LIBERTARIAN PARTY OF COLORADO BLOG

Red light cameras are a menace, but Aurora wants more of them...

Police have received the green light to explore adding red light cameras at as many as 25 intersections over time.
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"The police department didn't drive this program, but now that it is here, it has proven to be effective in reducing accidents," said Police Chief Daniel Oates. "We think there's a value to taking the program to the next step."
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City records show the injury-accident rate dropped by 60 percent at one location from 2005 to 2006.

However, rear-end accidents skyrocketed at three intersections, including Mississippi and Potomac (up 175 percent) and Alameda and Abilene (up 100 percent), from 2005 to 2006.

Critics say that red light camera enforcement is being abused by cities to "shake down" drivers for revenue. Aurora is among 334 cities and towns nationwide using red light cameras.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/mar/26/more-red-light-cameras-for-aurora/

So exactly how has this program been effective when it has increased rear end accidents? The city can find one intersection where accidents were reduced (probably due to an external factor and not due to these cameras), and can find 3 where accidents increased. The only thing these have accomplished is generating more revenue for the city. This is a total shakedown. The majority of evidence shows that cameras have little effect on traffic safety and one prominent study shows an increase in accidents at intersections that have red light cameras. Several cities have been caught intentionally making the intersections less safe by reducing yellow light time as a way of increasing revenue. I don’t know if Aurora has been guilty of this, but it probably only a matter of time. They will not want to see increased compliance as that would mean a loss of revenue.

For further reading on the subject:

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/14/irony-red-light-cameras-a-safety-impediment/

http://www.motorists.org/blog/red-light-cameras/6-cities-that-were-caught-shortening-yellow-light-times-for-profit/

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/mar/12/na-red-light-cameras-increase-accidents-usf-study-/

Politicians want I-70 to become a toll road

Colorado has pre-qualified for federal authority to toll Interstate 70, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Transportation has confirmed.

That means the federal government won't get in the way if the legislature approves either of two bills up for debate in a Senate committee hearing this morning.

Furthermore, the federal government would allow the state to spend those tolls on any highway that qualifies for federal funding — not just I-70.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/mar/27/feds-wont-block-i70-toll/

Be afraid, be very afraid! Our legislators are seeing dollar signs and have found a way to raise taxes without violating TABOR. Don’t let the government spokespeople fool you, they are saying it will be $5 right now, that will not last and before you know it, it will be $7 and then $10. They claim this is to reduce congestion on I-70, however they are already calculating the amount of money they will get from this toll and are drooling all over themselves and their calculations are based on current traffic rates. I drive I-70 quite a bit and I don’t think the problem is severe, it seems to be bad only on the weekends and only in the mornings and evenings, most other times it is free and clear of excessive traffic. I cannot see punishing everyone who travels I-70 no matter the time of day or the day itself, because for about 12 hours a week traffic gets backed up. Most roads get congested at certain times and in certain places, that doesn’t mean we need to make them toll roads. There is no guarantee that the funds will even be used for I-70 and even if they are, it only frees up revenue that would currently be spent on I-70 to be used for other government projects.

Politicians spend so much now they are complaining of a "budget shortfall"

The chicken wire holding up the Capitol's gold dome will have to do its job for another five years, as lawmakers grappled with the surprise news Thursday of a $700 million budget shortfall.

http://www.denverpost.com/commented/ci_8644832

I cannot feel sorry for the politicians.

On this blog over the years we have documented story after story of new projects the government has gotten into, even when it seems they cannot pay for the government programs already in existence. Referendum C was passed to increase revenue to the state only a couple of years ago. We have also documented laws that harm business and hurt tax revenues by proxy, gambling revenues are down since the smoking ban, bar sales are also down (the smoking ban is just one example of several). Every year our prison population grows as more laws are created and broken, costing tax payers somewhere between $20,000 and $50,000 per prisoner and nobody in the government seems to be asking if it is worth throwing all of these non-violent prisoners in jail and draining the pockets of the tax payers at the same time. For every person we put in prison it not only costs us to house them, but also we take a person who was probably paying taxes and forcing them out of the system, so how many thousands is it worth to house a recreational drug user in the prison system? We see schools performing worse, even as they continue to get more and more money. Our roads are falling apart, even as the government wants to build trains. 

Prisons fail to provide for disabled inmates

The Colorado prison system has missed two court-ordered deadlines to improve facilities and services for disabled inmates, some of whom have gone without glasses, wheelchairs or hearing aids for months or even years, according to court records.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/mar/24/prison-system-delays-disabled-inmates-aid/

A lot of the problems prisons have are due to the sheer number of prisoners we have in the US. We need to reduce the number of prisoners and the easiest way to do that is to stop incarcerating vice crimes.

City wants to settle with man whom cops beat while he was handcuffed

A man who claims Denver police roughed him up while he was handcuffed is poised to receive a $5,000 settlement from the city.

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After Burke placed him in handcuffs, Lyles claims the officer kneed him repeatedly, punched him in the mouth and hit him with a Mace container.

"Then, while (Lyles) was lying flat on his stomach, Burke allegedly pulled (Lyles') handcuffed arms up behind his back towards his head," documents state. "This pressure on (Lyles') arms allegedly caused serious injury to his shoulder, including a broke clavicle."

