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Adams County’s election-worker shortage needs a plan, not more fear
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

Adams County’s election-worker shortage needs a plan, not more fear

By Karen Hoopes | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Let's start with the basic fact: Adams County is reportedly about 200 workers short. That is a serious problem. But it is a management problem, and management problems require facts, urgency and a plan. Clerk and Recorder Josh Zygielbaum says fear is keeping experienced workers from returning. Fear may be one factor. But before that becomes the explanation, voters deserve to see the evidence. How many former workers were contacted? How many actually said fear was the reason? When did recruiting begin? What did they say about pay, schedules, training or the hiring process? Those questions matter because the diagnosis determines the solution. If workers are concerned about safety, give them clear information and re...
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Douglas County Is Working. Why Redesign a Government That Has Served It So Well?
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

Douglas County Is Working. Why Redesign a Government That Has Served It So Well?

By C. J. Garbo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Douglas County voters will soon be asked to make a consequential decision about the structure of their county government. A citizen-initiated ballot measure proposes expanding the Board of County Commissioners from three members to five, with the expanded board composed either of five commissioners elected by district or three elected by district and two elected at large. The current commissioners have referred a separate measure that would allow voters, if they approve expansion, to preserve countywide elections for all five commissioners. Supporters of the expansion have framed their argument around representation, accountability, and population growth. Douglas County has unquestionably grown, and it is reasonable to perio...
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Denver ICE walkout turns violent, and the journalists filming it say they were attacked 
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

Denver ICE walkout turns violent, and the journalists filming it say they were attacked 

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice The flyer set the time at noon, Friday, September 4, at La Alma-Lincoln Park. No work. No school. No shopping. ICE out. There was a DJ. There were food trucks. Kids danced. Then the water bottles started flying, and by the time the crowd cleared, three people had gone to the hospital and at least one woman had been beaten until one eye was swollen nearly shut. Denver police counted five assaults or altercations in a little over an hour at the park at 1200 N. Osage St. Three people who came with cameras told RMV they were chased, hit, robbed, and in one case kicked on the ground while curled in a ball. Their footage, and photographs published by a mainstream Denver paper, show a good deal of what they say happened. W...
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New Poll Finds Johnston and Denver City Council Losing Favorability
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

New Poll Finds Johnston and Denver City Council Losing Favorability

By Nicole C. Brambila | The Denver Gazette Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s favorability rating fell 7 percentage points over the past year, while the City Council’s favorability rating dropped 3 percentage points, a new poll has found. A little more than a year after taking office, Johnston had enjoyed a 48% favorability rating among likely voters. That declined to 46% in 2025, sliding to 39% in 2026, according to a new Colorado Polling Institute poll. Half of likely voters hold an unfavorable opinion of him, up 4 percentage points from last year. The City Council’s favorability rating climbed from 34% in 2024 to 41% in 2025 but it fell to 38% in 2026. “Voters who hold a favorable view of the mayor are largely anchored by the view that he is ‘getting th...
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Castle Rock Council Approves New School Land Rules Despite District Concerns
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Castle Rock Council Approves New School Land Rules Despite District Concerns

By Olivia Young | CBS Colorado Douglas County School District is grappling with a change in law in one of its most populous communities. The Castle Rock Town Council passed an ordinance Tuesday night changing the way land and funds dedicated to schools are allocated. Historically, developers have dedicated land or funding for future public schools. The town holds these assets until the district is ready to build a school, but now the district will need to meet certain conditions and timelines, or the land may be used for other purposes. There are currently 13 sites in Castle Rock planned for schools. The ordinance cites "changing demographic trends, school enrollment patterns, and long-range capital planning" as reasons many of them may not be developed into schools fo...
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After 4.25 Million Gallon Sewage Spill Arkansas River Faces a Long Cleanup
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, Local

After 4.25 Million Gallon Sewage Spill Arkansas River Faces a Long Cleanup

By John Ingold and Michael Booth | The Colorado Sun Are cantaloupes and peppers safe to eat? How will the river get clean? Everything we know about what comes next after a 4.25 million gallon sewage spill. A massive spill of raw sewage and untreated wastewater into the Arkansas River in southeastern Colorado continues to wreak havoc on the region. Water in the river downstream of the spill, east of Pueblo, is still testing high for dangerous nasties like the bacteria E. coli. Colorado Parks and Wildlife on Wednesday issued advisories for people to stay away from the water in 10 state wildlife areas along the river, as well as the Las Animas State Fish Hatchery. And all of this is happening during one of the most agriculturally important times for the Lower Ark...
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Millions of Gallons of Untreated Sewage Spill Into Arkansas River Near Pueblo
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Millions of Gallons of Untreated Sewage Spill Into Arkansas River Near Pueblo

By Chierstin Roth | CBS Colorado More than four million gallons of untreated sewage containing harmful bacteria were dumped into the Arkansas River in Pueblo this week. While officials are working to mitigate any potential impacts from the contamination in Pueblo and communities downstream, some residents are concerned for their health.  "We walked earlier today from the City Park all the way to Runyon for a good two-hour walk, and the whole entire time we were walking, you could just smell it," said Nicoel Candelario.  Candelario and her friend Romy walked around Pueblo for hours Sunday, mostly along the Arkansas River. "A few times, I kept looking at it," said Candelario. "I'm like, this doesn't look like our water, you know. And like people have the...
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Is Raeden setting a new data center standard in Colorado Springs?
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

Is Raeden setting a new data center standard in Colorado Springs?

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Jason Green will take the hard questions. That is the pitch. The co-founder and president of Raeden says his industry has never done a good job showing up to answer for itself, so he has. "I've just kind of held the mantle of that," he said. In interviews before his data center goes to the Colorado Springs City Council, he made himself available for whatever anyone wanted to throw at him. Whether that adds up to a new way of building data centers, or a well-argued case for a project a lot of his neighbors still do not want, is the question Colorado Springs has to settle on Sept. 17. The project Project Taurus would put an artificial intelligence data center in the old Intel chip plant at 1565 High Tech Way, off Gard...
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The Denver school tax question says $44 million. The measure says something larger.
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

The Denver school tax question says $44 million. The measure says something larger.

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice The question Denver voters will mark this November asks whether to raise Denver Public Schools taxes "up to $44 million." That is the number on the ballot, the number in the district's public materials, and the figure repeated in news coverage of the measure. The $44 million is not a fixed cap on what the tax could raise in the years after. Read the board's resolution, adopted Aug. 13, along with the ballot question it certified, and the $44 million turns out to be an estimate for the first year.  What voters would also authorize is a permanent change to the ceiling on how much the district can collect through its operational overrides — a ceiling written as a share of the district's total program funding, not ...
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Douglas County School Board To Put $54 Million Tax Request Before Voters in November
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Douglas County School Board To Put $54 Million Tax Request Before Voters in November

By Nicholas Fogleman | The Denver Gazette The Douglas County School District board unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday to place a $54 million mill levy override on the November ballot, sending the funding request to voters after months of discussion about the district’s financial challenges. The proposed override comes as school districts across the Denver metro area grapple with budget pressures. Jefferson County Public Schools recently approved a $133 million mill levy override request for voters, citing similar concerns about funding and rising operational costs. The largest portion of Douglas County’s proposed measure, $21.4 million, would be dedicated to increasing compensation for teachers and staff by 4%. Throughout recent discussions, Superintenden...
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