Rocky Mountain Voice

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Trifecta of challenges unravel for Harris, White House ahead of Election Day
Approved, National, THE HILL

Trifecta of challenges unravel for Harris, White House ahead of Election Day

By Alex Gangitano | The Hill A compounding series of challenges are converging all at once for the White House — port workers are striking, fighting in the Middle East is escalating and Hurricane Helene has ravaged parts of the Southeastern U.S., all while a month away from Election Day. The issues unraveling both domestically and internationally is putting Vice President Harris to the test as she spends the final weeks of her campaign trying to convince voters that the current administration should not be punished at the polls in November. The unfortunate timing of the events has the potential to jolt the presidential race just over a month out, though the neck and neck contest has seen little movement in recent polls over a plethora of other issues. READ THE FULL ST...
Jobs, programs are cut at two Colorado mental health centers amid Medicaid “unwind”
Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Jobs, programs are cut at two Colorado mental health centers amid Medicaid “unwind”

By Jennifer Brown | The Colorado Sun Two more community mental health centers are eliminating jobs and cutting programs as Colorado’s safety-net health system staggers from a massive drop in Medicaid rolls.  WellPower, which provides mental health care in Denver regardless of whether patients have insurance, is cutting six positions from its co-responder team that pairs social workers with city park rangers, fire and law officers. It’s also eliminating its virtual therapy program, which connected 579 patients with therapists online last year. And it’s ending its lease of Garfield House, an apartment complex where the mental health center has placed patients who needed housing.  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
National concerns leave Colorado biz leaders less confident in late ’24
Approved, BizWest, State

National concerns leave Colorado biz leaders less confident in late ’24

By Lucas High | BizWest Heading into the fourth quarter of 2024, Colorado business leaders are feeling less confident about the state of the economy. The University of Colorado Leeds Business Confidence Index for the final quarter of 2024 was down nearly four points from the preceding quarter, based largely on national-level issues such as next month’s presidential election and inflation.  The index figure heading into the fourth quarter was 46.7. An LBCI score — which is based on impressions of the state economy, national economy, industry sales, industry profits, industry hiring and capital expenditures — of 50 is neutral.  READ THE FULL STORY AT BIZWEST
Report on hospital facility fees could stir new health-care regulatory efforts
Approved, State, The Sum & Substance

Report on hospital facility fees could stir new health-care regulatory efforts

By Ed Sealover | The Sum & Substance A legislatively mandated report on hospital-system facility fees that was released Tuesday appears likely to spark a new round of debate on whether the state should limit the fees that opponents call costly and unclear and that hospitals say are vital to offsite operations. The Hospital Facility Fee Report concluded that the fees, added for services in nonacute-care settings, drive up health-care costs by more than $50 million annually, are opaque and confusing and incentivize independent physicians to affiliate with larger hospital systems. However, the report also notes that a reduction in fee revenue could drastically cut the federal matching money that’s been used to expand Medicaid eligibility, and it noted several times that the task for...
By diverting $641M to migrants, Mayorkas admits FEMA funds won’t last through hurricane season
Approved, National, The Post Millennial

By diverting $641M to migrants, Mayorkas admits FEMA funds won’t last through hurricane season

By Thomas Stevenson | The Post Millennial If you want to know how hostile the global elite are to free speech, look no further than John Kerry’s recent speech to the World Economic Forum. Rather than extol the benefits of democratic liberty versus dictatorships and oligarchs, Kerry called the First Amendment a “major block” to keeping people from believing the “wrong” things. The former secretary of state and aide to the Biden-Harris administration told the sympathetic audience: “You know, there’s a lot of discussion now about how you curb those entities in order to guarantee that you’re going to have some accountability on facts, etc. But look, if people only go to one source, and the source they go to is sick, and, you know, has an agenda, and they’re putting out ...
Support Amendment I: Constitutional bail exception [of] first-degree murder
Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Support Amendment I: Constitutional bail exception [of] first-degree murder

By Editorial Board | Editorial, Rocky Mountain Voice Ballot language: Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado Constitution concerning creating an exception to the right to bail for cases of murder in the first-degree when proof is evident or presumption is great? How it reached the ballot: House Continuing Resolution 24-1002, supported by a 59-5 vote of the House and 35-0 vote of the Senate. Not only did the bipartisan measure carry unanimous support in the Senate, but it also was sponsored by almost every member. The measure was opposed in the House by the most extreme, far-left Democrats. Background: The authors of the measure seek to prevent those charged with first-degree murder from being eligible for bail "if proof is evident or presumption is great." When bail is grante...
Federal prosecutors urge indefinite delay in second Trump assassination attempt case
Approved, Just The News, National

Federal prosecutors urge indefinite delay in second Trump assassination attempt case

By Misty Severi | Just The News Federal prosecutors on Wednesday requested the trial of former President Donald Trump's suspected shooter Ryan Wesley Routh be indefinitely delayed, because of a massive amount of evidence they've uncovered in the past two weeks. Routh allegedly attempted to assassinate Trump last month at his resort in Florida, but the plot was foiled by Secret Service agents. Routh has been charged with attempted assassination, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and assaulting a federal officer. He has pleaded not guilty. The prosecutors argued in a court filing on Wednesday that new details in the case have emerged, which have resulted in more than 100 outstanding subpoena returns, thousands of videos to review, and the sei...
Pro-abortion, ranked choice groups rake in big bucks for November elections
Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Pro-abortion, ranked choice groups rake in big bucks for November elections

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics With five weeks to go until Election Day, the spending is ramping up for committees fighting for people's vote. And some interesting contributors have surfaced. Not surprisingly — and given the onslaught of television ads — Proposition 131, which deals with ranked choice voting, has brought in the biggest dollars. The measure would set up ranked choice voting and open primaries for Colorado elections. While both major political parties oppose the measure, it has been endorsed by Gov. Jared Polis, the League of Women Voters, and on Tuesday, by U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
In Colorado case, Kroger and Albertson’s say competition is Walmart, Costco and Amazon
Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

In Colorado case, Kroger and Albertson’s say competition is Walmart, Costco and Amazon

By Tamara Chuang | The Colorado Sun About two weeks before the Federal Trade Commission sued to block Kroger Company’s proposed $24.6 billion merger with Albertsons Companies Inc. in late February, the Colorado Attorney General’s Office filed an antitrust lawsuit of its own. The state’s antitrust trial began Monday morning in Denver District Court, room 414, as attorney Arthur Biller with the AG’s Office laid out how the merger threatens to increase grocery prices, reduce competition and impact the number of grocery workers and supermarkets, especially in the more rural parts of the state. He called Kroger “a monopolist of supermarkets” because it searches for “no-comp or low-comp stores,” or stores with little to no competition. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORA...
Support Amendment H: Judicial discipline procedures and confidentiality
Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Support Amendment H: Judicial discipline procedures and confidentiality

By Editorial Board | Editorial, Rocky Mountain Voice Ballot language: Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado Constitution concerning judicial discipline, and, in connection therewith, establishing an independent judicial discipline adjudicative board, setting standards for judicial review of a discipline case, and clarifying when discipline proceedings become public? How it reached the ballot: House Continuing Resolution 23-1001, supported by a 60-3 vote of the House and 35-0 vote of the Senate. An overwhelming bipartisan majority of both legislative chambers sponsored the measure. Three Republicans in the House opposed the measure. Background: The measure amends Section 23 of the Colorado Constitution, pertaining to judicial discipline. Under existing law, proceedings of the...