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Boll: Ideological divides remain in Douglas County—but Home Rule offers a path forward
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

Boll: Ideological divides remain in Douglas County—but Home Rule offers a path forward

By Laureen Boll | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice As a 30-year resident of Douglas County, I’ve witnessed our community’s strength, resilience, and commitment to individual liberty. Yet, I was stunned in 2020 and 2021 when some community members surrendered their parental rights to government bureaucrats during the COVID-19 response, advocating for government-backed mandates on virtual learning, masking, and vaccinations.  Five years later, we face a similar battle with the proposed Home Rule ballot initiative. This is our chance to reclaim local control, and voters must consider the source of opposition to understand what’s at stake. The Promise of Home Rule Home Rule would empower Douglas County to design a government that reflects our values, not Denver’s one-siz...
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Rep. Suckla: The Dolores NCA and GORP aren’t collaborative acts—they’re a legislative ambush
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

Rep. Suckla: The Dolores NCA and GORP aren’t collaborative acts—they’re a legislative ambush

By Larry Don Suckla | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice I’ve spent most of my life in the saddle. I was born and raised in Southwest Colorado. I’ve worked the land, ranched cattle, and served my neighbors as both a County Commissioner and now your elected representative in the Colorado State House. My family owns one of the largest ranches in the region, tens of thousands of acres built by my grandfather and worked by my father before me. Today, I still help run that ranch with my own children. It sits squarely inside the proposed boundaries of the Dolores River National Conservation Area. And nobody from the federal government or Senator Hickenlooper or Senator Bennet’s office ever asked us a single thing about it. Not one phone call. Not one visit. Not even a letter. ...
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Luxury Apartments ‘Secure Garage’ Can’t Escape Denver’s Soft-on-Crime Fallout
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Local, Fox31

Luxury Apartments ‘Secure Garage’ Can’t Escape Denver’s Soft-on-Crime Fallout

By: Hanna Powers | Fox31 DENVER (KDVR) — Several residents at a luxury Cherry Creek apartment building are voicing serious concerns about security after they say more than 20 vehicles have been broken into inside a gated garage in recent weeks. The break-ins happened at Griffis Cherry Creek North, where tenants say the building’s fob-access garage has been repeatedly targeted — and that management has failed to address the issue or notify residents. “This is the whole reason I moved here,” one tenant told FOX31, who asked to remain anonymous. “I used to live very much in the heart of downtown Denver; I didn’t feel very safe there. So I was like, ‘Let’s go somewhere safe’ — and it turns out, it’s not safe.” Mauricio Dubon, who lives in the building, said he discovered his car wi...
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LA Spends $20M Responding to Protests–LAPD Overworked, Understaffed
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Local, Washington Examiner

LA Spends $20M Responding to Protests–LAPD Overworked, Understaffed

By Kenneth Schrupp | Washington Examiner (The Center Square) – Los Angeles’ $19.7 million response to the June protests and riots was almost entirely spent on police, highlighting the growing cost of police overtime amid an enduring officer shortage. According to a new report from government transparency group Open The Books, the city of Los Angeles spent $1.1 billion on overtime in 2024, or more than the city’s nearly billion-dollar budget deficit. Of that $1.1 billion in overtime, $265.5 million went to the Los Angeles Police Department, which has just 8,688 officers, or nearly a thousand officers short of its full authorized strength of 9,500. “A revenue pinch amid Covid lockdowns led to a spate of early retirements that have exacerbated the need for extra-hours pay,” wrote OTB...
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Denver workers brace for major layoffs amid $250M budget deficit
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DENVER7, Local

Denver workers brace for major layoffs amid $250M budget deficit

By Brandon Richard | Denver7 DENVER — Denver city leaders are preparing to make "substantial" layoffs in order to deal with a massive budget deficit. In May, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston announced the city was projecting a $50 million budget deficit this year and a $200 million budget deficit next year. Johnston said his administration must consider layoffs to help the city balance next year’s budget. “We will have to look at layoffs,” Johnston said. “We do not envision a scenario where it's possible to right-size this budget without that impact on personnel.” On Wednesday, city leaders were more definitive about layoffs. “They are absolutely happening and they're going to be substantial,” said Karla Pierce, a city employment attorney. The city has not officially ...
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$6 billion wish list, $800 million budget: Denver’s bond scramble is heating up
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Denverite, Local

