View from the Boondocks https://tj.durangoherald.com/section/columnists-view-from-the-boondocks/feed/ Latest local news from The Durango Herald. Fri, 14 Aug 2026 21:08:24 -0600 en-us 30 https://tj.durangoherald.com/holiday-tree-provides-light-and-cheer-in-dark-days/ I got my Yule trees put up this past weekend, and mostly decorated. Our colleagues at the Durango Herald had an article last week on the comparative merits of real trees versus fake trees. I went to a fake tree... Thu, 17 Dec 2015 21:54:53 -0700 49CFC239-99E1-4B7E-AAC0-81C99CFFD2CB https://tj.durangoherald.com/its-our-river-too-that-was-desecrated/ We’re all downstream or downwind from something. That became all too visible last week as what’s now listed as 3 million gallons of orange toxic waste from a long-abandoned gold mine above Silverton made its way down the beautiful Animas... Thu, 13 Aug 2015 18:24:07 -0600 E52D9A53-0BDC-490F-B126-EC215ADA0A13 https://tj.durangoherald.com/tabor-squeezing-colorado-recovery/ This might be the year for Colorado taxpayers to take a serious look at the TABOR (Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights) Amendment that voters put into the state constitution in 1992. Along with providing steady work for tax attorneys in Colorado,... Thu, 12 Feb 2015 21:26:13 -0700 764084EE-749E-4A27-A862-EB46F3D912D5 https://tj.durangoherald.com/get-those-ballots-in/ Ballots for the Nov. 4 local, state, and national elections were mailed to registered voters last week. They need to be returned to the county clerk by 7 p.m. on Nov. 4 to be counted. Postmarks don’t count. Contact the... Thu, 23 Oct 2014 21:15:59 -0600 6E0C8E80-2DBD-4E9B-AF0F-8BE5FAE68F8E https://tj.durangoherald.com/some-of-us-dont-have-a-vote-in-lpea-board-election/ The annual LPEA board election is happening now, at least for some co-op members. Letters to the editor have become rather heated, especially regarding incumbent nine-year board member Jeff Berman. Some critics say that’s too long. Never mind that it... Fri, 16 May 2014 00:43:43 -0600 C079A420-FD97-4F90-B976-5DB17D5B5F43 https://tj.durangoherald.com/stop-the-war-on-future-generations/ Tuesday was Earth Day. For some of us, that’s an occasion to recognize that the Earth is the only global life support system we’ve got, and we should treat her accordingly. For others, the Earth is to be plundered for... Thu, 24 Apr 2014 23:03:28 -0600 77DC5F66-D480-40ED-8D05-5B0BB306F13D https://tj.durangoherald.com/congressional-votes-emphasize-their-partys-priorities/ Our worthies in congress are on yet another of their taxpayer-funded vacations. Before they left town, they busied themselves voting on political statements that have zero chance of becoming law. Senate Democrats tried to raise the minimum wage. A large... Thu, 17 Apr 2014 21:55:33 -0600 62C7FBA4-BB4E-4312-A976-6A56DA41C1DC https://tj.durangoherald.com/supreme-court-moves-u-s-toward-oligarchy/ The pro-corporate majority on the U.S. Supreme Court took steps last week to move the U.S. still farther toward government of, by, and for the fat cats and big corporations (as if we aren’t already there). They tossed out overall... Fri, 11 Apr 2014 00:31:08 -0600 ECA8A588-8F9C-40D2-9500-5AB5AE7D5DFD https://tj.durangoherald.com/clothing-10-best-list-causes-puzzlement/ It’s spring break time, so I’m taking the week off from political commentary. Gawd knows we need a break from politics! The magazine that comes with the Sunday newspaper had an item that I couldn’t pass up. It’s a list... Fri, 28 Mar 2014 13:20:49 -0600 DCAC93EA-E264-4C64-86C0-1887B18DD53A