Contemporary Issues class was a great help

I felt like this was a very informative and overall productive class. I had zero experience with creating and writing in a blog. It was a lot easier to create than presumed and despite my numerous technology blunders, I feel confident that I would be able to create a future blog, if needed. 

I also really liked the feature story assignments this semester it gave me some really great experience in writing a story that needs multiple in-depth interviews. It was also really great that Contemporary Issues was such a small class, with serious journalism students.

Initially I was worried about covering political issues, but the student presentations and the text helped me gain needed information for covering these types of stories. And how perfect that this class took place during the election, it was a really exciting story to cover and interesting especially to talk to people with different perspectives on the Presidential election and Amendment 64. I got to talk to a lot of interesting people who had some strong opinions about marijuana usage.

Through this class I’ve developed a better eye and ear for newsworthy stories. I’m looking forward to JMC 410.

Proposed budget for 2013 compares positivley to previous years

 

City Council examined the proposed budget for the year of 2013 Tuesday, during a meeting. The proposed budget is estimated to cost 288,068,861 dollars. In comparison to recent years Deputy of Finance, Lezile Philip believes that economically the budget is looking up.

 “The budget is going in a positive direction. Sales tax is gaining revenue and it seems like the budget has room to provide more people with raises. There are also a lot more construction projects and I think this is a good thing,” Philip said.

Indeed money for repairing roads and bridges is aptly included in the 2013 budget. An estimated 7,688,692 dollars is proposed to go towards street and bridge maintenance. Council member Mike Finn noted during the meeting that the budget had appropriately increased from the last year.

“ I think it’s justified and I agree,” Finn said of the budget’s increases in comparison to previous years.

Council members also discussed the project plans of several new business facilities, which seem to give the economic growth a positive outlook. Regarding the cities necessities the proposed budget appears to be making an effort to finance an array of enterprises.

“ We have an obligation to be looking in all directions,” said Council Member Sapienza.

Fighting for Women's Justice Worldwide

 

 

Kathy Sawfford has worked hard to improve the status of women worldwide and provide a safe haven for women who have been the victims of violence; this Tuesday Swafford’s hard work and honorable character were awarded at city council. The award presented by city council member John Gates was a commemoration to Swafford for being of service to victims of crime. Swafford is the director for Fort Collins Zonta Club International a worldwide organization that seeks to protect and provide resources for women as well as raise awareness about gender violence. The Zonta Clubs of District 12 donates money to projects contributing to women’s well being and meets regularly to create new projects. The Zonta organization has over 30,000 members and 1200 clubs in 65 countries.

Swafford says that she was honored to win the award and would remain committed to her cause.

“ It’ important to increase awareness about gender violence,” said Swafford as she accepted her award in front of city council members.

“Zonta is here to create activism and awareness about these issues,” Swafford said.

            Zonta comes from a Lakota Sioux Indian word meaning honest and trustworthy. The international club has donated over 11 million in funds to projects to better women all over the world. Swafford is only one of its members to prove the integrity of the organization.

Election Night: Multiple Places, Multiple Perspectives

 

 

The University Center 3:00pm

The chatter of students builds as a long line grows before the UC ballroom. Students in line search for black pens to fill out signature cards. Exiting the ballrooms students proudly display “I voted stickers” as a photographer for the Mirror takes their picture.

Chippers Lane Bowling Alley 6:00pm - 7:00 pm

Hours before the results of the election are in and Chippers Lanes has now changed two of their 12 TVs’ to news channels. Asides from that, nothing seems to reflect that it is indeed Election Day. A family of four takes turns rolling a blue bowling ball down greased wooden lanes.

The ball collides with the wood floor and veers off. Gutter ball. A couple of lanes over in a button up black shirt an associate of Chippers Lanes pushes a giant cleaning mechanism in a trained method, across the floor boards. The TVs above the family and the hunched worker flash the progressing election. The sound is off.

