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September 24 - 30, 2009
editorial@boulderweekly.com
CU hits a new high
The University of Colorado at Boulder is officially a 30-something. CU announced its fall 2009 census figures last week, and 30,196 degree-seeking students are enrolled, topping the 30,000 mark for the first time and representing an increase of 1.6 percent over last year’s previous record. The gain was achieved despite a drop in the number of new freshmen, from 5,855 in 2008 to 5,519 this year.
Of those freshmen, 58.5 percent are Colorado residents, while 42.5 percent are nonresidents. The resident freshman total represents a 5 percent increase, while the number of nonresidents decreased by 17 percent. Overall, ethnic minorities represent 15.1 percent of undergraduates, compared to 14.9 percent in 2008. Total graduate enrollment increased by 159 students to 4,788.
Zimride launches CU service
The University of Colorado at Boulder launched a new rideshare community last week called Zimride that will allow people to share rides through a private network that is expected to reduce campus traffic, parking difficulties and costs. Through its website and carpool application on Facebook, Zimride combines social networks and a proprietary route-matching algorithm to make it easy for users to share seats or find a ride. Through Zimride’s web-based interface, faculty, staff and students will be able to find others with similar daily commuting patterns or one-time-ride needs. Zimride’s system integrates with Facebook to develop trust and feedback among users. CU’s parking and transportation services and Zimride want to enroll 20 percent of the CU campus as Zimriders by the end of the school year. Students, faculty and staff can access the CU-Boulder Zimride system for free at zimride.colorado.edu to begin finding and sharing rides. Driving personal vehicles contributes to 20 percent of overall CO2 emissions, and personal transportation accounts for almost 20 percent of household expenditures on average. Zimride is the largest dedicated carpool technology company in North America, with more than 300,000 users, and it has created carpool communities for more than 25 of the nation’s most established universities.
Raffle to benefit Peace Center
The Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center (RMPJC) in Boulder is holding a raffle for a Zapino Electric Bike from Zap Works, valued at $3,500. Thanks to a gift from Tom Wilson of Small Planet E Vehicles, all proceeds will benefit RMPJC. The drawing will be at the Dec. 12 Peacemaker of the Year Award Celebration at Unity Church, at Folsom and Valmont streets in Boulder. For more information about buying or selling tickets, call the RMPJC office at 303-444-6981.
Boulder Digital Arts hits five years
Boulder Digital Arts will celebrate its fifth anniversary with “People as Pixels,” a collaborative digital art experience being held from 7 to 10 p.m. on Oct. 16 at PhotoCraft Imaging, at 2901 55th St. in Boulder. A $5 donation is requested, and all proceeds go to the Colorado Children’s Automobile Safety Foundation. The event will feature audio and video DJs, live greenscreen from Alpine A/V and raffle prizes. Complimentary beer, wine and refreshments will be served. Boulder Digital Arts is a community resource for digital artists and professionals seeking training, networking options and a variety of resources to enhance careers. More information is available at www.boulderdigitalarts.com/party, or by calling Bruce Borowsky at 303-875-0276.
Boulder city attorney to retire
Boulder City Attorney Jerry Gordon announced his retirement last week, effective Jan. 2.
“My initial retirement plans include dedicating more time to my passion for playing jazz trombone,” Gordon said, lauding the efforts of the city’s staff. “After that, I’ll see what lies ahead.”
Gordon was first hired as Boulder’s deputy city attorney in October 1997. He was appointed city attorney in February 2008, after serving as the acting city attorney in 2007. During his time with the city, Gordon worked on a variety of projects, including drafting important elements of the city’s animal protection provisions and crafting of a number of ordinances and procedures in response to unrest in the University Hill area, according to a news release. As supervisor of the city attorney’s prosecution team, he played a role in supporting the municipal court’s use of restorative justice approaches to case resolution. According to Mayor Matt Appelbaum, the Boulder City Council will have to decide how it wishes to go about finding Boulder’s next city attorney. The city attorney is one of three positions hired by council. The other two are the city manager and the municipal court judge.
