Softball Questions for E-470

January 25, 2012 2 Comments

Marsha Williams of E-470 happy at today's briefing

I have spoken to numerous people who have felt devastated and at a loss of control after receiving massive collection notices from the E-470 tolling system.

I’ve seen some collection notices as high as $13,000.

One single mother cried on the phone a couple of months ago asking me what I could do as she worried about filing for bankruptcy with a $10,000 bill.  She claimed E-470 sent notices to the wrong address for months.

So with the power of the Colorado Open Records Act, I decided to look into E-470’s budget and spending habits considering it’s constantly raising toll rates and sending extraordinary large collection notices to people.

Last November I highlighted how toll money covered massages for E-470 employees, and stays at luxury hotels for board members. 

So today I half-way expected some hard, direct questions from the Senate Transportation Committee as E-470 executives appeared before lawmakers.

The exchange was more like a chummy, friendly chat at an Applebee’s dining booth.

At one moment, I wondered if this was a planning committee for a company picnic.

Before the meeting, I even overheard two senators on the committee say they had no clue the E-470 administrators were showing up to testify today.

Perhaps I expected too much out of this hearing.

While Chairwoman Senator Evie Hudak (who should be credited for calling for the briefing) asked some direct questions, other lawmakers lobbed some pretty easy softballs that my two year old niece could have smacked out of a park.

One lawmaker asked  when E-470  was going to get a smartphone app.

Eventually, the issues of  large collection notices and massages expenses were discussed during the meeting, but quite passively.

When Senator Hudak asked E-470 Executive Director John McCuskey about the massage expenses, he scoffed at my report report while I received a middle-school smirk from Marsha Williams, another E-470 official.

I haven’t received a smirk like that since I was put in time-out by my 6th grade P.E. teacher for nailing a female classmate in the face during dodge ball (below the waist only….I should have known).

Senator Linda Newell chimed in and agreed that the massages were a legit government expense.

I left the committee meeting after watching the glad-handing between the E-470 executives and lawmakers.

It’s quite clear E-470 can afford such expenses because its revenue model is not based on taxes, but rather on tolls and fees we pay when we register our cars.

This is the argument E-470 uses when it defends its spending on things that most government agencies can’t afford.

So perhaps the quasi-public agency should be free from scrutiny from professional gadflies like myself.

Nah, just kidding.

In the end, if you drive E-470 it is still your money and if you pay registration fees, it is your money.

In the mean time, expect toll rates to rise every year.

As for E-470, no dodge balls to the face today.

I’m going to Applebee’s if they’re still open………

Filed under Behind the Scenes, Government Accountability, Quick Thoughts

Whoa! What’s that in my food?!

January 17, 2012 5 Comments

Photo sent in by viewer: Pipe in bag of food?

This past week I received an interesting photo from a woman who claimed she found a small pipe in a bag of popcorn chicken she bought at a local store.

Have you ever found something wicked in your food at a restaurant or in some packaging?

I’ve seen numerous emails over my time as a reporter from viewers who claim they found foreign objects like:

-Maggots in milk

-Tooth in a burrito

-Rat carcass in bag of dog food

-A ball of hair in a can of soup.

They may all be true or maybe some of them could be hoaxes.  I don’t know.

(Personal story:  One time I bit into a sandwich at a restaurant in Albuquerque.   The cook forgot to remove paper that was wrapped around the turkey.  I thought it tasted funny……. Cool story, bro.)

Generally I stay away from such stories for broadcast because it’s so hard to prove the company or business is actually responsible.

It’s not my intent to immediately cast doubt on such claims….I just have to be mindful there are people out there who may set up such scenarios for attention or to extort money from a business.

It’s happened before.

Like the woman who claimed there was a human finger in her chili from Wendy’s. She got arrested.

And the Pepsi Syringe scare back in the early 1990’s. Several people got arrested too.

The original Pepsi syringe claim turned out to be false and several other people were hit with fraud charges.

Unfortunately many media outlets across the country bought these stories and ran with them, fueling even more lying opportunists with an easy story.

If you do encounter food in an item or packaging, it’s best to file a complaint with the store and/or company behind the product.

At a restaurant, you can file a complaint with the local health department if something really grosses you out.

Filed under Behind the Scenes

A Brief Gallery: Tebow Tattoos

January 11, 2012 Leave a Comment

Here’s  a collection I quickly put together of images from around the web:

Filed under Denver!

iPhone 4S video proves itself worthy for impromptu news video

January 5, 2012 1 Comment

The iPhone 4s shoots in 1080p. Awesome.

On Wednesday I showed up to a court hearing in which I didn’t expect a high-profile defendant to be there.

I had a big news camera in my car, but I didn’t get it down because dealing with security at this particular courthouse is a red-tape nightmare and I wouldn’t have been able to enter the courtroom with it.

I was confident if the guy  I was looking for was at his hearing, I could exploit the HD video camera on my iPhone 4s.  The battery life is excellent and the software is stable.

I do have an Evo droid-based cell phone.  I tried playing with the video on the phone before I arrived at court, but the battery life on this device is unreliable and the video kept freezing during recording.

