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Lone Tree Pushes Back Against State Control Over Local Zoning
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DENVER7, Approved, Local

Lone Tree Pushes Back Against State Control Over Local Zoning

By Tyler Melito | Denver7 The City of Lone Tree is prepared to use its Home Rule Charter to overrule state laws that limit local control over zoning, occupancy limits, and land use. LONE TREE, Colo. — The City of Lone Tree is calling out the state legislature for passing laws that narrow local control, specifically in areas pertaining to zoning, occupancy limits, and land use. In a recent post on the city's website, officials stated the state is passing laws in "areas traditionally governed at the local level." Lone Tree Mayor Marissa Harmon telling Denver7's Tyler Melito recent state laws are eroding the city's Home Rule Charter. The charter, passed by residents in 1998, acts as the city's constitution and gives the city the power to manage its own affairs. ...
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Colorado Farmers Light 100 Fires To Defend Orchards From Sudden Freeze
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Colorado Farmers Light 100 Fires To Defend Orchards From Sudden Freeze

By Christa Swanson | CBS Colorado A cold snap moved through Colorado on Friday, bringing snow and freezing temperatures to areas where many spring plants are already in bloom. That led a business on the Western Slope to get creative in order to save its orchards. The Sanders family opened the Palisade Peach Shack 17 years ago and has seen the farm grow from 8 to over 80 acres, but they say that this year's warm weather, coupled with the sudden freeze, nearly spelled disaster. Owner James Sanders told CBS Colorado that they have never had a freeze when the fruit is in this stage of growth. At the moment, the fruit is at the stage they would normally see in the middle of May, with peaches the size of thumbs and hardened seeds. Sanders says this could ...
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San Luis Valley Growers Face Massive Potato Surplus Crisis
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Alamosa Citizen, Approved, Local

San Luis Valley Growers Face Massive Potato Surplus Crisis

By The Citizen | Alamosa Citizen An estimated hundred million pounds will need to be disposed of after overproduction and a warm March ruin potatoes in storage. he San Luis Valley has an overabundance of potatoes in storage here in mid-April that, because of the warm winter, is leading to concerns about what happens as a new growing season begins. An historically hot March that punctuated a warm winter overall is creating quality standard problems in the potato bins of the Valley. If a potato bin doesn’t meet the quality standard, it doesn’t ship. “When we start to lose a bin, a bin can be 5,000 sacks, 10,000 sacks, up to 100,000 sacks … then we look at a really gigantic pile of potatoes that has to be managed,” explains Jeff McCullough, who operates Spud Sell...
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Jeffco Schools Challenge Federal Title IX Findings Amid Data Dispute
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Jeffco Schools Challenge Federal Title IX Findings Amid Data Dispute

By Anna Alejo | CBS Colorado Jeffco Public Schools is disputing a U.S. Department of Education conclusion that the school district is violating Title IX, asking federal officials for a meeting and more details on their findings as a 30-day deadline for response arrived on Monday. The department's Office for Civil Rights determined that 61 male students were competing on girls' sports teams in the district — a finding Jeffco says contradicts data it originally submitted to investigators after the OCR began its investigation of Jeffco in June 2025. "During this review, we requested clarification on several findings that appear to contradict the data we originally provided — discrepancies that directly impact two of the OCR's three proposed actions," the district said in ...
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Colorado Regulators Override Local Denial To Advance Renewable Energy Grid
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, Local

Colorado Regulators Override Local Denial To Advance Renewable Energy Grid

By Mark Jaffe | The Colorado Sun The ruling was based on a statute used just 3 times in 21 years allowing regulators to override local land use decisions on electric and gas infrastructure projects. State utility regulators have overruled local land use decisions and cleared the way for Xcel Energy to build its $1.7 billion Power Pathway transmission line through Elbert County. The line will bring Eastern Plains wind and solar to the Front Range. The Elbert County Commission voted in June 2025 to deny Xcel Energy two key permits responding to protests by landowners and ranchers and an unwillingness by the utility to reroute the path, which cut through the heart of the county. The county commission and many landowners sought to have the route moved fa...
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Adams 12 Leaders Eye Cuts And Consolidation As Student Enrollment Numbers Fall By Thousands
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DENVER7, Approved, Local

