The $4.7 billion commuter rail project that Denver area voters approved in 2004 continues to see unprecedented cost increases.  The severely mismanaged project now is forecast to cost taxpayers $7.8 billion, $968.3 million more than the previous estimate.

The Annual Program Evaluation (APE) presented to the RTD Board of Directors this week continues to highlight the failures of the FasTracks program dating back to its conception.  The costs for the project were severely underestimated – many times – and mismanagement has become engrained in the boondoggle.

It was less than one year ago that the 2011 APE painted a dire picture of a project drowning in red ink.  The latest APE tacks on an additional $968.3 million to the cost of the project reflecting more than a 60% increase in what taxpayers were told it would cost originally.

Despite RTD’s promises in recent years to get their cost estimates right, this report shows they still haven’t figured out their math.  It is up in the air as to whether they are incapable of providing accurate estimates or simply too incompetent (I think the latter).

RTD blames the bulk of the latest cost increase (85% of it) on various issues related to the Northwest Rail corridor to Boulder and Longmont.  In a familiar refrain, the district says that as it completes its planning for the corridor, it realizes it is going to cost more.

This should serve as a warning to taxpayers that when RTD moves on to the North Metro corridor and others, cost estimates will certainly increase even further.  Taxpayers were promised something that RTD cannot deliver.

Of particular note is this from the presentation: “These costs assume a successful sales and use tax election in 2012, with Northwest Rail completed by 2024, and all other projects completed by 2020.”

In other words, the only way the boondoggle gets done in a reasonable amount of time is if voters agree in November to take it in the shorts and approve a massive doubling of the tax we are already paying for FasTracks.  The RTD Board will decide whether or not to put the issue on the ballot but the passage of such a measure is far from assured.

RTD’s track record of failing to deliver on its promises and its repeated shortchanging of taxpayers is sure to hurt it.

Adams County voters were the only ones to reject the original TaxTracks measure.  The North Metro line continues to see not only increased costs associated with it, but also cuts in the service that were originally proposed.  This would not seem to bode well for RTD to get the county’s voters to view the program favorably.

Also of big concern for RTD are the recent revelations regarding the Northwest Rail Line.  Cost is of course an issue but what should make Broomfield and Boulder County residents concerned is RTD’s latest idea of cutting rail service to the area entirely to eliminate those cost increases.

Under one proposal the RTD Board is considering, they would, “Remove Northwest Rail Line from the FasTracks program, and replace the commuter rail with expanded BRT [Bus Rapid Transit] in the service area.”

It is interesting to note that RTD says, “BRT would provide more peak and off-peak service than could be provided by the rail.”

So then why the heck are we building rail at all?

Critics of the FasTracks program have said from the start that BRT would have been a better solution across all of the corridors.  BRT provide better, more flexible service and costs less to implement and maintain.

RTD and taxpayers instead have become infatuated with the idea of bright, shiny trains riding the rails despite the fact they don’t do the job as well as BRT and cost far more (especially when someone as incompetent as RTD is running the show).

Boulder Councilwoman KC Becker told the Daily Camera recently, “I look at this and I think, ‘Oh my gosh, we’re just hosed’”

Welcome to the club, Becker.

On the net: 

• Denver Business Journal: Latest construction cost estimate for FasTracks: $7.8 billion

Dueling bills backed by President Barack Obama, Senator Harry Reid and others would lead to Internet censorship at the whim of the entertainment industry, the government and judges.  To protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA), Tony’s Rants will join thousands of other websites and ‘go dark’ on January 18.

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) is sponsoring PIPA in the Senate and Congressman Lamar Smith (R-TX) is carrying SOPA in the House of Representatives.  The bills are backed by Hollywood and big media ostensibly as a way to stop online piracy and protect copyrights.  They are however bad ideas that could lead to the censorship of websites like Tony’s Rants.

These ineffective and shortsighted bills would place undue burdens on websites and Internet providers.  Any company with an intellectual copyright claim could for example force Google to remove links to an accused site, prevent credit card companies from processing payments to the accused site, and much more.  This could all be done without any legal proceedings at all.

Tony’s Rants takes great care to respect and honor other’s property in written, audio or visual form and we are proud of our efforts to never take liberty with someone else’s hard work.  However, under SOPA / PIPA, our site could be brought down simply if someone posted a comment that contained copyrighted text or linked to a site that hosted copyrighted material.

This simply is unacceptable.  Tony’s Rants will be joining other sites like Wikipedia, Tucows, and Reddit in the blackout to take place tomorrow.

Please watch the video below for more information and contact your Senators and Congressman and urge them to vote against SOPA / PIPA.  You can also learn more about the dangers of SOPA / PIPA via this infographic and at the links below the video.

