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He posted $250,000 in cash and fled. Colorado released him on a promise.
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

He posted $250,000 in cash and fled. Colorado released him on a promise.

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Do Colorado courts ignore fugitive warrants for sex offenders just like they do ICE detainers? I wrote a bit back about Colorado’s sanctuary policy and ICE detainers. To see that earlier op ed, click the first link below. The second link below, a Cowboy State Daily (WY) article about a sex offender being released on a PR bond, struck me as a good follow up to the earlier one about ICE. Not so much because the sex offender was here illegally, but because it touches on some of the same things: being released on bond, confusion about detaining someone, and/or Colorado’s seeming unwillingness to honor some warrants/hold requests. Let’s talk the story first. In my earlier op ed, I outlined the process that happ...
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Study adds evidence that wolves can cost Colorado ranchers beyond livestock losses
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Study adds evidence that wolves can cost Colorado ranchers beyond livestock losses

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project The link below was sent in by a reader. It profiles a study out of University of California, Davis which purports to put a price on how much a single wolf in an area can cost a rancher. It’s right there at the top; the image heading this post is the title. I’ll leave it to you to read through the details of the study, note its methods, and come to your own conclusions on the validity of the estimate. For my part, I’m somewhat skeptical of the number itself. I do not at all doubt that wolves put economic costs on ranchers. I do doubt the exact figure and am skeptical in general about estimates.** Rather than looking in depth at the estimate and the method, however, I want to bring something to your attention. This...
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Colorado schools expect 16,000 fewer students as funding debate approaches
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado schools expect 16,000 fewer students as funding debate approaches

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Colorado Schools Are Losing 16,000 More Students. And yet there’s a ballot measure saying we need more money to go to schools. The video linked below is a great one on the basics of not only school funding but also the expected drop in enrollment that Colorado schools are projected to see this Fall. From the video’s description, the hosts cover the following: -Why Colorado is projected to lose 16,000 students-How does the School Finance Act determines funding?-Why declining enrollment doesn’t always mean immediate funding cuts?-How do districts plan their budgets?-What parents should (and shouldn’t) expect this school year.-What’s still changing in Colorado’s education funding formula? So wherever yo...
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If more education spending works, why not require proof?
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

If more education spending works, why not require proof?

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project This coming November voters will be deciding on Proposition NN and possibly Initiative 195, the former being a referred measure by our state legislature and the latter a ballot initiative which as of this writing was out for signatures with no definitive answer on whether it will be on the ballot yet. Both measures are of the type I like to label with “won’t someone think of the children?!” That is, both of them are geared emotionally to tap into the completely natural desire to help children. The thing is, there are some problems with the reasoning in both. To demonstrate, I will lean heavily on the well-written op ed about education funding from one of the interns at the Independence Institute (as well a...
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Colorado coded the gun stores. Congress may reverse course
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado coded the gun stores. Congress may reverse course

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project The Feds might put a stop to Colorado's merchant code gun law SB24-006 passed out of the Colorado legislature in 2024 and was quickly signed by Jared Polis. Piercing through the confusing jargon in the bill's fiscal note, it essentially requires credit card companies to tag purchases related to firearms in their systems, in theory to make it easy to spot someone planning a mass shooting. To my knowledge, that has yet to happen. The only outcome thus far that I'm aware of is that the government has leaned on private industry to help them keep track of of constitutionally-protected activity. Per the We the Second post linked second below, a law recently made it out of the Federal House of Representatives ...
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What democracy is: An open letter to Jay Tutchton
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

What democracy is: An open letter to Jay Tutchton

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project I wrote recently (see the first link below) about how a political agenda has hijacked the CPW Commission and they're really not bothering to hide the ball anymore. I mentioned to someone in the comments on that post that I'd heard Commissioner Jay Tutchton had remarked about the nature of the commission's votes and democracy. The second link below is to a Yahoo reprint of a 9News article which has the quote I couldn't find for the commenter. Quoting from that piece: "Yesterday was 6-5, today was 6-5. I'm happy with democracy working," said James Tutchton, the commission's chair." Said another way, Mr. Tutchton, somewhat resignedly, commented that the vote going the way he wanted on the day prior vs. the da...
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Does Aurora police provide equal protection to protesters and workers alike?
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, Local

Does Aurora police provide equal protection to protesters and workers alike?

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Does Aurora PD offer equal protection to all? Let me start with the top-line story before I get to an easily-missed detail. The first link below is to a CPR article which details how an employee of the ICE detention facility in Aurora allegedly shot a protestor.** A quote gives some detail: “Police reported that Booth [the alleged shooter and employee of the facility] and his colleagues had been unable to get into the facility for their work shifts due to the protest. The two women reportedly took pictures of the employees’ cars and got into a verbal altercation with the employees before walking away. Booth then took out his personal firearm and fired one shot in the direction of the women, hitting ...
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Aurora’s debt proposal is why taxpayers need to speak up
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, Local

Aurora’s debt proposal is why taxpayers need to speak up

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Speak up for fiscal responsibility and join likeminded people The image heading this post is a flyer about a particular ballot issue put on the November ballot by city council. If you live in Aurora or know someone who does, give that image a share. The idea of, and push for, fiscal responsibility is not limited to Aurora, however. Spending someone else’s money is seemingly tempting for politicians of all parties. That’s why you need to engage and be active in forcing fiscal responsibility and restraint no matter where you live in Colorado. If you’ve been wanting to but find it easier to be a part of something instead of striking out on your own, I’ve got a group for you. The flyer comes from a group...
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Colorado’s Medicaid debate: Should lawmakers fix spending before seeking more federal dollars?
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado’s Medicaid debate: Should lawmakers fix spending before seeking more federal dollars?

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Drawing down more Federal money as the solution to Colorado’s Medicaid problem? Have you ever heard the saying, “the first step is admitting you have a problem”? Nash Herman’s piece on the Colorado Medicaid Commission (linked first below) made me think of that. The reason being that, per what he writes about their first meeting, the commission seems to largely be focused on wringing more money out of the Feds than dealing with the bloat that Colorado lawmakers have heaped upon the program since 2014 and Obamacare. Quoting from the piece with embedded links left intact: “The most recent Commission meeting raised questions about the government’s priorities in addressing Medicaid and the state budget. A re...
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