Lyles, who has undergone three surgeries to repair his shoulder and clavicle, also suffered an injured wrist and neck in the incident, documents state.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/mar/24/denver-may-settle-excessive-force-suit-against-pol/

$5000 seems like a low sum to me considering this man was not even suspected of any crime, and was beaten and tortured while handcuffed. One thing absent in this article is the punishment that the cop is going to get, I expect that means he is not really getting any punishment.

volunteers needed - LAKEWOOD GROCERY TAX ELIMINATION

Petition Drive - volunteers needed
LAKEWOOD GROCERY TAX ELIMINATION

Looking for limited-government, low-tax advocates to get Lakewood registered voter signatures to eliminate the sales tax on groceries. If you work in Lakewood or own a business, this is another great way to get signatures. You don't have to live in Lakewood to circulate the petition.

Going door to door is very successful and it's refreshing to hear over and over "I'll sign, anything for lower taxes. Thanks for doing what you're doing."'

We're holding petition drives in neighborhoods and at grocery stores. The goal is 10,000 signatures by June 15th. 200 people getting 50 signatures each, gets this on the November ballot.

If you'd like to help, contact:
Natalie Menten 303-980-8834 or 303-489-2895,
Charley Able 303-233-7275
or email NOgrocerytax@wmconnect.com
A petition can be mailed or delivered to you.

Dems want higher taxes, but think it is okay because they are only attacking the oil and gas industry

Democratic lawmakers are planning a ballot measure that would raise taxes on the oil and gas industry and channel tens of millions of additional dollars to Colorado's universities.

Sens. Abel Tapia and Chris Romer on Thursday revealed the measure, which would increase the severance tax on the industry from 5 percent to 6 percent.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/mar/21/proposal-aims-to-raise-taxes-on-oil-gas-industry/

LPCO mourns the loss of Michael Corbin

Today the Libertarian Party of Colorado mourns the loss of a patriot and leader in the new American freedom movement. Michael Corbin, host of the radio show, "A Closer Look" on 1360AM, Johnstown, Colorado, passed away at approximately 3:00pm on March 18, from a stroke late Sunday evening. His family was with him.

Michael believed that every person should question the assumption that they are getting the "facts" and the "truth" from the major media outlets of television, radio and newspapers. He had a vision of reviving, in some small way, the by-gone days when reporters did "on the ground" investigations that often took months, even years, in order to write the news. In addition to his radio show, he created the "Michael Corbin Coalition", which met once a month to discuss what average Americas can do to restore our eroding Constitutional Republic...and protect our national sovereignty. An insightful critic of not only the Bush Administration, but also of our many elected representatives who continue to ignore their oath to support our Constitution, Michael informed and educated his listeners as our human and civil rights were, and continue to be violated by our own government.

The Libertarian Party of Colorado knew and respected Michael as a powerful voice for freedom. He will be missed.

Donations can be made to the Michael Corbin Memorial Fund at any First Bank.

Thanks to blog commenter Indira Singh who directs us to the following site for to those who would like to leave a note of remembrance:

http://rememberingmichael.wordpress.com

Detective does a spectacularly poor job and arrests wrong woman

The wife and mom with no criminal record got hauled off to jail for five days for attacking and robbing a man she never met.

Denver since has cleared Four Horn in a case of mistaken identity resulting from stunningly sloppy police work.

In March 2006, a Denver man told police he was attacked and robbed by his girlfriend, Christin (with no "a" at the end) Fourhorn (with a lowercase "h"), with whom he had been living for three weeks. She was described as 26 years old, weighing 160 pounds, having lived in Oklahoma and with a tattoo of her daughter on her left arm.

Detective Mark Dalvit searched Colorado's motor vehicle database and came across Christina Four Horn.

He then reported that the victim identified her — using her name and date of birth — as the "girlfriend/suspect" who attacked him. That false information was used to secure an arrest warrant.

Never mind that Four Horn spells her name differently.

Never mind that she is seven years older and weighs 90 pounds more.

And never mind she never lived in Oklahoma and has no tattoo on her arm.

Had Dalvit checked out those discrepancies — or showed FourHorn's photo to the victim, or even contacted FourHorn herself — it would have been clear he had the wrong woman.

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_8631394

I feel extremely sorry for this lady, the detective here was severely negligent. I think I would be fired for messing up so royally at my work. I don’t expect anything to happen to this “detective” and no possible punishment was mentioned in the article. You may think this problem is a fluke, but it is a structural problem in the government and the police specifically, as there is almost no accountability for mistakes. If this lady were to sue, the officers and the judge responsible for her false arrest and imprisonment would not suffer, if she wins a verdict it will come from the taxpayer’s purse and not the responsible parties. There isn't any negative financial feedback. If this were a private company, the companies stock might drop, they may be liable for damages, they would most definitely fire the employees responsible for the mistake and there would be a higher level of accountability all the way around. In this the police are likely to claim that they need more money in order to correct these problems, and will basically be rewarded for failing.

City bungles convention park permits

Several applicants for the coveted Civic Center park discovered that their names had been omitted from a pile of cards that were to be drawn from a clear, plastic lottery box. Another applicant for another park was awarded a permit for a day he hadn't requested.

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_8618719

When I first saw this headline, the first thing to cross my mind was “well, what do you expect?”.