RM-Eye: Week in Review, July 17
By RMI Staff 
| July 17, 2009 | 5:21 PM
You’ve had a busy week. We have, too. So now that the weekend’s here, kick back and check out these highlights of the ground we’ve covered:
- Tipping point? Has Ritter pushed Dems too far away? (Charles Ashby) — PART ONE OF TWO: Anybody but Ritter. That’s what Democrats said in 2006 when ex-Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter, a relative unknown in statewide politics, was running for Colorado governor. He won the race, but nearly three years later, with the prospect of a second term nearing, some people in the party are repeating the same mantra: Anybody but Ritter. RELATED: In a five-part video interview, Ritter talks about the “new energy economy,” his relationships with labor unions and the legislature, the state’s fiscal crisis and his campaign.
- Healing the wounds: Ritter faces battle of perception (Charles Ashby — PART TWO OF TWO: It’s often said that perception is politics, and right now some are perceiving Bill Ritter as being vulnerable as he enters his bid for re-election. The governor has vetoed labor union bills that staunch supporters wanted desperately, he appointed an unknown to the U.S. Senate, and he’s been blamed for causing the oil and gas industry to close drilling rigs and eliminate jobs.
- For now, Morales focuses on Rockies bullpen (Jack Etkin) — It’s been two weeks since Franklin Morales started a game, July 2 to be exact for Triple-A Colorado Springs against the Salt Lake Bees. Since then, Morales has given the Rockies tantalizing glimpses of an intriguing weapon: a left-handed reliever with a power arm. He has pitched effectively in short spurts — all situations with weighty implications — and no longer harbors aspirations of returning to the Rockies rotation.
- Demographic shift changes colors at the Statehouse (Jeremy Pelzer) — Six months ago, Colorado won national media attention for becoming the first state to have blacks at the head of both houses of the state legislature. But changing demographics in traditionally black legislative districts raise questions about whether blacks will continue to have a voice in state government.
- Comfort-food craze is just the icing on the cupcake (Alex Neth) — What is it with the cupcakes? Perhaps we should elaborate: how do certain foods unexpectedly find themselves part of the cultural zeitgeist? Why are cupcakes, those frosting-shellacked relics of childhood birthdays and school parties, now hip? How can a business exist selling French fries, and hardly anything but?
- High maintenance: Mount Evans road gets a makeover (Andy Piper) — When you’re responsible for the highest paved road in North America, it’s logical that you also have to do the highest road-paving repairs in North America. So the Colorado Department of Transportation will be closing Colorado 5, the road from Echo Lake to the summit of Mount Evans, three days a week through the end of July.
- Grocers change strategy to lure cost-conscious shoppers (Joyzelle Davis) — Safeway grocery stores throughout Colorado have started doubling manufacturer coupons in an attempt to lure penny-pinching consumers, who are increasingly using the bargain slips found in their newspapers and mailboxes and at online sites such as CouponCabin.com and CouponMom.com.
- The San Juan: A rafting trip through time (Bob Findlay) — Before a float trip even starts on the San Juan River, you see signs that the river has been loved and used for centuries. Petroglyphs at the Sand Island put-in near Bluff, Utah, hint at what lies a short distance downstream: Butler Wash, with thousands of images left by ancient dwellers, and River House ruin, where many Anasazi lived.
