The tribune wrote an opinion this week grading Weld County Legislators.

Jim Riesberg - Democrat - gets an A+ for creating the most new laws. Woo Hoo, at least he’s doing something (I guess) - but quantity doesn’t equal quality.

Dale Hall and Dave Owen both get Bs. Apparently they weren’t as busy as Riesberg

Finally Kevin Lundberg gets s a B- for supporting Home Schoolers, Military Personell and Medicaid reform.

The best part of the article is the comments on upcoming bills.

The writer gives the Colorado Domestic Partnership Benefits and Responsibilities Act a B because

While some advocates for gay rights hoped for a more wide-ranging bill or marriage legislation, this bill is still an important step in giving gay and lesbian couples the domestic rights.

The Tribune must be an advocate for gay rights.

The Smoking Ban got an A+.

Legislatuire got an F for not passing two bills to increase the ability for victims of childhood sexual assault to take their assailants to court. Victims currently have until they are 28 to report the crime and an additional six years to sue in civil court. Why do we need to extend this?

Finally, the Trib gave our elected officials an F for not passing a primary seat belt law. Interesting that a few years ago the Greeley voters reversed the same law locally. Seems that the Tribune’s opinion writers might want to get a little more in touch with their readership.

Fredrick and Firestone are Weld County hotbeds for population growth. Many Denver people are looking to move out of the city and Fredrick is a perfect option. One of the side effects of this growth is the increased traffic flow to Denver. To help alleviate congestion Weld County wanted to expand WCR 7 to four lanes through St. Vrain State Park. The city of Fredrick opposed this change and annexed the park to stop the road construction.

The most amusing part of this whole article is the comments of Weld County Commissioner, Mike Gile.

Firestone’s action negates the county’s plans to expand Weld 7, county commissioner Mike Geile said.

“(The annexation) takes away the option to look at a future arterial that will be needed, and we’re confused as to why that’s their intention,” Geile said.

The County Commisioners are ‘confused’? Confused? They don’t understand why routing traffic through a State Park might be a bad thing? I’m no environmentalist, but this still makes perfect sense. We have hundreds of acres of farmland in Weld County and they want to build a road through a State Park? Should be a no-brainer.

If the Weld County Commisioners want my advise (and I’m sure they don’t), maybe they should try a different tactic. Rather than increasing traffic into Denver, perhaps they should focus on

1. Improving public transportation so there are fewer cars on the road
2. Increasing economic growth in Weld County so those of us that have professional level skills don’t have to commute to Denver.

Fortunately the Fredrick city officials are a little less shortsighted than our County Commisioners.

In a widely UNDER REPORTED story Colorado lawmakers latest attempts to make seat belt laws a primary offense didn’t make it through the state house.

Personally, I’m against this law and any laws of this nature. Wearing seat belts is a fine idea, and most of us do it most of the time. This law is just a thinly veiled attempt to move us closer to a Papers Please society where law enforcement can harrass anyone for anything. The US government spends millions if not billions every year on seat belt enforcement with programs like Click it or Ticket, money which would be much better spent attempting to alleviate traffic problems and finding alternative, safer ways of transportation. Instead of doing something constructive the government seems much more intent on intimidation and bullying it’s citizens.

Fortunately this is one step towards totalitarianism that we didn’t take (yet)

This weekend there was an anti-illegal immigration rally at the Greeley courthouse. This one allegedly held by American citizens - what a concept.

Ron Peterson, 27, a former U.S. Marine from Greeley, organized the anti-illegal immigration rally Friday at noon in front of the Weld County Courthouse.

He wore a sandwich-board-style sign, which said “Stop Illegal Immigration Now” on the front and “I’m a citizen, not a racist” on the back.

If anyone out there knows Mr. Peterson, please let him know about this site and that I would be glad to post any statements he has concerning illegal immigration. This offer is also good for anyone on either side of the issue. Any well thought out arguments are welcome.

For those interested, the Tribune has a nice list of upcoming town board/city council meetings and agendas for many local communities.

Not long after hearing the news about the Ault mayor and his arrest, I happend to tune in to a Denver news program and catch this story about the Fort Lupton Mayor. It appears that a probate court incorrectly sent $7500 to Jim Bostick, mayor of Ft. Lupton and local funeral home director. The money was from the savings account of a young Marine killed in a car accident. Bostick conceded while on camera with a reporter that the funds should be returned to the decedent’s mother, but appearantly has not complied.

This type of behavior is inexcusable from an elected official. Not only has Bostick been accused of this action, the soldier’s family took the matter to civil court where a judge decided in their favor. The city of Fort Lupton needs to unite and remove this individual from his Mayor and City Council positions.

Ault Mayor, James Fladung was arrested on Saturday, and this isn’t the first time the police have been out to see him. Looks like there will be a local government shake up.