Greeley City Council Invites Residents to “Speak Up” on Budget Priorities tonight, 6pm February 22nd 2011, at Jackson Elementary.

The first 50 attendees will be given an electronic device that will allow them to be able to anonymously give their opinion on a series of powerpoint slides on budget issues.

As I write this there is a young lady at the downtown Greeley Safeway collecting signatures for a petition to sell regular beer in grocery stores. She was in a Safeway uniform, so I can only assume that the Safeway corporation is paying it’s employees to collect signatures to pass laws that favor them in the State of Colorado.

If there are changes made to the petition laws in this State as has been much discussed, I think this should be one of them. I like the petition system, but I don’t think out of state corporations should be able to pay employees to collect the signatures. I hope this effort fails, and I may have to go shop and another store for a while.

The UNC Mirror posted this pro-abortion opinion piece on their website this morning

Once again, the legal system has proven to be successful when handling the delicate subject of abortion. Although there are some people who believe their opinion is being slammed by the iron fist of biased left-wing dominance, the fact remains that abortion is still a human right. Pro-life advocates proposed an amendment Thursday to a ballot in the upcoming November election to change the language of an amendment in the Colorado voter’s “blue book” guide. The guide is an informational pamphlet that gives voters a briefing of the ballots. The judge who reviewed the proposal denied the revision.

The Greeley Tribune posted a poll asking visitors how they would rate the outgoing Mayor and City Council. Ed Clark and company didn’t rate so well with almost 40% of respondents giving them an ‘F’.

Feel free to share your thoughts on the Mayor and Council’s performance.

In a 6-2 vote Tuesday, the Loveland City Council decided to offer Crop Production Services $300,000 for executing a lease for office space at Centerra. Crop Production Services is currently located in Greeley and employs 250 people.

The money comes out of the City Council Economic Development Incentive Fund. The fund, allocated $350,000 annually, is meant for primary employers — those that export more than 50 percent of their goods and services outside of Larimer County — that pay average wages 150 percent higher than the county average. CPS’ average annual wage is 160 percent of the county’s average annual wage.

Colorado State University professor and regional economist Martin Shields indicated the company would bring Loveland a net fiscal impact of up to $600,000 during the next five years, assuming the company adds 100 new positions. The number of positions was determined using information from the site selector, the company, CSU and the Northern Colorado Economic Development Corp.

Greely City Council Application for Ward IV is now available on the city’s website. This is an application to be appointed to the seat resigned by Pam Shaddock.

To be eligible for the seat, based on the application, the following critera must be met.

• Citizen of the United States
• At least 21 years of age
• Hold no other elective office
• Resident of the City of Greeley for 1 year or more
• Resident of Ward IV for at least 90 days
• No felony convictions

Don’t know if you live in Ward IV. A map of the city voting wards is available here. Ward IV is roughly north of 10th st and west of 23rd Ave.

After 5 years on the Greeley City Council, Pam Shaddock is leaving to work for Senator Mark Udall.

Shaddock will be Udall’s northeastern Colorado regional representative. Her resignation will be effective Friday.

The City Council will be accepting applications for a replacement, which will be available at City Hall and from the city’s website www.greeleygov.com.

For only the 3rd time in 20 years a Greeley Judge has denied a liquor license.

Cheba Hut “Toasted” Subs shop, a marajuana themed sandwich shop, has been denied a liquor license by Greeley Judge Robert Frick.

Frick’s major concern seems to be wuth the theme of the restaurant, as well as 2 DUI convictions of a manager that won’t be working in Greeley.

“While mere suspicion that there might be future problems with illegal activity is not reason alone to deny a liquor license, allowing a business of this nature to sell and/or serve alcoholic beverages is not a reasonable requirement of the neighborhood,” Frick wrote. “This restaurant is founded upon the principles and theme of the illegal drug marijuana and incorporates other illegal controlled substance related themes.”

In an interview on KFKA, Greeley Mayor Ed Clark blasted the Greeley Tribune.

“I love this town, and I only want the best for Greeley, and, uh, I only want the worst for the Tribune. I hope they fold,” Clark said

Greeley Mayor Ed Clark seems to still be dealing with his actions on June 23. Tim Stitt, the father of the teen who was involved in a citizen arrest with the mayor has sent a letter with a claim notice to Clark and the City indicating he intends to sue and wants $500,000 in damages.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Greeley residents won’t be happy if Clark’s rash actions cost the city half a million dollars.