Page 10 CENTRAL DENVER DISPATCH & CHERRY CREEKNEWS
Rep. Romanoff Reporting
Someone once said, “The defini-
tion of insanity is doing the same
thing over and over again and expect-
ing a different result.”
That’s a pretty good way to
describe our state budget.
The state legislature recently gave
its blessing to this year’s budget. The
total price tag: $14.2 billion.
Much of that budget
is off-limits, thanks to a
combination of state and
federal mandates. In fact,
Voices
just three items account for
three-quarters of our gen-
eral fund – schools (whose funding is
guaranteed by the state constitution);
prisons (the product of our sentenc-
ing laws); and Medicaid (a federally
required program of health care for
the poor and disabled). At the rate
we’re going, that’s literally all we’ll
be to pay for.
What’s going on here? Well,
Colorado is facing its worst fiscal cri-
sis since the Great Depression. Our
population is booming, while our
resources are shrinking.
Last year, we slashed aid to col-
leges and universities. Now kin-
dergarten is on the chopping block.
Programs for senior citizens, prenatal
care for at-risk women, and a host of
other critical services have also suf-
fered losses – $2 billion in all.
It’s time to change course. Here’s
how:
First, we should reform our state
constitution. Two constitutional
amendments have proven par-
ticularly difficult to reconcile. The
Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR),
which voters passed in 1992, prevents
state and local services from keeping
pace with inflation and population
growth. Amendment 23, approved
in 2000, requires steady increases
in school funding. Taken together,
these amendments force Colorado to
reduce revenues at the same time we
are boosting expenditures. The math
just doesn’t work.
The House of Representatives
recently approved three measures to
tackle this crisis: House Concurrent
Resolutions 1001, 1009 and 1010.
(You can read them online at www.
leg.state.co.us.) It is not yet clear
Denver does
biodiesel
Mayor John Hickenlooper
announced at the City’s Earth Fair on
Thursday that the City and County
of Denver is going to begin using B20
biodiesel fuel in a pilot program that
will begin next week and run through
December 2004. The purpose of the
pilot program is to evaluate biodie-
sel and its effects on vehicle perfor-
mance, fuel economy and emissions.
“This is a giant step forward in
terms of the City’s commitment to
conservation, energy efficiency and
environmental health,” said Mayor
Hickenlooper, whose official car is
a gas-electric hybrid vehicle from
the City’s fleet. “I commend our
Public Works and Fleet Management
Departments for their innovation and
look forward to the results of this
pilot project. Biodiesel represents a
tremendous opportunity – both envi-
ronmentally and economically – for
the region.”
The City’s pilot program will
involve approximately 60 vehicles
at the Wastewater Management
Building.
Colorado Wine Country
which, if any, will pass the Senate as
well. Any change to the constitution
requires a vote of the people, so you
can expect to find a proposal from the
legislature, a citizens’ group, or both
on the November ballot.
Second, we should put a priority
on prevention. We can invest in early
childhood education, drug and alco-
hol treatment, and juvenile
diversion programs. Or,
we can do nothing – and
use our welfare rolls, our
prison cells, and our fos-
ter homes to pick up the
slack.
The point is, we pay for these
problems one way or the other. The
tab topped $14 billion this year, and
the meter’s still running.
Rep. Andrew Romanoff leads the
Democrats in the Colorado House of
Representatives. He represents House
District 6, covering east Denver and
Glendale. He can be reached at 303-
866-2967.
Rep. Romanoff also distributes a
weekly legislative update by e-mail.
Subscribe by sending a message to
romanoff@coloradohouse.org.
April 23, 2004
The French have a language of their the perfect location for its wine indus-
own for it: vin du pays or local wine. try.
Translated, it doesn’t quite do justice Winemaking began on Colorado’s
to the wine and vineyards of Colorado, Western Slope more than a century
most of them in and around Grand ago. With the advent of Prohibition,
Junction,
b e t t e r
known as
Colorado’s
W i n e
Country in
the Grande
Valley area
along the
Colorado
River.
T h e
sight of
miles of
v i n e y a rd s
is a bit
startling
the first
time you
see them,
but there’s
logic here
once you
realize that The West Elks AVA (Paonia, CO). Photo by: Cradurr Photography
the location,
combined with warm, sunny days and however, the early vineyards were
cool nights, low humidity plus the uprooted and replaced with orchards.
acid soil, make this part of Colorado Modern vineyards featuring the
world’s classic wine-grape varieties
have been reestablished in the area’s
fertile climes, and once again the
art of winemaking is flourishing in
Colorado. Building on the tradition
of these pioneer winemakers, thriving
wineries are now found in all parts of
the state.
Colorado’s grape growing regions
range in elevation from 4000 to 7000
feet and are thus among the high-
est vineyards in the world. The long
warm daylight hours of intense high
altitude sunlight mature the fruit com-
pletely and build the natural sugars.
The cool evenings cause the grapes to
retain the acids so vital to premium
winemaking. However, the high alti-
tude can also present a challenge to
grape growers, in that the average
frost free growing season ranges from
150 to 182 days.
Like their counterparts in California
see COLORADO on page 16