Thought for Today...Choose "Friends" Carefully

"Music of the Americas" - ADAMS STATE COLLEGE: March 22, 2012

Virtuoso classical guitarists, Michael Lich and Roberto Capocchi will perform a riveting concert starting at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 22, in Adam State College Leon Memorial Hall. 

The performance will feature a unique and exciting blend of original finger-style guitar music by Lich as well as Latin American and Spanish music to be performed by Capocchi. Please, join these performers for what will be an enchanting evening of music.

Lich, classical guitarist, banjo-player, arranger and composer, is an eclectic, musician who performs a wide variety of musical styles including classical, jazz and bluegrass. His performing career has taken him from Skagway, Alaska to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Seoul, South Korea to Frankfurt, Germany. He has made radio and television appearances across the country and in Brazil.

Lich taught master classes and workshops at the Escola de Musica do Espiritu Santo and Faculdade de Musica in Vitoria, Brazil; the Concertos Internacionais Banese concert series, Aracaju, Brazil; the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV, the Public Academy for the Performing Arts, Albuquerque, NM, and the Academy of Visual and Performing Arts, Culver City, CA. He has been the recipient of awards and published several works for solo guitar as well as guitar and double bass.

Lich is a faculty member at the Academy of Music and Dance and Pima Community College in Tucson, Arizona.

Capocchi, a very expressive classical guitarist with a varied color palette and wide dynamic range, captivates his audiences with an unusually beautiful tone and rare musical refinement. He combines polished technique and conscientious analysis of the music with deep artistic sense and musical emotion, and offers beautiful performances.

Capocchi has performed to critical acclaim throughout the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Canada and Belgium. He often plays and offers workshops at festivals in North and South America. He has won top prizes in competitions and has produced many albums.Capocchi is on the faculty of New Mexico Highlands University, United World College, Santa Fe University of Art and Design, New Mexico School for the Arts, and at Adams State College.   

Latest Update from Smart Valley Energy

Tri-State to “Identify Options”

Monday, March 12th, 2012

In a recent update made to the Southern Colorado Transmission website, Tri-State declared its intentions to “move forward to identify options” to improve reliability for the southern Colorado Rural Electric Co-ops (RECs) and communities.

This update comes months after Xcel, Tri-State’s partner in the project, announced that construction of a huge new $180 million transmission line over La Veta Pass was no longer in its ratepayers’ interest.

Improving reliability is an important issue for the San Luis Valley. We support Tri-State’s decision to pursue other viable options. In the past, Tri-State and others have identified numerous, viable alternatives to the project capable of improving reliability, increasing system redundancy and that are millions of dollars cheaper for the RECs and their customers.
We look forward to reviewing these options and encourage Tri-State to solicit and incorporate feedback from the communities they serve in southern Colorado and the San Luis Valley prior to finalizing any proposal.

In the meantime, we will continue our fight for better, smarter and cheaper alternatives that improve electrical system reliability in the San Luis Valley.

CLOSE ENCOUNTER - Jupiter and Venus

Venus and Jupiter and Jupiter had a VERY close encounter last night soon after Sunset. A friend sent these two (2) images he took from Virginia. 

    Left to right shows Sirius (the brightest star we can see - after the Sun),  the Constellation Orion,  the Constellation Taurus (with bright star Aldeberan), the Pleiades, and finally Jupiter and Venus (brighter).

 

     Close up of Jupiter and Venus.

Here's a link for more information about last night's event-- It will still be great viewing for the next several days.

 

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/03/120313-conjunction-venus-jupiter-sky-space-science/

HOA Property Managment Companies in State Cross-Hairs

Article by: Bill Vogrin
Posted: March 7, 2012
Colorado Springs GAZETTE

The verdict is in on whether the state should license the folks who manage homeowners associations, townhome complexes and condos and it’s a surprise.

After a four-month investigation, the Department of Regulatory Agencies has determined the state should not get into the business of regulating the 1,200 or so people who manage HOAs.

Instead, DORA believes the state should regulate the companies that employ those managers to best protect the estimated 2 million Coloradans living in HOAs, or “common-interest communities,” from harm.

“There is no shortage of horror stories related to common-interest community living,” DORA said in its 24-page report. “Regulation is justified and widely supported.”

But DORA rejected licensing individuals, as suggested by the Colorado chapter of the Community Association Institute, a property manager trade group.CAI requested the DORA investigation in November, suggesting there would be fewer complaints about the way HOAs are managed if the state licensed and imposed professional standards on the folks who enforce covenants, collect dues and hire maintenance and landscaping crews, among other manager duties.CAI’s proposal didn’t envision regulating companies and the DORA finding was a surprise to property managers and state officials alike.

“I was really surprised,” said Aaron Acker, the HOA Information Officer who fields complaints from HOA residents.

“I didn’t even think this was a possibility,” he said.

In January, Acker, delivered to lawmakers a scathing analysis of the property management industry based on complaints his office received in 2011. His report produced calls for more state oversight of the state’s 8,000-plus HOAs. Acker said the question now is whether Colorado lawmakers will act before the end of the 2012 legislative session.

