The latest skirmish in the municipalization battle between Xcel and the city of Boulder revolves around solar and wind energy programs.

Yet another CU administrator has been “double-dipping,” we at Boulder Weekly have learned. And it’s not that big of deal. A bigger deal is how these things have been communicated. Much has been made lately about University of Colorado Boulder administrators, their tuition-funded salary increases and their ability to retire and get rehired — “double-dipping” by receiving their pension and a salary.

While there is now a local uproar about hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” an early iteration of the oil and gas extraction method actually has its roots in Boulder.

The City of Boulder is lawyering up for its battle with Xcel over municipalization. City officials are expecting to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars over the next year to two law firms that will represent Boulder as it investigates municipalizing its electric utility.

For the “no evidence of off-site contamination” argument to be true, we would have to believe that a half-century’s worth of windblown contamination was stopped dead in its tracks by chain-link and barbed wire fences. As we found during our investigation, “no evidence” of contamination actually means no testing for contamination.

If the and Open Space, told Boulder Weekly that his department is advising the Boulder County commissioners follow the recommendations of their own staff, the planting of additional genetically modified organisms (GMOs) will be allowed on publicly funded open space.

While a lot of emphasis is placed on buying local and keeping our hard-earned dollars in Boulder County this holiday season, there is another way to give a meaningful gift without pouring money into the coffers of giant corporations.

Critics of new state rules that would require oil and gas companies to disclose the chemicals they use in hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” say the proposed regulations contain a massive loophole that will allow corporations to keep their ingredients secret.

Rob Alexander, agricultural resource specialist for Boulder County Parks and Open Space, says the real problem with oil and gas companies on open space is not so much spills as it is other impacts from drilling operations.

At about 11 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17, a liquid began shooting 40 to 50 feet into the air at a natural gas pipeline in Windsor. Neighbors concerned about recent reports of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” in the area took photos of the spill at 32744 Weld County Road 13. The pictures show the liquid pouring into the street and down a roadside ditch that leads to the Cache La Poudre River only two-tenths of a mile away, just past the Frank State Wildlife Area.