“Broadband Internet consumers are in jeopardy of losing an open Internet!” “The FCC has moved to take away Internet fairness!” “Internet censorship is coming!” Do any of these inaccurate, partisan and fear-mongering phrases sound familiar? Well, you’re not alone. Regulatory ping pong over Internet access has spurred a war of incendiary words from both sides […]
A little-known legal and political battle in Southeast Colorado has the potential to cause irreparable damage to the municipal bond market. Naturally, a radical environmentalist group has its lawsuit-green fingerprints all over it. In 2004, the Arkansas River Power Authority (ARPA) decided to convert an aging gas-fired power plant in Lamar to coal. Coal, you’ll […]
In May, referring to a report by the National Park Service, the Business Times quoted Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke saying, “This report is a testament to the tangible economic benefits our parks bring to communities across the nation.” By June, Zinke ignored these benefits in his report to President Donald Trump. There isn’t a lot […]
I’m proud to have served my country. But my country — or more precisely, its health care system — has fallen short in recent years. Veterans Affairs facilities have experienced well-known problems, and 1.75 million veterans who rely on Medicaid for health care face an uncertain future. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) clearly needs to […]
Imagine seeing big increases in your monthly electricity bill that never seem to end. Picture the loss of thousands of jobs in Colorado and the West. This could be our world if the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) goes through with its so-called Clean Power Plan to reduce carbon emissions from the nation’s power plants. The […]
Energy and business groups in western Colorado are cautiously optimistic about the President’s nominee for Interior Secretary, in these early stages of the process. Following Ken Salazar’s resignation in January, President Obama nominated Sally Jewell, the Chief Executive Officer of Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI), to head the Department of the Interior. The Department is responsible […]
Editor’s note: Here’s a question-and-answer session with Claire Damken Brown, founder and president of Damken Brown & Associates, a Colorado consulting firm that specializes in diversity and equal employment opportunity strategies, gender communication, sexual harassment prevention and cultural competency. Brown is scheduled to lead a presentation at a Sept. 21 meeting of the Western Colorado Human Resource […]
As a veteran of the business world, I certainly understand why many business owners are apprehensive about the health care system. They have enough on their plates simply dealing with the day-to-day challenges of a slowly recovering economy, meeting payroll, making a profit and keeping the lights on. Businesses already pay a bulk of health […]
Could yours be the perfect invention to aid U.S. combat soldiers? Have you created a vaccine that could possibly rid the world of a deadly disease? Do you think you could be the next Bill Gates? Perhaps your ideas or inventions aren’t as grand as these, but you need a little assistance with funding your […]
Not surprisingly, many small business owners are bottom-line people. When it comes to government actions, they prefer to put aside the flowery rhetoric and fuzzy political promises for bottom-line public policies. That is, are these steps being taken by government going to be good for the economy and business or not? In New Jersey, decades […]