Rocky Mountain Voice

Commentary

Gaines: Colorado’s add-back taxes are a backdoor tax on overtime
Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Gaines: Colorado’s add-back taxes are a backdoor tax on overtime

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project The Great Colorado Add Back? My state senator (B Pelton) alerted me to something you'll almost certainly see in the coming state special session: add back taxes. I thought it would be good to give some resources on that so you'll better understand it and (I hope) be a better advocate on the issue. This is something I will follow up on as the special session gets going; Sen Pelton is running a bill to make such taxes conform to TABOR limits. I have asked for a copy of that bill and will share if and when I get it. There are many different kinds of tax add backs, but I'll stick to the topic of state income tax add backs because I can use the link below as a reference. The State of Colorado weblink at bottom gives ...
Denver Is Losing Everything That Gave It Character
Westword, Approved, Commentary, Local

Denver Is Losing Everything That Gave It Character

By Westwood Readers | Commentary, Westword After almost thirty years, the Hornet has taken off from the corner of First and Broadway. For decades, the Hornet has amused patrons and passersby alike with the messages on the sign outside the restaurant at 76 Broadway. But the sign that went up last week was not so amusing: "Thanks Denver! Come & Say Bye." The Hornet flew off after last call on August 9; the building it had called home for almost thirty years was sold this spring, and the restaurant itself had been put up for sale. But instead, the owners opted to close, putting this message on social media: "While many things have changed and become more complicated over the years at 1st & Broadway, we would prefer to celebrate all of the amazing times that you shared wi...
Bauer: Power House Panel of Western Slope Legislators in Delta
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

Bauer: Power House Panel of Western Slope Legislators in Delta

By Shirley Bauer | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Hard math: 4 of 70 Republican bills became law. On July 23, five of our state’s most prominent legislators representing the Western Slope met for a legislative update at Daveto’s to a sold-out crowd. The legislative update was sponsored by Delta County GOP, and the MC was Chairwoman Leslie Parker. The legislators present represented Delta County along with other counties on the Western Slope: • Senator Janice Rich from Senate District 7, Senate Minority Whip and winner of the “Legislator of the Year” award in 2023, represents the Cedaredge area in Delta County and all of Mesa County (she resides in Grand Junction). • Senator Marc Catlin, who resides in Montrose, is from Senate District 5. He represents most of Delta Coun...
Garbo: The Dangerous Hubris of Deputizing Non-Citizens to Police Americans
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Garbo: The Dangerous Hubris of Deputizing Non-Citizens to Police Americans

By C. J. Garbo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Why Sovereignty, Legitimacy, and Trust Demand Citizenship in Law Enforcement Since 2016, various jurisdictions in Colorado began allowing non-citizens - specifically lawful permanent residents and in some cases, DACA recipients - to serve as police officers.  This is not a progressive step forward, but rather, it is a profound public policy misstep. It is the height of hubris to assume that someone who is not a full citizen of this country should be vested with the authority to police those who are. Law enforcement is not merely a career track or a staffing challenge. It is a solemn extension of state power, a delegation of the people's sovereignty. In the American system of self-governance, that sovereignty lies exclusi...
O’Donnell: Colorado isn’t creating jobs—it’s creating unemployment
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, State, Top Stories

O’Donnell: Colorado isn’t creating jobs—it’s creating unemployment

By Mike O’Donnell | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice  January 2023 was a changeover month of sorts in the United States because it marked a division between the taxpayer subsidized COVID economy and the less subsidized post-COVID economy. According to the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, the United States added 3,149,000 jobs between January 2023 and June 2025, a 2.0 percent increase for the nation as a whole.  Employment growth so far this century has averaged just under one percent a year, so the 2.0 percent figure is roughly on track (although preliminary July BLS data are less positive and subject to revision). At the same time, unemployment increased by 1,268,000, a 22.1 percent rise. This is a less positive aspect of the economy that few seem ...
Kerber: How Colorado’s density push is an attack on the single-family home
The Gazette, Approved, Commentary, State