“At this point, it’s a race to the Legislature if somebody wants to draft a bill,” Acker said.

“The recommendation is out there and anyone can take it and be as creative as they want with a bill.”

It's unclear what CAI intends to do next.

“Taken aback,” was the general CAI reaction, said Jan Mangum, executive director of CAI’s Southern Colorado chapter.

“We’re trying to decide where we go from here,” Mangum said.

She said CAI disagrees with the DORA findings, noting that many HOAs are managed by individuals not associated with property management companies.

"This leaves a lot of homeowners and HOAs open to mismanagement," Mangum said.

The report raises lots of questions for David Stiver owner of Team Strategy, a Colorado Springs management company since 1992.

“If you go to company licensing, could you have people without credentials working under the umbrella of the company?” he said.

“Who is going to set the standards?” Stivers said “there needs to be a cleaning up” of HOA managers but said lawmakers need to take it slow.He supports giving Acker’s office authority to police property managers and  HOA boards. Within reason.

“Right now, his office has no authority to enforce anything,” Stiver said. “Companies behaving poorly ought to be placed on notice without having to create an enormous, oversized bureaucracy.”

A Final Winter-time Laugh...

HOA Records Bill Approved - by: Debi Brazzale, Colorado News Agency

Posted: February 20, 2102

A measure seeking to ensure that homeowners have access to records held by their homeowner’s association was given preliminary approval today by the House Local Government Committee.

House Bill 1237, sponsored by Rep. Angela Williams, D-Denver, clarifies which records are public and requires HOA’S to provide those records to homeowners.
Williams said today’s unanimous support of the measure is encouraging for both homeowners and HOA’s.

“This is a win-win piece of legislation with no opposition,” said Williams. “This is good for consumers and good for homeowners associations. Homeowners have a right to the records of their homeowners associations, and this bill provides clarity, transparency and efficiency to the governance of HOAs.”

Link to Colorado House Bill 12-1237: http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics/clics2012a/csl.nsf/fsbillcont3/6DE9C7CD5EDED7D687257988007C749F?open&file=1237_01.pdf

Colorado "Casting Call" for Disney's "LONE RANGER"!

Producers of the new Disney “Lone Ranger” movie starring Johnny Depp have casting calls for “extras” coming up in Colorado. This could be your chance to appear in a big Hollywood movie.

The casting calls will happen in Durango, Alamosa and Colorado Springs at the end of March. Here are the details from producers:

There is no experience necessary

BRING a 3 x 5 current color photo. (Does NOT have to be professional.) No wigs, makeup or sunglasses in photos and please shoot it from the waist up.

BRING a pen or pencil.
You do not need to prepare for an audition, we will simply meet you, have you fill out a registration card, attach your photo and send you on your way.

You must be 18 years or older, have a social security number and valid ID. You must be legal to work in the U.S.

Though free parking is provided, please bring change for parking meters in the event that the lot is full.

If you LIVE in the Creede or Moab area and will miss our open call you may still be considered for the film. Please mail in a current color 3 x 5 photo. Please do not mail in an 8 x 10 photo unless you submit a 3 x 5 photo along with it. Photos do not have to be professional. Do not wear any wigs or makeup in your photo and shoot it from the waist up. Please include your height, weight, shirt, coat and pants size, phone numbers and email address.

Please submit by mailing it to: Sande Alessi Casting 13731 Ventura Blvd. 2nd Floor Sherman Oaks, CA 91423 Please let us know which area you live in and it’s driving distance to Creede, CO or Moab, UT.

Write the name of your city on the front of the envelope, for example Attn: Creede Local hire/Pueblo resident or Moab Local hire/Cortez resident, etc.

Casting ALL TYPES:Durango, CO Friday, March 23, 2012
Your arrival time: 2:00pm, 3:00pm,4:00pm, 5:00pm, 6:00pm
Fort Lewis College
Department Of Theater
1000 Rim Drive
Durango, CO 81301

Casting MEN ONLY:Alamosa, CO Sunday, March 25th 2012
Your arrival time: 10:00am, 11:00am, 12:00pm, 2:00pm, 3:00pm, 4:00pm
Adams State College Theater
Main Street
Alamosa, CO 81101

Casting MEN ONLY:Colorado Springs,CO Monday, March 26th 2012
Your arrival time: 3:00pm, 4:00pm, 5:00pm, or 6:00pm
Theatreworks
UCCS/University Hall
3955 Regent Circle
Colorado Springs, CO 80918

Forbes Park News: RAC Meeting Cancelled

The Roads Advisory Committee Meeting scheduled for 3/13/12 has been cancelled.

Mr. Roper...What Happened to THESE Campaign Promises????

"I would advocate a survey every other year to ascertain the membership’s desires for the direction of the park.  All expenditures and projects should be geared to the wishes of the majority of the landowner’s not pet projects of individuals."

"Decisions are made with the input of all concerned.  Once the decision is made, discussion is over and the team joins in to execute the majority decision.  No backbiting, no second guessing and no recriminations."

                                 Doug Roper, Chairman FPLOA Board of Directors