Solar Week kicks off
Solar Week starts on Saturday, Sept. 26, with the Tour of Solar and Green Homes, a collection of 14 new and retrofitted homes in Boulder County. Seminars on residential energy and water conservation topics offer homeowners in-depth topical information, helping participants make improvements to their own homes. Boulder Green Building Guild’s Ask-an-Expert consultation event on Saturday, Oct. 3, rounds out the week with personalized advice to homeowners looking to make green improvements to their home or looking for advice on green builds.
Highlights of the 14th annual Center for ReSource Conservation (CRC) Tour of Solar and Green Homes include a variety of solar thermal and solar photovoltaic (including roof-integrated) installations, ground-source heating and cooling systems, many creative passive solar designs, dozens of sustainable options for interiors, a solar-powered plug-in hybrid, a home with a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) rating of -8 (on a 0 to 100 scale), a graywater recirculation system and more.
The tour starts with registration at one of two Green Products and Services Expos, either in front of the CRC building at 2639 Spruce St. in Boulder or in Louisville near the Farmer’s Market, outside the Old Louisville Inn and the Louisville Public Library. Transition Louisville has partnered with the CRC to provide the Louisville Expo and a Louisville-only tour registration for the four retrofitted homes near downtown Louisville.
Solar Week seminar titles include “The Energy-Water Nexus in Your Home,” “Seven Residential Green Building Case Studies,” “Steps to Going Solar,” and “The Future of Renewable Energy Technology,” presented in the evenings by a variety of local green building and sustainability experts and professionals. The week of seminars kicks off with community leaders in sustainability like Boulder County Commissioner Will Toor, Namaste Solar’s Blake Jones and Bill Shutkin, a national and global leader in sustainability. Visit www.conservationcenter.org/e_solarweek.htm, or call 303-999-3820, ext. 218, to register or for more information.
Got organic milk?
Boulder Valley School District announced this week that Organic Valley Family of Farms, the nation’s largest cooperative of organic farmers, is now the official milk supplier for the 28,000-student school district. The milk will be bottled and delivered by Sinton Dairy, a local company.
“School lunch programs across the nation need to make fundamental changes to improve the health and well-being of our children. Unfortunately, public schools are one of the last places where organic milk is usually found,” said Chef Ann Cooper, the “Renegade Lunch Lady” and interim BVSD nutrition director. “Not only is organic milk produced without antibiotics, synthetic pesticides and hormones, making it healthier for growing children, but Organic Valley milk is healthier for our local community because it’s produced by local family farmers.”
The “School Food Project” is a public-private partnership the goal of which is to improve the health, nutrition and taste of school lunches.
Astronaut joins CU faculty
University of Colorado alumnus Jim Voss has become the second astronaut to join CU-Boulder’s aerospace engineering sciences department following his NASA career, which for Voss included five spaceflights, 202 days in space and four spacewalks.
Voss is one of three astronauts affiliated as faculty at CU-Boulder. He joins former astronaut Joe Tanner, who joined the aerospace engineering sciences department as a senior instructor in fall 2008. Their NASA colleague John Grunsfeld, who remains active at NASA, accepted a future appointment as adjoint professor in the astrophysical and planetary sciences department in an e-mail from space last spring.
“I have returned to CU to teach and to help the College of Engineering and Applied Science and the aerospace department,” said Voss, who earned his master’s degree in aerospace engineering at CU-Boulder in 1974 and was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Colorado in 2000. “I hope to help inspire the next generation of space explorers.”
Voss was hired as a full-time scholar-in-residence and holds the Roubos Endowed Chair in Engineering, supported by a gift from CU-Boulder alumni Gary and Terie Roubos. He also will serve as an ambassador for the college and campus.
“Jim Voss brings a wealth of hands-on experience that will benefit both the educational and research missions of our university,” said Robert Davis, dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science. “It is a privilege to have Jim on our faculty.”
Voss was a U.S. Army flight test engineer before he went to work at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in 1984. He was selected as an astronaut candidate in 1987, after which he trained for space shuttle flights, then trained in Russia as a back-up crewmember to the Russian space station Mir. His first spaceflight came in 1991, and he flew again in 1992, 1995, 2000 and 2001. During 2001, he lived on board the International Space Station for 163 days as a member of the Expedition Two crew.
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