gdp's Comments

Longmont Times-Call : Police notes: Man follows suspected drunk driver from Boulder to Longmont - Longmont Times-Call

Wed, 16 Sep 2015 17:55:50 +0000

Bravo to the person who tailed the drunk driver until the police could arrest him.

Longmont Times-Call : Editorial: Jimmy Carter has modeled a life of service - Longmont Times-Call

Sat, 29 Aug 2015 16:05:51 +0000

And took a $100K fee for speaking at a fundraiser for injured vets. http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/09/politics/george-w-b...

Daily Camera.com: : Editorial: Secret ballot vs. \'ballot selfie\' - Boulder Daily Camera

Fri, 21 Aug 2015 15:32:29 +0000

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I think you're conflating the right to cast a secret ballot with an obligation to do so. The first means that the state can't know or publish who voted for whom, while the second is a choice on the part of the voter. What's the difference between typing all of my ballot choices into a Facebook post and sharing a photo of the same information that happens to be an actual ballot?

Longmont Times-Call : P.R. Lambert: If cyclists want respect, they should show respect - Longmont Times-Call

Wed, 19 Aug 2015 16:28:11 +0000

I think everybody is missing a key point here. The great majority of cyclists and drivers behave responsibly. Instead of pointing fingers at entire communities ("Cyclists never obey the law!", "Drivers abuse cyclists!") how about focusing on the troublemakers and what we can do to deter *their* bad behavior?

Longmont Times-Call : Longmont windshield repairman appeals conviction for operating mobile business - Longmont Times-Call

Wed, 15 Jul 2015 20:15:20 +0000

You raise an interesting point about licensing, and I'd agree that Mr. Smith should follow the same rules as his competitors. The article states that he was convicted of a zoning violation, not for lacking a business license. Do you have any hard info one way or the other regarding his licensing status? No agenda, just asking.

Longmont Times-Call : Longmont windshield repairman appeals conviction for operating mobile business - Longmont Times-Call

Tue, 14 Jul 2015 19:42:34 +0000

The government can, should, and does have regulations about what sort of work is allowed and what is not. You can't cut hair without a license, you can't do oil changes for money in a residential neighborhood, and you can't open a landfill in your back yard. Of course some of these are arbitrary and there's legitimate room for debate about how much regulation is appropriate. But Mr. Smith's complaint that he is being deprived of income isn't going to accomplish anything. Wouldn't selective enforcement be a much better argument to make? I'll bet I can get Safelite to come to my house and change a windshield right there in the driveway with no problems. What about plumbers, electricians, and dog groomers? Does the city only enforce the law if somebody complains?

Longmont Times-Call : Longmont crews respond to plane crash near 75th Street - Longmont Times-Call

Wed, 24 Jun 2015 13:50:01 +0000

Wow. Just wow. The aircraft in question is a Pietenpol Air Camper, which weighs about 800 lbs (including the pilot) and lands at about 35 mph. Not a lot of damage potential there. By comparison, a Honda Fit subcompact car weighs about 2500 lbs. What if the engine quit over a subdivision or a house? Well unlike in the movies, aircraft don't just spiral out of control when the motor fails. They can still be steered and obviously any pilot would aim for open space -- just as this one did. Plus there is a no-build buffer zone off both ends of the runway for just such an eventuality. Had the pilot been over a more densely built-up area, such as the houses south of Nelson Rd., he would have been higher and thus the ability glide further -- likely back to the runway. Re: Mile Hi buzzing allegations. "To my knowledge" and "if this is true"?? Here's a thought: why don't you run this rumor to ground, and then cite an actual source (if you can)? "Negative value" to the city? While I suspect you may be impervious to facts, you should check out CDOT's economic impact study that spells out the financial benefits of the airport. http://longmontcolorado.gov/home/showdocument?id=... Last, but most definitely not least, quit worrying about being killed by a falling airplane. The number of ground fatalities due to general aviation (as opposed to airline) crashes is vanishingly small. It. Just. Doesn't. Happen. Try Googling it, you won't find much. To maximize your lifespan, work on your coronary health (#1 killer), avoid carcinogens (cancer is #2), stay off public roads (accidents, #4), lower your blood pressure (stroke is #5), lose weight and avoid sugar (diabetes, #7), etc. Source: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of... Trust me, you're not going to be squished by something falling from the sky.

Longmont Times-Call : Editorial: Bike policies spur bigger questions - Longmont Times-Call

Sun, 21 Jun 2015 23:45:56 +0000

Iris Ave., one of the streets that's going to go from 4 lanes down to 2, already moves in fits and starts. Why? Because left turners cause all traffic in their lane to stop cold, and the right lane also suffers as frustrated drivers suddenly jump into it. It's quite possible that traffic will flow better once the dedicated turn lanes are in place.

Longmont Times-Call : Dave Larison: Times-Call losing identity as Longmont newspaper - Longmont Times-Call

Mon, 8 Jun 2015 17:50:11 +0000

Most (or maybe all?) newspapers have cut back on their reporting staff in response to the loss of revenue from print advertising and subscriptions, which is only partially replaced by online ads and subscriptions. Then they share content to fill the resulting void. It's definitely not a happy trend, and certainly not unique to the T-C.

Longmont Times-Call : Glenwood Springs valedictorian comes out during graduation speech - Longmont Times-Call

Tue, 2 Jun 2015 17:49:43 +0000

See, Principal Buchmann? That wasn't so bad, now was it?

Longmont Times-Call : Longmont police: Man threatened to kill woman, pulled knives on officers - Longmont Times-Call

Mon, 1 Jun 2015 00:01:54 +0000

Yes, nice job Longmont PD! Thank you.

