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Fourth Judicial district attorney requests $50,000 salary increase ahead of election
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Fourth Judicial district attorney requests $50,000 salary increase ahead of election

By Savannah Eller | Colorado Politics Fourth Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen is asking El Paso County for a $50,000 salary increase for his own position, spokesperson Kate Singh said Tuesday. The request is part of a department budget that the El Paso Board of County Commissioners will decide on at the end of the year. Allen made a presentation this week on budget critical needs for his office, which included creation of two new District Attorney's Office jobs and an ongoing $100,000 operation expenses increase for its 2025 budget. The presentation did not discuss changes to existing salaries, including his own.  READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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In expected windfall, Colorado owes taxpayers $1.7 billion in TABOR refunds
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In expected windfall, Colorado owes taxpayers $1.7 billion in TABOR refunds

By Luige Del Puerto | Colorado Politics, via The Gazette The Colorado state government owes taxpayers a total of $1.7 billion in refunds mandated under the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights.  The state collected roughly $1.4 billion more in revenue during the 2024 Fiscal Year than allowed under TABOR, according to a state audit. The state already has roughly $290 million in outstanding TABOR refund liability at the beginning of the fiscal year, bringing the total refund amount to about $1.66 billion. Passed by voters in 1992, TABOR limits the annual growth in revenue to the inflation rate, plus population change. Any amount raised above the limit must be returned to taxpayers. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Oil & gas debate unveils tension between industry, environmental protection interests
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Oil & gas debate unveils tension between industry, environmental protection interests

By Scott Weiser | The Gazette via Colorado Politics The wide divide between oil and gas development and environmental protection was on full display as a conservation organization representative debated one from the Colorado Oil and Gas Association. Katherine Merlin, of Wild Earth Guardians, and Dan Haley, COGA, debated how much mineral extraction is enough in Colorado at the Colorado Sun SunFest last month at the University of Denver. Merlin is a climate and energy litigator with the conservation organization. Haley is the president and CEO of COGA, a state industry trade association. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Parks and Wildlife Commission overturns staff on wolf kill, orders payment to rancher
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Parks and Wildlife Commission overturns staff on wolf kill, orders payment to rancher

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Over the last year, a common issue between Colorado Parks and Wildlife and ranchers is the state agency’s slow response in investigating wolves killing livestock and how a lack of training leads to incorrect determinations. Last week, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission rejected a staff recommendation to deny a claim for a calf killed by a wolf on a Silver Spur ranch near Walden. The commission instead voted to approve the payment, ordering CPW to reverse its original decision that is was not a wolf kill. The commission voted 5-4 to reject the staff recommendation and identically to approve the payment. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Colorado Supreme Court dismisses latest Masterpiece Cakeshop case
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Colorado Supreme Court dismisses latest Masterpiece Cakeshop case

By Shawn Shanle | Colorado Politics The Colorado Supreme Court, by 4-3, declined on Tuesday to address the high-profile issue of a Christian baker's refusal to make a cake for a customer celebrating a gender transition, instead concluding the case was not properly filed in the first place. Previously, a trial judge and the state's Court of Appeals agreed Masterpiece Cakeshop, owned by Jack Phillips, denied service to Autumn Scardina based on her transgender status, which amounted to a violation of the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA). The Supreme Court subsequently agreed to examine whether Phillips' cake-making was "speech" protected by the First Amendment, notwithstanding the anti-discrimination law. However, the Supreme Court ultimately did not reach ...
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Colorado Springs releases preliminary changes to Council district boundaries
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Colorado Springs releases preliminary changes to Council district boundaries

By Breeanna Jent | Colorado Politics, via The Gazette A preliminary map of new boundaries for each of Colorado Springs' six City Council districts accounts for anticipated continued growth on the city's north and northeast sides. District 2, the city's northernmost district, and District 6, the northeast and eastern district, will shrink to account for expected future population growth in both districts, City Clerk Sarah Johnson told reporters Wednesday. "... We know that over the next four years it's just going to get bigger in some places in town. So the focus was really just trying to take a look at where that growth is happening and try to balance that population," she said. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Colorado Democratic candidate spends campaign money on hair, clothes, makeup
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Colorado Democratic candidate spends campaign money on hair, clothes, makeup

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Is Democratic candidate Vivian Smotherman, who's running for one of Colorado's hottest state senate seats, violating Colorado's campaign finance laws and regulations? Smotherman has used more than $1,000 of campaign contributions to pay for clothes, hair styling and a consultant (who's also the hairstylist) on her appearance. The state's campaign finance manual doesn't specifically prohibit a candidate from spending campaign contributions on hair and clothes. Still, it states candidates "may not use contributions for personal purposes not reasonably related to the election of the candidate." The manual's only specified language on permissible use of campaign contributions for personal use is for child or dependent care. READ THE FULL STO...
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Pro-abortion, ranked choice groups rake in big bucks for November elections
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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
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Records: Venezuelan gangs terrorized each other before entering national spotlight
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Records: Venezuelan gangs terrorized each other before entering national spotlight

By Carol McKinley | Colorado Politics Before they became national news, young Venezuelan gang members in Colorado were harassing each other at gunpoint, stealing cars to commit other crimes and crashing wherever they could find a bed, according to arrest documents obtained by The Denver Gazette. One particular set of crimes involving two of the 10 Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang members arrested by Aurora police involved an entanglement of mostly 20-something Venezuelan immigrants in a what appeared to be a free-for-all turf war. Documents reviewed by The Denver Gazette tell the stories.  READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Jefferson County candidates offer views on budget, housing, metro districts
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Jefferson County candidates offer views on budget, housing, metro districts

By Deborah Grigsby | Colorado Politics Candidates for the Jefferson County Board of Commission offered competing visions, at times clashing approaches to priorities and spending, during a debate on Thursday night.  In District 1, which covers the northern part of the county and includes Arvada and Westminster, current commissioner and former state lawmaker Tracy Kraft-Tharp is vacating the seat. Last year, she announced that she would not seek reelection. There are four candidates vying for the position. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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