In a more stable economy, we might find it garish to wrap light-rail cars in ads. But good taste has its price, and it happens to be $3.3 million. Why on earth would cash-strapped RTD turn down the possibility of getting an extra $3.3 million over three years by allowing for full advertising wraps of its light-rail cars? It’s not as if rail lines are in some pristine natural area unspoiled by commercialization. RTD ought to reconsider, and once fiscal times are less dire, the agency could decline to renew the contracts.
Lending his oil buddies a hand up. Just days before the Bush administration packed up and left Washington, the terms of oil shale leases in Colorado and Utah were revised and made more favorable to energy companies. The maneuver didn’t go unnoticed by U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who knows quite a bit about oil shale leasing from his experience in Colorado government, including directing the state Department of Natural Resources. We’re glad to see Salazar ordered an investigation into the last-minute lease revisions.
Gamble — it’s for the kids. Excessive casino gambling might cause a few divorces, but apparently it helps reduce the amount of unpaid child support, too. State law requires casinos to check whether big winners owe back child support. Casinos have scooped up more than $600,000 for kids whose parents haven’t kept up with payments. Jackpot! Grumbling casino operators, however, say a computer system for tracking the unpaid debt is often slow or not working. (Imagine that — state computer problems!) Colorado ought to fix the system and make it easier for the casinos to comply with the law, which seems to be working for children.
Stick to health care, Sen. Hatch. “College Game Day,” ESPN’s popular Saturday morning show, will be live from Provo, Utah, today ahead of tonight’s matchup between Brigham Young University and Texas Christian University, two top 25 football teams that also are members of the often-overlooked Mountain West Conference. Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch has been calling for the Justice Department to investigate the NCAA’s Bowl Championship Series after the University of Utah, another MWC school, went undefeated last year but didn’t play in the BCS championship. Hatch claims anti-trust issues. Today’s well-deserved spotlight shows the MWC is a rising conference that doesn’t need a congressional push into the BCS system, as unfair as that system is. It’s an NCAA problem, not a Washington problem.
These editorials were compiled by Denver Post editorial writers. They express the view of the newspaper’s editorial board.
