Aspen president and CEO Walter Isaacson is being interviewed about media new and old Sunday night at the Thunder River Theatre by "Con Games" host Michael Conniff. "How can we possibly get out of this disasterous state of media, Mr. Isaacson?" asks Silbi Stainton in this Facebook thread. "Can corporate-owned media produce real news? Can govt.- subsidized media? Can philanthropists save it or will they have an angle they insist is inserted? I us...ed to mock BBC for being owned by govt. but how anyone can really watch/read any major news outlet in the U.S. owned by profit-driven people who are in a race to the bottom of the barrel to appeal to fear in humans is beyond me. Is there any hope to real news ever being reported by a major American journal?"
Aspen Institute CEO Walter Issacson will be interviewed by "Con Games" host Michael Conniff on the past and future of the media at Thunder River Theatre in Carbondale Sunday at 7:30 PM.
"One store was burglarized and two others were broken into before dawn Sunday in downtown Carbondale, the owners said Sunday," reports Veronica Whitney. "One of them, Deportes Jennys on Main Street, lost about $6,000 in stolen merchandise...."
Posts filed under 'Carbondale'
Carbondale, Colo. (Aug. 18,2010) — Slow Food Roaring Fork/Aspen and Chef/Owner Mark Fischer of Restaurant SIX89 are sponsoring the Seventh Annual Summer Harvest Social on Monday, Sept. 13 at 689 Main Street in Carbondale Colo. The evening, a benefit for Slow Food Roaring Fork, features a lineup of Colorado’s best chefs, with each preparing a course highlighting and inspired by local ingredients.
Continue Reading August 25th, 2010
Aspen, CO, August 2, 2010–– The Studio for Arts + Works (SAW) will feature a First Friday benefit for Flash Bell and Anderson Ranch Art Center’s student scholarships. Flash Bell, one of the studio dogs at SAW, was recently hit by a car. Some of SAW’s friends have generously donated works to a group show called “Flash Drive.” A portion of the evening’s proceeds will go to Flash’s veterinary bills. Other proceeds will be donated to Anderson Ranch’s scholarship funds. Artists featured at “Flash Drive” will include: James Surls, Mark Cesark, Rick Parsons, Brad Reed Nelson, Doug Casebeer, John Hitchcock, Jason Schneider, Erin Dinsmoor, Elizabeth Ferrel, Paul Collins, Stanley Bell, Steven Colby, Carly Rebeiz, Diane Kenney, Alleghany Meadows, Sam Harvey, K. Rynus Cesark, among others.
Continue Reading August 10th, 2010
How can we possibly get out of this disasterous state of media, Mr. Isaacson? Can corporate-owned media produce real news? Can govt.- subsidized media? Can philanthropists save it or will they have an angle they insist is inserted? I us...ed to mock BBC for being owned by govt. but how anyone can really watch/read any major news outlet in the U.S. owned by profit-driven people who are in a race to the bottom of the barrel to appeal to fear in humans is beyond me. Is there any hope to real news ever being reported by a major American journal? Interview sounds interesting, Michael.
Continue Reading August 8th, 2010
The Roaring Fork Cultural Council (RFCC) is bringing Aspen Institute President & CEO Walter Isaacson to the Thunder River Theatre in Carbondale to address questions about the future of journalism and the media:
Aspen Institute CEO Walter Isaccson interviewed by Michael Conniff
Sunday, August 8, 2010 at 7:30pm
Thunder River Theatre, Carbondale, Colorado
Continue Reading August 3rd, 2010
Last year, as one part of the mission of Common Sense Alliance, I prepared a report to the Colorado Transportation Legislation Review Committee, a group made up of state legislators charged with overseeing state transportation projects. The general perspective of the report was that the state needed to take action to protect its citizens from the complete collapse of federal oversight of transportation funding. Despite that rather gloomy assessment the report also noted that "efforts to secure remediation of this problem at the federal level will continue", and we are now back to work on that approach.
Problems with the way the Department of Transportation (DOT) is doing its job can be reported to their Office of Inspector General (OIG). Beyond that, the federal government has now set up an Integrity Committee, to whom complaints can be addressed regarding problems with the way the OIG is doing its job.
Last week, I sent the letter below to the Integrity Committee, along with a complaint* regarding both the DOT and the OIG.
Any federal elected official or candidate might find the link below to be especially interesting, as it recounts the practical and real world methods used by federal employees to avoid taking responsibility to fix problems brought to their attention. I have not attempted to contact any elected officials or candidates, as I do not have any particular connection to any of them that might cause them to take notice. If you do have the ear of a federal elected official or candidate, please feel free to pass this email along.
* http://www.entrancesolution.com/Integrity%20Complaint.htm
Dear Integrity Committee,
The enclosed complaint is being sent to you at the suggestion of Valerie T. Blyther, Investigative Research Analyst for FraudNET at the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
A central aspect of the problem being reported is the manner in which it was handled by staff of the Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General, and that appears to be your specific area of responsibility.
However, the full authority of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity & Efficiency would be better suited to respond to the broad scope of deficiencies in the oversight of federal transportation funding which is detailed in this complaint. The mission and purpose of the Council to “address integrity, economy, and effectiveness issues that transcend individual Government agencies”, and “continually identify, review, and discuss areas of weakness and vulnerability in Federal programs and operations with respect to fraud, waste, and abuse” could have been written in reaction to the situation I am reporting.
The inevitable buck passing that occurs as a result of the bureaucratic compartmentalization of responsibility and authority has been a major problem that formation of the Council is clearly intended to overcome. The more pernicious failure of accountability that I encountered has been the consistent practice by nearly every federal official contacted to avoid acknowledging or discussing any of the information with which they are presented – apparently in order to evade any responsibility to act on that information.
