Rocky Mountain Voice

Menu

Approved

Republicans in minority, but with House seat gains, as 75th General Assembly opens on Wednesday
No Comments
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Republicans in minority, but with House seat gains, as 75th General Assembly opens on Wednesday

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice The 75th session of the Colorado General Assembly opens Wednesday, Jan. 8, with sine die — adjournment on the final day of the session — slated for May 7. Between, Republicans will be faced with minorities in both chambers and the Democratic trifecta, with Gov. Jared Polis heading up the executive branch. Voters, though, did hand Republicans one advantage. House Republicans are no longer in a super minority and, like Senate Republicans, face a simple minority. That is not to say it will be any easier to pass Republican bills or defeat Democratic bills. Republicans face a 23-12 minority in the Senate and a 43-22 minority in the House. Heading up the Republican House will again be Minority Leader Rose Pugliese of El Paso County. She has gain...
Read More
Mayors of Denver and Aurora clash over ‘offloading of illegals’ in Aurora
No Comments
Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Mayors of Denver and Aurora clash over ‘offloading of illegals’ in Aurora

By Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado In an op-ed published in the Colorado Springs Gazette, Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman accused Denver Mayor Mike Johnston of not being truthful about how migrants, including Venezuelan gang members, ended up in Aurora. Coffman said he filed an open records request that shows Johnston used the cover of non-profits to quietly dump migrants in other cities. Johnston denied the allegations, stating,  "The City of Denver never places anyone anywhere."  Johnston said he was blindsided by the op-ed that included a headline claiming, "Denver's Mayor offloads immigrants on Aurora." READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
Read More
Trump announces Gulf of Mexico will get new, pro-America revamp
No Comments
Approved, Fox News, National

Trump announces Gulf of Mexico will get new, pro-America revamp

By Emma Colton | Fox News President-elect Trump announced the Gulf of Mexico is getting a new name.  "We're going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring. That covers a lot of territory," Trump said on Tuesday. "The Gulf of America. What a beautiful name. And it's appropriate." Trump made the announcement in his first press conference since Congress certified his election win over Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday from Mar-a-Lago. He opened the press event by announcing DAMAC Properties will invest $20 billion in new data centers across the country in addition to previewing a bevy of policy issues ahead of his inauguration this month.  READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX NEWS
Read More
ACLU claims Aurora police may have ‘exceeded their authority’ in working with ICE
No Comments
Approved, kdvr.com, Local

ACLU claims Aurora police may have ‘exceeded their authority’ in working with ICE

By Heather Willard | Fox 31 News The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado is speaking out about the ongoing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement action in Aurora that led to 16 people detained in December. ICE was involved with the investigation of an armed apartment invasion on Dec. 16 and 17 at The Edge at Lowry apartment complex in Aurora where 19 people were initially detained, but ultimately 16 were arrested. Aurora police said the incident began when two Venezuelan individuals were accosted by a large group of armed individuals and forced into an apartment unit. There, the group allegedly tied them up, beat them, pistol-whipped them and stabbed the male victim. READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX 31 NEWS
Read More
Colorado family hopes murder suspect will reveal location of man missing for 25 years
No Comments
Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Colorado family hopes murder suspect will reveal location of man missing for 25 years

By Logan Smith | CBS Colorado He played Santa Claus during the holidays and hand-delivered gifts to local children. He drove teenage royalty in the high school's homecoming parades with his rebuilt classic cars. He picked up broken down motorists and fixed their cars.  But his body has never been found.  Dale Williams was presumably murdered by a childhood friend 25 years ago.  His willingness to help others appears to have contributed to his disappearance. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
Read More
When the utilities lobby received an icy reception from Colorado state senators
No Comments
Approved, Law Week Colorado, State

When the utilities lobby received an icy reception from Colorado state senators

By Michael Rummel | LawWeekColorado.com While lobbyists have always been a fairly regular fixture at the Colorado General Assembly, there have been moments in Colorado history when their presence wasn’t appreciated. Late January 1957 was one of those moments.  Improvements in transmission technology had made power generation using natural gas a more economic and feasible option following World War II. The 1950s also saw a rise in the production of natural gas in the Denver Basin, adding to the existing natural gas developments on the Western Slope.  These factors led to a rise in interest from municipalities in pursuing natural gas power plants for their citizens. But an issue arose when Rocky Ford attempted to build one. According to a Rocky Mountain News article from the ti...
Read More
Rep. Iman Jodeh selected by Democrats to replace District 29 Sen. Janet Buckner
No Comments
Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Rep. Iman Jodeh selected by Democrats to replace District 29 Sen. Janet Buckner

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics A Democratic vacancy committee in Arapahoe County on Monday night chose Rep. Iman Jodeh of Aurora to succeed state Sen. Janet Buckner. Buckner resigned last month, just weeks after winning an uncontested race for her second term in the state Senate. Jodeh, who won her third term in the House by 25 percentage points in November, defeated two challengers for the seat, including Maya Wheeler and Christian Caldwell. Jodeh won with 35 votes out of 42 cast; Wheeler got seven votes, and Caldwell did not receive any votes. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
Read More
School districts grappling with new state law to honor students’ chosen names
No Comments
Approved, gazette.com, State

School districts grappling with new state law to honor students’ chosen names

By ERIC YOUNG | The Gazette As more school districts adopt policies to adhere to a new state law regarding students’ chosen names, it’s been far from a simple decision for some in the Pikes Peak region. With the passage of House Bill 1039 into law last April, all public schools must now implement a written policy outlining how staff will honor a student’s request to use a name different than their legal name. All school personnel must address students and refer to them by these names during school and extracurricular activities. The new law intends to protect LGBTQ+ students whose chosen names differ from their legal names given at birth and reflect their gender identity. Refusing to do so now constitutes discrimination, and students subjected to it can file a school rep...
Read More
Browning: Colorado egg law and bird flu has people ‘scrambling’ to find eggs
No Comments
Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Browning: Colorado egg law and bird flu has people ‘scrambling’ to find eggs

By Lindy Browning | Contributing Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice During the last few weeks, there have been a couple of notable changes you may have noticed at your local grocer. The old saying that warns us not to keep all of our “eggs in one basket”, has now become, “I can’t find or afford eggs in my basket.” People are divided as to what has caused this “poaching” of their wallets, if they can find eggs on the shelf. No matter the cause, it has many people "fried.” Some people believe that the new Colorado law, which mandates that only cage-free eggs will be sold in Colorado, is to blame for the nearly-empty egg shelves and high cost of eggs, if you can find them.  The “egg-ception” to the law is that egg-producing operations with 3.000 or fewer hens are not required to ...
Read More
District 11 ends decades-old contract with teacher union in effort to deliver for students, families
No Comments
Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice

District 11 ends decades-old contract with teacher union in effort to deliver for students, families

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice The District 11 School Board has decided against renewing its master agreement with the local teacher union — the Colorado Springs Education Association (CSEA). The CSEA is a branch of the Colorado Education Association (CEA), an affiliate of the largest teacher union – the National Education Association (NEA).  District 11 President Dr. Parth Melpakam described it as a move to empower nimble governance and improve student outcomes: “Without the master agreement, it just gives us a lot more flexibility to address some of our persistent challenges and change the narrative of a district that was becoming irrelevant in the landscape of Colorado Springs.”  “The agreement was a layer of complexity that limited our ability t...
Read More