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Colorado faces $1B hole: Governor Polis calls special session called and imposes state hiring freeze
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denvergazette.com, Approved, State

Colorado faces $1B hole: Governor Polis calls special session called and imposes state hiring freeze

By Marianne Goodland | Denver Gazette Gov. Jared Polis will convene the legislature on Aug. 21 to enact cuts to the state budget amid a $1 billion deficit, even as he is instituting a hiring freeze. The governor said the hiring freeze in state agencies will start on Aug. 27.   The governor confirmed that, in addition to spending reductions, the special session will deal with AI regulation. Lawmakers approved new AI regulations last year. They are expected to go into effect Feb. 1, 2026. The AI law established rules around the use of artificial intelligence, primarily in employment, health care, education, and government practices, where, backers said, the risk of bias or discrimination exists. Businesses have argued that the new law is problematic, potentially penaliz...
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Gabel: Denver’s anti-meat campaign is built on misinformation and contempt for agriculture
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Colorado Politics, Approved, Commentary, State

Gabel: Denver’s anti-meat campaign is built on misinformation and contempt for agriculture

By Rachel Gabel | Commentary, Colorado Politics Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s $3 million campaign to urge Denver residents and visitors to eat less meat to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) is tone deaf at best. There is no need for widening the divide between people and where their food comes from, especially here and now. Attempting to influence people’s food choices to fit an agenda funded by cause celebs is elitist, especially in a time when families are struggling to put nutritious food on the table. This is certainly further compounded by the shaky foundation of misinformation the campaign appears to be based upon when the priorities of the funding office shouldn’t have arbitrarily added livestock to the conversation. Colorado protein producers have embraced efficiencies and new ...
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KELLY: Former Trump Critics Face Reckoning as Lawfare Backfires
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Commentary, Approved, Declassified with Julie Kelly, National

KELLY: Former Trump Critics Face Reckoning as Lawfare Backfires

By Julie Kelly | Commentary, Declassified with Julie Kelly Perpetrators of the destructive decade-long lawfare against Trump, his family, his advisors, and his supporters thought he would end up in jail, not back in the Oval Office. Now they're sweating. MAGAland is cautiously optimistic that someone—anyone—finally will face consequences for unleashing the most destructive, deceptive, and costly abuse of government power against a single political figure and his movement in American history. This week, the Department of Justice ramped up investigations into the origins and extension of the Russiagate hoax amid new disclosures that give greater clarity as to exactly what went down in 2016 when top Obama officials, including the sitting president himself, conceived plans to sabotag...
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Three Judges Taught at CU While Ruling on University Cases
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State, Approved, Colorado Politics

Three Judges Taught at CU While Ruling on University Cases

By Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics A national report identified other judges who did not recuse from cases where one of the parties was the university where they taught on the side. Three of Colorado's sitting federal judges taught part-time at the University of Colorado's law school while they handled civil cases involving the university or associated entities. On July 30, the advocacy group Fix the Court released a report naming 24 federal judges throughout the country who did not recuse themselves from cases in which one of the parties was the university where they also taught as adjunct professors. The report identified U.S. Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter as someone who did not recuse from multiple cases involving CU. However, Colorado Politics' independent docket re...
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Redistricting off the table in Colorado? Independent commission holds the line
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State, Approved, kdvr.com

Redistricting off the table in Colorado? Independent commission holds the line

By Gabrielle Franklin | KDVR Fox 31 DENVER (KDVR) — The battle over the balance of power in Congress is already underway with the 2026 midterm election still more than a year away. Reactions to Texas Democrats fleeing their state to avoid a vote to redraw the state’s congressional maps continue to grow as states with Democratic majorities threaten counteraction. Could Colorado act too? FOX31’s political analysts both said it is unlikely the state would take any action on redistricting soon, but there are still some observations to be learned from the Lone Star State. “No, I don’t see Colorado joining that arms race,” said FOX31 Political Analyst and Republican strategist Michael Fields. “We redistrict every 10 years. We’re not at a time where we redistrict right now,” said F...
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Colorado Kicks Off Regulatory Surge with 200+ New Laws
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State, Approved, DENVER7

