If the Hickenloopers, soon to be Colorado’s First Family, would rather live in their Park Hill home than the Governor’s Mansion, we’re guessing most Coloradans would understand. Given the poor reviews the two most recent governors have given mansion life with their young families, the Hickenloopers are smart to think twice about moving in to the palatial pad.
The job of governor is marked by long hours, evening events, travel and chicken dinners from Basalt to Bennett. It’s a stressful job, and it can be made even more stressful if the family isn’t happy or comfortable. The Ritters lost the security blanket of their old neighborhood, where families knew and leaned on each other, when they moved in to the mansion.
The Owenses were so rooted in their Aurora neighborhood they never fully felt comfortable in the residence, and stayed almost exclusively in their suburban home. The governor-elect, who has an 8-year-old son, often mentions the many young kids who live on their block. If they choose not to live in the mansion, it still will be used often for hosting events and dinners. It will remain the people’s house. But why add stress to an already stressful job?
A TD for RTD? It’s hard to know when it might be safe for RTD to ask voters for another tax hike to finish FasTracks, given the poor economy and voter concerns with government spending. However, we have long thought it was a good idea for RTD to ask voters to extend the .01 sales tax that’s now paying off bonds for Invesco Field at Mile High to help pay for the ambitious transit plan. That football stadium tax is set to expire Jan. 1, 2012. Metro area leaders began uniting behind the idea of extending it this past week. While it’s not enough to complete FasTracks on time, it would add about $38 million a year to the project without raising the existing tax rate. RTD then could ask for a smaller tax hike to help finish FasTracks in a more timely manner.
Have you met my service dog Spike? Denver’s City council rightly thumbed its nose at the Obama administration this past week when it rejected a measure to exempt pit bulls classified as service animals from the city’s ban on the breed. Even though supporters of the exemption say the city’s move defies the Americans with Disabilities Act and may not stand up in court, we think the Obama administration’s regulations that force cities to allow pit bulls as service animals trample on local control. The exemption blows a hole in the city’s 1989 pit-bull ban. Language in the ADA actually prevents officers from demanding proof that a dog is a service animal. So, suddenly, every pit bull could become a “service animal.”
And a tip of our cap to . . . Everyone who donated on Colorado Gives Day. The goal was to raise $1 million in 24 hours for Colorado charities, but generous Coloradans actually gave $5 million in just 16 hours.
Short Takes is compiled by Denver Post editorial writers and expresses the view of the newspaper’s editorial board.
