Gateway News Cats Baby and Babette are the Bite and Scratch editors and commentators.

Who are Baby and Babette?

 

Baby the Cat maintains a discerning look at the Gateway News from high atop his tower.  Baby exercises his (cat)itude through the many bites and scratches he imposes on the Gateway Staff and their work efforts.  Baby is an incessant critic of all but his own work while keeping a watchful eye on his apprentice, Babette, whom he still insists is an orange mouse.   

 

Babette the Kitty is Baby the Cat's apprentice, actually his baby sister. She observes what Baby is spending his time doing each week and follows him around most of the time. She reports to the readers her view of a kitty's life in Commerce City and corrects what Baby tells them when he stretches the truth.

Baby the Cat

Babette the Kitty

Batting cages ready to swing into action

 

COMMERCE CITY – Get your swing in mid-season form before your softball or baseball season even starts.

 

The new batting cages at Pioneer Park, 60^th Avenue and Holly Street, open for the season Saturday, April 12. The batting cages have seven stations that can deliver that blazing fastball (at various speeds) for baseball, or that high-arc slow pitch for softball. Just one buck will bring 15 pitches, or $15 rents one station for a half hour.

 

Weather permitting, the batting cages are open 4-8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and noon to 5 p.m. during the weekend from opening day through May 30. The batting cages are available for individuals, teams, tournaments and even birthday parties.

 

For more information on the batting cages, call (303) 289-3763 or (303) 289-3789.

 

Babette:  Baby, what are batting cages?

Baby:  Think of them as human cat toys, like big sticks with fake mice attached to them.

COLORADO RESIDENT LAUNCHES ORGANIZATION AND WEB SITE TO TEACH POLITICS

 

A former political reporter and aide to a member of Congress has launched a Web site and organization to help Americans understand politics.

 

Paul Sampson, who lives in Silverthorne, created UnderstandingPolitics.org after years of answering questions from friends.

 

“People always ask me to explain what’s happening politically,” Sampson said.  “I realized that many people want know more, especially now during this election season.”

 

Sampson began work on the site last fall and launched it this month.  The program, which is updated every weekday, includes a written program and recorded podcast that can be read or listened to in about two minutes.  It also features a political dictionary with a new term added each weekday.

 

Sampson purposely made the program short.  Topics that require more time are continued over a period of days.  “Many people don’t have 20 minutes to spend learning something new every day,” he said.  “But everyone has two minutes, and if not today, they can catch up tomorrow or the next day.”

 

UnderstandingPolitics.org includes five categories: American Politics; International Politics; Current Events and Issues; Political History and Philosophy; and the Basics - things we all should have learned but many of us never did.

 

Recent programs include the riots in Tibet, why only two political parties dominate American politics, and how American elections work.  Programs on tap in the next few months include a look at America’s court system and how the first democracies in Athens, Sparta, and Rome influenced the government we have today.

 

“Our founding fathers studied the governments of the past,” Sampson said.  “They read history from Thucydides and Cicero.  They knew philosophy from Plato to Rousseau, and the knowledge and wisdom they gained from those sources played an enormous role in shaping the country we have today.”

 

“Although most Americans don’t need the knowledge of a Jefferson, Adams, or Madison,” Sampson continued, “Most of us could use a far better background to understand our government and the political process.  Many Americans want that but don’t know where to start or who they can trust.”

 

To help foster trust, Sampson designed UnderstandingPolitics.org to be, as he puts it, fiercely independent and nonpartisan.  He starts by screening every program and asking if it’s completely fair and in context and whether experts on both sides of the political aisle would agree.

 

He is also putting together an advisory board of political experts with an equal number of liberals and conservatives who are charged with making sure every issue is dealt with fairly and honestly.

 

“I think most Americans are tired of people constantly trying to convince them of something,” Sampson said.  “We don’t want to convince anyone of anything other than the need to be informed and to take a role in their government.”

 

Sampson noted how Thomas Jefferson said on a number of occasions that this kind of government demands an educated population.  “And that was when our nation had a less direct form of democracy than is does today,” Sampson said.  That was when 69 electors made George Washington our first president.  That was when U.S. Senators were chosen by the state legislatures and not the people.  It’s even more important that we understand and participate in our government today.”

 

Although UnderstandingPolitics.org is bound to attract people already interested in politics, Sampson really wants to reach people who have been uninterested or turned off by the subject in the past.

 

“I want people to realize politics is far from boring and it’s not that complicated,” he explained.  “I want people who have been turned off by screaming pundits and misleading, mud-slinging candidates to come back for another look.  “This subject of who governs you and me, and how, and what rights, responsibilities, and liberties we have is just too important.”

 

Sampson said he tries to attract people who never took an interest in politics before by making the programs easy to understand.  Whenever a topic is complicated or hard to explain, he reads the programs to friends who don’t have much prior knowledge of the subject.

 

“If they say something isn’t clear, I go back and revise things,” Sampson says.  “What I want to eventually hear is that everything makes sense but they want to learn more.  That’s when I feel I’ve done my job.  I can’t cover a lot in two minutes, but I can hopefully spark an interest.”

 

Babette:  Baby, can I be a politician?

Baby:  No you can not Babette, politicians lie and have self serving agendas and have HUGE egos.

Babette:  That means that you’re a politician.

Baby: WHAT!?...what do you ever mean.

Babette:  Oh nothing.

City gearing up for annual Memorial Day Parade

 

COMMERCE CITY – The city is taking nominations to select the grand marshal for the 44th annual Memorial Day Parade. This year’s theme is “The Face of Valor.”

 

The parade is Monday, May 26, and continues the city’s tradition of honoring those who have served, or who are serving, in the armed forces. The parade – with a route of more than two miles – is one of the largest in the country with more than 150 entrants.

 

To nominate someone for grand marshal, or to submit an entry into the parade, call Leigh Ann Noell at (303) 289-3767 for a nomination form. There are no entry fees and organizations were welcomed to participate in the parade.

 

Babette:  Hey Baby, I heard that Humans walk in these things called parades with no leashes.

Baby:  So, I walk with no leash.

Babette:  No you don’t!

Baby:  STOP already Babette, your embarrassing me. 

Adams County Seeks Volunteers for 2008 Fair

 

Adams County is now accepting applications for volunteers at the 2008 Adams County Fair scheduled from Wednesday, July 30 – Sunday, Aug. 3, 2008.

 

Volunteers are needed to assist with exhibits and events.  Acting as representatives of Adams County and Colorado State University Cooperative Extension, volunteers work under the direct supervision of the fair managers and the volunteer program coordinator.

 

All volunteers will receive orientation and training (date and time to be announced), the opportunity to learn and build new skills, complimentary meals, parking passes to the fair and the chance to gain experience in the public sector and meet new people.

 

Volunteers must be at least 18 years of age, have strong communication and interpersonal skills, be energetic, resourceful and self-starting, and have the ability to work with diverse groups of people.  Volunteers must be able to provide their own transportation to and from the fair.

 

For more information regarding the fair and volunteer opportunities, please contact volunteer coordinator, Jackie Gleim, at 303.637.8102.

 

Baby:  I think I might volunteer for this, it sounds like I am a perfect candidate, I am energetic and resourceful.

Babette:  By energetic do you mean taking 19 cat naps per day, and by resourceful do you mean thinking of ways to cause the humans headaches by jumping of the counters ALL DAY LONG?

Baby:  STOP embarrassing me.