“Watch out dude!” shouts the associate to children passing by. He finishes greasing the lanes and hoists a tangle of yellow wire over his shoulder then starts off in the direction of the bar, where the Big Bang Theory plays on a flat screen.

Behind the check in counter Tracey Hillesand sprays the inside of bowling shoes with a disinfectant spray. Hillesand is studying business management at the AIMS she has been working at Chippers for the past four months. Although she is at work, Hillesand still hopes to find out the results of the election as soon as possible.

“ I’m following the election. I’m the one who changed the channel,” said Hillesand.

 It looks like a group of men in red shirts are meeting for a bowling tournament, they’ve gathered at a table and are talking loudly over beers.

 

Michener Library 7:00- 8:30 pm

In the Michener library, David Yerkman a junior communications major is scrolling through his emails, though pausing to check PBS.  Yerkman says that he is excited about this election and has been following it closely.

“This is the first election I’ve been able to vote for. I voted for Obama and I’m really excited to see the outcome,” Yerkman said.

Concerning issues Yerkman said that he was particularly interested in Amendment 64. He voted yes to legalize marijuana.

“ I voted yes, because I think it will have a positive economical impact. I didn’t vote for it because of its recreational use,” Yerkman said.

             It’s 9:10 pm and a watch party on 6^th Ave and 19^th Street is underway. Students are eating homemade tacos and watching the election progress on a laptop. PBS news announces that Obama has just won California.

“This is going to be a really close race,” says Jill Kappel a UNC alumna. Kappel is hoping Romney wins the election.

            “ If Obama wins I don’t think I would feel the effects instantly, but I agree more with Romney’s economic plan. If Obama wins I think I will be feeling the financial effects when I look to retire,” Kappel said.

                        When Obama wins Ohio Julya Brown shouts a gleeful, “Woo!”

            “If Romney wins it won’t be the end of the world. But I would be very disappointed,” says Brown a sophomore nutrition major.

             By 10:00 pm  Obama has over 270 electoral college votes and Romney 203. Many students expressed joyful sentiment. At the watch party on 6^th Ave students opened the door to the apartment and shouted out “woo hoo!” Read my blog.

Windy Gap Project Introduced

A new reservoir could meet water demands that have increased drastically in the last 50 years. Chimney Hollow is an initiative that if completed will stand just West of Carter Lake.
 City Council recently voted to discuss this matter.

The reservoir’s importance was emphasized in an interview with City Manager Roy Otto:

 “Demands for water are over and above ( previous years), the reservoir would also help us get better use of our shares. Chimney Hollow would also supply Greeley and ten other Colorado cities with water,”Otto said.

Indeed, according to the City of Greeley’s official webpage for the project, water demand has increased fivefold in the past 50 years, with a sustained growth rate of 2.9 percent over half a century.

The project is being sponsored by Jon Monson, Director of Water and Sewer, and recently has made progress in obtaining a Final Environmental Impact Statement. Still, the project faces a few legal adversaries.
UNC alumna Jill Kappel commented on the project. 

“I think it’s the duty of the Greeley Water District to supply the city with water for long term,"  Kappel said. "But I imagine that there are still a lot of issues to get past in building a 90,000 acre reservoir."

 Getting Started

     Hi, my name is Kelsey Hammon. This blog is an assignment for my Reporting Contemporary Issues journalism class. The project is to follow and write about contemporary issues in Greeley Colo., as well as cover some of the events surrounding the presidential election. I will be attending Greeley City Council meetings and writing about the issues presented there.

      This election is going to be really exciting to cover. There are a lot of issues that will be really interesting to delve into. As for the Greeley City Council meetings, I look forward to learning more about local politics and getting a chance to talk with the members of City Council. Overall, I think that this will be both an informative and interesting assignment. I've never written a blog before, but I really enjoy writing. Unlike other assignments, blogging is accessible to anyone, so I'm nervous about the possibility of errors in my work and people reading them.