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Extra $9 million in settlement funds aims to fight opioid crisis locally
gazette.com, Approved, Local

Extra $9 million in settlement funds aims to fight opioid crisis locally

By Savannah Eller | The Gazette With the processing of new settlements, El Paso and Teller counties are expected to receive about $75 million to combat opioid addiction and deaths over the next 18 years — an increase to estimates when the counties created a joint council to disburse funds.  Last year, the Region 16 Opioid Abatement Council figures had the overall total closer to $66 million awarded by 2038. The funding boost is meant to sustain community programs addressing different facets of the opioid epidemic.  "The vast majority has either not been allocated or not been received," said Erik Stone, Teller County commissioner and council vice chair.  The estimate reflects updates in the nationwide legal process to hold major drug manufacturers financ...
Air Force Veteran Reclaims Purpose Through Warrior Games and God’s Grace
Local, Approved, gazette.com

Air Force Veteran Reclaims Purpose Through Warrior Games and God’s Grace

By Marissa Kraus | The Gazette As Dianne Rahe watched her son, Master Sgt. Jason Ostberg, compete in the Warrior Games on Tuesday, she saw a completely different man. Ostberg, who has served in the Air Force since 2003, has dealt with PTSD throughout his service, creating a version of him that truly wasn’t himself. But the man Rahe saw in the indoor rowing competition and in other Warrior Games events is a version she hadn’t seen in years. “He has come a long way,” Rahe said as tears swelled in her eyes. “Just him in the short time he's been involved, he's been more calm, more happy. It's hard to explain but I see the amazing way he has changed being with these people, because these are his people.” Ostberg, an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician, has been part of the Air Fo...
Colorado’s $1 Billion Road Gap Pushes Funding Fight to the Ballot
State, Approved, gazette.com

Colorado’s $1 Billion Road Gap Pushes Funding Fight to the Ballot

By Marissa Ventrelli | The Gazette A pair of measures proposing a new way to provide additional funding for Colorado's roads, bridges and highways could be headed to the ballot next November. The initiatives, backed by retired contractor Donald Hanneman and retired tech executive Michael Hancock, would require all state revenue from sales and use taxes, excise taxes, tolls, and fees related to vehicles, fuel, rideshares and retail deliveries, along with a percentage of sales tax, dedicated exclusively toward the maintenance, operation and expansion of the state's roads. Currently, a portion of the state's transportation-related revenue is allocated to the legislature's general fund. Enterprise fees, such as those from vehicle rentals and the congestion impact fee, are earmarked...
Gazette editorial board: AG Weiser defends censure-shamed CU regent over public health warning
Local, Approved, gazette.com

Gazette editorial board: AG Weiser defends censure-shamed CU regent over public health warning

By The Gazette Editorial Board | Commentary, The Gazette For a politician with his eyes on a higher prize, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser sure seemed shortsighted the other day when he took to social media in defense of the indefensible — a University of Colorado regent rightly rebuked by her peers for her abuse of office. Readers might recall the CU Board of Regents recently voted 7-1 to censure first-term board member Wanda James, a Democrat who represents Denver’s 1st Congressional District. James, arguably the state’s most politically ambitious pot dealer, has behaved at times as if she represents the marijuana industry rather than her district — and it finally backfired on her. The owner of a Denver marijuana retail outlet, James unconscionably attempted this year to s...
‘Biology Matters’: El Paso County Schools Join Lawsuit Defending Girls’ Sports
Local, Approved, gazette.com

‘Biology Matters’: El Paso County Schools Join Lawsuit Defending Girls’ Sports

By Eric Young | The Gazette Another prominent school district and a prominent charter school in El Paso County are taking on the state over a newly adopted athletics policy. Academy D-20’s Board of Education voted unanimously to adopt a resolution to direct the district to draft and implement a policy classifying access to locker rooms, restrooms and athletic participation as being based on biological sex during a special meeting June 17. Two days later, the board voted to authorize D-20 to join a lawsuit filed by neighboring D-49 against Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, the Colorado Civil Rights Division and the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) last month. The board of directors for The Classical Academy, a charter school authorized by D-20, voted to j...
Hyten: To beat China, keep Space Command fully operational
Approved, Commentary, gazette.com, National, State

