Looking for something to do in Colorado Springs? Ready to enjoy the summer and have fun? Check out the following:

American Soldier tribute – A photo tribute to the American Soldier – at the Phil Long Expo Center, from Saturday through September 13th. For more info call 867-6635.

Outdoors activities more “your thing”? Check out White Water Rafting Trips. Call 526-5366 for more info. Trips are $40 per person and include transportation, gear and guides.

Enjoy the Colorado State Fair- from August 28th through September 7th at the State Fair Grounds in Pueblo. For tickets, call Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000 or go online at http://www.ticketmaster.com .

From July 8th through the 11th, you can enjoy the 69th annual Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeoat the Norris-Penrose Events Center Arena. The Fort Carson Night is July 8th. Tickets start at $10 for Adults and $7.50 for Children. Call 576-2626, go online at http://www.ticketswest.com or go to any King Soopers Customer Service.

Free entry to National Parks: The weekend of July 18th/19th and August 15th/16th - Entrance Fees to many national parks and monuments in Colorado will be waived.

Fort Carson’s annual Independence Day Celebrationwill happen July 3rd, from 4-10:30 pm at Ironhorse Park. The event is free and the public is invited.

For an Old Fashioned Fourth of July, check out the Rock Ledge Historic Site on July 4th from 9am to 5pm. This includes speeches, carnival games, ice cream, a Civil War encampment, Buffalo Soldier bivouac etc. Solders and retired military get in for half price by showing ID. Regular admission is $2-$6.

Thanks to Nel Lampe and the Mountaineer for compiling this info!

If you’re like the majority of people – you’re looking for a good deal, even when eating out. If you plan ahead, you’ll find quite a few bargains out there.

Consider joining Restaurant Clubs – which might offer to feed you for free on your Birthday, email you coupons for appetizers and/or special deals.

Check online for coupons to your favorite Restaurants (two-for-one, $$’s off), as well as coupon booklets that arrive in your mailbox.

Buy an Entertainment book- if you really want to save a lot (make sure that the coupons are for places you use!). In addition, many Highschools offer coupons for a variety of Restaurants and Services (usually sold door to door or brought home by your Teens).

Another way to save – go to lunch instead of Dinner. Lunch prices are usually quite a bit less, and often lunches includes additional add-ons like soup or salad (included in the price).

And finally – check out the appetizers. Specially if you’re not “starving” – many of today’s appetizers are quite large – large enough really to substitute for a meal.

By now everyone has heard about Nadya Suleman and her 14 children. Now we come to find out that she may have used part of the payments she received for a Disability to pay for the Fertility Treatments that added 8 more children to her family, in addition to the 6 children she already had.

On top of that – she is expecting the help of the cash strapped California Government, as well as the general public, by setting up a website, which accepts donations from you. (Taxpayers may have to cover octuplet mom’s  cost)

In my opinion, this is the “best” example of what is wrong with our society – from the selfish, irresponsible behavior of this “mom”, to the Doctor who helped her get pregnant with 8 children, to the system itself, gearing up to pay even more to this women.

Any responsible parent will not have more children than they can take care of.  And try to get foodstamps or help from the Government if you are finding yourself unemployed! Good Luck. None of this seems to apply in this case. This women (N. Suleman) got what she wanted – more kids (never mind she won’t be able to take appropriate care of them), possible additional payments from the Government – allowing her to increase her studentloans even more…and to top it off – the general public will get to pay for her insane behavior.

Maybe we need to ask the Fertility clinic to help this women pay for her children? After all….they were only too happy to help her get pregnant… But the only one being held responsible will be the taxpayer – not this unemployed “Mother”. (In my opinion – she really is a disgrace to all those mothers who are trying their best to take care of their children.)

With Valentines Day, Spring Break and Easter coming up, you might be looking for some things to do and places to see. To make it a little easier, check out the following sites:

Upcoming Events and Things To Do

Colorado Springs.com

Cripple Creek Events

Woodland Park Community Calendar

Colorado Springs Fine Art Center

Just wonderins: What are YOUR favorite things to do in and around Colorado Springs?

