Rocky Mountain Voice

Approved

Colorado’s New Gun Dealer Law Slaps Small Business With Big Government Red Tape
State, Approved, kdvr.com

Colorado’s New Gun Dealer Law Slaps Small Business With Big Government Red Tape

By Gabby Easterwood | KDVR Fox31 LONGMONT, Colo. (KDVR) — A portion of House Bill 24-1353 has gone into effect as of July 1, and firearm dealers say it’s just another burden for their businesses. The portion taking effect requires firearm dealers to have a state permit. Lawmakers have said the goal of the bill is to crack down on illegal firearm sales. Part of the law went into effect in 2024, and the final part went into effect starting in July, requiring that firearm dealers have a state firearms dealer permit, where they must hold a federal firearms license and other requirements. But firearm dealers like Rod Brandenburg, owner of Grandpa’s Pawn and Gun, say it’s just another unnecessary hoop they have to jump through. “They’re putting a huge burden on us and they can enforc...
EPA Ends Long-Term Animal Tests, Streamlines Under Trump-Era Overhaul
National, Approved, The Independent

EPA Ends Long-Term Animal Tests, Streamlines Under Trump-Era Overhaul

By Graig Graziosi | Independent Approximately three quarters of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development — representing 1,000 scientist positions — will be cut under the Trump administration Cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency are forcing it to curb much of its research work, leaving it with an abundance of lab animals — so it's holding an adoption drive. EPA staff at a research office in North Carolina have launched an adoption campaign for their lab rats and zebrafish in response to cuts to its research projects introduced by the Donald Trump administration, according to the Wall Street Journal. A research and development official at the EPA said that scientists were having a difficult time obtaining supplies for even basic testing, wh...
Stanford Halts Pediatric Gender Surgeries Amid Legal, Parental Pushback
State, Approved, Breitbart

Stanford Halts Pediatric Gender Surgeries Amid Legal, Parental Pushback

By Katherine Hamilton | Breitbart Stanford Medicine has halted performing sex change surgeries on patients under 19 years old, becoming the second major health care provider in California to do so, as the Trump administration fights to protect youth from gender ideology. The shift occurred before the Supreme Court last week upheld Tennessee’s ban on sex changes for minors, and after the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles announced its decision to close its “trans youth program” in July, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on June 24. Stanford told the publication in a statement: After careful review of the latest actions and directives from the federal government and following consultations with clinical leadership, including our multidisciplinary LGBTQ+ program and its providers...
Instructors, sheriffs warn: New concealed carry law causes confusion, long lines statewide
DENVER7, Approved, State

Instructors, sheriffs warn: New concealed carry law causes confusion, long lines statewide

By Danielle Kreutter | Denver7 DENVER — New requirements to obtain a concealed carry permit in Colorado took effect on Tuesday. Under House Bill 24-1174, applicants must complete eight hours of in-person training and education on things like safe storage and handling of weapons. There is also now a live fire training requirement. One day into the new requirements, some Colorado sheriff's offices and concealed carry instructors are reporting struggles. "We follow the letter of the law. We do cover what is required under the state requirements," said Issac Chase, co-founder of Guns for Everyone, a Colorado-based company that offers free concealed carry courses. Chase told Denver7 they received an increase in people seeking permits in the months before the new require...
Commerce City Educator Surrenders After Abuse Allegation From Former Student
Local, Approved, DENVER7

Commerce City Educator Surrenders After Abuse Allegation From Former Student

By: Stephanie Butzer | Denver7 COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — A former Commerce City teacher has been charged with sexual assault on a child after a victim came forward and said he was assaulted by her when he was in sixth grade. Michelle McMillan, 44, turned herself into the Adams County Detention Facility on Sunday on a charge of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust, according to the Commerce City Police Department. The victim in this case disclosed to a parent in December that McMillian had sexually assaulted him when he was a sixth-grader at Landmark Academy. McMillan worked at the school as a teacher at the time, police said. This kicked off a lengthy investigation, which ended with an arrest warrant for McMillan. Landmark Academy is located along the 10...
State board to hear Front Range concerns over Western Slope’s $99M Shoshone river deal
The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

