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Highlands Ranch road renamed to honor Kendrick Castillo, the hero in the STEM school shooting
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Approved, DENVER7, Local

Highlands Ranch road renamed to honor Kendrick Castillo, the hero in the STEM school shooting

By Richard Butler | Denver 7 News A major roadway in Highlands Ranch was renamed to honor Kendrick Castillo, the hero student who charged at the gunman during the 2019 STEM School shooting, giving his classmates time to hide and run. Castillo's family and Highlands Ranch officials unveiled Kendrick Castillo Way, formerly Lucent Boulevard, on Tuesday. The Kendrick Castillo Memorial Oversight Committee requested the name change, and it was approved by the Board of Douglas County Commissioners. READ THE FULL STORY AT DENVER 7 NEWS
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Union workers file lawsuit against King Soopers, Safeway for alleged actions during 2022 strike
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Approved, kdvr.com, Local

Union workers file lawsuit against King Soopers, Safeway for alleged actions during 2022 strike

By Samantha Jarpe | Fox 31 News A class action lawsuit was recently filed by local union workers against the Kroger Company and Albertsons, the owners of King Soopers and Safeway respectively. The lawsuit is in response to certain unlawful “no-poach agreements” the grocery stores allegedly entered into during a 2022 strike against King Soopers and City Market by the union United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 in Denver. A spokesperson for the Kroger Company released a statement about the lawsuit and denied that there were any no-poach agreements between the two companies. READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX 31 NEWS
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Daniel: Let local communities lead on public lands
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Daniel: Let local communities lead on public lands

By Bobbie Daniel | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Public lands are woven into the fabric of Colorado’s identity, serving as living symbols of our shared heritage, natural beauty and deep connection to the land. Nowhere is this more evident than in Western Colorado, where public lands foster a profound respect for nature and a commitment to stewardship. To ensure these lands thrive for future generations, we must adopt outcome-based policies prioritizing access, sustainability and thoughtful management — balancing conservation with economic vitality. Unfortunately, this balance is increasingly threatened by political instability and federal overreach. Mesa County, where 73% of the land is federally managed, provides a telling example of the challenges at hand. Federal burea...
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Duffy: Denver’s mayor frets over the wrong Exodus
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Approved, Commentary, gazette.com

Duffy: Denver’s mayor frets over the wrong Exodus

By Sean Duffy | Commentary, The Gazette Mayor Mike Johnston is confused. Denver’s mayor wants to stand athwart the city’s boundaries to stop people from leaving. His problem is he’s focused on the wrong people. Apparently seeking to bolster his progressive bona-fides, Mayor Mike recently staged a public hissy fit about the incoming Trump administration’s plan to deport illegal immigrants. In a bizarre rant he had to walk back, he said he would deploy the already understaffed Denver Police Department to stop federal immigration agents. If his goal was to get national attention as a pro-illegal immigrant warrior, it worked. READ THE FULL COMMENTARY AT THE GAZETTE Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflec...
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As state weighs budget cuts, CPW set to award up to $50k for initiatives that promote ‘Born to Be Wild’ license plate
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Approved, KKCO-TV Grand Junction, State

As state weighs budget cuts, CPW set to award up to $50k for initiatives that promote ‘Born to Be Wild’ license plate

By Wylee Mitchell | KKCO-TV CBS 11 Colorado Parks and Wildlife recently announced the ‘Born to be Wild License Plate Grant Program.’ The program will grant up to $50,000 in funding to initiatives that promote the license plate. According to the CPW, grant awards will be available annually to Colorado based non-profit organizations, educational institutions, or government agencies. Other entities will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The application deadline is December 15. The awardees will be announced in March. Colorado House Bill 23-1265 created a new special license plate, raising funding for nonlethal ways of mitigating conflict with gray wolves. The special license plate was approved by Governor Polis in May of 2023 and became effective in August of that year. RE...
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Food Bank of the Rockies facing challenge of meeting highest food insecurity level in a decade
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Food Bank of the Rockies facing challenge of meeting highest food insecurity level in a decade

