Happy Mother's Day! No fair! The river guardians were just supposed to make us feel righteous, not stop anything! An update on the homeless man in Lafayette who sued the city.
Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers out there, including the ones who are moms to kids not their own!
Nederland stops granting rights to a river after they find out that the environmentalists they appointed were actually going to stop them from doing things to the river.
Hey! No fair, they were just supposed to make us feel righteous, not stop anything!
Way back in January, I wrote about Nederland appointing guardians for Boulder Creek so that it could have a voice in town policy. See the first link below to my earlier newsletter.
And the effort (now not much more than 5 months later) has been called off by the Nederland Town Board after they claim, quoting the Sun article linked second below, they were "misled" by the group they granted guardianship to.
At issue here? Apparently the group, rather than stopping other people from doing things with the creek, had the audacity to try and stop Nederland from doing things with the creek!
The nerve!
Apparently the environmentalists Nederland appointed are using lawsuits against the very people appointed to them. I'm reminded here (see the screenshot) of the story of the old woman and the snake.
I say that because of the (lengthy) quote from the Sun article giving the guardians' side of things:
"Besides, he [Save the World’s Rivers leader Gary Wockner] added, Nederland leaders should not pretend to be surprised that his group opposes a dam. That’s what Save the World’s Rivers and its predecessor groups have been doing for decades, questioning costs and environmental damage, filing objections and doggedly litigating lawsuits against dams and other river diversions. 'If I was concealing and tricking towns, I am a pathetic trickster,' Wockner said. Nederland should stick to the original principles of the rights of nature idea by giving up any dam in favor of more water conservation, limiting growth or other policies, Wockner said. 'By protecting the creek and focusing on alternatives, the town could save 10 years of permits, millions of dollars of expenses, and a huge controversy,' he said."
Sometimes the tragedy of life is that we get what we wished for. Shame on you (and me) for laughing.
https://coloradosun.com/2024/05/09/nederland-rights-of-nature-dam-reservoir-repeal/
An update on the homeless man in Lafayette who sued the city.
I posted a long time back (8/23 -- see the link to the previous newsletter first below) about a homeless man in Lafayette who'd sued the city claiming that the city was required to offer him and his son shelter.
The Sun article below is an update to that story with the gentleman's suit getting dismissed (apparently over a technicality, not on the merits).
I will leave it to you to update yourself with the article, but one of the things that struck me in reading was that having a bed to sleep in was only one of likely many issues this man faced.
It was also noteworthy to me (in keeping with what I wrote in August) that his son was now living in Missouri with his (the son's) mother. I hope that his mother's situation is a little more stable and that the young man is able to better finish his high school education (or get his GED).
https://open.substack.com/pub/coloradoaccountabilityproject/p/asking-what-the-reporter-didnt-and?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
https://coloradosun.com/2024/05/07/lafayette-homeless-father-shelter-supreme-court-camping-ban/