State board to hear Front Range concerns over Western Slope’s $99M Shoshone river deal

By Shannon Mullane | Colorado Sun Front Range providers and others will voice their concerns in September about the Western Slope’s plan to purchase the historic and highly coveted water rights tied to Shoshone Power Plant Colorado’s top water board unanimously agreed Tuesday to hear out Front Range water operators’ concerns about a Western Slope plan to purchase historic Colorado River water rights. The Colorado River Water Conservation District, which represents 15 Western Slope counties, negotiated a $99 million deal to purchase water rights tied to the century-old Shoshone Power Plant, owned by a subsidiary of Xcel Energy.  The River District and the Front Range groups — Aurora Water, Denver Water, Colorado Springs Utilities and Northern Water — all want to maintain th...
UPenn caves to Title IX truth: Women’s sports get apology, restored records
Fox News, Approved, National

UPenn caves to Title IX truth: Women’s sports get apology, restored records

By Jackson Thompson | Fox News School will issue public statement adopting biology-based definitions and apologize to female swimmers affected by trans athlete FIRST ON FOX: The U.S. Department of Education announced Tuesday that the University of Pennsylvania has agreed to a resolution with President Donald Trump's administration to keep biological male trans athletes out of women's sports, in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. The department previously launched an investigation into UPenn on Feb. 6 for Title IX violations that occurred in the swimming program. Trans athlete Lia Thomas competed for the women's team in the 2021-22 season, after previously competing for the men's team.  "Today, the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) announced the...
Study finds 70% of Colorado land zoned for housing prohibits affordable housing options
The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Study finds 70% of Colorado land zoned for housing prohibits affordable housing options

By Brian Eason | Colorado Sun In the first comprehensive review of Colorado land use laws, the National Zoning Atlas found that you can build single-family homes almost anywhere. But apartments, condos and townhomes are widely prohibited. You can build a house almost anywhere in Colorado. You just can’t build one that most people can afford. That’s the stark takeaway from a landmark zoning report released last month by the National Zoning Atlas, a group of researchers who have spent the last two years conducting a first-of-its-kind study of land use codes across 334 Colorado cities, towns and unincorporated areas. The group found that on the vast majority of land, in the vast majority of Colorado communities, it’s not just difficult to build housing the average hou...
Boulder Jewish Community Leader Killed in Firebomb Attack
denvergazette.com, Approved, Local

Boulder Jewish Community Leader Killed in Firebomb Attack

By David Zalubowski - AP | The Denver Gazette A woman injured in the Boulder Pearl Street Mall attack earlier this month has died, leading the Boulder District Attorney's Office to file murder charges against an Egyptian national accused of carrying out the attack.  Officials said Karen Diamond, 82, died as a result of the severe injuries she suffered after a suspect threw Molotov cocktails at a group of protesters pressing for the release of the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas. The number of people injured during the June 1 attack, initially set at 15, has grown to 29, according to the district attorney's office. The attack also injured a dog.   "There are no words to express the pain of this horrific loss of our beloved member and friend," Rabbi M...
President Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ clears Senate with Vance’s tie-breaking vote
Daily Wire, Approved, National

President Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ clears Senate with Vance’s tie-breaking vote

By Daniel Chaitin | Daily Wire Now the measure heads back to the House. President Donald Trump scored another major legislative victory on Tuesday with the GOP-led Senate narrowly passing “One Big, Beautiful Bill” with the help of Vice President JD Vance, keeping alive the prospect of Congress getting the centerpiece measure to his desk by Independence Day. The 900-page-plus bill, which aims to fulfill many of Trump’s spending and tax-cut goals for his second term, triumphed in a 51-50 vote after a marathon “vote-a-rama” session on amendments and intense deliberations between members during which leadership managed to win over just enough Republicans to get the measure over the finish line. Because the bill is making its way through Congress through the budget reconciliation pr...