For a basketball backwater, Colorado is well-represented in ESPN's look at the emerging world of Washington pickup basketball.

This ESPN article mentions that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is "not an easy cover" (a description that works well on the hardwood and on the beat) and that Don Gips sets solid picks (a trait one wouldn't normally associate with a Boulderite).

Anyway, as you enjoy the down time this holiday week, enjoy the read,  and help us by posting comments below answering the question: "who should be on the Colorado political pickup all-star team? "

Witnessed Monday just off the Senate floor:

Sen. Michael Bennet came out of the chamber and was waiting for an elevator. A reporter nearby leans over and asks, "Who is that?" and another reporter whispers, "Oh, that's Michael Bennet, he replaced Ken Salazar."

The Colorado Democrat overheard the conversation and as he gets on the lift, he says, "No one can replace Ken Salazar."

Sen. Michael Bennet didn't make it to Tuesday's press availability as Gov. Bill Ritter and others touted the start of the first transportation project backed by stimulus spending.

Ritter unveiled a sign at the Belleview Avenue project, headlined "Putting America to Work" and touting the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

In the press release accompanying the event, a quote from Bennet, D-Colo., was inserted: "Americans fifty to a hundred years from now will look at these signs and be reminded of the fact that when faced with crisis, we acted --not only to create jobs and hasten our recovery, but to lay the foundation for long-term growth and lasting prosperity."

For this sign and similar ones that will be erected for every stimulus-backed highway project to be around for 50 to 100 years will require a separate Sign Preservation and Reconstruction Act of Congress. In fact, says CDOT, the signs will only be up for the construction phase of each project.

Show this to your neighbor who's been stocking up on guns and ammo for fear that the "feds" are going to try to take her guns now that a Democrat is in the White House (or, if you prefer, to your bambi-loving neighbor who fears gun-toting fools will start popping off shots in Rocky Mountain National Park):

Among the 27 Senate Democrats who voted "Yes" on Tuesday for an amendment that would allow people to carry loaded guns in national parks and wildlife refugess: Sens. Mark Udall and Michael Bennet, of Colorado.

The measure passed 67-29.

Senate Republicans blocked an end-run attempt to confirm David Hayes as Deputy Secretary of Interior in a contentious vote this morning, handing his potential future boss, Ken Salazar, a significant political defeat.

Salazar called the vote "the height of cynicism" and testily defended his attempts "to clean up mess after mess" left behind by Bush appointees who led the department for eight years.

The confirmation of Hayes has become a flashpoint in a growing battle over the direction Salazar has taken as head of Interior, reversing key Bush administration decisions on oil shale, the fast-tracking off shore drilling, the Endangered Species Act and other issues.

Democrat majority leader Harry Reid had attempted to invoke cloture on Hayes confirmation, requiring a super 60-vote majority, but the vote failed in the face of several Democratic absences and near unanimous Republican opposition.

As his colleagues came into the chamber, Sen. Robert Bennett, the Utah Republican who has led the opposition to Hayes, stood near the dais and thanked Republicans as they voted against the nomination of Salazar's number two.

Bennett said he now expects Salazar to complete a review of the decision to revoke 77 oil and gas leases near two national parks in southern Utah before he removes his hold.

On Tuesday, Salazar made several concessions to Republicans in the hopes of moving the confirmation forward, including a promise to send Hayes to Utah within 10 days and complete the review Bennett requested by May 29.

"I'm not cynical," Bennett said, responding to Salazar's characterization after the vote. "This is about the Department's failure to respond to legitimate questions and concerns."

Favorability ratings for President Barack Obama and Sen. Mark Udall in Colorado have fallen beneath 50 percent in a new poll out this morning.

A survey from Raleigh, N.C.-based Public Policy Polling found 49 percent of Colorado voters approved of Obama's performance, compared to 41 percent who dissented. Udall found support from 41 percent of respondents, with 46 percent disapproving of his first three months in the U.S. Senate.