Adams 12 Leaders Eye Cuts And Consolidation As Student Enrollment Numbers Fall By Thousands

By Sophia Villalba | Denver7 ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. — Adams 12 Five Star Schools — which serves all or parts of Broomfield, Federal Heights, Northglenn, Thornton, and Westminster — could soon see changes as enrollment continues to drop. Enrollment at the district has dropped by more than 6,000 students over the last decade. This school year, the district saw a decline of more than 1,300 students, the second-largest since 2020. It’s a trend all too familiar across the state. Denver7 spoke with Boulder Valley School District officials, who said they started seeing a decline in 2017. “Over the last 10 years, we've had about 3,600 fewer students than we had previously. As we project forward for the next five years, we're seeing about a 1,700-student decr...
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He Loved This City. Then It Nearly Killed Him.
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

He Loved This City. Then It Nearly Killed Him.

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Nico Francis had spent the early part of the evening on April 3 at the First Friday ArtWalk on Santa Fe, and with friends waiting on Colfax, he grabbed a Lime scooter just after 11:30 p.m. and took what he called the scenic route. It was a night like dozens of others for the Ohio transplant, who moved to Denver in 2020 — a man who had long been something of a downtown defender, someone who pushed back every time a friend called the area dangerous.  "I love 16th street. I love downtown. I like just riding through there and seeing what's going on — seeing all the people, seeing everything going on," Francis said. That comfort level would not survive the night. Then something felt off  A white SUV conta...
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Denver Council Considers Data Center Moratorium And Multimillion Dollar Contracts
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Denver Council Considers Data Center Moratorium And Multimillion Dollar Contracts

By Deborah Grigsby | The Denver Gazette The Denver City Council will introduce a bill on Monday that would place a one-year moratorium on the acceptance or processing of certain permit and site development plan applications in which a data center is the proposed primary use. Because data centers are not specifically regulated within Denver and have no specific permitting requirements, city officials want to press the “pause” button to give the city time to develop “thoughtful regulations” that address community safety and equity. If ordered published, a public hearing on the matter will be held May 18. Next, the council will also introduce legislation to establish an annual donation of bison to American Indian tribes and American Indian nonprofits. The City and ...
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When a remodel turns into a $60,000 lesson: One builder’s run-in with Colorado’s regulatory system
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

When a remodel turns into a $60,000 lesson: One builder’s run-in with Colorado’s regulatory system

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice When Rob Treta started expanding a small home for his girlfriend in Arvada, he thought he was dealing with a familiar problem—delays. “I submitted the plans and I said, ‘Hey, tell me what I need to do,’” Treta said. “They told me three to four weeks. It took 22 weeks. Nobody ever mentioned asbestos.” Treta has been building in Colorado for 30 years. He has worked across multiple counties, pulled permits, remodeled homes and built from the ground up. What changed isn’t entirely clear—but Treta said what he ran into felt unlike anything he had seen in decades of building. “I’ve probably built 60, 70 projects in my 30 years,” he said. “And I’ve never run into this before. Never.” This wasn’t how his projects usually went. It star...
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RTD Leadership Shift Ahead As CEO Johnson Announces Departure Timeline
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

RTD Leadership Shift Ahead As CEO Johnson Announces Departure Timeline

By Daniel Boniface | The Denver Gazette Debra Johnson, the CEO and general manager of the Regional Transportation District, announced Wednesday that she will step down from her role at the end of her contract, the transit agency told The Denver Gazette. Johnson sent an email to employees saying she had declined an offer from RTD’s board to extend her contract beyond its May 8, 2027, expiration, citing “personal and professional reasons” and noting her years of service, according to the email provided by RTD. “With this information in mind, please know that I will continue to steadfastly lead this organization with purpose and intentionality, as I have been doing since Nov. 9, 2020, until my contract sunsets next year,” Johnson wrote. RTD Board Chairman Patrick O...
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