Hyten: To beat China, keep Space Command fully operational

By John Hyten | The Gazette, Commentary At the Space Symposium in Colorado last month, one topic stood out: the possibility of moving Space Command out of Colorado Springs. As the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when the decision to move the command to Huntsville, Ala., was made in 2021, I’m concerned that relocating Space Command would threaten our national security. At the end of his first term, President Donald Trump decided to move Space Command to Huntsville. The decision was lawfully made, based on the results of an Air Force basing study and only constrained by lack of funding (i.e., billions never appropriated by Congress). My best military advice at the time (granted, a minority opinion) was to leave the command in Colorado due to the significant space threats ema...
17 found trespassing in vacant Colorado Springs apartment; multiple arrested on outstanding warrants
Approved, gazette.com, Local

17 found trespassing in vacant Colorado Springs apartment; multiple arrested on outstanding warrants

By Natasha Lynn | The Gazette Police said 17 people were cited for trespassing after allegedly breaking into a vacant apartment in southeast Colorado Springs Thursday morning.  Officers responded to a burglary call around 9:45 a.m. at a vacant apartment on the 3400 block of Vera Cruz Court, near South Academy and East Fountain boulevards, according to an online blotter entry by Colorado Springs police. Officers arrived to find two people trying to exit the rear window of the vacant apartment. READ THE FULL STORY AT TH GAZETTE
The Gazette editorial board: Local sheriff skewers the left’s pro-crime mind virus
Approved, Commentary, gazette.com

The Gazette editorial board: Local sheriff skewers the left’s pro-crime mind virus

By The Gazette editorial board Sunday’s predawn raid of an illegal nightclub in Colorado Springs should have been a clarion call for law and order, yet multiple news accounts and advocacy groups have spun a narrative of victimhood that defies reason. More than 300 law enforcement officers, including local and federal agencies, stormed a venue teeming with drugs, guns, and human trafficking, detaining more than 100 individuals, many undocumented immigrants. El Paso County Sheriff Joe Roybal, in a forceful news release Tuesday, rejected claims painting these detainees as innocent, stating, “The operation… did not take place in a church, school, grocery store, library, or any other location where law-abiding citizens carry on with their lives.” READ THE FULL STORY AT THE GAZETTE...
Brauchler: A cop-out — on child rape
Approved, Commentary, gazette.com

Brauchler: A cop-out — on child rape

By George Brauchler | The Gazette, Commentary Child rapists can still get probation in Colorado thanks to six Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee. On March 12, state Reps. Javier Mabrey (Denver), Michael Carter (Adams, Arapahoe), Jennifer Bacon (Denver), Cecelia Espenoza (Denver), Lorena Garcia (Adams, Jefferson), and Tara Zokaie (Larimer) each voted to prevent the promise of prison for those who sexually assault Colorado children. Every aspect of the March 12 hearing, including the substance of the questions asked and rationale for opposing prison, as advanced by the Democrat committee members — highlights the results of one-party domination in our state and the extreme disconnect between the Democrat Legislature and Coloradans. To recap the current (and ongoing) despicable l...
Fort Carson strykers head to U.S.-Mexico border to help with immigration enforcement
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Fort Carson strykers head to U.S.-Mexico border to help with immigration enforcement

By Mary Shinn | The Gazette In brisk and windy weather Tuesday, Fort Carson soldiers eased roughly 20-ton Strykers onto flat rail cars for their trip to the U.S.-Mexico border to help with illegal immigration enforcement.  The slow roll of the eight-wheeled Strykers was followed by the clanking of chains as soldiers tied down the vehicles. Other 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team equipment, including jeeps, small trucks, fuel, water and IT vehicles, waited in rows alongside the Strykers for loading.  Over two days, crews expected to load two trains with vehicles. While Strykers can travel by truck or convoy, rail is more efficient.  The brigade plans to send 105 Strykers with advanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems to help border patrol agents, an ...

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