Turns out the defendant I was looking for was there.

Take a look at  my story from Wednesday in which I used an iPhone 4s to record a walking-shot of former sheriff Patrick Sullivan:

While the video I shot at the courthouse isn’t perfect, it’s pretty good coming from a 5 ounce device.

The quality is 1080p.  Can’t complaint about that.

We mentioned on air at 11, 12 and 4pm that my video was coming from a cell phone.  But at 6pm I decided it wasn’t even necessary….the video was that clean and crisp.

One of the few drawbacks from using my iPhone 4s is the slightly jittery video, but I gotta say even that’s forgivable.   Perhaps down the line, Apple may be able to upgrade the software to something similar like Sony’s SteatyShot feature.

For those of you who know me, I’ve supported mobile technology for news gathering.

While there are a lot of naysayers in my industry, it’s hard to ignore the fact the technology is moving forward.  Such devices like the iPhone will be conventional TV news gathering tools.

Here’s some video I shot at DIA a few weeks ago using the iPhone 4s.  I even used iMovie to edit on the phone itself.

Filed under Behind the Scenes

[AUDIO] Weird Tip Line Calls

December 31, 2011 Leave a Comment

My Phone - A Portal to the Weirdness

Today’s weird calls into the 9Wants to Know Tip Line include:

-A man who calls himself the “Birdman” who wished himself happy birthday.  He sounded wasted. I HIGHLY doubt this is the basketball player.

-Another man who said he discovered time travel through his iPhone. He didn’t leave a phone number.

-Several back-to-back messages of music, which included songs by Genesis , the Dire Straits and Stevie Wonder

-One message was nothing but farting noises.

While we never keep recordings of the audio messages people leave us, I recorded this one (see link below) for the sake of humor and perspective on what we have to listen to as we try to find newsworthy tips.

Whoever left this message didn’t speak, he just left some weird noises.   If he gets mad at me for posting the audio without his permission, I hope he comes forward.  I would love to know the weirdo.

Welcome to my world:

http://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F32024360&show_artwork=true

Filed under Behind the Scenes

On Covering Tragedies

December 29, 2011 6 Comments

Donna Royer, a mother of two, was killed by her ex-husband.

The first time I reported on a tragedy, I was in college working for a student newscast.

I remember the story clearly because of the sadness I felt for the father involved.  I also remember it clearly because of the people I worked with in the college newsroom were disgusted with my decision to report on the story.

A father backing out of his driveway didn’t notice his toddler was in the way.  The little boy was killed.

I moved forward with the brief story, believing the tragic case would be a reminder for parents and babysitters.

As I wrote up the news script then, I remember receiving dirty looks and hearing the disgusted whispers of my fellow young reporters in the newsroom.

13 years later, as an uncle to two little girls, when I back out of my driveway, that story cycles through my head even before I jump in the car.

I’d like to hope someone who heard that story way back then still remembers too.

Tragedies in communities are often difficult to approach as reporters, because inevitably there will be backlash against the media when reporters start showing up with big news cameras.

Often people will give reporters like me tongue lashings and dirty looks for intruding.

I don’t blame them.

To some folks, reporters are just there to swoop in with their squads of news trucks to devour sound bites, and then move on without a care to the victims and to the people who are grieving.

We are responsible for our reputation in the field, and to be honest, some reporters out there are not so delicate with their approach to such stories.

I’m already surrounded by a cloud of distrust when I move onto a scene because of this perception.

And so was the case today involving the terrible story of Donna Royer.

My goal, in any tragedy, is to give our viewers perspective on what lead up to the event, and most importantly to humanize the innocent.

I moved on with door knocks, looking for such perspective from neighbors.   Often they have the best insight on what happened.

Today I found a nice neighbor who was willing to share perspective about Royer’s life with us.  She felt it was important.

It was an excellent perspective about a well respected woman who may have put up a brave façade for the sake of her children.

How human.

Royer feared for her life as she indicated in the restraining order I found.  She was afraid of her ex husband.   For some reason, she didn’t move forward with the restraining order.

There are thousands of other women in the Denver area who may silently identify with Royer.

Her death, while deeply tragic and horrible, brings to light the touchy subject of domestic violence—a subject that victims often don’t want to talk about or acknowledge out of fear of retaliation.

Later in the day, I was approached by a couple of people, including one man who shouted from his car window that our cameras were disrespectful.

Another teenage girl approached our live truck and said there was nothing new to the story and that we should stop covering it and just leave.

Some people on facebook today expressed disgust at the medias’ efforts to cover the story.  Some of these same people posted articles on their own profiles.

Often when I do receive tongue lashings and dirty looks out in the field, I can’t but help feel a little ashamed.

Maybe these people are right.

Maybe I am just some scumbag reporter looking to exploit someone’s death for a quick one-minute report.

But then all of that goes away when I remind myself the story behind a tragedy is more important than my own insecurities and obstacles.

What I’m dealing with is nothing compared to the heavy grief experienced by families who find themselves wrapped up in such horrible events.

While I can’t see the audience behind the lens, I believe someone out there is listening and learning, and thinking.

