Rocky Mountain Voice

Menu

completecolorado.com

Ochsner: No on Arapahoe County 1A; keep taxpayer protections in place
No Comments
Approved, Commentary, completecolorado.com, Local

Ochsner: No on Arapahoe County 1A; keep taxpayer protections in place

By Brian Ochsner | Commentary, Complete Colorado As an Arapahoe County resident, I’ll  be voting no on Ballot Issue 1A, a measure to permanently remove taxpayer protections in place under Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR. Let me explain. TABOR is a constitutional amendment that, among other things, limits the growth of local government spending to a reasonable annual rate based on inflation and local economic growth. Overcollected revenue must be returned to taxpayers unless voters give permission to exceed those limits. Issue 1A would allow the county government to keep and spend revenue that would otherwise be refunded in perpetuity.  County officials wont say it, but that amounts to a tax hike. It’s how big government advocates try to spin the abili...
Read More
Problems piling up for local ballot measure banning slaughterhouses in Denver
No Comments
Approved, completecolorado.com, Local

Problems piling up for local ballot measure banning slaughterhouses in Denver

By Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado With just weeks left before ballots go out in the mail, opposition to the Denver slaughterhouse ban ballot question is getting a hefty boost with the Denver Democrats joining other unlikely opponents airing their concerns over the issue and the filing of a significant campaign finance complaint against proponents of the measure. The measure titled “Prohibition of Slaughterhouses” would outlaw “the construction, maintenance, or use of” any meat processing facilities in Denver beginning January 1, 2026, as well as “require the city to prioritize residents whose employment is affected by the ordinance in workforce training or employment assistance programs.” Proponents of the measure say they are seeking an increase in consumption of plant-bas...
Read More
Caldara: Central planners disregard Coloradans’ true mobility needs
No Comments
Approved, Commentary, completecolorado.com, State

Caldara: Central planners disregard Coloradans’ true mobility needs

By Jon Caldara | Commentary, Complete Colorado Tired of all the traffic? Tough. The central planners in charge command it only get worse at an exponential rate. The reason our roads suck is money that could fix and expand them goes to transit which relatively no one uses. U.S. Census data shows only 4% of Denver’s commuting population uses transit. Remember that number — 4%. Yet, in the Denver metro area, almost all “transportation” dollars go to transit. The Regional Transportation District’s (RTD) failed FasTracks scam spent more than $7 billion at a time when all the highway needs statewide were around $9 billion. We could have fulfilled nearly all of the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) wish list for the entire state with what we spent on one choo-choo...
Read More
Coloradans to decide 14 statewide questions on jampacked November ballot
No Comments
Approved, completecolorado.com, State

Coloradans to decide 14 statewide questions on jampacked November ballot

By Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado Colorado voters will see a much longer ballot than usual for this November’s election, with questions ranging from embedding abortion rights in the state Constitution to upending the primary elections system. In addition to hundreds of local measures, there are 14 statewide ballot measures his year, with an equal number split between constitutional amendments and propositions that are written into state statute. Some of the measures were put on the ballot via citizens’ initiative while others came referred by the legislature, with several highly controversial matters to be decided. READ THE FULL STORY AT COMPLETE COLORADO
Read More
Gaines: Progressive press slathers bias on Venezuelan gang story
No Comments
Approved, Commentary, completecolorado.com, Local

Gaines: Progressive press slathers bias on Venezuelan gang story

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Complete Colorado I feel sorry for the residents of the Aurora apartment complex dealing that have ended up in the national spotlight as part of the Venezuelan gang story as of late.  Besides living in what seems like crappy conditions, they have all unwittingly become a bone to be fought over.  I agree with Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, as he recently told the Colorado Sun, when he says that he feels this whole situation “… has been exploited for political gain.” What Mayor Coffman, and many others, may have missed (or perhaps ignored) is the progressive media also taking advantage of the situation, even though it’s right up front for all to see.  For example, the Sun titled its article “Is racism fueling claims about a Venezuelan g...
Read More
Lakewood voters to decide on eliminating taxpayer protections in November
No Comments
Approved, completecolorado.com, Local