While support for both Obama and Udall is strong among those who identified as Democrats, the poll found they are losing support of unaffiliated voters -- a key to both men's victories in the state in November.

“Some of the voters in the middle who cast votes for Barack Obama and Mark Udall last fall aren’t giving them the best of reviews for their work so far,” Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling, said in a release. “Getting those folks back in their corner is going to be very important moving forward.”

The automated telephone poll of 1,050 Colorado voters was conducted April 17th -19 and has a margin of error of 3 percent. PPP noted that factors, such as refusal to be interviewed and weighting, may introduce additional error that is more difficult to quantify.

Who let the dog (secret) out? Who? Who?

As the the long-running search for the First Family's first dog nears its end point (who knew that something could last longer than Campaign 2008?), we've got the news here first (or at least a good rumor heard today in the Colorado high country.)

Word out of Beaver Creek, as relayed to Denver Post man about the mountains Jason Blevins, is that a Portugese Water Dog named Charlie will soon be charming the Obama girls. We eagerly await pictures of Charlie and his new Angels.

If it's true, Blevins gets the props. If it's false, well, we'll just blame it on apres ski exaggeration.

Who let the dog (secret) out? Who? Who?

As the the long-running search for the First Family's first dog nears its end point (who knew that something could last longer than Campaign 2008?), we've got the news here first (or at least a good rumor heard today in the Colorado high country.)

Word out of Beaver Creek, as relayed to Denver Post man about the mountains Jason Blevins, is that a Portugese Water Dog named Charlie will soon be charming the Obama girls. We eagerly await pictures of Charlie and his new Angels.

If it's true, Blevins gets the props. If it's false, well, we'll just blame it on apres ski exaggeration.

With the exception of Rep. Mike Cofffman, R-Aurora, Colorado members of the U.S. House requested more than $1 billion in earmarks for the 2010 fiscal year, according to disclosures they were required to file by the end of last week. Coffman has pledged not to request earmarks.

The disclosures are part of an effort to bring transparency to the budgeting process. A Sunlight Foundation analysis over the weekend found only 293 of the 434 House members met the deadline. The entire Colorado delegation met the deadline, though Rep. Betsy Markey, D-Fort Collins, was singled out because her disclosure was "hard to find."

Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Denver, requested 13 earmarks totaling $251 million. "There are good reasons to request direct funding for specific needs in the First Congressional District and elsewhere in Colorado, and I will seek targeted funding as the 2010 appropriations process gets underway," DeGette said on her site. "I will pursue a select few funding initiatives that create much needed jobs, make critical infrastructure improvements and support the Colorado institutions that strengthen our state."  

Included in her requests were earmarks of $100 million for the FasTracks West Corridor Line between Denver and Golden; $95 million for rail between Union Station and DIA; and $31.5 million for the Gold Line from Denver to Arvada/Wheat. DeGette requested $12.2 million in earmarks for runway and other improvements at Denver International Airport and $2 million to build an interchange on Interstate 70 to serve Central Park Boulevard in the Stapleton neighborhood.

Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, had 16 earmark requests for a total of nearly $100 million. "It is Congressman Polis' policy to only submit appropriations requests for public and non-profit entities in Colorado," his website reads.  

Projects that fit the bill included $48.8 million to purchase new buses for transit agencies across the state; $10 million for a pipeline connecting Carter Lake and Boulder Reservoir; $6 million for plug-in electric hybrid cars as part of Boulder's SmartGrid city program; and $40,000 for a non-profit that helps at-risk students manage the transition to college.

Rep. John Salazar, newly appointed to the powerful House Appropriations Committee, had 72 requests totaling about $239 million. "For too long, the process of Congressional funding requests lacked transparency and accountability, leading some members of Congress to abuse it and the public trust," he said.  

Among his requests: $17 million for runway realignment at the Garfield County airport;  $11.8 million for a new visitor center at Mesa Verde National Park; $10.8 million to implement bus rapid-transit improvements between Glenwood Springs and Aspen; $7 million for a new recycling facility in Durango; and $6 million for CoorsTek to develop transparent armor for military vehicles;  Salazar has also asked that language be inserted in the bill that would prevent the Army from pursuing expansion at the Pinon Canyon training site.