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

Watch the video · American Censorship page · View the Infographic
Read SOPA on OpenCongress · Read PIPA on OpenCongress

The first conviction in one of many scandals to rock Adams County in recent years has yielded stunning results.  Dennis Coen, former vice president of Quality Paving, has been found guilty of 62 felonies.

Coen was complicit in a scheme carried out by his employees and Adams County staff that bilked taxpayers out of millions of dollars for work that was never performed.  He will now have a criminal record with 21 counts of forgery, 20 counts of theft, 19 counts of conspiracy to commit theft and two counts of attempting to influence a public servant.

One county employee and a former Quality Paving employee have taken plea deals in the investigation.  Former Adams County public works director Lee Assay and construction manager Sam Gomez are next on the docket and face charges similar to Coen.  Currently on trial is the former owner of Quality Paving, Jerry Rhea.

The scandal has reached the highest levels of county government where the Board of Commissioners approved many of the no-bid contracts that lined the pockets of Quality Paving management and employees.

Adams County Commissioner Alice Nichol is herself a key figure as it was revealed that Quality Paving had resurfaced the driveway at her home, a fact she failed to disclose to investigators.  A special prosecutor is currently delving into her exact role while many of her other questionable dealings have come to light.

The conviction of Coen is certainly notable but it is only one step in rooting out the corruption in Adams County government.  Elected officials and county employees need to continue to be held accountable for their actions.

• Denver Post: Ex-executive of Quality Paving guilty of 62 felonies

Adams County Commissioner Skip Fischer announced this week that he will not seek reelection for a third term.   One of two commissioners now on the board with ties to the county’s scandalous history, Fischer saw the writing on the wall and will slip into history rather than go down in defeat in November.

As a commissioner representing the county’s District 1, Fischer did manage to avoid many of the scandals that plagued current commissioner Alice Nichol and former commissioner Larry Pace.  Fischer however was intimately involved and voted on many questionable deals that have come to light.

The list of scandals that have disgraced the county in recent years is long and not-so distinguished.  While Nichol and Pace were truly the bad seeds on the board, Fischer found himself caught in the middle.

Fischer was aware of what was going on and he certainly was complicit, casting votes without dissention on many key issues like the no bid contracts received by Quality Paving.  However it is our impression that he wanted to do the right thing but simply did not know how to or did not have the guts to take a stand.

Following on Pace’s loss in November 2010, Erik Hansen assumed a seat on the dais and has been working on pushing through reforms to clean up county government.  The moves are commendable but have been slow to take shape and not as extensive as what they should be – likely due to the old guard Fischer and Nichol still maintaining control.

Fischer’s exit opens the door for Adams Count y voters to continue the process of cleaning up the mess in Brighton and install politicians that are worthy of the office.  Voters will need to be wary of who they cast their vote for as they are plenty of members of the Adams Family waiting in the wings to take Fischer’s place and this cannot be allowed.

Will Alice run?

There has not been any official word as to whether or not disgraced Commissioner Alice Nichol will seek reelection.  The rumor mill has it that she is seriously considering running, apparently thinking that Adams County voters are stupid enough to return the ethically challenged commissioner to office.

Challengers are already lining up to knock Nichol off should she decide to seek a third term.  Hanging over her head as well is an investigation being conducted by the Jefferson County District Attorney’s office into her dealings.

The outcome of the investigation matters little as Nichol’s role has been well documented.  She would do well to step aside and save voters the trouble of kicking her butt out.

With apparently nothing better to do Thornton City Council once again appears set to continue the ‘Boulderization’ of the city.  Its latest efforts revolve around bringing agriculture into a wholly suburban environment and catering to a few residents while impacting everyone.

‘Urban farming’ is a trendy way for yuppie city dwellers to get back to their agricultural roots without having to give up their iPhones, DVRs and shopping malls.  It allows them to foist their greenie ways on the rest of us, get their hands a little bit dirty and feel good about themselves while making the rest of their neighbors suffer.

Thornton considered three aspects of this latest trend including backyard chickens, farming and beekeeping.

Mercifully, after wasting city staff time and taxpayer money, the idea of allowing chickens to be raised in urban backyards died.   Still in the works are the annoyances of tractors and bees in our neighborhoods, issues which create a whole slew of unenforceable regulations and make life miserable for residents.

The issues have been discussed extensively and are likely heading for a public hearing soon.

• On the net: City of Thornton Council Update, Sustainability Options: Bees

On the surface these moves toward so-called “sustainability” seem admirable.  However they all cater to a very small part of the population while impacting many more negatively.  That fact alone should have council dismissing these issues out of turn.

In the case of the beekeeping issue, council and staff tried to head off many concerns in the proposed ordinance.  They however fail to understand that you are bringing a rural and agricultural endeavor into suburbia and the two do not mix.

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The City of Thornton has offered to help Adams 12 Five Star Schools with its budget mess by taking over some of the expenses associated with middle school sports.  The city’s generosity however gives rise to bigger questions as to whether or not it is the city’s responsibility to provide the district a bailout.

