gdp's Comments

Daily Camera.com: : Boulder County subdivision roads funding to be on 2013 ballot - Boulder Daily Camera

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 05:52:52 +0000

Boulder County has an annual budget of more than $300 million. Instead of proposing a tax increase, I believe the County Commissioners should be shifting spending priorities. We're talking about reallocating a little over 1% of the budget. I'm interested in building more awareness of the issues facing governmental bodies in Boulder County. Check out Boulder County Observers - http://www.facebook.com/BoulderCountyObservers.

Daily Camera.com: : Boulder may seek annexations if it forms utility - Boulder Daily Camera

Mon, 3 Sep 2012 04:44:13 +0000

Residents of Gunbarrel, in the unincorporated areas, didn't get to vote on the municipalization issue. If we had, this topic might have been avoided as I think we would helped make sure the whole issue would have failed.

Daily Camera.com: : Boulder County commissioners review scenarios for funding residential road repaving - Boulder Daily

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 03:52:16 +0000

Many voters are frustrated with our Commissioners. It is a fair critique in my view. According to the story, Mr. Gerstle is saying about $3 million per year will solve the problem. Boulder County's annual revenue is $321 million. If the Commissioners cannot find 1% of the budget to shift to this problem, then I'd suggest they don't want to solve the problem without increasing taxes. Digging into this issue with the Commissioners is like entering a Kafkaesque tale where byzantine documents with circular references are used to justify bad public policy that serves the agenda of the Commissioners.

Longmont Times-Call : Boulder County commissioners review scenarios for funding residential road repaving - Longmont Times

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 03:48:47 +0000

Daily Camera.com: : Boulder County works to create rules for farm-to-table dinners - Boulder Daily Camera

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 04:17:34 +0000

Great point mzfit. The County Commissioners meet during the 9 am - 5 pm window most of the time. We all need to remember they don't have conflicts because they are full-time employees of Boulder County. I sure wish they met in the evenings do gather more input. (A CU student, in political science perhaps, should study the volume of citizen input at City Council, County Commissioner and BVSD Board of Educations meetings. My gut tells me the County Commissioners have comparatively silent meetings.) I also wish we would restructure the County Commissioner "job" so that citizens in the private sector could serve as Commissioners without becoming Boulder County employees who also manage the bureaucracy. Seems like policy setting should be independent of day-to-day operations. We should remember the City Council and BVSD Board of Education have administrators to run the day-to-day operations.

Daily Camera.com: : Denver taking a page from Boulder in bid to bolster its startup scene - Boulder Daily Camera

Tue, 26 Jun 2012 02:38:53 +0000

Just as Silicon Valley is larger than any single city, I hope our community realizes that the opportunity for Colorado is not about Boulder or Denver. Instead the discussion is and should be about the entire state. Startup Colorado - http://co.s.co/ - speaks directly to this goal and includes leaders from around Colorado. The objective should be encouraging innovators to make Colorado their home.

Daily Camera.com: : Sean Maher: More of our open space should be open - Boulder Daily Camera

Mon, 28 May 2012 03:55:17 +0000

Thanks for the candid comments RealLiberalBldr. It is great to learn the history. Was the true agenda clear to the community back when this all started? I mean was it marketed as creating recreational opportunities or just fostering growth in Lafayette, Louisville, Superior, Erie and Longmont? I'm sorry I know you said it was about growth control -- didn't it just result in growth somewhere else? Current citizens what do you want? Yes, we may be newcomers, but we pay taxes and have the votes to elect people who can carry out an agenda that is appropriate today. I think Sean Maher makes some great points.

Daily Camera.com: : CU tuition hike funded raises for Phil DiStefano, other top administrators - Boulder Daily Camera

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 03:13:47 +0000

It seems to me CU-Boulder is the largest single employer in town, do you want an excellent Chancellor with a long-term perspective on the campus and community or someone less capable who will work for a really low salary? How many of us commentators could raise more than $40 million in donations and step up to support the audacious goal of $1.5 billion? Do you want CU-Boulder to be known for striving for and achieving excellence in the competitive market in which competes or do you want it be known for an administrative team that will work for the lowest salaries in its peer group? How long do you think it will take for CU-Boulder to become part of less respected peer group? I'm guessing we could reduce the administrative salary base pretty quickly with this strategy. Of course, I'm not sure we would this result either. To be clear, I think our nation's university system is far from perfect, but I certainly want both talented not-for-profit leaders and talented for-profits leaders to compete.

Daily Camera.com: : Boulder manager: City won\'t broadcast disruptions at council meetings - Boulder Daily Camera

Tue, 3 Jan 2012 00:38:23 +0000

Unless cell signals are jammed in the BCC meeting rooms, enterprising groups ought to be able to simulcast anything they want using the internet.

