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O’Donnell: Colorado’s new wildlife commission will conserve everything—except common sense
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, State, Top Stories

O’Donnell: Colorado’s new wildlife commission will conserve everything—except common sense

By Mike O’Donnell | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The Democratic Party swept to power in Colorado in the 2018 general election (the first time since 1936) under the guise of being a progressive party with the best interests of all Coloradans at heart. When they assumed office they embraced, en masse, the philosophy of the RadicalxChange movement, which—depending on your level of cynicism—shares some unsettling parallels with those catchy World Economic Forum slogans about how we’ll all “own nothing and be happy” by 2030. (No, that line’s not in the RadicalxChange handbook, but the vibe isn’t far off.) The movement also espouses adopting a “more democratic” concept for elections known as quadratic voting. Colorado was THE first test case for quadratic voting EVER in the...
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Trump DOJ Subpoenas Colorado Hospital in Gender Care Investigation
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State, Approved, The Colorado Sun

Trump DOJ Subpoenas Colorado Hospital in Gender Care Investigation

By John Ingold | The Colorado Sun Children’s Hospital Colorado, the state’s largest pediatric specialty hospital, has received a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice as part of an apparent investigation into gender-affirming care for transgender youth. The hospital received the subpoena this week. It did not disclose the contents or say whether the subpoena seeks patient records. “We are engaging outside counsel and evaluating it to determine how we should respond,” the hospital wrote in a statement Thursday. The subpoena comes one month after Fox News, citing an anonymous source, reported that the DOJ had opened an investigation into three children’s hospitals across the country, including Children’s Hospital Colorado. The others were Boston Children’s Hospital and Chi...
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Governor Solicits Input After Millions Already Spent on Pedestrian Project
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Local, Approved, Colorado Politics

Governor Solicits Input After Millions Already Spent on Pedestrian Project

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Gov. Jared Polis is asking Coloradans to weigh in on the $29 million pedestrian bridge he envisions as part of the state's 150th birthday celebration. However, the bridge project, which will primarily be funded by private donations, is facing challenges in its next step: securing approval from the legislature's Capital Development Committee. The bridge, according to its design, will connect the grounds of the state Capitol across Lincoln Street to Lincoln Veterans Memorial Park, and then across Broadway to Civic Center Park. The state has already allocated $8.5 million of taxpayer money to initiate the project, but the remaining funds will need to be raised through private donations. The initial cost is $18 million, but an additional $10...
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TOTH: Trump Finds His Perfect Wingman in Susie Wiles
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Commentary, Approved, THE HILL

TOTH: Trump Finds His Perfect Wingman in Susie Wiles

By Michael Toth | Commentary, The Hill Like President Trump or not, his second term is going much better for him than his first was. This time eight years ago, his presidency was in disarray, reeling from the Russiagate probe and the Senate’s rejection of ObamaCare repeal. That’s night and day from the current administration’s early victories from the tax-and-spending megabill, immigration and universal injunctions. Even European leaders and Ivy League universities are now heeding Trump’s demands. The president’s approval ratings are 5 percentage points higher now than at the same time in his first term, according to the RealClearPolitics aggregate poll. Pundits have credited White House chief of staff Susie Wiles for the new administration’s winning streak. But less has been w...
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Douglas County Residents Voice Concerns as John Adams Academy Moves In
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Local, Approved, CBS News

Douglas County Residents Voice Concerns as John Adams Academy Moves In

By Olivia Young | CBS News A fast-growing Colorado community will soon be home to two new schools that are set to open in the next two years. A tuition-free public K-12 charter school, John Adams Academy, has been approved to open in 2026 on 25 acres of land in Douglas County donated by Sterling Ranch LLC. The school will be located in Sterling Ranch, south of Waterton Road and adjacent to Ascent Village. John Adams Academy was approved by the Colorado Charter School Institute last month after being released to the state authorizer by the Douglas County School District. Some community members say that process didn't allow them to fully voice concerns over where their tax dollars were going. A DCSD public elementary school funded by a bond passed last year is set to open in Ster...
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Trump Signs Bill Cracking Down on Fentanyl Traffickers
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National, Approved, The Epoch Times

