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Rep. Anna Paulina Luna Signals GOP Will Go It Alone To Pass Funding Bills
Washington Examiner, Approved, National

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna Signals GOP Will Go It Alone To Pass Funding Bills

By Zach LaChance | Washington Examiner House Republicans will attempt to pass the remaining spending bills and the two-week extension funding the Department of Homeland Security along party lines to end the partial government shutdown, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) revealed on Sunday night. Luna posted on X that GOP leaders would no longer be moving the legislation to the floor under suspension, which would fast-track passage of it but requires a two-thirds majority and, therefore, Democratic support. Instead, they will hope for a united caucus to pass the bills and fully reopen the government, a tricky prospect given Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) razor-thin majority. Johnson had already hinted at the change in strategy in multiple Su...
Colorado PUC Moves to Regulate Planned Power Shutoffs After Xcel Outages
CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado PUC Moves to Regulate Planned Power Shutoffs After Xcel Outages

By Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado After four Xcel power shutoffs in the past nine months, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission is taking action. The director of the PUC told state lawmakers the regulatory agency is creating rules to help mitigate the impact of "Public Safety Power Shutoffs," which are meant to reduce the risk of a wildfire in high wind events. The news came during a hearing by the Colorado House and Senate energy committees, where lawmakers grilled the president of Xcel, Robert Kenney. Republic state Sen. Byron Pelton, who represents Morgan County, told Kenney, when power is cut to feed lots in rural Colorado, cattle lose access to water. Democratic state Sen. Tammy Story, who represents Jefferson County, says the shutoffs have h...
More People Are Leaving Colorado as High Costs and Regulations Take Toll
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

More People Are Leaving Colorado as High Costs and Regulations Take Toll

By Vince Bzdek | Colorado Politics It’s finally happened. Buried in all the self-congratulatory reports about Colorado reaching the 6 million mark in population last year was news that should be keeping our political leaders up at night. For the first time in 20 years, more people left Colorado to go to other states than moved here from elsewhere in the country, 12,100 more. “More outs than ins,” the state demographer’s office said in a statement. I’ve been dreading this moment for years. Colorado’s total net migration – the number of people coming here versus the number of people leaving – has dropped by over 50% from 2015 to 2025. That means Colorado’s population growth has now slowed to its lowest level since 1989, according to the state demographer...
Massive Power Outage Leaves Nearly 200,000 Denver Area Residents in the Dark
DENVER7, Approved, Local

Massive Power Outage Leaves Nearly 200,000 Denver Area Residents in the Dark

By: Robert Garrison | Denver7 DENVER — A large power outage in the southeast area of the Denver metro on Sunday afternoon left nearly 200,000 people in the dark, affected airport operations, and 911 service in some areas. Xcel Energy said a transformer failure and the resulting equipment damage at one of its substations just before 3 p.m. Sunday was to blame for the outage that left more than 195,000 people without power. CORE Electric customers were also impacted. https://twitter.com/MaggieB_TV/status/2018186933889908989?s=20 READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT DENVER7
Ballot Measure 95 Gives Colorado Voters A Say on Sanctuary State Policies
The Denver Gazette, Approved, Commentary, State

Ballot Measure 95 Gives Colorado Voters A Say on Sanctuary State Policies

By The Gazette Editorial Board | Commentary, The Denver Gazette Shooting deaths in Minneapolis involving Immigration & Customs Enforcement’s operations have stirred strong opinions about what to do with illegal immigration in our state and across the country. Many Coloradans are against ICE’s operations in Minneapolis and elsewhere, including here in Colorado, under President Donald Trump and find them to be unwarranted and dangerous.  Many other Coloradans are in full support of Trump and ICE, believing it’s more than reasonable for the federal government to apprehend and deport people here illegally. Especially when they have committed crimes over and above entering the country illegally in the first place. In the midst of that heated debate, advocacy...
ODNI Says Federal Law Supports Gabbard Role in Georgia Election Raid
Just The News, Approved, National

