Adams State Under Heat
The most affordable university in Colorado is under heat, facing pressure from news sources that have labeled it one of the least effective colleges in the United States. Payscale.com listed Adams State as one of the colleges with the worst ROI, or return on investment. The ROI is meant to represent whether the amount of tuition spent on the degree will likely be worth the amount of money made with the degree. After Payscale’s list went public, Adams State has been featured on various blogs and articles questioning the worth of higher education and citing how low the college is on the list. Not all, however, are comfortable with the way the study was conducted, with objectors noting the extremely small sample sizes, the basing of rates on out-of-state tuition and failing to take into account the graduate student population.
The president of the college, Dr. David Svaldi, has published an article addressing the concerns of many students and the public at large. In his article entitled, “The More You Pay, the More It’s Worth,” Svaldi remarks on Payscale’s findings, “This conclusion is based on self-reported data from no more than 45 alumni, out of many thousands who have graduated from our institution over its 90-year-history.” Within the article, the college’s president also notes the high rate of alumni who go on to become teachers, whose low salaries “may not impress anyone in a metro area or on the East Coast.” Still, many students and pundits agree that the Payscale report is indicative of a more wide-scale problem, the growing frustration with rising tuition rates in a sluggish economy.
Alamosa County Considering Modifying Marijuana Laws
The Alamosa County Commissioners will be looking at five amendments to Ordinance 16, the set of rules that govern marijuana. The Valley Courier reports that among the purposed changes is the removal of the stipulation that medical marijuana cannot be sold within 1,000 feet of a residence, providing more latitude for such businesses. Also included in are various proposals that grant the Alamosa County Commissioners the ability to waive some requirements.
The community has responded by supporting the changes, expressing interest in the increased revenue the drug would provide. However, current marijuana business owners are not quite as positive, and state that an unfair advantage is being given to new businesses that can essentially spring up wherever they want, while the current locations were previously under stricter ordinances.
County Sheriff Purchases Armored Personnel Carrier
The county sheriff of Alamosa is acquiring a $460,000 military vehicle for tactical use from Texas. The vehicle will cost the county $2,000 which is the cost to drive it from Texas. According to The Valley Courier, sheriff Dave Stong said, “The vehicle will be used for high-risk search warrants, arrest warrants and SWAT operations.” Many citizens feel the focus should be on the communities’s soaring heroin problem.
Water Debt Turns into Major Issue for the Valley
As new water management policies are enacted in the San Luis Valley, old debts loom over the proposed plans. The sub-districts are trying to make up for incurred water depletions and reinstate the old Valley aquifer. One sub-district is collecting fees from farmers and putting water into the river in an effort to heal the ecosystem. According to The Courier, attorney David Robbins told the board that if the Colorado Supreme Court does not take action in the next few weeks, the arguments for change will not occur until September or October.
