Mexico’s Navajo communities
At the end of a year defined by the Gulf oil spill, failed climate legislation, and an ever-mounting urgency as the weather intensifies, federal leadership makes strides towards clean energy at the same time that leaders continue to dig in their heels in favor of fossil fuels. And, as everywhere in the world, indigenous peoples […]
Posted inRange
Tanned, rested and ready?
Despite his train wreck of a campaign for governor Colorado this year, former congressman Scott McInnis says he hasn’t ruled out another run at political office. McInnis, a Republican initially based in Glenwood Springs, Colo., served in the state legislature before winning a 1992 race for an open congressional seat from the Third District, which […]
Posted inNovember 8, 2010: Dr. No
There’s something in the water
A Colorado family discovers that their clear “Rocky Mountain Spring Water” is unsafe to drink
Posted inRange
Leave it to beaver?
By John Abbotts As we’ve noted before, scientists say that climate change could create quite a water supply problem east of the Cascades. Warmer winters are already melting mountain snows earlier in the spring, leaving streams and rivers short on water in mid-summer—just when the salmon, farms, and homes really need it. And many scientists […]
Posted inGoat
If you can’t catch it, you can’t cut it
Let’s get this one thing straight: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s plan for regulating greenhouse-gas emissions from stationary sources under the Clean Air Act — a “tailoring rule,” which goes into effect January 2, 2011 — is nothing radical. States may be suing, a bipartisan swarm of senators may be politicking to stop it, energy […]
Posted inRange
HCN reader photo – Outside Taos
This reader-submitted photo was taken on Highway 68, approximately 10 miles southwest of Taos, New Mexico. We loved the bright sky and the contrast of dried flowers. The photo comes from Flickr user and HCN group member Justin Morris. Add your photos to the High Country News community photo pool on Flickr! We feature selected […]
Posted inBlog
A new article of faith: don’t make the poor balance the budget
There is a political article of faith: “Don’t raise taxes during a recession.” Just Google the phrase and you’ll find some 2.5 million results. The popular idea is that deeply embedded into our political thinking. Of course it makes economic sense: You want people to spend their money on goods and services. Then producers will […]
Posted inHeard Around the West
That bites!
ARIZONA As foreclosures increase throughout the West, ex-homeowners slamming the door on the way out sometimes abandon cats, dogs and other pets, including exotic snakes. And then there are the native snakes that slither back to reclaim their turf once the humans are gone. The variety of poisonous and non-poisonous snakes co-existing with subdivisions can […]