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Aurora lawmakers vote to go forward with repealing employee tax on businesses
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Approved, denvergazette.com, Local

Aurora lawmakers vote to go forward with repealing employee tax on businesses

By Kyla Pearce | Denver Gazette Aurora lawmakers on Monday night decided to keep a promise made to businesses that they would repeal the occupational privilege tax, which taxes businesses for each employee. The decision came after a series of meetings during which councilmembers went back and forth on the issue and ended up in arguments with each other over whether they should keep the promise, made last year, or go back on it and keep the tax to fund new fire stations.  The occupational privilege tax collects $4 monthly from companies for each employee. Employers and employees split the dues, paying $2 respectively. The tax began in 1986 to support street maintenance, police and fire services. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
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‘Something needs to be done’: Smash-and-grab burglaries on the rise
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Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

‘Something needs to be done’: Smash-and-grab burglaries on the rise

By Karen Morfitt | CBS Colorado Law enforcement agencies are seeing a spike in smash-and-grab burglaries across the northern part of the Denver metro area and up into Northern Colorado. The Boulder County Sheriff's Office is looking for what they are calling the Panda Bandit. Investigators say three young suspects, one dressed in a panda costume, burglarized a gas station in Superior and took vape products. In Greeley, a clothing store is asking for help after thieves drove through their front window. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
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Childcare deserts in Colorado are keeping women from working
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Approved, kdvr.com, State

Childcare deserts in Colorado are keeping women from working

By Carly Moore | Fox 31 News Finding available and affordable child care is a pressing concern for many Colorado families. Anecdotally, for a lot of new parents of kids younger than six, before they go to school, paying for childcare is like taking out a second mortgage. Many believe it’s the cost of childcare that causes the biggest problems, but the Common Sense Institute ran the numbers and found many counties in Colorado are in a childcare desert. The Common Sense Institute found that there are not enough spots for all the kids who need care. About 51% of the state is in a “childcare desert.” READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX 31 NEWS
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Trump’s pick for energy secretary, Colorado’s Chris Wright, says the real crisis is ‘energy poverty’
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, National

Trump’s pick for energy secretary, Colorado’s Chris Wright, says the real crisis is ‘energy poverty’

By Scott Weiser | The Gazette, via Colorado Politics President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of Energy, Colorado's Chris Wright, views the world divided between the haves and have-nots — with a specific eye toward access to energy, arguing that, instead of a “climate" agenda, America should focus on ensuring a wide array of cheap, abundant and sustainable energy sources that include geothermal, nuclear, oil and gas.  He argued that this approach is the antidote to what he described as an “energy crisis,” in which a minority of the world’s population has access to abundant energy, while the rest lives in “energy poverty.” The approach, which he outlined in several articles for Colorado Politics and The Denver Gazette, will likely serve as a philosophical guidepo...
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Did Middle Park sell $1 billion of water for 10 bucks?
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Approved, Local, The Colorado Sun

Did Middle Park sell $1 billion of water for 10 bucks?

By Michael Booth | The Colorado Sun Since Dwight Eisenhower was president, tiny Middle Park Water Conservancy District has hoarded a precious gem: 20,000 acre-feet of water rights on Troublesome Creek, near Kremmling, and the authority to build a dam for it.  In October, Middle Park gave its treasure to a private rancher. For $10.   The Middle Park district, which primarily serves ranchers and hay growers in Grand and Summit counties, has only a few hundred thousand dollars of revenue each year, and no ability to raise potentially tens of millions of dollars for environmental permitting and hundreds of millions for construction, the district’s attorney said.  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Western Colorado school board votes to close one elementary school, two more could shutter
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Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice

Western Colorado school board votes to close one elementary school, two more could shutter

By Jen Schumann | Contributor, Rocky Mountain Voice It was an emotional night at the Mesa County Valley District 51 school board meeting on Nov. 19, as more than 50 public commenters packed a seven-hour session that stretched past midnight. Parents, students, teachers and community members voiced their concerns about the proposed closure of Scenic, Nisley and Clifton Elementary Schools. "No one wants to be in a situation where they are having to close schools," Superintendent Dr. Brian Hill said. "It will never feel good, but it is the situation we find ourselves in."  Hill detailed the data-driven approach used to identify schools for closure. He highlighted the Elementary Declining Enrollment Committee’s criteria, which included building adequacy, enrollment and transportatio...
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Colorado’s new 23rd Judicial District office to open in Douglas County following residential concerns
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado’s new 23rd Judicial District office to open in Douglas County following residential concerns

By Noah Festenstein | Colorado Politics Colorado’s newest judicial district in 60 years has found an office in northern Douglas County following years of planning and residents' pushback on some proposed sites. With a new judicial district comes the need for a new office. The office is intended to house the diversion unit from the Justice Center in Castle Rock. It will also offer pretrial and some probation services. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Colorado Buffaloes superfan Miss Peggy celebrates her 100th birthday with Deion Sanders
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Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Colorado Buffaloes superfan Miss Peggy celebrates her 100th birthday with Deion Sanders

By Jesse Sarles | CBS Colorado Colorado Buffaloes head football Coach Deion Sanders brought a special guest with him to his weekly news conference in Boulder -- Peggy Coppom, who is known better by her nickname "Miss Peggy." Coppom is a CU athletics superfan who is turning 100 on Tuesday.  Sanders has become tight with Coppom and has even dedicated this season to getting the new centenarian to a bowl game. "Which bowl do you want to go to?" Sanders inquired. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
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A look at Colorado’s Red Flag law and how often it’s used
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Approved, KOAA News, State

A look at Colorado’s Red Flag law and how often it’s used

By Alasyn Zimmerman | KOAA-TV NBC-5 Colorado first passed its "Red Flag Law" in 2019. It allows family members and household members as well as law enforcement agencies to petition a judge to have someone's guns removed from them if they are deemed a risk to themselves or others. The bill was first introduced in 2018, but it failed in a divided legislature where Democrats controlled the House and Republicans controlled the Senate. In 2019, numerous counties, including El Paso County, declared the counties to be "2nd Amendment Sanctuary Counties" or in El Paso County's case a "2nd Amendment Preservation County" meaning it would not enforce the Red Flag law. READ THE FULL STORY AT KOAA-TV NBC-5
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House Speaker bans men from women’s bathrooms on Capitol Hill
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Approved, National, The Post Millennial

House Speaker bans men from women’s bathrooms on Capitol Hill

By Libby Emmons | The Post Millennial House Speaker Mike Johnson has issued a new edict saying that only women shall have permission to access women's bathrooms on Capitol Hill. The move from Johnson comes after South Carolina Rep Nancy Mace proposed a new rule that would deliver the same result Johnson has provided."All single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House Office Buildings—such as restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms—are reserved for individuals of that biological sex," Johnson wrote. "It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol." "Women deserve women's only spaces," Johnson said. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE POST MILLENNIAL
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