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New start» Long-delayed VA hospital underway. »2B
Volatility is rocking our world. Get used to it. »lifestyle, 1D
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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2011
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Online today» Get your Colorado politics fix at The Spot blog. »blogs.denverpost.com/thespot
WORLD
TUMULT CONTINUES IN CAIRO
U N S O U N D S C HO O L
State probes Meeker project
FAIL.
The structural engineer, fired Monday, worked on drawings minus a license.
Egypt’s civilian Cabinet offered to resign during the third day of violent clashes in Tahrir Square. The crowds demanded an end to military rule in a demonstration reminiscent of the call for Hosni Mubarak’s ouster. »2A
By Eric Gorski The Denver Post
The state Department of Regulatory Agencies opened an investigation Monday into possible substandard engineering on Meeker’s troubled $18.9 million grade school, citing a Denver Post report documenting the project’s many problems. Angie Kinnaird Linn, a program director with the department, said the inquiry will focus on the work of Gary Howell, who until Monday was a structural engineer for The Neenan Co., which designed and built the northwestern Colorado school. Neenan fired Howell on Monday, said Andy Boian, a public-relations representative hired by the Fort Collins-based firm. Howell has twice before received letters of reprimand from DORA — in 2001 for a design issue involving an unspecified project and in 2009 for failing to renew his license, records show. In fact, Howell did not have a valid license when Neenan hired him in December
SPORTS
BCS MESS With undefeated teams losing left and right — and some others going unnoticed — the reputation of the BCS system is in serious peril. But don’t tell that to one of its biggest supporters. »woody paige, 1C
DENVER & THE WEST
SCHOOL » 9A
M O RE D O WN T O WN PA T RO L S
The Peace Statue, with the figures of Grief weeping over History, stands in front of the U.S. Capitol. Congress and economists lamented the collapse of the debt panel’s efforts to trim the federal deficit. Joshua Roberts, Bloomberg
Unable to forge an accord on deficit reduction, Congress’ “supercommittee” concedes defeat. Colorado and other states will feel the pain of coming federal funding cuts. By Allison Sherry The Denver Post
CITY GIVES 1st OK TO SALARY OF TOP COP The Denver City Council gave preliminary approval of the contract for the incoming police chief, Robert White. White, replacing police Chief Gerry Whitman, will earn an annual salary of $167,466. »1B
Media Center. Go online to find the latest images from around the world. »denverpost.com/ mediacenter
PANEL’S FLOP IMPERILS COLO. JOBS, GROWTH By Ann Schrader and Margaret Jackson The Denver Post
“Uncertainty” was a word used repeatedly Monday by Colorado economists and industries in lamenting the failure of the congressional “supercommittee” to reach a budget-cut agreement. “For companies waiting to see if they get funded for year two or three of a defense contract, they don’t even know how many employees to have. The uncertainty is crippling,” said Bryan Blakely, president of Accelerate Colorado, a businessgovernment partnership. Defense-related positions at risk “are great-paying jobs, and they support a lot of secondary jobs in Colorado,” Blakely said. “There are millions, hundreds of millions of dollars in defense contracts ECONOMISTS » 7A
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The Denver Post
Wall Street» Dow slumps as congressional deadlock disheartens investors. »business, 7B
Military» Hawks lead charge to halt automatic cuts. »6A
washington» There will be fewer inspectors at Colorado’s meatpacking plants, fewer air-traffic controllers at Denver International Airport and fewer IRS agents to check tax scofflaws, thanks to the failure of the “supercommittee” to come to an accord on $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction by Monday. Now that the committee of six Democrats and six Republicans has officially disbanded, wishing one another a happy Thanksgiving and applauding their own hard work, agencies and local governments start planning for the fallout. “We don’t even have enough funds to maintain our current system adequately,” said Colorado Department of Transportation spokeswoman Stacey Stegman. “Cuts in funding would really put us to the point of having zero new projects. All our money would go to snow removal and maintenance.” An automatic $1.2 trillion will be axed from the budget in January 2013, save for Congress getting together next year and figuring out a solution. FALLOUT » 7A
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Angels boost city presence after attacks By Kieran Nicholson The Denver Post
The thugs preying on shoppers, diners and partyers along the 16th Street Mall have caught the attention of Denver’s Guardian Angels. Members of the crime-fighting group have stepped up patrols in downtown Denver in response to attacks that target solitary victims on the mall, said Sebastian Metz, the group’s regional director in Denver. “The recent attacks, we can’t ignore that,” Metz said. “We hope our visible presence will stop some stuff and reassure people as well.” Police said 15 attacks and robberies were reported downtown between Aug. 1 and Nov. 9, including six on the pedestrian mall and five on Market Street. Those follow a string of what appeared to be racially ANGELS » 9A
Guardian Angel Joe Hoschouer was patrolling the 16th Street Mall on Monday. John Leyba, The Denver Post
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