April 30th, 2008
From Channel 9News:
For Kyle and Sophia Painter, and their 2-and-a-half-year-old daughter Shea, the nightmare was only beginning two weeks ago when water flooded their home.
On April 15, their home on 13th Avenue near Kipling flooded after a subcontractor for Qwest dug a trench behind their house to bury utility lines. It was part of work in preparation for the new FasTracks light rail project. See the rest of the story here.
April 28th, 2008
Drew Carey and Reason TV took to the streets of Hollywood after a recent eminent domain controversy to ask citizens if they know what eminent domain means. Not surprisingly, most did not.
See the video, Redevelopment: A Tale Of Two Cities, on YouTube.
In the words of Craig Trager, a Hollywood landowner who lost his property to the Legacy Partners Development Group for condos, luxury apartments, and retail, “Eminent domain is like cancer. For us, it’s like you’ve been diagnosed, you don’t know how long you have to live, there is a little shread of hope, but mainly you are just waiting to die.”
April 28th, 2008
See details from our events calendar here.
April 28th, 2008
Face the State Reports:
Wearing a t-shirt reading “Kindness Regardless,” Lakewood business owner Kim Snyder broke down in tears at the Capitol Thursday afternoon shortly after a state Senate panel postponed indefinitely a bill that sought to limit the use of eminent domain by the Regional Transportation District.
The Senate Local Government Committee, chaired by Fort Collins Democrat Sen. Bob Bacon, was scheduled to re-hear House Bill 1278, co-sponsored by committee member Sen. Lois Tochtrop, D-Thornton. As Face The State reported earlier this week, the committee had voted Tuesday to restore the bill’s original intent after the version it received that day was watered down by House amendments. After restoring the bill to its original form, the committee was scheduled for a final vote Thursday.
See the full story here.
April 27th, 2008
If you haven’t had the opportunity to check out the Independence Institute’s YouTube page, we encourage you to do so. You can see video interviews with landowners and other property rights clips.
For more, see the Property Rights Project multimedia page.
April 27th, 2008
From the Denver AP:
DENVER (AP)—Her family’s ranch could be swallowed up by the Army as it looks to expand its Pinon Canyon training site but each night Lisa Doherty said she and her two sons offer prayers for the nation’s soldiers and its leaders.
Doherty said she and her family live a “blessed life” on the wide open plains of southeastern Colorado even though it means working from dawn to dusk with no vacations. She’d like to give her boys the chance to become the fifth generation to work that land but fears the Army’s plans could stop that.
“I love my country but I also love my home,” Doherty told a Senate committee April 9 before they voted to back a bill aimed at telling the Army that ranchers can’t be forced to sell their land to make way for the project.
The full Senate will debate the measure (House Bill 1069) next, even though lawmakers acknowledge they’re not sure if a state law can stop the Army from using eminent domain.
April 25th, 2008
From the Denver Post
A review of FasTracks finances by the Denver Regional Council of Governments warns that the cost of the transit expansion is likely to escalate, and it urges RTD to use more cautious financial forecasting in the future.
Last year, the Regional Transportation District said the cost of FasTracks, which will add six new rail lines in the Denver area, had ballooned to $6.1 billion from the estimate of $4.7 billion in 2004.
“Given the high degree of uncertainty in this financial plan, the DRCOG Board informs RTD that the next financial plan it submits in an annual report include less optimistic, more conservative assumptions,” DRCOG said in its report issued Thursday.
Read the rest of the article here>>
April 24th, 2008
House Bill 1278 was postponed indefinately today without reaching a vote. For more information, check out the Colorado State Legislature.
April 24th, 2008
From Rob Dougherty
Pueblo County
During second reading of HB-1007 on Wednesday an amendment by Senator Tom Wiens was
adopted which would abolish toll road corridors and eliminate any perpetual powers
to develop a toll road. The amendment says that any existing corridor including the
Super Slab corridor “is void and shall not be deemed to give the filing toll road or
toll highway company any property right or exclusive development right of any kind
whatsoever within the corridor.”
This is the biggest development we have ever had. It would still need to pass a
third reading and vote in the Senate and then the amendments would need the approval
of the House. If it clears those hurdles it goes to the Governor. Representative
Looper who introduced the bill has said she supports the abolition of old and new
corridors but felt that abolishing old corridors couldn’t be done until next year.
Now this could do both this year and it is one day away from passing the Senate.
PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL TO THE SENATE ASAP. The subject should ask them to vote yes on
HB1007 WITH the Wiens amendment (L019) A link that will format it for you is here:
www.stupidslab.com/mail-yes-on-1007.htm
Or to do your own:
Subject: Vote YES on HB-1007 with the Wiens Amendment (L019)
Dear Senator,
The L019 amendment to HB-1007 corrects the problem created in 2006 of allowing toll
road companies to claim a corridor. Before 2006 any such claims were made without
any justification in the statutes. These corridor claims have caused great harm and
will cause even more if they are not abolished.
Please vote YES on HB-1007 with Senator Wiens L019 amendment which was passed on
Wednesday.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Your Address
With commas:
abel.tapia.senate@state.co.us, bbacon@peakpeak.com, betty.boyd.senate@state.co.us,
bill.cadman.senate@state.co.us, brandon@brandonshaffer.com,
chris.romer.senate@state.co.us, dan.gibbs.senate@state.co.us,
electkenkester@hotmail.com, gail.schwartz.senate@state.co.us, greg@gregbrophy.net,
isgarsenate@frontier.net, jennifer.veiga.senate@state.co.us,
john.morse.senate@state.co.us, joshpenry@gmail.com, ken.kester.senate@state.co.us,
ken@kengordon.com, lotochtrop@aol.com, mike.kopp.senate@state.co.us,
nancyspence@qwest.net, nwden34@yahoo.com, peter.groff.senate@state.co.us,
ron.tupa.senate@state.co.us, scott.renfroe.senate@state.co.us,
senatorkeller2002@yahoo.com, SenBob@msn.com, shawnmitch@aol.com,
steve.johnson.senate@state.co.us, steve.ward.senate@state.co.us,
ted.harvey.senate@state.co.us
With semicolons:
abel.tapia.senate@state.co.us; bbacon@peakpeak.com; betty.boyd.senate@state.co.us;
bill.cadman.senate@state.co.us; brandon@brandonshaffer.com;
chris.romer.senate@state.co.us; dan.gibbs.senate@state.co.us;
electkenkester@hotmail.com; gail.schwartz.senate@state.co.us; greg@gregbrophy.net;
isgarsenate@frontier.net; jennifer.veiga.senate@state.co.us;
john.morse.senate@state.co.us; joshpenry@gmail.com; ken.kester.senate@state.co.us;
ken@kengordon.com; lotochtrop@aol.com; mike.kopp.senate@state.co.us;
nancyspence@qwest.net; nwden34@yahoo.com; peter.groff.senate@state.co.us;
ron.tupa.senate@state.co.us; scott.renfroe.senate@state.co.us;
senatorkeller2002@yahoo.com; SenBob@msn.com; shawnmitch@aol.com;
steve.johnson.senate@state.co.us; steve.ward.senate@state.co.us;
ted.harvey.senate@state.co.us
Rob Dougherty
Pueblo County
www.stupidslab.com
April 24th, 2008
Dave Minshall writes:
As you may have read, we caught a big break in the Colorado Senate Wednesday afternoon. Senators on the Local Government committee were angry that the house had sent them an RTD-authored “compromise” bill that completely gutted the original intent of the bill….which was to protect private property owners from eminent domain abuse by RTD.
Rather than hear the self-interest bill put together by RTD, developers, builders, etc., the senator put our original house bill back on he table.
The Senate Local Government Committee will hold a hearing on that bill some Thursday afternoon. The sponsor of the bill, Senator Tochtrop, and the Chairman of the committee, Senator Bacon, will let us know later today exactly where and when the hearing will be held.
Please plan to be at the hearing! We need to make a presentation as powerful as we did at the first house hearing. Our job is to show the damage RTD has done to homeowners and the under-the-table plan RTD has to get around the law banning condemnation for commercial development.
Frankly, I don’t know what we will get out of the legislature, if anything, this year. After the hearing yesterday, stunned lobbyists descended on committee members like locusts. RTD and it’s allies will come back hard. The hearing tomorrow will at least give us the opportunity to be heard.
Right now, we must focus on giving the most powerful presentation possible to the Senate committee Thursday. I’ll co-ordinate with the committee and Bob Hoban and get back to you on messages.
We need everybody. Please send out an alert to our allies to be at the hearing.
Please give yourselves credit for our accomplishments. From the get-go, RTD counted on eventually winning because we would lose interest and slowly drift away. Just goes to show what you can do when you hang in there.
Please monitor e-mail. Please clear your schedules to be at the hearing Thursday afternoon. This is a huge opportunity for us. We’ve got to give this everything we’ve got.
Thanks and regards,
Dave Minshall
The Independence Institute's Property Rights Project was established in 2005 to serve as a community resource on land use issues—including but not limited to—eminent domain abuse, zoning regulations, and historical designations. (Read More)
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