Colorado Kicks Off Regulatory Surge with 200+ New Laws

By Stephanie Butzer | Denver7 More than 200 new laws go into effect in Colorado on Wednesday, and they touch on subjects ranging from domestic violence to wildfires, and tax incentives to education. Denver7 has compiled a list of all of these laws below. A few more laws passed in 2025 will go into effect this September and October, followed by more in January and February 2026. Click on any of the links below to explore more details about each bill, including who sponsored it, when it was passed and what the vote was, and the fiscal impacts. You can explore the "2025 Digest of Bills," prepared by the Office of Legislative Legal Services, here. Below is a list of all of the Colorado laws that go into effect on Aug. 6, 2025: H.B. 25-1005 Tax Incentive for Film Festivals ...
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Aurora Police Chief Praises ICE After Swift Arrest of Illegal Immigrant Murder Suspect
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Local, Approved, The Sentinel

Aurora Police Chief Praises ICE After Swift Arrest of Illegal Immigrant Murder Suspect

By Staff | The Sentinel Colorado AURORA | Aurora’s police chief credited Aurora investigators as well as ICE and Homeland Security agents in quickly tracking down a Venezuelan immigrant accused of shooting his wife and her sister in front of five children early Sunday inside an Aurora apartment. Investigators on Monday said they found and arrested Michel Jordan Castellano-Fonseca, 30, late Sunday, who they say shot and killed his 26-year-old sister-in-law and critically injured his wife at about 3 a.m. at Aurora Meadows apartments in the 1000 block of Cimarron Circle. “The one thing that I really want to detail…is the foundation of the incident itself,” Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain told reporters at a press conference Monday “This was a tragic loss of life. This event occu...
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Colorado Lawmakers Sound Alarm on Budget Crisis and AI Regulation Vacuum
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State, Approved, denvergazette.com

Colorado Lawmakers Sound Alarm on Budget Crisis and AI Regulation Vacuum

By Marianne Goodland | Denver Gazette Will there be a special session this month? Multiple sources have told Colorado Politics that on Wednesday the governor will call the General Assembly back to Denver on Aug. 21. Members of the Joint Budget Committee showed signs Tuesday that they're ready to go — and need only the word from the governor to get started. Policymakers' main challenge will be cuts totaling $955 million in general funds, the result, according to Democrats, of federal tax policy changes that came out the budget adopted by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump on July 4 but which Republicans argued is a problem of the state's own making. Secondarily, the call could include a request to fix Senate Bill 24-205, the artificial intelligence regulation that ...
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Elk Fire forces evacuations: Northwest Colorado battles fast-growing blaze
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Fox31, Approved, State

Elk Fire forces evacuations: Northwest Colorado battles fast-growing blaze

BY SPENCER KRISTENSEN | KDVR - FOX 31 DENVER (KDVR) — Three large wildfires caused by lightning strikes are burning in northwest Colorado in Rio Blanco and Moffat Counties, the Bureau of Land Management reported on Monday morning. Here’s what to know about each fire: Elk Fire The Elk Fire is the largest of the three fires. Initially reported on Aug. 2, the fire has grown to 3,000 acres as of Monday morning and is burning in the Oak Ridge area, nearly 10 miles east of Meeker. The fire is burning on private, state and BLM lands. Evacuation and pre-evacuation orders The Rio Blanco Sheriff’s Office ordered evacuations on Sunday and continued with pre-evacuation orders on Monday afternoon. READ THE FULL STORY AT KDVR - FOX 31
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Boebert gets Trump nod for another run in Colorado’s conservative stronghold
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Boebert gets Trump nod for another run in Colorado’s conservative stronghold

By Ernest Luning | Colorado Politics Calling her a "MAGA Warrior," President Donald Trump this week endorsed U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert's reelection bid in Colorado's 4th Congressional District, the state's most heavily Republican seat. The staunch Trump ally is seeking a fourth term in Congress next year. A former restaurant owner and Second Amendment activist, Boebert was elected to two terms representing the Western Slope-based 3rd Congressional District in 2020 and 2022 before moving across the state last year to run for the safer seat, which covers Douglas County and the Eastern Plains. "Congresswoman Lauren Boebert is an America First Patriot, who is doing an incredible job representing Colorado’s 4th Congressional District!" Trump posted on Truth Social, the social media...
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