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Denver auditor finds two strip clubs owe $14M in stolen wages
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Denver auditor finds two strip clubs owe $14M in stolen wages

By Carol McKinley | Colorado Politics, via The Denver Gazette Two of Denver's most popular strip clubs must pay $14 million in penalties and back pay over stolen wages in what Denver Auditor Tim O'Brien described as one of the most "extraordinary cases he's ever conducted." The clubs, he added, "violated almost every provision." Denver Labor Executive Director Matt Fritz-Mauer said that the allegations are "the tip of the iceberg" in an investigation leading to months of litigation ahead with RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc., a multimillion dollar adult entertainment company. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Colorado’s hands-free driving law appears to be working, early data shows
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Colorado’s hands-free driving law appears to be working, early data shows

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics A month and some change after it went into effect, Colorado's hands-free driving law appears to be showing early success at curbing distracted driving, according to research from Cambridge Mobile Telematics.  According to CMT's data, cellphone motion distraction has decreased 3.3% statewide, an improvement the company estimates has prevented 88 crashes, 49 injuries, and $3.5 million in economic damages.  The law, which took effect on January 1, prohibits drivers from using handheld mobile devices while driving, with exemptions for emergencies. Colorado is the 30th state in the country to ban sending texts and making phone calls while driving. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signs first law of 2025 session, a bipartisan cleanup measure
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Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signs first law of 2025 session, a bipartisan cleanup measure

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics Gov. Jared Polis has signed his first law of the 2025 legislative session, a bipartisan cleanup measure that affects the state's nursing homes. House Bill 1022, sponsored by Reps. Cecelia Espenoza, D-Denver, and Karen McCormick, D-Hygiene, and Sens. Janice Rich, R-Grand Junction, and Dafna Michaelson Jenet, D-Commerce City, allows individuals who passed a competency evaluation administered by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on or before July 1, 2017, to be included in the state's definition of "qualified medication administration personnel". Not only is the bill the first measure the governor has signed into law this session, but it is also Espenoza's first bill to become law since being elected in November. READ...
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Del Taco suddenly closes Colorado locations ‘until further notice’
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Del Taco suddenly closes Colorado locations ‘until further notice’

By Brooke Williams | Colorado Politics All Del Taco restaurants across Colorado closed suddenly on Thursday. Signs were posted on the doors alerting customers that, effective Thursday, “all Colorado Del Taco locations are closed until further notice.” Signs were also posted in the drive-through. “We thank you for your patronage, the memories we have created together, and wish you well,” a note from staff and management on a Del Taco door reads. READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX 31 NEWS
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Appeals court says state campaign finance enforcement framework is constitutional
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Appeals court says state campaign finance enforcement framework is constitutional

By Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics Colorado's second-highest court agreed last week that the state's current method of adjudicating campaign finance complaints is constitutional and is not the "very definition of tyranny." For several years, state law has allowed any person to file a complaint alleging a campaign finance violation, which the Colorado Secretary of State's Office then screens, decides whether to dismiss or investigate, and potentially imposes a penalty. Legislators enacted the process after a federal judge decided in 2018 that the prior system unconstitutionally "outsourced" enforcement to individual, inexperienced complainants. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Boulder Co. Democratic vacancy committee to select successor to former Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis
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Boulder Co. Democratic vacancy committee to select successor to former Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics A Boulder County Democratic vacancy committee will convene on March 18 to select a successor to former Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis of Longmont. Jaquez Lewis resigned on Feb. 17 after allegations surfaced that she had submitted a fabricated letter of support to a Senate ethics committee investigating a complaint charging she mistreated aides and interns. Ten candidates have announced their intention to seek the seat. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Eric Schmidt, 91, a Republican who served Boulder in the Colorado House and later as CU regent, has died
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Eric Schmidt, 91, a Republican who served Boulder in the Colorado House and later as CU regent, has died

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Former Assistant House Majority Leader Eric Schmidt, who served in the Colorado House for two terms, died at his home in Lakewood on Jan. 26. A memorial service will be held, Saturday, March 15, at 1:30pm at Bethany Lutheran Church, 4500 East Hampden Ave., Cherry Hills Village. Schmidt was born May 31, 1933 in Newark, NJ. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Denver moves closer to changing ordinance related to noise
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Denver moves closer to changing ordinance related to noise

By Deborah Grigsby | Colorado Politics, via The Denver Gazette The city of Denver is moving forward with proposed changes to its local noise ordinance that would permit earlier garbage collection and noisier festivals but ban “plainly audible” nighttime construction. Council Bill 25-0044 got its first nod of approval from the City Council on Feb. 18 and will be back at Monday's meeting for a second vote. The last time Denver addressed its noise concerns was in 2017, said Brendan Doyle, noise program supervisor for the Denver Department of Public Health. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Democrat Boulder DA Michael Dougherty launches bid for Colorado attorney general
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Democrat Boulder DA Michael Dougherty launches bid for Colorado attorney general

By Ernest Luning | Colorado Politics Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty on Tuesday became the first candidate to launch a campaign to replace term-limited Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser in next year's election. "I know what it takes to lead, what it means to fight for what's right, and the important role the justice system can play when it is being guided by the rule of law and not by politics," said Dougherty, a Democrat, in a video released by his campaign. "I will use my decades of experience in the courtroom and leading offices to protect our values and defend our rights against Donald Trump and anyone who endangers Colorado." Dougherty told Colorado Politics that his 27-year career as a prosecutor — including prosecuting sex crimes in New York, heading th...
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The fight over fentanyl is back on tap in Colorado’s General Assembly
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The fight over fentanyl is back on tap in Colorado’s General Assembly

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics The fentanyl epidemic, which produced intense fights two years ago over how to confront the soaring deaths from the synthetic opioid, has returned to the Colorado state Capitol this year. In the past several weeks, lawmakers have already turned down one bill that would make possession of small amounts of fentanyl a felony. And efforts are afoot to put the subject on the ballot. Used legitimately as a medical anesthetic, fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that has become a dominant player in the illicit market and is increasingly being mixed into other substances. It's cheaper and produces a more potent, more fleeting "high," according to experts. But its potency in small quantities makes it unlike any other substance that preceded it. READ T...
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