Longmont Times-Call : Suspect in CSP cadet death makes first appearance in Boulder court - Longmont Times-Call

Wed, 27 May 2015 16:26:41 +0000

What a waste. A trooper cadet killed at the beginning of his adult life, a veteran trooper dealing with very serious injuries that may never fully heal, and a young suspect who is quite likely to spend the rest of his days in prison. And all to avoid a traffic citation. It boggles the mind.

Longmont Times-Call : Niwot business leaders oppose plans for pot grow, retail facility - Longmont Times-Call

Tue, 26 May 2015 15:27:48 +0000

I'm always amazed by folks who vociferously oppose marijuana but accept local alcohol manufacturing, distribution, and consumption with little or no fuss. Studies have consistently found that pot is FAR less dangerous than alcohol. Just one example: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2...

Longmont Times-Call : Longmont Sam\'s Club will break ground in June at Village at the Peaks - Longmont Times-Call

Thu, 16 Apr 2015 19:38:47 +0000

So... no sources, then. You could have just said so.

Longmont Times-Call : Longmont Sam\'s Club will break ground in June at Village at the Peaks - Longmont Times-Call

Thu, 16 Apr 2015 17:21:06 +0000

That's a whole lot of assertions that don't line up with my personal experience. If you have any sources to back those up I'd be interested to see them.

Longmont Times-Call : Trial opens in lawsuit against Longmont\'s Mile-Hi Skydiving over noise complaints - Longmont Times-

Tue, 14 Apr 2015 15:24:43 +0000

Of course the noise can be heard over a wider area when the aircraft is aloft. But "acts as an amplifier"? Absolutely not. The atmosphere does not add energy to the aircraft's sound waves! In fact the sound diminishes over distance in accordance with the Inverse Square law (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverse-square_law). Meaning that at twice the distance the sound is 1/4 as loud. At 10 the distance it's 1/100th as loud. Physics 101.

Longmont Times-Call : Trial opens in lawsuit against Longmont\'s Mile-Hi Skydiving over noise complaints - Longmont Times-

Tue, 14 Apr 2015 06:15:00 +0000

>> Richard Dauer "can hear the noise from Mile-Hi's planes above his lawnmower and can't speak to his neighbors when the planes are trying to fly overhead," Weiner told the judge. I've stood within a couple of hundred feet of the Twin Otter as it took off, and had no problem conversing with people next to me. At that distance it's not quiet but it's hardly overwhelming. Once it's several thousand feet in the air I find it *very* hard to believe that the decibel level exceeds that of conversational speech. I wonder if either side will present any objective noise measurements.

Longmont Times-Call : Family killed in Erie plane crash files wrongful death suits, alleges \'very bad piloting\' - Longmo

Fri, 20 Mar 2015 16:48:23 +0000

Let me start by saying that this is a very sad situation all the way around, and my sympathies go out to all involved. I can understand the rationale for suing Mr. Frascona estate. He was the pilot in command and responsible for the safety of his passengers. Suing Mr. Lechtanski is the sort of thing that gives lawyers a bad name. Let's talk about the radio. The FAA does not mandate radio calls at non-towered airports, although they're certainly recommended. But everyone shares a single frequency so it's common to have pilots "step on" one another, meaning that they transmit at the same time and neither gets heard. Or a call could be missed or misunderstood due to high cockpit workload, poor transmission quality, failure to speak clearly, or any number of other factors. So regardless of who said what, radio is only an advisory tool at non-towered airports. We'll see what evidence, if any, exists to indicate that Lechtanski knew that Frascona was inbound from the opposite direction, and vice-versa. It's possible that someone like LiveATC.net recorded the radio traffic. Did Frascona listen to the automated weather broadcast from Erie? Unknown, but he should have. Did he listen to other traffic on the frequency to determine which runway other pilots were using? Unknown, but he should have. Should Frascona have set up for a downwind landing? Not against the rules, but this blog post from AOPA does a good job explaining why it's a bad idea: http://blog.aopa.org/leadingedge/?p=5143 Should Frascona have flown a straight-in approach? Again, not against the rules, but not a good idea when there are other aircraft in the pattern. Especially when you're flying against the established flow of traffic. Last but not least, how and why did Frascona lose control of his aircraft? That's the proximate cause of this accident, regardless of what transpired before that moment. Based on witness statements, his plane continued down the runway after passing Lechtanski's aircraft, at a high power settings consistent with a go-around. Pilots are trained to do go-arounds safely, and often practice them to maintain proficiency. It will be interesting to see what the NTSB investigation finds. In conclusion, it looks at this point as if Mr. Frascona bears the lion's share of the responsibility for this tragedy. It's even possible that Mr. Lechtanski did everything by the book and just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Longmont Times-Call : Be creative with Longmont airport noise solution - Longmont Times-Call

Sun, 1 Mar 2015 17:43:16 +0000

"Steep noisy power dive"!? Dude, after a skydiving plane drops its jumpers the pilot pulls the throttle(s) all the way to idle in order to return to the airport as quickly as possible. Anything else would just keep them up in the air longer, delaying their next pickup... which would reduce revenue. The noise made on a power-off descent is really minimal, just a passing hum and whoosh.

Longmont Times-Call : Be creative with Longmont airport noise solution - Longmont Times-Call

Sun, 1 Mar 2015 17:39:26 +0000

If you think that "fixing" one plane will stop the handful of people who each post hundreds of complaints per year, you're seriously mistaken. These people live to complain. If you don't believe me, Google "Kimberly Gibbs prairie dogs".