$6 billion wish list, $800 million budget: Denver’s bond scramble is heating up

By Paolo Zialcita | Denverite Everyone wants a piece of the Vibrant Denver Bond pie. Denver has a rare opportunity to fund $800 million of capital projects in one fell swoop later this year — and everyone is clamoring for a piece of the pie.  If voters approve the measure this November the city will take out debt for a wide range of capital projects. But while $800 million may sound like a lot, it isn’t nearly enough to pay for everything city officials and residents want to build.  More than 220 projects appeared on an initial list the city is considering. Building all those projects would cost $6 billion, far more than what the city can afford. And whittling down the list hasn’t been easy.   The city’s cultural institutions — like the Boettcher Con...
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Arapahoe Sheriff Investigates Massive Theft of Nintendo Game Consoles
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Local, denvergazette.com

Arapahoe Sheriff Investigates Massive Theft of Nintendo Game Consoles

Arapahoe County Sheriff investigating 2,810 consoles stolen from Love’s Truck Stop days after Nintendo Switch 2 launch. By Michael Braithwaite | The Denver Gazette Just like Nintendo gaming villain Wario, these thieves were looking for their gold mine. More than $1.4 million worth of Nintendo Switch 2 consoles were stolen in a heist from a semi-truck parked at a Love's Truck Stop on June 8, according to the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office. During a pre-trip inspection of his cargo, the truck driver — parked at the stop in the 1100 block of South 1st Street in Bennett — found several pallets with 2,810 consoles of the newly released Nintendo Switch to have been stolen, according to a news release from the office. The thievery took place just three days after the console was ...
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Montrose Commissioner Pond: GORP Is a Land Grab. Period.
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

Montrose Commissioner Pond: GORP Is a Land Grab. Period.

By Sean Pond | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The Gunnison Outdoor Resources Protection Act GORP is being advertised as a community driven conservation success story. It’s not. It’s a federal land grab wrapped in pretty paper, designed to sell the illusion of balance while slowly destroying everything that makes Western Colorado worth living in. This bill doesn’t protect the land. It strangles it. They’ll tell you grazing is still allowed. Sure. But what good is a grazing permit if you can’t access your cows? If you can’t get there to fix fences, build a pond, haul salt, or rescue a sick calf? If you can’t use a pickup or a UTV or bring in the tools you need to survive?  When you strip away access, you strip away use.  It’s like giving you the right to own ...
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Democrat Rep’s Daughter Arrested in Grisly Assault Investigation
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Local, denvergazette.com

Democrat Rep’s Daughter Arrested in Grisly Assault Investigation

By Michael Braithwaite and Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette The daughter of a Colorado state representative was arrested in connection with a stabbing incident in Denver last Wednesday. Nefretarie Lockley, 29, was arrested on six felony charges, including second degree attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and felony menacing, after allegedly stabbing a woman in the back with a knife in the 3900 block of North Elati Street, according to a probable cause affidavit provided by the Denver District Attorney's Office. Lockley is the daughter of Rep. Naquetta Ricks, the legislator confirmed in a written statement on Tuesday afternoon.Lockley will have her first court hearing on the charges on Wednesday morning. According to the arrest affidavit from Denver Police, offi...
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Progressive Mismanagement? Boulder Faces Fiscal Reckoning
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Local, kdvr.com

Progressive Mismanagement? Boulder Faces Fiscal Reckoning

By: Heather Willard | KDVR.com DENVER (KDVR) — The city of Boulder is facing a potential budget shortfall of between $8 to $10 million, and is taking steps to “underspend” through the rest of 2025. The city said that the most salient of the steps is a hiring freeze for nearly all vacant positions listed in the city’s government through Dec. 31. Some exceptions will be made for “critical roles,” such as those needed for public safety and water quality, but all exceptions will require the city manager’s authorization to proceed. Any job offers the city has already made will be honored, but all postings for non-essential positions ended Friday. “We do not take this step lightly, but we, like many other local governments, are facing challenging conditions,” said Nuria Rivera-Vander...
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