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Denver Takes Tobacco Companies to Court Over Cigarette Litter
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kdvr.com, Approved, Local

Denver Takes Tobacco Companies to Court Over Cigarette Litter

By Anna Coon | KDVR DENVER (KDVR) — The city of Denver has filed suit against major tobacco companies, arguing that cigarette manufacturers should pay the cost of cleaning up the thousands of cigarette butts thrown onto city property each year. “Our data says that almost 25% of all the litter we collect is made up of cigarette butts,” Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said. “So, think about it as a quarter of the total cost the city spends to do trash pickup, is filled with these cigarette butts.” The city is suing 9 major tobacco manufacturers, including Philip Morris and Reynolds American, along with Colorado Springs-based distributor Peerless Products. The 72-page lawsuit argues that cigarette butts have long clogged city streets and stormwater drains and entered wa...
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Kindergarten sex ed at Colorado district challenged over explicit content, letter says
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The Western Journal, Approved, Commentary, Local

Kindergarten sex ed at Colorado district challenged over explicit content, letter says

By Samuel Short | Commentary, The Western Journal A Colorado school board is proving once again that the left truly relishes in talking to young children about sex. In a letter from the Alliance Defending Freedom to the Roaring Fork Schools Board of Education, Director Katherine L. Anderson of the Center for Parental Rights noted some truly disturbing and graphic imagery that children are seeing as part of the 3Rs curriculum, a comprehensive program to teach about sexuality. The Rs in question refer to “Rights, Respect, Responsibility” according to the website of its creator, Advocates for Youth. The curriculum “seeks to address both the functional knowledge related to sexuality and the specific skills necessary to adopt healthy behaviors. Rights, Respect, ...
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Kids run the booths at two Front Range markets this month
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

Kids run the booths at two Front Range markets this month

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Pricing a product. Pitching a stranger. Making change and counting the take at the end of the night. It is the kind of thing that rattles plenty of adults, and this month Colorado kids will line up to do it on purpose. Two Front Range markets give them the chance. The first runs Friday, Aug. 14, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Piney Creek Hollow Park on South Tower Road in Centennial. A second follows Saturday, Aug. 22, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Castle Rock, set up next to the Castle Rock Farmers Market. Both are open to young vendors ages 5 to 17. They are run by Kids Markets, the program formerly known as the Children's Entrepreneur Market. The pitch is simple. Kids build a real business and ...
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El Paso County’s public safety tax returns to the ballot with a change to oversight
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, Local

El Paso County’s public safety tax returns to the ballot with a change to oversight

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Heads up El Paso County: you've got a tax to vote on in November and I believe you can speak up about it in your local Grey Book! Per the Tribune article linked at bottom, El Paso County Commissioners approved a ballot measure to extend a sales tax whose proceeds go to help fund the sheriff's office. The tax originally started in 2012 and has been extended a few times since. In its current iteration, it is slated to end in 2029, but commissioners approved a ballot measure which would extend it to 2037.  If you live in El Paso County, take a minute to carefully review the ballot measure. There were a couple things in the article that would have raised an eyebrow for me if I were voting on it. Quoting: "...
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Colorado law already protects Douglas County teachers. Why a union contract?
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Local

Colorado law already protects Douglas County teachers. Why a union contract?

By Martha Carver | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice You may be aware that the Douglas County Federation (DCF), the teachers’ union, is asking the Douglas County School District to engage in Collective Bargaining.  Before making a major shift in school governance, district leaders should recognize the protections already in place and require clear support from a majority of teachers.  But the most important question is what does this proposal actually mean for teachers? Collective bargaining agreements (CBA) are contracts between the union and administrators that cover teacher pay, benefits, seniority rules, transfer rights, evaluations, and grievance procedures.  Currently, teachers have the option to join the union, and this will not change if the S...
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Aurora Keeps Door Open to Data Centers While Pursuing New Regulations
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DENVER7, Approved, Local

Aurora Keeps Door Open to Data Centers While Pursuing New Regulations

By Adria Iraheta | Denver7 The Aurora City Council voted 6-5 against a temporary moratorium on data center construction, but passed a separate resolution to establish development standards. AURORA, Colo. — Aurora's City Council voted against a temporary ban on data center construction Monday night, even as residents raised concerns about environmental impacts and energy consumption. The council voted 6-5 to reject an emergency resolution introduced by Council Member Amy Wiles that would have placed a six-month moratorium on data center construction while development standards were adopted. The mayor cast the tiebreaking vote. Instead, the council passed a resolution introduced by Council Member Curtis Gardner to establish development standards for data centers...
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Denver ballot measure would drop citizenship rule for police-fire oversight board
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

Denver ballot measure would drop citizenship rule for police-fire oversight board

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice This November, Denver voters will decide whether to change the city charter with a ballot question that never mentions the word "citizenship." The question they'll see asks whether the charter should be "amended to modernize the Civil Service Commission and Department of Safety by removing outdated language, giving City Council the ability to add duties via code, and providing for an extension of probation when required for medical, military, or other approved leave." Nothing in that sentence tells a voter that one of the things being removed is the requirement that the people who oversee the hiring of every Denver police officer and firefighter be United States citizens. But that is what the measure does. What the ...
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Colorado’s weirdest race is safe: Manitou Springs funds the coffin races for 2026
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ScottKJames.com, Approved, Commentary, Local

Colorado’s weirdest race is safe: Manitou Springs funds the coffin races for 2026

By Scott K. James | Commentary, ScottKJames.com Manitou Springs found a practical way to protect its coffin races without burying a beloved Colorado tradition. In my rounds as a county commissioner, I get to talk to a lot of people. Different towns. Different politics. Different backgrounds. But I hear the same uneasy sentence in a hundred different forms: Things just ain’t what they used to be. Then, almost immediately, we apologize for saying it. Because somebody is always standing nearby ready to explain that this is called “progress,” and apparently progress means you’re supposed to smile politely while the thing you loved gets turned into luxury apartments and a parking app. Every small town has a big day. In my beloved Johnstown, it’s BBQ Daze. Milliken ha...
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Denver Mayor Mike Johnston Officially Launches 2027 Reelection Bid
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston Officially Launches 2027 Reelection Bid

By Michael Braithwaite | The Denver Gazette Denver Mayor Mike Johnston officially filed his paperwork Monday to run again for Denver’s mayoral office next year. The filing comes weeks after Johnston confirmed to The Denver Gazette that he would seek reelection as he focuses the final year of his current term on utility costs, childcare and other affordability challenges. “I think the most important thing is to focus on the biggest cost drivers families in Denver are facing,” Johnston said. “And the biggest one, by far, is the cost of housing.” READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
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