Daily Camera.com: : Evans: If it walks like cronyism... - Boulder Daily Camera

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 02:12:48 +0000

Great column and comments. Now, how do we establish district based voting that really counts? I think a Republican might at least run if we had districts. Then we would at least have a debate during the election season.

Daily Camera.com: : Boulder looks to plug loophole on business software tax - Boulder Daily Camera

Tue, 6 Dec 2011 05:55:45 +0000

But isn't your Salesforce or SugarCRM service an online database?

Daily Camera.com: : Boulder looks to plug loophole on business software tax - Boulder Daily Camera

Tue, 6 Dec 2011 05:52:53 +0000

So it seems like the space problem facing start-ups - highlighted by local venture capitalist, Brad Feld, http://www.feld.com/wp/archives/2011/12/boulders-... - could be a self-correcting problem. There are dynamic start-ups and entrepreneurs throughout the Front Range.

Daily Camera.com: : Letters to the Editor - Nov. 6 - Boulder Daily Camera

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 04:19:29 +0000

Mr. Dente: I too have significant issues with the priorities of our county commissioners. While they flaunt the Comprehensive Plan and its ambiguous Transportation Element, Boulder county property owners are getting hurt by more wise neighboring counties. Seems like the damages associated with a class-action lawsuit might be pretty interesting to the right attorney.

Daily Camera.com: : Boulder County planning panelists look down on telecommunications tower idea - Boulder Daily Camera

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:20:22 +0000

A picture is truly worth a thousand words. Thanks for the contribution.

Daily Camera.com: : Boulder County planning panelists look down on telecommunications tower idea - Boulder Daily Camera

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:45:53 +0000

We need better cellular service in this part of the county. I called the Planning Department to voice my support for the project. The Xcel power lines are a problem: this tower will be incidental compared to them. I know many professionals in the area who support this project. Unfortunately, we were at our jobs when this hearing took place. I want the cellular companies to be forced to compete vigorously for business in every residential area. Approve the project or ask Xcel to bury the power lines.

Daily Camera.com: : Boulder Valley teachers at odds with district over academic freedom - Boulder Daily Camera

Tue, 25 May 2010 13:18:04 +0000

Yes. In fact, this debate has been settled in many States. Because of laws in many States that recognize home schooling, many parents have this right. Estimates from 2007 revealed about 1.5 million students are being educated at home. Yes, there may be consequences positive and negative for these students. Of course, there are also positive and negative implications of electing to enroll our public school system.

Daily Camera.com: : Boulder Valley teachers at odds with district over academic freedom - Boulder Daily Camera

Tue, 25 May 2010 02:55:32 +0000

The link to the dues structure for the NEA/CEA is provided below. http://www.coloradoea.org/media/09-10%20Mship%20F... It is an interesting little form. I especially find the voter registration and political affiliation questions intriguing. This all adds up to a teachers union with tremendous financial power.

Feld Thoughts : The Power of Why

Mon, 10 May 2010 19:42:29 +0000

Thanks for sharing this Brad. I think it can argued the product focus you mentioned recently is completely in sync with this presentation. The question - Why are you focused on a particular product? - seems like the perfect place to begin the exploration of an entrepreneur's source of drive. http://www.feld.com/wp/archives/2010/05/my-obsess...

Feld Thoughts : Why You Should Start A Company In Boulder, New York, or Somewhere Else

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 05:38:30 +0000

Great post and conversation. One underlying trait that makes it possible for teams to form quickly and to operate productively is trust. Powerful trust emerges through shared experiences in individual enterprises and in a broader community. I stumbled on the importance of trust while coaching my son's soccer team. When the right set of kids were playing together, the team was effective. One bad substitution and things fall apart with players leaving their positions to compensate rather in effectively for the weak player. I’ve seen the same tendency in professional settings. There is research to support the importance of trust. At the moment, I'm reading Ronnie Lessem's introduction to Executive Leadership a book by Elliott Jacques and Stephen D. Clement. (Thanks to Bernie Daina, Ph.D. for introducing me to Jacques work.) Lessem highlights that the organization development research conducted by Jacques suggests that a “requisite” organization requires four values and begins by discussing trust. “Mutual trust, confidence, and reliability, embodied in what Jaques terms “mutual recognition units”. In my view, all of us in Boulder benefit from the trust that we develop and maintain because it makes life better and our entrepreneurial efforts stronger.

Colorado Startups : The glass is half full if you're an entrepreneur

Tue, 6 Jan 2009 07:02:01 +0000

1433 Pearl Street behind and above the Starbucks on the Pearl Street Mall is another location available for sublease, direct landlord lease and or sharing ala the "roommate" model. Collective Intellect is the current tenant. While CI is growing, we are motivated to invest more of our resources in people and other geographies. Call me at 303-819-2113.