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CENTRAL DENVER DISPATCH & C HERRY C REEK N EWS Page 10 April 23, 2004 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 2 004. 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.” Rep. Romanoff Reporting The French have a language of their own for it: vin du pays or local wine. Translated, it doesn’t quite do justice to the wine and vineyards of Colorado, most of them in and around Grand Junction, be tt er 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 vineyards is a bit startling the first time you see them, but there’s logic here once you realize that the location, combined with warm, sunny days and cool nights, low humidity plus the acid soil, make this part of Colorado the perfect location for its wine indus- try. Winemaking began on Colorado’s Western Slope more than a century ago. With the advent of Prohibition, however, the early vineyards were uprooted and replaced with orchards. 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 Colorado Wine Country see COLORADO on page 16 The West Elks AV A (Paonia, CO). Phot o by: Cradurr Pho tography Someone once said, “The d efini- 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 fa ct, 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 Gr eat De pression. 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 d ifficult 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. T aken togethe r, 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 no t yet clear which, if any, will pass the Senate as well. Any change t o the con stitution 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 30 3- 866-2967. Rep. Romanoff also distributes a weekly legislative update by e-mail. Subscribe by sending a message to [email protected]. Voices Denver does biodiesel
