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Ballot measure 2C in Wheat Ridge would lower building height limits at old Colorado hospital
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Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Ballot measure 2C in Wheat Ridge would lower building height limits at old Colorado hospital

By Karen Morfitt | CBS Colorado The old 100 acre campus of a hospital in the Colorado city of Wheat Ridge is empty and on the verge of development. But before that happens, voters are deciding in the general election next week whether or not to change the city's height requirements for that area. Ballot measure 2C asks Wheat Ridge voters to consider making changes to the city's current height requirements at the old Lutheran Hospital campus. "It actually asks two specific things," Community Development Director Lauren Mikulak said. "We're asking to lower the height further on the perimeter, so from 35 feet to 30 where we have new development potentially adjacent to existing neighborhoods. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
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Gilpin County election watcher dismissed while observing signature verification
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Approved, kdvr.com, Local

Gilpin County election watcher dismissed while observing signature verification

By Rachel Saurer | Fox 31 News The Gilpin County Clerk dismissed an election watcher on Tuesday who was watching the signature verification process after a disagreement on how close the watcher could be to the poll worker’s station. An election watcher is a fairly new addition to the ballot counting process, born from former President Donald Trump’s proven-to-be-false claims of election fraud in 2020. According to the Secretary of State’s office, an election watcher is “an eligible voter who has been appointed by an authorized appointing entity to witness and verify the conduct of an election.” Election watchers also must complete a 10-minute training course. They are essentially another layer of security and transparency in the ballot-counting process. READ THE FULL STORY AT F...
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Browning: Why voting the down-ballot is critical in 2024
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Approved, Commentary, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice

Browning: Why voting the down-ballot is critical in 2024

By Lindy Browning | Contributing Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice It’s election season 2024. No one in America is unaware of that fact.  Election news is wall to wall on every TV station, every newspaper, podcast and social media platform. The tribalism is exhausting and it’s very real. People have pretty much made up their minds about the top of the ticket, Team Red for Donald Trump, and Team Blue for Kamala Harris. Yet, all the discussions, energy and money are focused on that top-of-the-ticket race, even though most people have already made up their mind. If only people, including the media, put as much passion and energy into the down-ballot races, people might see a federal, state and local government that is more representative of their values. The American people...
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Palisade ballot issue 2A asks voters whether to double their sales tax
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Uncategorized, Approved, KKCO-TV Grand Junction, Local

Palisade ballot issue 2A asks voters whether to double their sales tax

By Ja'Ronn Alex | KKCO-TV Grand Junction Palisade voters can raise sales tax from 2% to 4%. The exact language of Ballot Issue 2A can be found here. Mike Simmons, a Palisade resident, is not in favor of the ballot issue, “The sales tax at 2% is rather low, but I really do not want to see it increase.” “I am in support. I mean, there are some things we need to spend money on,” said Marc Authier, another Palisade resident. READ THE FULL STORY AT KKCO-TV GRAND JUNCTION
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Denver Superintendent Alex Marrero gets a $17,000 bonus with his third performance evaluation
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Approved, Chalkbeat Colorado, Local

Denver Superintendent Alex Marrero gets a $17,000 bonus with his third performance evaluation

By Melanie Asmar | Chalkbeat Colorado Denver Superintendent Alex Marrero will earn a $17,326 bonus for meeting 85% of his goals last school year, according to his yearly evaluation approved by the school board Monday. The board voted unanimously to approve Marrero’s evaluation and performance pay with little discussion. Board President Carrie Olson briefly ticked off a list of the superintendent’s accomplishments, including his response to serving an influx of thousands of migrant students, the creation of six “community hubs,” and the district’s focus on environmental sustainability. “We’re really grateful for all you’ve done for Denver Public Schools and we’re excited to see what you’ll do over the next year,” Olson said. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORAD...
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Inmates cast in-person ballots during Northern Colorado jail voting event
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Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Inmates cast in-person ballots during Northern Colorado jail voting event

By Dillon Thomas | CBS Colorado Inmates being held in the Larimer County Jail in Northern Colorado showed up in record numbers this year for voting after a new Colorado law went into effect. In 2024 Colorado became the first state in the United States to require counties offer in-person voting to inmates who are legally qualified to vote. "Everybody here is innocent until proven guilty. Just because you are in our building doesn't mean you should lose your right to vote," said Steven LaChance, program specialist at the Larimer County Sheriff's Office. Inmates who have not lost their right to vote due to felony conviction have always been allowed to vote. However, in previous years, the inmates were typically left to vote via mail-in ballot. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
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Ballot measure 1A would allow Colorado’s Jefferson County to keep $30 million in tax revenue it knowingly overcollected
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Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Ballot measure 1A would allow Colorado’s Jefferson County to keep $30 million in tax revenue it knowingly overcollected

By Shaun Boyd, CBS Colorado For the third time in five years, Jefferson County is asking voters to permanently remove caps that limit how much tax revenue the Colorado county can keep and spend, including a new cap just put in place by the state legislature two months ago. "We would be the first in Colorado to have no cap, and they're trying to say it's not a tax increase," says Natalie Menten, who is leading the "No on 1A" effort. While Jeffco says 1A is a "revenue retention" measure to fund infrastructure and public safety, Menten says, not only would taxpayers forfeit all future refunds from the county, but $30.5 million in property tax revenue from 2023 that Jeffco deliberately overcollected. "They took our money. They're holding it, earning interest on it, k...
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Aurora lawmakers postpone vote to repeal employee tax
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, Local

Aurora lawmakers postpone vote to repeal employee tax

By Kyla Pearce, Denver Gazette via Colorado Politics Aurora City Council on Monday postponed a decision on whether to keep a tax on businesses after a loud dust-up between councilmembers.  The occupational privilege tax collects $4 monthly from companies for each employee. Employers and employees split the dues, paying $2 respectively. The tax began in 1986 to support street maintenance, police and fire services. In a study session earlier in October, Councilmember Francoise Bergan proposed keeping the occupational privilege tax to fund fire stations in the Blackstone and Southshore areas. She made the proposal, she said, after hearing concerns from residents about the lack of fire stations in the areas, telling a story about a resident who may have died due to a long resp...
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Denver will use these criteria to decide which schools to close for low enrollment
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Approved, Chalkbeat Colorado, Local

Denver will use these criteria to decide which schools to close for low enrollment

By Melanie Asmar | Chalkbeat Colorado How many seats are filled and whether the neighborhood is experiencing declining enrollment are the first two criteria that Denver Public Schools staff will consider when deciding which schools should be recommended for closure. That’s according to a methodology released Monday night, a week and a half before Superintendent Alex Marrero is expected to make school closure recommendations on Nov. 7. The school board is set to vote on those recommendations two weeks later, on Nov. 21. District officials have not indicated how many schools will be closed or consolidated. The board directed Marrero to close schools to address declining enrollment. Although DPS enrollment is up 2% this year due to an influx of migrant students, officials said t...
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USPS closes trash cans in Colorado Springs post offices to prevent election material theft
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Approved, gazette.com, Local

USPS closes trash cans in Colorado Springs post offices to prevent election material theft

By Brennen Kauffman | The Gazette United States Postal Service has closed trash cans inside several post offices around Colorado Springs to prevent election materials from being stolen. The post offices on Fountain Boulevard, S 8th Street and Uintah Street had taped over the front of their trash cans to prevent them from being used. At the post office on Pikes Peak Avenue and South 25th Street, trash cans were entirely removed from the lobby areas. Paper signs posted around the Cheyenne Mountain facility asked customers to "Please discard any/all mail at home." The signs were attributed to USPS Management and dated to Thursday. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE GAZETTE
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