If the intent of the architects of your agency was to make the Integrity Committee the enforcer of personal accountability by federal employees, the power to do so will need to be extended far beyond the various IG offices.
It is somewhat surprising that your intake method does not start with the Council, who then makes a determination regarding whether to pass the information on to the Integrity Committee. Regardless, I trust the Integrity Committee is perfectly capable of forwarding this request to the full Council for action that will “transcend individual Government agencies”.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Jeffrey Evans
June 29th, 2010
KDNK Community Radio in Carbondale has hired multimedia journalist Mathew Katz. Katz is KDNK’s third full-time employee, joining Station Manager Steve Skinner and News and Public Affairs Director Conrad Wilson.
“We held some think tanks and did some pondering with community members. What emerged is that it is more important than ever for the community to have a voice and a source of in-depth local news on the radio,” said Skinner.
Continue Reading January 21st, 2010
It was in 1970 that an Aspen city council first asked the State of Colorado to hold off on the expansion of Highway 82 to four lanes so that they could study mass transit as an alternative to highway construction. Forty years later there will still be a traffic jam at the entrance to town - despite tens of millions of dollars in annual transit spending.
In 1984 a group called the “Traffic Committee”, organized by the City of Aspen, recommended a new four lane entrance to town which was later approved by Aspen voters in 1990. The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project was nearing completion, and Scott McInnis had secured a special appropriation from the state to begin construction.
What happened next, the history of why the new entrance was not completed either then or over the next 19 years up to today, is a microcosmic example of just about everything that currently doesn’t work in the governing process of the United States.
Understanding this one example of the total breakdown of our system serves as a primer for why so much cynicism exists regarding the point or purpose of participation, and provides a crystal clear example of why our country is bankrupt.
Beginning with their refusal to honor the clear outcome of that perfectly reasonable 1990 electoral decision, and continuing through the corruption of federal oversight processes designed to protect the public from waste and mismanagement, transportation planning throughout the Roaring Fork Valley is totally compromised by the original sin of the Aspen city council in 1991.
Anyone interested in the failure to reach a solution for the Entrance to Aspen, the current condition of state transportation planning - or why the United States is bankrupt - may not be surprised to learn that these subjects are closely related.
The letter below was recently sent to members of the Colorado Transportation Legislation Review Committee (TLRC). The TLRC is made up of members of the Colorado legislature, and they have the responsibility to provide, “guidance and direction” over all phases of the operation and planning of state transportation projects.
The report mentioned in the letter is available online at: http://www.entrancesolution.com/History.htm
Dear [TLRB Member],
The enclosed report is directed to your attention as a member of the Transportation Legislation Review Committee.
Though the context of the report is an analysis of the planning and funding process for one section of a Colorado state highway, the findings are significant for transportation projects throughout the state.
As you know, most major state highway and transit projects rely on federal funding, and as a consequence are subject to federal oversight and review. That oversight and review is intended to provide protections to taxpayers in all jurisdictions from waste, fraud, and mismanagement in the application of public funds.
Based on the example of the various federal processes which have failed to protect the public in the Roaring Fork Valley, and the near certainty that these failings are far more widespread, the State of Colorado needs to take action.
It is not sufficient to say that federal oversight of transportation spending has been lacking; federal oversight has collapsed to the degree that there is none.
The recommendations for your committee contained in the report are modest in relation to the magnitude of the problem. However, any increase in the awareness of the void left by federal malfeasance, and the need to fill that void with greater local and state diligence, will provide immediate benefits to the citizens of Colorado.
The TLRC can be contacted through:
Kurtis T. Morrison
Colorado Legislative Council Staff
Room 029, State Capitol
Denver, CO 80203
(303) 866-3140
kurt.morrison@state.co.us
September 14th, 2009
One of the best things about Carbondale is the extent of community involvement and cooperation. After the corporate owned Valley Journal went bust in December 2008, a collection of civic minded folks rose to the challenge of creating their own newspaper and managed to publish the first issue of the Sopris Sun in February 2009.
Every Thursday when the paper hits the newsstands, I grab a copy, get out my red pen and scour each page; circling events I’m interested in attending, and adding them to my personal calendar. Because of the Sun I’m able to keep abreast of local development projects and land conservation issues. And while reading through the articles, I frequently encounter familiar names and am prompted to call or email offering congratulations on wedding anniversaries, birthdays, new baby, new business venture, or condolences on the death of a loved one or even a pet.
Continue Reading September 1st, 2009
I hope you will join Sheri Cogley at Dos Gringos in Carbondale- Wednesday night (August 19th) at 7:30 for a free screening of Sicko, Michael Moore's documentary of our ailing healthcare system. Back when this was in the theaters, it was a depressing "must see." But now, we get to watch it in celebration of having a president who not only can pronounce salubrius, but understands the meaning of the word.
After the screening, we can join in a discussion with Sheri Cogley, our regional director of Organizing for America. She can share the details of Obama's plan, and help us find ways to act locally to make a real difference.
Please RSVP to:
Sheri Cogley
Organizing For America
Regional Field Director
970-270-8500 (c)
970-985-4459
August 18th, 2009
Berkeley chef Alice Waters’ dream of creating edible schoolyards so students can learn to grow and eat fresh organic vegetables is becoming a reality in the Roaring Fork Valley. In Carbondale, the dream is being taken even further.
Roaring Fork High School is set to become the site of the first combined Edible Schoolyard/Farm School in Colorado, which may become the model for future such projects throughout the state.
Continue Reading August 11th, 2009
Previous Posts