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice "On the Western Slope, one in eight people — our neighbors — are food insecure. For children, it’s even worse: one in seven kids is unsure where their next meal will come from," shares Sue Ellen Rodwick, director of the Western Slope Food Bank of the Rockies. "Statewide, the numbers are slightly better, but still troubling. One in nine Coloradans face food insecurity." The Food Bank of the Rockies (FBOTR) is spearheading the response to this growing crisis. It serves 417,317 people a year. The U.S. Census puts the state's population at 5,877,610. This is the largest food bank area in the contiguous U.S., covering Colorado and Wyoming. It serves a region of more than 150,000 square miles. It has three distribution centers ...
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Proposed state budget could cut $110 million from already pothole-laden highways
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Approved, State, The Sum & Substance

Proposed state budget could cut $110 million from already pothole-laden highways

By Ed Sealover | The Sum & Substance Colorado’s ability to build and fix the highways that are key to transporting goods and people could take a $110 million hit in the next fiscal year under budget-balancing proposals being offered by Gov. Jared Polis. The two-tiered reductions — a permanent cut of $65 million per year and a short-term cut of $49 million in other funds — are part of $638 million in expenditure cuts and revenue boosts Polis has suggested to deal with rising Medicaid costs and falling inflation. And while officials acknowledge that such spending rollbacks must happen somewhere in the budget, both legislators and Colorado Transportation Commission members warn these cuts could be particularly deleterious for transportation safety. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE SUM...
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Summit County residents pay a tax for work U.S. Forest Service says it won’t do this year
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Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Summit County residents pay a tax for work U.S. Forest Service says it won’t do this year

By Spencer Wilson | CBS Colorado The U.S. Forest Service says it will not be hiring seasonal workers that do campsite enforcement in Colorado this upcoming year. In past years, those workers have kept the campgrounds clean and the trails safe. The decision by the Forest Service has upset some people in Summit County who pay extra in their taxes for some of those positions. The tax was created because the county is not allowed to hire people to do that enforcement themselves. The work needs to be done by a USFS employee. The Forest Service doesn't have the money to create those positions this upcoming year and wants to use the money that they'll save for other priorities, according to county leaders. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
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Sloan: Could Doug Burgum and Chris Wright lead an American energy revival?
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Sloan: Could Doug Burgum and Chris Wright lead an American energy revival?

By Kelly Sloan | Contributing Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice There is much consternation in different corners about President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks; indeed, some of it is not entirely unwarranted. Much of it, on the other hand, is on the order of polemical hysteria, an outcropping of the left’s general caterwauling about how America under a second Trump presidency will take on the appearance of a Hieronymus Bosch painting. The Senate may have its work cut out in sorting through the noise generated around some of the appointments, but two that ought to give them no pause in the least are the President-elect’s picks for Interior and Energy: North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, and Liberty Energy CEO Chris Wright respectively.  It will prove exceedingly difficult to...
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She worked for Denver for 20 years. Now she’s suing Mayor Mike Johnston’s office and his chief equity officer
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Approved, Denverite, Local

She worked for Denver for 20 years. Now she’s suing Mayor Mike Johnston’s office and his chief equity officer

By Kyle Harris | Denverite A City of Denver employee is suing the Mayor’s Office and the Mayor’s Chief Equity Officer. Jessica Calderon’s allegations include sex and national-origin discrimination, retaliation and violations of her constitutional rights to free expression and assembly.  She filed the complaint in August and her attorneys amended it this week. It addresses several years of grievances that span the administrations of former mayor Michael Hancock and Mayor Mike Johnston. The Denver City Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the complaint, and neither the Mayor’s Office nor Chief Equity Officer Ben Sanders have responded to Denverite’s requests for comment on the allegations.  READ THE FULL STORY AT DENVERITE
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