Markey requested $19.5 million for 16 projects.  

Markey has requested more than $11.4 million for projects at Colorado State University ranging from Geoscience/Atmospheric Research ($3 million) to study of the Russian Wheat Aphid ($425,000).

Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs, had 20 requests for a total of $72.5 million.  

His requests are all military-related, and include $8.9 million for an Airman and Family Readiness Center/Chapel at Schriever Air Force Base; $8.5 million to develop technology that preserves memory when satellites lose power in space; $5 million for an advisory group to review ballistic missile defense (BMD) education and training; and $3 million for a center at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs to provide support for mental health problems at  Fort Carson.

Coffman will not make any earmark requests. "In an effort to establish fiscal responsibility in federal spending, I have pledged not to request any Appropriations earmarks," he said.

Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Golden, had 39 requests for a total of more than $369 million, though more than $200 million of that total earmarked for the Gold, East and West light rail lines. "I welcome this (new transparency) requirement and look forward to securing funding to help the hard working people of the 7th Congressional District," Perlmutter said.

Other requests include $48 million for new bus terminals throughout the state; $15 million for the Earth Energy Institute at the Colorado School of Mines; $13.2 million for an emergency management center at Front Range Airport; and $4.5 million to build a weapons release facility for the Colorado National Guard.

By Matthew Daly
The Associated Press

washington -- The Senate on Thursday passed a long-delayed bill to set aside more than 2 million acres in nine states as protected wilderness, from a California mountain range to more than 1,000 miles of rivers.

The 77-20 vote sends the bill to the House, where final legislative approval could come as early as next week.

The Senate first approved the measure in January, but it was defeated last week in the House amid a partisan dispute over a plan to allow concealed, loaded guns in national parks.

The legislation - a package of nearly 170 separate bills - would confer the government's highest level of protection on land ranging from California's Sierra Nevada mountain range and Oregon's Mount Hood to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado and parts of the Jefferson National Forest in Virginia.

Land in Idaho's Owyhee canyons, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan and Zion National Park in Utah also would win designation as wilderness, and more than 1,000 miles of rivers in nearly a dozen states would gain protections.

Supporters called the legislatione among the most important conservation bills debated in Congress in decades.

"The Senate shows great vision in making this bill a priority," said Paul Spitler of The Wilderness Society. "These wonderful landscapes are under tremendous pressure, and their value to local communities and to all Americans who treasure our natural heritage will remain long after the country has recovered from the economic crisis." The bill also would let Alaska go forward with plans to build an airport access road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge as part of a land swap that would transfer more than 61,000 acres to the federal government, much of it designated as wilderness.

Critics have called the project a "road to nowhere." Backers say the road is needed for residents of a remote village on the Bering Sea who now use a hovercraft to reach an airport and hospital.

Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, hailed the Idaho provision, which he has been seeking for eight years. The bill represents a compromise among a host of competing groups that have long disagreed over how to manage the rugged canyonland in southwestern Idaho.

"The people who worked on the Owyhee Initiative came from many groups and institutions that historically were battling head-to-head and instead were willing to work through things in a way that sets a tremendous example for how we should approach land management decisions and conflicts in this nation," Crapo said.

Lawmakers from both parties told similar tales in other states, praising the bill as a compromise that sets an example for Congress. Most of the provisions in the bill were developed over several years.

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., held up the bill's final passage last year and again this year, arguing that it was unnecessary and would block energy development on millions of acres of federal land. The bill moved forward this week after Coburn was allowed to submit six amendments for approval. Five were defeated.

A sixth provision, softening a provision to impose criminal penalties for collecting some fossilized rocks on federal land, was included in the final bill.

Because of a parliamentary maneuver adopted in the Senate, the House is expected to take up the bill under a rule that blocks amendments or other motions to derail it. Republicans used the threat of an amendment to allow loaded guns in national parks to defeat the wilderness bill last week.