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Colorado Springs Utilities asks people to report broken hydrants

Had it not been for Francia Custodio's quick thinking on Saturday she says her granddaughter might not be alive today. A fire started in their apartment and completely engulfed the bedroom where the 2 year old girl was resting. She ran into rescue her.
"I ran so fast through the fire," said Custodio, who suffered some major burns on her arm. "I stumbled. We fell in the hallway."
Her granddaughter's face was also badly burned. "I saw her face peeling and her forehead had like blisters and bubbles," said Custodio.
However, she says even more painful than the serious burns is knowing that two fire hydrants outside her apartment did no work. "Don't we pay for that? Our taxes? Things like that are not supposed to happen," said Custodio.
Deputy Fire Marshall Kris Cooper says it's rare for fire fighters to encounter a situation where two fire hydrants malfunction.
Cooper says one of the fire hydrants fire fighters tried to use Saturday was owned by the property owners. He added that it is illegal to have a fire hydrant that is not properly maintained. However, he says the fire department doesn't have the staff to personally inspect them all.
"It could go years before a property owner spends the money to have their hydrants tested or maintained. That's where we have a lot of problems," said Cooper.
The other malfunctioning fire hydrant belonged to Colorado Springs Utilities. Together with the Colorado Springs Fire Department they say they've devised a system for checking fire hydrants. However, in the past year they've inspected only about 6,800 of the over 16,000 hydrants in Colorado Springs.
Colorado Springs Utilities says they have no idea of knowing if a hydrant is in disrepair unless they inspect it in person. "We really don't know which ones work until we go out and physically touch and operate each hydrant," said Pat White of Colorado Springs Utilities.
They say even after they inspect the hydrants there are a number of things that can damage them. It's one reason they're asking people to report hydrants they believe might be broken in their neighborhood.

Sharks edge Avs at Pepsi Center

Sharks edge Avs a...

DENVER (AP) -- All the San Jose Sharks needed was a fortunate bounce and good goaltending to beat the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night.
Mike Grier's third-period goal bounced into the net off Avalanche defenseman John-Michael Liles with 11:30 left, and Evgeni Nabokov made 33 saves to lead the Sharks to a 3-2 victory.
San Jose led 2-1 when Grier's shot from the blue line hit Liles and deflected over goalie Jose Theodore's left shoulder. The insurance goal became a game-winner when Andrew Brunette scored with 3:05 left.
"I think it hit their D-man's stick and maybe bounced off the ice," Grier said. "I was just trying to throw it at the net."
It worked out well for the Sharks.
"It's unfortunate that that ended up being the winner, but it's one of those crazy things," Liles said.
Steve Bernier and Milan Michalek also scored for the Sharks, who beat Colorado for the second time in four nights.
Milan Hejduk had Colorado's other goal, and Theodore had 25 saves, but he felt he should have stopped Grier's shot.
"The puck went through Liles' legs, but I still had a chance to make the save," he said. "I saw it all the way, but the puck had too many strange bounces."
It was enough to give the Avalanche just its third loss at home in 13 games.
"That was a tough break, a tough bounce," Avalanche coach Joel Quenneville said. "It was fortunate for them."
Colorado pressured the Sharks throughout the third period, and Nabokov had to make several key saves. His biggest stop came on a shot by Clark with 40 seconds left and Theodore on the bench for an extra attacker.
"You expect your goalie to make big saves," San Jose coach Ron Wilson said. "We gave up a few too many shots, but a lot of their shots were perimeter shots."
The Avalanche, which outshot San Jose 16-7 in the third period, nearly tied it early when Brad Richardson's shot from in front was deflected wide by Nabokov.
"My defense played well in front of me," said Nabokov, who has started all 25 of San Jose's games this year. "They blocked a lot of shots in front of me and let me see the shots they got through."
Michalek got San Jose on the board first with his eighth goal of the season 3:14 into the game. The lead didn't last. Off the ensuing faceoff, Hejduk skated down the right side of the Sharks zone and beat Nabokov with a shot up high 12 seconds after Michalek scored.
Bernier made it 2-1 midway through the second period. He took a pass from Joe Thornton, who had two assists, near the left circle, stickhandled around Colorado defenseman Brett Clark and sent a shot under Theodore's right arm with 10:40 left.
"I wanted to pass the puck to (Jeremy Roenick) who was coming across the net," Bernier said. "The puck came right back to my stick and I just shot it. I never saw the goal.
The Avalanche almost tied it two minutes later, but Nabokov stopped a one-timer by Tyler Arnason.
The Sharks nearly took the lead three minutes into the second period when Joe Pavelski stole the puck from Liles and had a breakaway attempt. Theodore made the save to keep the score tied at 1.