Maybe there’s another Donna Royer out there who is afraid to get help.

The two girls who lost their parents in all of this can use your support.   A fund has been set up.  Walk into any Wells Fargo and donate to “Donna Royer’s Children.”

Filed under Behind the Scenes, Quick Thoughts

On the Sullivan Scandal – From Distinguished to Damaged

December 7, 2011 Leave a Comment

This morning I was reading through a resume typed up by Pat Sullivan himself when he applied to be head of security at the Cherry Creek School District about 10 years ago.

The long list of recognitions (see screen shot below) is quite simply amazing.

A screen capture from Sullivan's resume. Wow.

To say Sullivan was distinguished is an understatement.

For references, he put town two chiefs of police, a district attorney and an FBI special agent in charge.

Flash forward to today.

I saw a frail-looking suspected meth user walk out of his own namesake—the Patrick J. Sullivan Detention Center—after seven days in lockup.

Wow, what a week.

Exactly a week ago tonight I was doing a live shot and reporting on the demise of one of the biggest law enforcement icons in Colorado.

Even if Pat Sullivan is acquitted, his reputation is far from damaged.

There has been so much said about Pat Sullivan on the radio, in the newspapers and on television over the last seven days.

What else can be said tonight?

I do find it interesting we haven’t heard one peep from his attorney, defense team or anyone else who has chosen to publicly defend him on camera.

I’ve reached out to Sullivan’s attorney several times for the sake of balance, even before the gag order in this case was issued.

Nothing from him either.

Often silence can say so much more than a no comment.

What does the silence say in this case?

It’s quite understandable that Sullivan’s family may not even be remotely prepared to say anything publicly because of the devastating news.

I don’t blame them one bit.

Filed under Behind the Scenes Tagged with

Quotes on Patrick Sullivan’s Arrest

December 6, 2011 Leave a Comment

“This is a sadness for this organization. This is a sadness for men and women that serve with pride and integrity every day at the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office. And it’s a sadness for our community. But beyond, and well beyond the sadness, no one is above the law.”

-Current Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson

“Yeah, we’ve sat at Cheeseman [Park] in the back seat of his car, or his SUV and smoked the (expletive) out of a lot of dope.”

-William Hadley, Man on video claiming he did drugs with Sullivan

“When you look at the kind of people that he hung around with, all very young, all very troubled boys.  It’s hard to say if he was using them or as much as they were using him.  Pat had pension.  Pat had power.  Pat had stability.  What these kids did not have.”

-Andrew Pino, Boyfriend of Sean Moss

“I’ve heard that he used to be the sheriff of Arapahoe County, so it’s just quite shocking to know that a sheriff was next door to my house conducting in drug transactions.”

-Amanda Cardenas, Neighbor of home where Sullivan was arrested

“We are absolutely stunned….”

-Mary Chesley, Cherry Creek Schools Superintendent

“Sullivan was subsequently transported to the Patrick J. Sullivan Jr. detention facility and booked….”

-Sullivan’s Arrest Report, as noted by Agent Matthew Hanagan of the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Dept

Filed under Behind the Scenes Tagged with

[VIDEOS] Black Friday Madness

November 25, 2011 3 Comments

Here’s a brief list of Black Friday videos making the rounds on the internet today (click links or video boxes).

CROWD STORMS BEST BUY IN PUERTO RICO -CLICK LINK 

Urban Outfitters in California:

CNN VIDEO OF TAZERING AT A WALMART -CLICK LINK.

WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO OF A MAN TACKLED BY POLICE-CLICK LINK

Here’s some madness at an unknown Walmart.  Uploaded today:

More Walmart madness in California:

Filed under Quick Thoughts

E-470′s Perception

November 21, 2011 3 Comments

E-470 is a "political subdivison of the State of Colorado."

If E-470 was such a private entity, I likely would not have been granted access to its financial records showing toll money went to massages, bonuses and trips.

What private enterprise would give such documents to an investigative reporter?

There is definitely a perception in Denver that E-470 is a 100% private company.   I thought so too when I first moved to Colorado in August.

Even E-470 describes itself as a political subdivision of the State of Colorado.  E-470 employees also drive vehicles with government license plates.

Behind the business-looking logo is a very public board that is called the E-470 Public Highway Authority:  Here they are….all of them are public officials.

The authority is subject to the Colorado Open Records Act and the Colorado Sunshine Law.   A CORA records request I filed last month yielded the financial documents from E-470.

I spent a lot of time reading through the public meetings the board has about once or twice a month.

I found, looking at board meeting notes, there has only been ONE person to comment during the public comment portion of the meetings over the past year.

I was the second one, as you’ll see in my Sunday night broadcast.

These meetings are held on Thursdays at 9 in the morning.   Any member of the public has the right to go to these meetings, make public comment, and observe.

The perception that E-470 is an absolute private enterprise may be keeping people from asking questions.

In the end, perhaps E-470 can be characterized as a quasi-government entity.

Whatever the case, the tolling agency is open to public scrutiny and beholden to the people of Denver who pay its tolls.

Filed under Behind the Scenes, Government Accountability

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