Lakewood voters to decide on eliminating taxpayer protections in November

 By Savana Kascak | Complete Colorado The Lakewood City Council in August referred a measure to the November 5 ballot asking voters to permanently eliminate revenue limitations in place under the Colorado Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR). Despite some complicated ballot wording, a yes vote on the measure boils down to an end to refunds of taxes over-collected by the city for good starting in 2026. TABOR is a constitutional amendment that, among other things, limits the growth of local government spending to a reasonable annual rate based on inflation and local economic growth. Excess revenue must be returned to taxpayers unless voters give permission to exceed those limits. The Lakewood measure would allow city government to keep and spend revenue that would otherwise be refun...
Read More
Caldara: Colorado Press Association rewards secretive government
No Comments
Approved, Commentary, completecolorado.com, State

Caldara: Colorado Press Association rewards secretive government

 By Jon Caldera, Commentary | Complete Colorado What’s worse: people in political power shielding their activity from public oversight or the media celebrating them for doing so? Fortunately, in Colorado we don’t have to choose. We get both! The Colorado Press Association (CPA) has bestowed its “Defender of Free Press” award to the very same legislators who earlier this year passed a law to keep the press, and citizens, out of their meetings. Yes, these grand defenders of the Fourth Estate voted to exempt themselves from the Colorado Open Meetings Law so we can’t see what they’re doing — definitely award-worthy. READ THE FULL STORY AT COMPLETE COLORADO Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily r...
Read More
High-profile chefs join opposition to meat processing ban on Denver’s November ballot
No Comments
Approved, completecolorado.com, Local

High-profile chefs join opposition to meat processing ban on Denver’s November ballot

By Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado Several high profile Denver chefs have joined forces with a group who work closely with the Colorado livestock industry to oppose an anti-agriculture initiative that will go before Denver voters in November. La Diabla Pozole y Mezcal Chef Jose Avila and II Posto Chef Andrea Frizzi are teaming up with president and CEO of the National Western Stock Show and Complex Paul Andrews, operations manager/employee owner of Superior Farms Isabel Bautista, president of the Colorado Livestock Association Kenny Rogers along with other Superior Farms employee/owners to oppose a citizen-initiated measure to ban meat processing facilities within the city limits of Denver. READ THE FULL STORY AT COMPLETE COLORADO
Read More
Caldara: Learning to live without a functional Colorado GOP
No Comments
Approved, Commentary, completecolorado.com, State

Caldara: Learning to live without a functional Colorado GOP

By Jon Caldara | Complete Colorado I’m trying to come up with the right analogy. I’m sure you can do much better. I’m thinking of a bunch of little kids playing king of the hill. In their minds, they think the pile of dirt is Mount Everest, when, in fact, it’s the size of a pitching mound. Or maybe one of those Japanese soldiers who was left on a small, isolated island for decades not knowing World War II had ended and his side lost. He’s still fighting. Or, perhaps, corporate shareholders fighting for control of a company they think is the size of IBM when in fact it’s a broken hot dog cart. READ THE FULL STORY AT COMPLETE COLORADO Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the managem...
Read More
Caldara: Denver’s record high homeless entirely predictable
No Comments
Approved, Commentary, completecolorado.com, State

Caldara: Denver’s record high homeless entirely predictable

By Jon Caldara | Commentary, Complete Colorado Cyril Northcote Parkinson was a famed British naval historian (I mean really, just try to make up a snootier British name) who died in 1993. He is most noted for predicting, with complete accuracy, that in 2024 the Denver metro area would have more homeless than ever. Well, he might have used slightly different words, but lo and behold, the latest data release proved him right. In 1955, after a career of watching governmental inefficiency, he published a satirical essay in The Economist magazine and introduced the world to “Parkinson’s Law.” You instinctively know and understand it. READ THE FULL STORY AT COMPLETE COLORADO Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessaril...
Read More