Jet Way Liquors 911 tape released

Jet Way Liquors 9...

21-year-old Gibran Gayton walked into Jet Way Liquors last Tuesday, armed with a gun and demanding money. Instead of handing over the cash, the store's owner, Chuck Kellogg pulled out his gun and shot the man, then called police. Tuesday, the District Attorney's office said that it will not prosecute Kellogg because he was acting in self defense when he shot the would-be robber.
Late Tuesday afternoon, Colorado Springs Police released the 911 tape from that night. It starts with a dispatcher answering a call. "Colorado Springs 911, whats your emergency?" Kellogg answers, "This is Jet Way Liquors, I just shot a guy trying to hold me up." Moments after shooting the suspect, Kellogg calmly describes the situation to the dispatcher. "He's laying on the ground moaning." The dispatcher asks, "Where did you shoot him at?" Kellogg answers, Oh hell, I don't know." It would later be determined that Kellogg shot the man in the chest; he would die shortly after and police would later link Gayton to several robberies in Colorado Springs.

During the three minute conversation, you can hear Kellogg talking to Gayton, trying to calm him down. "just relax, we got the ambulance coming." He told the dispatchers that Gayton was lying on the floor unconscious, but breathing. The phone conversation ends when the police arrive at the liquor store.
News First spoke with Chuck Kellogg Tuesday by phone. He declined an on-camera interview but said the he was happy with the District Attorney's decision not to prosecute him.

Online shopping costs local government sales tax revenue

Online shopping c...

The U.S. Census Bureau says each year, more and more people are doing their holiday shopping on the internet. But is online shopping hurting our local economy? Experts agree that buying from online retailers means local government is losing sales tax revenue and in turn services. But one economist says there could be an upside for consumers.
Colorado College's assistant professor of economy, Daniel Johnson, says when a customer buys from an internet retailer that is not based locally, they do not pay a local sales tax. "For every sale made to a Colorado customer who is not paying sales tax, Colorado is losing tax revenue. No question about it."
The city of Colorado Springs estimates this holiday shopping season, consumers will spend 45 million dollars online. That could translate into a potential loss of 1 million dollars in sales tax revenue. Candice Bridgers, the Sales Tax Manager, says "Since our general fund is funded by sales tax revenue, it could be used for any of the general services that the city provides. Like police, or fire, or streets."
The city says that money could pay for 14 new police officers with equipment, 3 new fire engines, or 4 large dump trucks and snow plows. But Johnson says that even though the city may be missing out; "Customers on the other hand, may feel that they're getting a bit of a bargain. They don't pay as much in tax revenue, so they have more dollars in their pocket. And presumably, they'll spend those on things that make consumers happy."
If an online retailer has a store based locally, they do charge a local sales tax. But customers who buy from "online merchants only" are supposed to pay a use tax. However, Johnson says at this point in time, there is no way to track those sales or to see if customers are actually paying those taxes.

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Local Forecast
Plenty of sunshine and very nice today. Temps will be very close to the average for this date in August. Skies will be dry again today. There will be about a 10-20 percent chance of storms close tot the mountains on Tuesday. Some slightly cooler air will move through the eastern half of the state at times. Friday will feature the coolest temperatures out of the next 5 days. Saturday and Sunday will be a bit warmer, with isolated afternoon storms. Labor Day will bring the best chance for storms. Enjoy the day! - Craig Eliot 4:36 AM
 
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