Trump Signs Bill Cracking Down on Fentanyl Traffickers

By Travis Gillmore | The Epoch Times The new law mandates 10-year minimum prison sentences for those convicted of trafficking at least 100 grams of deadly opioid-related substances. WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump signed the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act on Wednesday during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House.  Also known as the HALT Fentanyl Act, the bill, which passed with bipartisan support, reclassifies substances related to the deadly opioid as Schedule 1 narcotics, the strictest designation established by the Controlled Substances Act.  Such drugs are deemed to have no acceptable medical value and are subject to the nation’s most punitive criminal penalties.  The bill also mandates 10-year minimum prison sentences for those con...
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Denver City Council Eyes Risky Shift to Ranked-Choice Voting for Local Elections
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Local, Approved, Axios Denver

Denver City Council Eyes Risky Shift to Ranked-Choice Voting for Local Elections

By Esteban L. Hernandez | Axios Denver If Denver's current municipal election system isn't broken, why fix it? The big picture: It's a refrain from Denver City Council members opposing a bill that would change city elections to ranked choice voting. Yes, but: Despite reservations, they advanced the bill Tuesday to the full council. Why it matters: Voters may decide this fall whether to fundamentally change how local elections work. The other side: Council members who back the bill, including Sarah Parady and Darrell Watson, say it will boost turnout, increase candidate engagement with voters and save money. How it works: Ranked choice voting allows people to rank candidates in order of preference when multiple contestants are available (...
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Lake Powell Power Crisis: Hydropower Threatened as Water Levels Plunge
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State, Approved, The Colorado Sun

Lake Powell Power Crisis: Hydropower Threatened as Water Levels Plunge

By Shannon Mullane | The Colorado Sun Federal officials reported Tuesday that the water level in Lake Powell, one of the main water storage reservoirs for the Colorado River Basin, could fall low enough to stop hydropower generation at the reservoir by December 2026. The reservoir’s water levels have fallen as the Colorado River Basin, the water supply for 40 million people, has been overstressed by rising temperatures, prolonged drought and relentless demand. Upper Basin officials sounded the alarm in June, saying this year’s conditions echo the extreme conditions of 2021 and 2022, when Lake Powell and its sister reservoir, Lake Mead, dropped to historic lows. The basin needs a different management approach, specifically one that is more closely tied to the actual water supply ea...
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30,000 Acres and Counting: Western Colorado Faces Worst Fire Season Yet
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State, Approved, denvergazette.com

30,000 Acres and Counting: Western Colorado Faces Worst Fire Season Yet

Grace Brajkovich | The Denver Gazette Several wildfires continue to eat their way through western Colorado's mountainous terrain, with one growing more than 6,000 acres overnight and another crossing over from Utah, according to emergency officials. The four major wildfires on the western half of the state, including the one coming from Utah, have burned over 35,000 acres of land, according to Inciweb, a government wildfire tracker.  The scorching weather and "extreme" drought conditions still fan the blazes' flames as firefighters try to navigate steep, jagged terrain and fight back the four wildfires that prompted Gov. Jared Polis to issue a disaster declaration Sunday.  Here's a roundup from fire officials Wednesday. Turner Gulch and Wright Draw firesM...
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Gazette editorial board: AG Weiser defends censure-shamed CU regent over public health warning
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Local, Approved, gazette.com

Gazette editorial board: AG Weiser defends censure-shamed CU regent over public health warning

By The Gazette Editorial Board | Commentary, The Gazette For a politician with his eyes on a higher prize, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser sure seemed shortsighted the other day when he took to social media in defense of the indefensible — a University of Colorado regent rightly rebuked by her peers for her abuse of office. Readers might recall the CU Board of Regents recently voted 7-1 to censure first-term board member Wanda James, a Democrat who represents Denver’s 1st Congressional District. James, arguably the state’s most politically ambitious pot dealer, has behaved at times as if she represents the marijuana industry rather than her district — and it finally backfired on her. The owner of a Denver marijuana retail outlet, James unconscionably attempted this year to s...
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