Middle school sports fell to the budget ax this school year as Adams 12 was forced to make tough choices.  While athletics can be important in developing youth, real education takes place in the classroom so it was a logical decision.

Adams 12 has been the recipient of taxpayer generosity many times in recent history including voter approved tax increases in 2000, 2004 and 2008.  We have also allowed the district to increase their debt tremendously which now stands in excess of a whopping $340 million.

Moody’s Investors Services noted just last month Adams 12′s level of debt was ‘above average’ for a school district.  The figure is in fact one of the highest debt levels of any district in the state.  Are there alarms going off in anyone’s head?

If Adams 12 had been good stewards of taxpayer funds perhaps the evaluation of the issue might be different but it has not.  There isn’t a parent or teacher in the district that couldn’t point to waste at the top heavy school district.

Proper planning would have allowed the district to weather the economic storm – just like Thornton has – but they failed to do so.  Adams 12 got themselves into their financial mess and transferring their obligations to municipalities should not be allowed.

There is more to this story – Click here to read it »

As 2011 comes to a close we are thankful for the great gift God bestowed upon mankind in his son, Jesus Christ, our Savior.  While it has been a rough year to say the least for us, we are consoled by the fact that he has blessed us and continues to keep watch over us.

Today, with a heavy heart, we remember those we have lost this past year.  It won’t be the same without them.

We also say a special prayer for those not home for Christmas.  We are very proud of the brave men and women who will be separated from their loved ones during the holidays and we thank them for their service.

God bless you all and Merry Christmas.

Our Friday funny covers one of the hottest topics these days in Denver:  Tim Tebow.  Love him or hate him, Tebow has become a lightning rod on and off the field.  While I continue to ride the middle of the road in my opinion of Tebow.  He certainly is a compelling figure and thus far, a winner.

The joke below has been circulating via email lately and I feel comfortable sharing this since I am both a Broncos fan and a Catholic. 

Tim Tebow asks for an audience with the Pope, who grants it. Tebow flies to Rome and the Pope gives him a tour of the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, everything. But it’s Sunday morning and now the Pope needs to deliver Mass to the 50,000 people waiting in St. Peter’s Square below his window. “Come with me to the window and see for yourself,” the Pope says. The two of them go to the window. Down below, an Italian guy says to his buddy, “Hey, who’s the guy in the pointy hat next to Tebow?”

President Barack Obama and the mainstream media like nothing better than to vilify business and dote over the Occupy Wall Street protestors and their attempts to save us from the evils of capitalism.  However, a new poll shows that Americans are far more concerned about their own government than they are business.

The poll released by Gallup this week shows that fear of big government is approaching record setting levels as 64% of Americans view it as “the biggest threat to the country in the future.”

Problematic for Obama is the fact that our fears of the government have done nothing but grow since he took office – from 55% to today’s 64%, a near record setting level.  His main theme of a government nanny state is the opposite of what we the people want.

Further, the biggest jump came not from Republicans as you might expect.  Democrats’ fear of big government grew by and far the largest as it skyrocketed from 32% in 2009 to 48% today.  That is a massive rise that serves as a repudiation of the president’s vision of big government leading us to salvation.

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Republicans saw slight increases from 80% to 82%.  The crucial independents saw significant increases in their fears of government from 59% to 64% since 2009.

Certainly one would think that with the president’s attempt to slap down job creators and all the attention OWS protestors receive would have made people scared of businesses.  That however is not the case.  The poll shows that Americans fear business less today than since George W Bush took office.

Perhaps the President and the leftists in Congress should take note of this poll and understand what the biggest impediment is to putting the country on the course to recovery.  It is not business.  It is government.

We don’t want to be saved from ourselves.  We don’t want to be saved from big business.  What Americans do want is for government to get the hell out of the way and stay out of their lives.  Are you listening Washington DC?

The executive producer of CBS’ Hawaii Five-O issued a statement about their disrespect of veterans last week in Hawaii that was less than heartfelt and called accounts of the event false.  Rightfully so, the non-profit organization that escorted the World War II veterans to Hawaii is saying that far more needs to be done.

While the statement  is in theory an apology, it hardly comes across as one and in fact calls those who witnessed the crew’s actions liars.

Executive Producer Peter Lenkov disputes the fact that the cast and crew ignored the playing of the National Anthem and Taps.  However, their actions and callous disregard were witnessed by TGGF volunteers as well as the Pearl Harbor survivors that were there to pay their respects to their fallen comrades.

In the end, this comes across as a half-hearted, patronizing attempt to quell the furor and pacify those who are rightfully upset at the treatment by the Hawaii Five-O production team.

Timothy Davis, founder of TGGF, says the “apology” doesn’t go far enough.

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