ODNI Says Federal Law Supports Gabbard Role in Georgia Election Raid

By Ben Whedon | Just the News The FBI raided the Georgia facility this week as part of a criminal probe linked to the 2020 election. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has defended DNI Tulsi Gabbard's presence at a Fulton County election hub for an FBI raid, asserting that such operations fall entirely within her purview. "Director Gabbard recognizes that election security is essential for the integrity of our republic and our nation’s security," ODNI spokeswoman Oliva Coleman said in a statement. "As DNI, she has a vital role in identifying vulnerabilities in our critical infrastructure and protecting against exploitation." "We know through intelligence and public reporting that electronic voting systems have been and are vulnerable...
Congress Moves Closer to Cutting Off Taxpayer Funds to Taliban
Just The News, Approved, National

Congress Moves Closer to Cutting Off Taxpayer Funds to Taliban

By Jerry Dunleavy | Just the News Congress is now one step closer to ensuring U.S. taxpayer dollars don't end up in Taliban coffers. Momentum is building in Congress to formally ban U.S. taxpayer dollars from funding the Taliban, after the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday followed the House’s lead in passing the “No Taxpayer Dollars for Terrorists” bill. The bill – which “requires the Department of State to develop and implement a strategy to discourage foreign countries and nongovernmental organizations from providing financial or material support to the Taliban” – passed in the Senate committee on a 12-10 party-line vote, with all Republicans voting for the bill and all Democrats voting against it. The Taliban conducted a lightni...
Memo Shows Weak Oversight and Lack of Accountability in Cherry Creek Schools
The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Memo Shows Weak Oversight and Lack of Accountability in Cherry Creek Schools

By Nicole C. Brambila | The Denver Gazette To avoid a conflict of interest, the wife of Cherry Creek Schools Superintendent Chris Smith — who resigned this week amid allegations of a toxic work environment — was supposed to report to Deputy Superintendent Jennifer Perry. In the wake of Smith’s resignation Wednesday, Perry was named interim superintendent. According to a Denver7 investigation, insiders said Smith and his wife, Chief Human Resource Officer Brenda Smith, had created a “toxic culture” — leaving employees with no recourse. A one-page memo dated May 9, 2022 from then Board President Kelly Bates outlined the arrangement. “In the event that the ability of either Christopher Smith or Brenda Smith to perform their professional duties, includin...
State Regulators Confront Fallout From Xcel’s Wildfire Power Shutdowns
The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

State Regulators Confront Fallout From Xcel’s Wildfire Power Shutdowns

By Mark Jaffe | The Colorado Sun State utilities regulators collected testimony from 4,000 businesses, households with lifesaving medical equipment and the merely annoyed as they form rules for public safety power shut-offs. In December, Rainbow Schultz was preparing for Xcel Energy’s announced shutdown of power lines to cope with high winds since her restaurant — the Jamestown Mercantile — had lost $8,000 in the utility’s safety shut-off eight months earlier. Schultz was already reducing her supplies when she was told by Xcel Energy her town of 230 in western Boulder County would not be in the shut-off area and so she stocked up as usual.  Still when the 112-mile-per-hour gust of wind came Dec. 18, Schultz found herself in the dark wi...
Former Colorado Senator Sonya Jaquez Lewis Convicted of Forging Documents
kdvr.com, Approved, State

Former Colorado Senator Sonya Jaquez Lewis Convicted of Forging Documents

By Jacob Factor | KDVR DENVER (KDVR) — A former Colorado state senator who was at the center of an ethics investigation over treatment of her staff has been convicted of forging documents in the investigation. A Denver jury on Wednesday convicted Sonya Jaquez Lewis, who represented parts of Boulder County as a Democrat until she resigned in February last year, of one count of attempting to influence a public servant and three counts of forgery. “The public expects that governments operate honestly and transparently and that elected officials be held to a high standard,” Denver District Attorney John Walsh said in a statement posted on Facebook after the conviction. “Sonya Jaquez Lewis has now been convicted by a Denver jury of fabricating documents during a l...