Boiling Point

1} Ground Zero for Softball
Erie wants to be a player in Boulder County. Once a dusty little outpost on the plains, Erie has exploded in residential and commercial growth over the years. Now, the town is poised to steal some softball thunder from Boulder. When major softball and baseball tournaments come to the area, Stazio complex lands them. With seven fields, it’s been the centerpiece of the county. But a shiny new, lighted fourplex of fields just north of the Erie Community Center should get the go ahead and break ground this summer. It will just be the start of a massive outdoor gathering space that will house an amphitheater, kids’ play area and serve as a hub for a cross-town trail system. What’s Next: To take advantage of and host revenue-generating softball and baseball classics, we’re thinking a swank hotel is in order. Right in Old Town.

2} Saving Land, a Novel Idea
It’s a Democrat’s world now, and despite a new administration being in its first days, it would appear there’s a major shift on one issue: preservation. Last month, actually a week before President Obama was sworn in, major progress was made in preserving more than 2 million acres of wilderness, including a 250,000 swath of land in Rocky Mountain National Park. This would be the largest expansion of wilderness protection in a quarter century, thus showcasing a new direction of land management with the Democrats in firm control of both houses and the White House. What’s Next: We’re hoping this is a sign President Bush’s anti-environmental policy will quickly erode.

What’s more important: Being a good neighbor or expanding educational facilities to keep pace with other universities? It would appear the University of Colorado believes the latter. CU is moving forward with a four-story building that could break ground this spring at 15th Street and Grandview Avenue. It will tower 20 feet above Boulder’s 55-foot height restrictions for that neighborhood, but since CU is a state entity, there is little Boulder can do to stop the university despite outcries from neighbors. The college says the 50,000-square foot building that will house the Institute of Behavioral Science is desperately needed. What’s Next: Boulderites will bemoan the building before realizing that what’s good for CU is generally good for the city. Oh wait…

4} Beer Diversity 3.2
Normally, we are all for convinence. So on paper, it seems like a great idea to allow Colorado grocers and gas stations to be able to sell full-strength beer instead of that watered-down 3.2 baloney. This is now being debated at the statehouse, a year after legislators Ok’d the sale of booze on Sundays. What many fail to realize is that the state law that prohibits liquor store franchises (the rule that stops grocers from packing their aisles with beer, wine and spirits) is really good for booze diversity. Having the “little guys” run liquor stores allows for a floursing local microbrew selection as well as an amazing choice of wines. If the Safeways and Targets of the world start wiping out the corner stores, you’ll see the selection dwindel to a select few microbrews and the biggest names in beer. What’s Next: We’re guessing by July, you’ll be able to pick up a six pack of regular strength Coors at 7-Eleven—steer clear and buy local microbrews instead.

5}Give a Conservative a Chance
College campuses have become havens for liberal thinking. It’s truly difficult to find conservative professors, especially at a place such as the University of Colorado in super liberal Boulder. That’s why when it was announced that the university was creating a $9 million endowment to fund the Visiting Chair in Conservative Thought and Policy, we lauded it as a way to bring a more diverse mix of teaching at CU.

Apparently, the university’s College Democrats don’t like the idea so much. They are arguing that this endowed chair tokenizes a particular point of view. But CU needs more conservative voices to ensure a balanced education just like the university needs to continue recruiting minorities to attend. What’s Next: We’ll be curious to see where the College
Democrats stop.