Kerber: How Colorado’s density push is an attack on the single-family home

By Dave Kerber | Commentary, The Gazette Our neighborhoods and communities are faced with a challenge to the very character of the place we have chosen to live. We live in a unique and astonishing place. People flock to Colorado because of our blue skies, fresh air and mountains. Coloradans have no desire to be New York City. These are two distinct and very different lifestyle choices. Yet, those in charge of Colorado at the moment want to bring that New York density here to Colorado — to change forever what makes Colorado such an incredible place to live and work. As a species, we have always wanted to live and work in larger spaces. It’s human nature. Two hundred years ago, it was common for families to live in a one-room cabin. One hundred years ago, it was normal to have 2-3 peop...
Devotional: Belief plus action equals unshakable faith
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, Devotional, Top Stories

Devotional: Belief plus action equals unshakable faith

By Drake Hunter | Commentary, Elevating Life Church Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. ~ Mark 11:24 (ESV) Let’s be honest, everyone believes in something. Even the person who proudly claims to “believe in nothing” is holding on to a belief about that nothing. (Which is something... Try not to get a headache.) I still remember the first time I was taught the Big Bang Theory at Valley Junior High in Carlsbad, California. The basic idea? “In the beginning, there was nothing... and then it exploded.” Wait, what? Nothing with a bang. It exploded?! What! I’m so confused.  I don’t mean to be sarcastic (well, maybe just a little), but are we really supposed to believe that nothing, such as no time, no s...
Kelly: What the Nation Still Doesn’t Know Three Years After Mar‑a‑Lago Raid
National, Approved, Commentary, Declassified with Julie Kelly

Kelly: What the Nation Still Doesn’t Know Three Years After Mar‑a‑Lago Raid

By Julie Kelly | Commentary, Declassified with Julie Kelly No photo other than his mugshot is more representative of the unprecedented lawfare against Donald Trump than the photo of alleged classified documents discovered during the nine-hour armed raid of Mar-a-Lago on August 8, 2022. On one hand, Democrats, the news media, and even some NeverTrumpers (clears throat, side-eyes National Review) believed the iconic picture proved Trump had absconded with secret government records and carelessly left them around his Palm Beach mansion, endangering national security. Trump supporters, on the other hand, viewed the photo with disgust, a reminder of just how far the Biden regime and his FBI would go to finally put Trump in handcuffs. But nearly two years later, the same Dep...
Walcher: Breaking China’s grip on rare earth minerals begins with real mining at home
GregWalcher.com, Approved, Commentary, National

Walcher: Breaking China’s grip on rare earth minerals begins with real mining at home

By Greg Walcher | Commentary, GregWalcher.com Energy Secretary Chris Wright went to Wyoming last week to cut the ribbon on the first new rare earth mine in the U.S. since the 1950s. Telling the assembled guests and reporters that the “Brook Mine” is critical to breaking China’s “stranglehold on rare earth processing,” he hinted that it might be the first of several. It should be. A few years ago, I visited Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar and when discussing the need for domestic production of vital minerals, he picked up a dark brown rock from the Mojave Desert, explaining that it was mostly composed of a “rare earth” element. He said millions of such rocks littered the desert in his district, yet the United States imported 100 percent of the mineral it contains. That situation has no...
DiGirolamo: The predator playbook every parent needs to know about
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, National, Top Stories

DiGirolamo: The predator playbook every parent needs to know about

By John DiGirolamo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The Internet is a 24\7 how-to manual. Unfortunately, it’s also available for predators to gather advice to target and manipulate your child. All in a matter of seconds, simply by asking. Staca Shehan, Vice President at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children recently said, “We're also seeing offenders enter questions asking for guides or tutorials on how to groom or recruit children and do it more efficiently.” The following summarizes the ways predators go after your kids: Predator Grooming Tactics: Victim Targeting: Constantly seek children and teens to interact with. It is quick and easy to find others online. Predators seek anyone who is vulnerable and willing to interact in a chat room, on social me...