…participate in a survey that is supposed to take the pulse of residents in this area. This survey will be part of “Operation 6035″, to determine “which companies and industries are best suited for Colorado Springs, what types of jobs should be pursued and the responsibilities of the community to accomplish those goals will be the focus of a new economic development study launched by a coalition of business people, government officials and community leaders.”

If you love living here and would like to see this area keep it’s family friendly status, with the added bonus of acutally offering jobs for residents, check out their website at “Operation 6035“,  to take the survey and participate.

According to an article in the Gazette, the City of Colorado Springs will be offering free parking downtown and in Old Colorado City.

This applies to on-street metered parking only and does not apply to any private or city-owened garages or lots. “The meter time limits will be enforced, as will no-parking bans in loading zones.”

However, speaking for myself…I’ll be glad to avoid “digging for change”…

If you’re sending out Christmas Cards this year…maybe you could send out just ONE more – to a recovering soldier. Send it to the address below and make someones Christmas a little brighter.

A Recovering American Soldier

c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center

6900 Georgia Ave NW

Washington, DC 20307-5001

Feel free to forward this information – within your circle of family and friends, at work, at the Gym, in Church etc.

After the last post about a potential tax increase, I started reading more about this whole topic, and considering replies from Gazette readers, this is a very divided issue.

People are either for tax increases, saying that we need them in order to fund services, not only to prevent loosing more programs, but to make up for the increase in costs, from gas to personal, technology to human resources for city employees. This segment says that our city government is not really over budget, but that it has been caught short, just like the rest of the population, when gas prices started rising, food and other costs started increasing and loans were no longer as easily obtainable as they used to be. These folks also state that TABOR was shortsighted and should have been corrected years ago. In addition, this group is very much concerned about the standard of living in the area and is willing to pay for it via taxes.

Then we have the opponents, who proclaim that our city government is incapable, due to spending over budget, and that they, like the rest of the population, should learn how to tighten their belt, and that the whole issue about loosing programs (specially in the police department) is a smoke screen for collecting money from unsuspecting citizens. (Argument: Cops on traffic duty, collecting money that goes into the general fund of the city.) This group also states that our city government already holds out their hands for more than their share, specifically “illegal taxes” like the Stormwater Enterprise, and that the entire government would only vote themselves higher paychecks if the taxes were increased.

So now I’m wondering – what is your opinion on this? What side are you on – and WHY?

…was the title of an article in the Colorado Springs Gazette today. In it, the county proposes to increase our sales tax rate by 1% in order to make up for lost services and revenues and to stop cutting available services.

This would bring our sales tax from 7.4% to 8.4% – the example given in the article likened this to a $200 increase of price on a $20000 car. The discussion is – should this be on the November Ballot?

The last sales tax increase we had in this area, was in 2004, which pays for road building and maintenance in most parts of the county.

Read the article, and let me know – what is your opinion on this? Should taxes be increased? Or not?

Also – make sure to read the comments (underneath the article) – readers brought up some interesting points….

Would like more info? Per Gazette:

-To contact Citizens for Effective Government, e-mail concernedcitizens@csceg.org or visit www.csceg.org.
- The El Paso County commissioners will discuss budgetcutting options at a meeting starting 9 a.m. Tuesday on the third floor of the County Office Building, 27 E. Vermijo Ave. Anyone may attend.

More things to do in Colorado Springs…are you ready?

May 24-26 Territory Days – Old Colorado City, Colorado Springs, Saturday and Sunday, 10:00 am to 7:00 pm, Monday 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. See http://www.territorydays.com for more info or call 719-475-0955.

June 7th – Manitou Springs Colorado Wine Festival, at Soda Springs Park, Manitou Springs. See http://www.manitousprings.org or call 800-642-2567.

June 14th to August 3rd – Colorado Renaissance Festival, Larkspur, CO, from 10:00 am to 6:30 pm  every weekend. http://www.coloradorenaissance.com.

July 19 – 26 El Paso County Fair, Fairgrounds, Colorado Springs. Call 719-520-7880 for info.

See you there?