Neil Westergaard’s editorial (subscription only) in this week’s Denver Business Journal is well-written and insightful, describing RTD’s new West Line as an example of collaborative programs among business and government that “required tremendous foresight, planning and execution, and hard work” in order to make this community great. He then derides the public for having “parochial, self-centered, not-in-my-backyard” (NIMBY) attitudes that can cause similar projects to, well, de-rail.

I recently had the opportunity to take a pre-opening day light rail train tour of RTD’s West Corridor. It is a success story of design, engineering and construction preceded by years of community involvement, in which MGA played a large part.

While consumer spending is once again on the rise, it’s important to remember to build up savings and live within your means. Those are some of the lessons of a recent study by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling and Network Branded Prepaid Card Association, which found 57 percent of Americans are worried about a lack of savings. Another 78 percent said it would be useful to talk with a professional about their finances. So where can Coloradans find that kind of assistance? A good place to start is Money Smart Colorado.

A few months ago, ESPN offered a sneak preview of the new batting practice caps from Major League Baseball (MLB) in anticipation of spring training and Opening Day. It seems every three or four years all the baseball teams come up with new designs based on their existing logos and brands. Being a graphic designer, and a native of Chicago, I was most curious to see the Cubs’ new look.

People who know MGA know that we combine a business mindset with a commitment to the public good and we value the important contribution that the nonprofit sector makes in strengthening Colorado communities. That’s why we said yes when the groups involved with the Colorado Collaborative for Nonprofits asked us to help forge the organization’s new brand and visual identity.

What do social media, teacher training and the Capitol dome restoration all have in common? They are all elements of existing mining industry outreach programs targeting teachers, students, Colorado residents and decision makers.

Remember when everybody started listening to your favorite band so you had to stop listening to that band? Or how you saw “Clerks” before it was cool? How many people will be saying, “I liked the Women’s Bean Project (WBP) before they were in Wal-Mart?”

It was my honor to chair a session at a conference about mining held at the Colorado Convention Center last week. The conference was the joint 2013 Society of Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME) Annual Meeting & Exhibit and the Colorado Mining Association (CMA) 115th National Western Mining Conference. It is the biggest mining show in the Western U.S. this year, with attendance of about 5,800. The conference theme was “Mining: It’s About the People.”

Hours before and in anticipation of last week’s first presidential debate, the Shorenstein Center for Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government hosted a panel discussion titled “Politics as Theater.” As a KSG alumnus, I watched with great interest. Are there takeaways from this discussion and from the debate relevant to public relations professionals and the clients they serve? Absolutely.

While there weren’t as many fireworks displays in Colorado this year as compared to previous years (because of the increased fire danger), MGAers found several other ways to celebrate the Fourth of July.

When the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff hands out an award to an employer it must mean the award is pretty important. It also means no global military conflict is going on that requires his presence in the War Room.

Many college students, recent graduates and parents of college-bound students are faced with the challenge of managing student loan debt in these tough economic times, as underscored by President Barack Obama’s speech in Boulder this week.

Colorado is one of only a handful of states that has ample reserves of both energy fuels such as coal, uranium and natural gas, and critical and strategic minerals. The state is not only rich in some of these much-needed natural resources, but Colorado’s wind resources are some of the best as well.

The word “candidate” comes from the Latin “candida,” meaning clothed in white, referencing the bleached white togas Roman politicians wore to stand out in a crowd. The bleaching solution of the day was urine, a product vastly improved upon over time.

Families and high school students ponder this question every year, especially when job prospects for young adults are unpredictable. But two recent studies show a college education is both a good value and beneficial.