WESTERN SKIES - July 2, 2005

*** NEWSCAST ***

ERIC WHITNEY: Last Thursday was the official ground breaking for the largest highway construction project ever undertaken in Colorado Springs. The Colorado Springs Metro Interstate Expansion Project, or COSMIX, will widen I-25 to six lanes through the city and overhaul several major interchanges. Stephen Raher was on hand for the groundbreaking and has this report.

STEPHEN RAHER: Elected officials, business leaders, and a lot of construction workers gathered on a grassy patch just off the Garden of the Gods exit ramp for a COSMIX groundbreaking ceremony, presided over by Governor Bill Owens.

GOV. BILL OWENS: If you ask just about anybody who travels through Colorado Springs, they'll agree with those studies that say that Colorado Springs has among the most congested traffic of any mid-sized city in the entire country.

RAHER: Owens pointed out that when I-25 opened in 1960, the traffic volume was eighty five hundred cars per day. That number is now up to a hundred thousand cars per day, and is expected to grow to one hundred seventy thousand by 2020.

The one hundred fifty million dollar construction project is expected to be finished by 2008. The money for COSMIX came from highway bonds approved by voters in 1999. And Owens used the funding as a segue to his current policy priority, support of Referenda C and D on this year's ballot. Citing a projected decline in revenue to the highway users trust fund, Owens said this year's election is crucial to keep Colorado's roads in good condition.

OWENS: With about three percent less revenue into the highway fund, we're not going to be able to keep up with Colorado's transportation future. That's why I'd like to ask you to consider voting for Referendum C and D on the ballot next November.

RAHER: When the speeches were over, Owens used a walkie-talkie to give the start work command, and the heavy equipment, which is sure to become a common sight for many local drivers, started up.

[sound of engine & applause]

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ERIC WHITNEY: Last week, the Air Force announced that it's appointing a retired Navy Rabbi to a new position: Chief of Staff for Values and Vision. Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff will report directly to the Secretary of the Air Force, and his job is to implement the recommendations of the Air Force task force that investigated charges of religious discrimination at the Air Force Academy.

The task force found no overt discrimination at the Academy, but it did find instances of "religious intolerance." It said the Academy's location has something to do with that. Specifically, that "the influence of a predominately evangelical Christian community in Colorado Springs creates additional challenges."

Western Skies contributor Philip Lightstone took that finding to the streets to see how it sits with folks in Colorado Springs. Here's a sample of what he brought back from talking to folks outside the downtown post office, and beside the fountain in Acacia park.

[sorry, no transcript]