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State Budget Passes With Medicaid Reductions And Broad Spending Cuts
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

State Budget Passes With Medicaid Reductions And Broad Spending Cuts

By Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado The state Senate gave final approval Thursday to a new state budget. It came in at just under $47 billion, an increase of about $3 billion over last year. The discretionary portion of the budget -- the general fund -- is $17.4 billion. While lawmakers avoided cuts to K-12 education and higher ed, most state departments saw reductions, with the agency in charge of Medicaid taking the biggest hit. Medicaid spending makes up about 40% of this year's budget. It has been increasing dramatically over the last few years, in part because the legislature has expanded the services it covers. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT CBS COLORADO
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Report Finds Millions In Improper Payments At Unregulated Colorado Autism Centers
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Report Finds Millions In Improper Payments At Unregulated Colorado Autism Centers

By Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado A new report by the Colorado Department of Human Services says a lack of oversight at facilities that provide therapy for kids with autism has resulted in dozens of complaints of child abuse. It comes after a federal audit found the state Medicaid program made at least $78 million in improper payments to the facilities, some of which are owned by private equity firms that the state agency overseeing Medicaid says have exploited the lack of regulations to maximize revenue. Pam Bisceglia has dedicated her life to improving the lives of people with disabilities as Executive Director of Advocacy Denver and parent of a daughter with autism. She says the facilities sprang up across Colorado when the state and federal government began requi...
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Jeffco Schools Challenge Federal Title IX Findings Amid Data Dispute
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Jeffco Schools Challenge Federal Title IX Findings Amid Data Dispute

By Anna Alejo | CBS Colorado Jeffco Public Schools is disputing a U.S. Department of Education conclusion that the school district is violating Title IX, asking federal officials for a meeting and more details on their findings as a 30-day deadline for response arrived on Monday. The department's Office for Civil Rights determined that 61 male students were competing on girls' sports teams in the district — a finding Jeffco says contradicts data it originally submitted to investigators after the OCR began its investigation of Jeffco in June 2025. "During this review, we requested clarification on several findings that appear to contradict the data we originally provided — discrepancies that directly impact two of the OCR's three proposed actions," the district said in ...
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Colorado loses jobs as nearly 100 companies exit, business leaders demand change
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado loses jobs as nearly 100 companies exit, business leaders demand change

By Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado Colorado is losing businesses and jobs at an alarming rate. Now, the ones who've stuck around are calling on state leaders to make changes before things get even worse. The Colorado Chamber of Commerce has been sounding an alarm for years about excessive regulation and, last year, more people moved out of Colorado than into the state. The chamber says companies are also relocating out-of-state. It released data showing, since 2019, 98 companies have either left the state, expanded elsewhere, or scrapped plans to move here. That's resulted in more than 13,000 lost jobs. Since 2022, Colorado has also had a net loss of 34 public company headquarters. Some of the states seeing gains from Colorado's losses included Texas, California a...
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Federal Heights Residents Demand Answers After Police And Fire Chiefs Ousted
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Federal Heights Residents Demand Answers After Police And Fire Chiefs Ousted

By Gabriela Vidal | CBS Colorado Four days after the Federal Heights police and fire chiefs were seemingly terminated from their positions, community members are speaking out against what they say has been a long history of retaliation against first responders in the community. "No one is sharing anything, and then with them both being terminated, by an email, without knowledge, is just not okay in any shape or form," said Renee Lund, a Federal Heights resident and volunteer victims advocate for the city. Multiple residents spoke before city council leaders Monday night, expressing their frustrations with what they felt has been a lack of transparency and accountability from the council and City Manager Jacqueline Halburnt, who they say was responsible for bo...
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Former Colorado Teacher Of The Year Finalist Sentenced To 14 Years In Student Abuse Case
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Former Colorado Teacher Of The Year Finalist Sentenced To 14 Years In Student Abuse Case

By Logan Smith | CBS Colorado A finalist for 2025 Colorado Teacher of the Year violated the terms of her probation and continued to contact one of her former students after she'd been criminally charged for having a relationship with the student and fired from her teaching position, according to a court document. Tera Johnson-Swartz was sentenced on March 19 to 14 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections. Two cases were filed against her - the first following a grand jury investigation into the relationship, the second after detectives learned that Johnson-Swartz was trying to maintain contact with the student. The student confirmed those attempts, according to the arrest affidavit in the second case. In an interview, the student said his former teacher walked u...
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Lakewood Voters To Decide Fate Of Controversial Zoning Changes
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Lakewood Voters To Decide Fate Of Controversial Zoning Changes

By Karen Morfitt | CBS Colorado Voters in one city near Denver can expect to start seeing ballots in the mail beginning Monday. On April 7, voters will decide whether to keep or repeal recent rezoning changes approved by the Lakewood City Council. A debate over those zoning changes has played out over several months and will now head to voters. Cathy Kentner, an organizer with Lakewood for All, said she initially doubted the petition effort would succeed. "I am very honest in saying, when I was asked my opinion, I said I didn't think it was possible," Kenter said. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT CBS COLORADO
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Colorado Lawmakers Move To Replace César Chávez Day Amid Abuse Allegations
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Lawmakers Move To Replace César Chávez Day Amid Abuse Allegations

By Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado The Colorado State House Civic, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee gave unanimous approval Monday to a bill that would rename "César Chávez Day" as "Farm Workers Day" in Colorado. The measure comes after 95-year-old Dolores Huerta — who co-founded the United Farm Workers Union with Chávez — alleged he sexually assaulted her, appearing to corroborate the claims of many other women, many of whom were children at the time. Under the legislation, "Farm Workers Day" would be an optional state holiday. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and City Council President Amanda Sandoval temporarily re-named the upcoming holiday "Sí Se Puede Day" in Denver. The city's celebration for the late labor leader was...
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Denver Declines To Release Completed Probe Into Police Division Chief After 14 Months and $110K
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Denver Declines To Release Completed Probe Into Police Division Chief After 14 Months and $110K

By Brian Maass | CBS Colorado A CBS Colorado investigation has learned the City of Denver has spent $110,000 on a 14-month investigation of Denver Police Division Chief Magen Dodge, but is refusing to release the completed investigation, which was finalized three months ago. "I have determined based upon a balancing of the factors... that the potential harm in disclosing the investigation report prior to the completion of the disciplinary process significantly weighs against the public interest at this time," wrote Andrea Webber, Records Administrator for Denver's Department of Public Safety, which oversees the Denver Police Department.  Webber said a disciplinary process is underway, justifying the city's refusal to release the outside investigation report. ...
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Wildlife Commission Moves Toward Possible Fur Sales Ban Despite Agency Concerns
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Wildlife Commission Moves Toward Possible Fur Sales Ban Despite Agency Concerns

By Olivia Young | CBS Colorado A contentious fight over fur stole the show at day one of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission March meeting. The drama centered around a citizen petition to prohibit the sale of some wild animals furs. The public meeting was packed with hunting advocates and animal rights groups. A total of 120 people signed up to speak during public comment at the hours-long meeting, not including those who submitted written or virtual comments. The turnout was so big that Colorado Parks and Wildlife increased security. The meeting was held at the DoubleTree Denver-Westminster. CPW said they conducted security checks at the entrance at the hotel's request to enforce the venue's ban on weapons. Ultimately, the commission voted 6-4 to mo...
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