Colorado’s next governor might want to pick up one of those walking maps of Denver. Construction at the Capitol will force the chief executive into temporary quarters for much of 2008 – the year after taking office.
Rutt, Bob, Bill, Marc – this is fair warning!
The next governor will have to choose between space across the hall from the current executive suite where the policy wonks and legal hawks now reside; a perch at the attorney general’s office across the street; or at the governor’s mansion several blocks away. If those options aren’t suitable, well, the diplomatic Henry Sobanet, head of the governor’s budget office, said he’s willing to keep looking.
The $30 million “life safety” improvements now underway at the Capitol are not inconveniencing Gov. Bill Owens. The project involves bringing the century-old Capitol up to code by carving new stairwells through solid marble from the third floor to the sub-basement and installing 21st century safety features such as smoke detectors and sprinklers.
Brown taken down
One of the oldest portraits in the West Wing, and the only non-governor in the governor’s gallery of paintings, has been taken down. The image of Henry C. Brown – builder of the historic Brown Palace Hotel and donor of the land on which the Capitol stands – had been on loan for the past 20 years from the Colorado Historical Society. It’s dated 1893, framed in gold and measures 5 feet by 8 feet. Todd Topper, the society’s director of collections management, wouldn’t say why the painting was removed, except that the society constantly rotates its collection of 17 million objects from display to storage. No one at the Capitol is sure who will replace the famous Mr. Brown (no relation to Molly). Could they be making room for Gov. Owens?
AG joins fight for reporters
At a time when Deep Throat is in the news, Attorney General John Suthers has joined 34 colleagues across the country urging the U.S. Supreme Court to dismiss the subpoena of New York Times reporter Judith Miller and Time magazine’s Matthew Cooper.
The reporters are charged with contempt in an investigation into the outing of a CIA operative. They didn’t even do the outing – that was columnist Robert Novak – but they did some reporting afterward and now they’re protecting the identity of their sources. A special prosecutor and the Court of Appeals want them to spill the beans. Suthers said the right of journalists to keep sources confidential is recognized under laws in 49 states (all but Wyoming) but there is no similar recognition under federal law. That puts reporters in a “very murky position,” he said. If the Supreme Court fails to provide clarity, Suthers said he’d urge Congress to do so, “so reporters have a better idea of where they stand” if they end up in court. Suthers believes the Deep Throat revelation could prompt Congress to act, depending on how the high court rules. Deep Throat turned out to be W. Mark Felt, the No. 2 guy at the FBI, who confided to Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward during the Nixon investigation. Woodward kept his source’s confidence until Felt’s family came forward last week.
Fair can’t win
The financially strapped State Fair can’t seem to win for losing. It raised $22,000 through the state income-tax checkoff program this year, the first in which taxpayers could contribute. But the fair won’t get any of the money because the Department of Revenue takes $31,700 for processing costs the first year, Revenue’s Diane Reimer said.
Donations of $75,000 must be collected over three years or the fair will be removed from the checkoff program. Chris Wiseman, the fair’s general manager, said more aggressive advertising is planned.
Still, Wiseman said another $1.5 million is needed from the legislature to cover seven years of losses and $500,000 a year is needed to support a new five-year plan that includes shortening the fair from 16 days to 11 days starting this year, when the fair will run from Aug. 26 to Sept. 5.
Julia C. Martinez (jmartinez@denverpost.com) is a member of The Denver Post editorial board.
