Fifteen Years Ago this week in The Colorado Statesman … Former U.S. Sen. Gary Hart and Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Tom Strickland discussed the changing face of terrorism at a forum sponsored by the Colorado Young Democrats on the Auraria campus. “The events of Sept. 11, in my judgment, completely blurred the line between war and crime,” said Hart, who had recently headed a bipartisan commission that concluded in January that an attack on U.S. soil was likely. The new wars would be different, he said. “(Modern wars) have no announcement of the battle day and no structured armies,” he added, noting the conflicts involved overlapping networks of terrorists, organized criminals and drug cartels. “We’re in an extremely challenging time, but not a time for despair,” said Strickland, a former U.S. attorney. Discussing a recent mock terrorism drill he’d helped manage – the largest in the nation’s history – Strickland said, “Our first line of defense is the local police and the FBI. Law enforcement should operate like the military without militarizing the domestic law enforcement community.” Hart stressed the importance of not infringing on civil liberties in the name of national security. “This country doesn’t have to change its character or quality,” he said. “We can adapt our society to the new world in all ways.” …

… “Now we are ready to start work on the largest highway and transit project in the state’s history,” said Gov. Bill Owens at the ceremonial groundbreaking for the $1.67 billion T-REX (Transportation Expansion) Project along Interstate 25, noting that he had made reconstruction of I-25 south of central Denver one of his top priorities when he assumed office nearly three years earlier. Under the old methods of financing, Owens added, it would have taken 17 years to fund and build the project. “Now, thanks to our ability to issue bonds, the contractor has pledged we will finish this project in less than five years.” Colorado Department of Transportation Executive Director Tom Norton praised local government and business partners – including RTD, Denver, Aurora, Greenwood Village, Lone Tree, Arapahoe County, Douglas County and the Joint Southeast Public Improvement Association – for helping “get this show on the road.” U.S. Sens. Wayne Allard and Ben Nighthorse Campbell said they were committed to securing the federal funding necessary to finish the project. “No transportation project in our state’s history has received the level of support and commitment from Colorado’s voters, legislators and its governor as the T-REX project,” added U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo. “You can be assured that I will continue to fight in Congress for Colorado’s fair share of transportation funds, and for the funding of this project in particular.” U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette praised the project as a “wonderful example of 21st century thinking about how we should approach our transportation needs, balancing highway improvements with mass transit.” The project would replace an outdated road with a modernized highway and light rail, as well as rebuilt interchanges and bridges. …

… State Treasurer Mike Coffman was off to an early start on his congressional campaign, even though no one knew the boundaries of Colorado’s newest, seventh congressional district. The Aurora Republican had formed an exploratory committee months earlier and had been spending all his spare time campaigning, even though the Legislature had failed to agree on district lines during its regular session or in a just-concluded special session. After raising upwards of $100,000, Coffman made it clear he’d was leaning toward a run for Congress even if he didn’t land within the new district. “I’m a statewide elected official,” Coffman said. “If I didn’t reside in the district, I would foresee no problem.” If he left the treasurer seat open, Republicans were already jostling to take his place handling the state’s money, with “wonder boy” Rick O’Donnell, the 31-year-old head of policy and initiatives for Gov. Bill Owens, leading the pack. Term-limited House Speaker Doug Dean, R-Colorado Springs, was rumored to be interested in the job, as was state Rep. Gayle Berry, R-Grand Junction, but for now the spotlight shone on O’Donnell, a Colorado College graduate and former commodities trader. “I would be a fresh, energetic face on the Republican ticket,” he said, adding, “I’d be a great treasurer and would bring in new strategies to look over the state’s finances.” The Evergreen Republican’s “kitchen cabinet” was forming, too, including Mike Beasley, Dick Wadhams, Walt Klein, Shari Williams, Terri Rayburn and Vickie Boorman. On the Democratic side, Chris Romer, son of former Gov. Roy Romer, topped the list of potential candidates. …

… Both sides debated whether state voters should approve a $50 million question to fund a test version of a high-speed monorail from the airport into the mountains at a meeting of the City Club of Denver. Independence Institute President Jon Caldara argued against the ballot measure, while Miller Hudson, on leave from his post as executive director of the Colorado Intermountain Fixed Guideway Authority – that would be the monorail – urged civic leaders to take a chance on the vision. “This isn’t really just a debate about monorail,” said Hudson, a former Denver lawmaker. “It’s a debate about the future of Colorado and the kind of world we are going to pass on to our children 50 years from now when there are 12 million people in this state.” The entire proposal, estimated to cost $4 billion, envisioned a 167-mile rail running from Denver International Airport to the Eagle County Airport near Vail at top speeds of 150 mph. The tradeoff was spending that sum on a monorail or nearly as much to add two lanes to I-70, Hudson said, warning that a highway expansion would take a decade to finance and complete. Opponents said the monorail would be impossible to build at any price because it relied on technological advances yet to be invented. “There is no monorail system on earth that goes more than 55 mph, no system that is over 15 miles long, and no monorail that goes over a hill, no less a mountain,” said Caldara. What’s more, the test project would delay necessary I-70 improvements by years without any guarantee it would ease transportation burdens one bit.