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Colorado Springs City Council approves $941M budget for 2025, dipping into reserves to balance
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, Local

Colorado Springs City Council approves $941M budget for 2025, dipping into reserves to balance

By Brennen Kauffman | The Gazette Colorado Springs City Council gave the final approval Tuesday for the city's 2025 budget. The final budget covers $941 million in city expenses and revenue next year, including $438 million in spending for the city's general fund. Colorado Springs' budget has increased from the $900 million budget passed for 2024 but is still down from the billion dollar budget the city had in 2023. The new budget continues some of the reductions the city enacted last year to deal with financial crunches, including limiting new department spending and keeping several unfilled positions open. To balance the budget, the city will end up pulling $3.9 million from its reserves. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE GAZETTE
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In Grand Junction, scrutiny intensifies on Resource Center to address rising crime, other issues
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Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice

In Grand Junction, scrutiny intensifies on Resource Center to address rising crime, other issues

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Once celebrated as one of the top 10 main streets in the U.S., Grand Junction’s downtown now faces turmoil. Business owners, frustrated with the nearby Resource Center, are cleaning up feces and needles and dealing with fires and property damage. Many are calling for the center to be relocated. The Resource Center opened on Dec. 11, 2023, providing food, shelter, hygiene and navigation services for the homeless. By October 2024, however, downtown business owners reported rising concerns about harassment, danger, property damage and filth. At the Nov. 20 meeting of City Council, business owners shared their frustrations.  “We've put in a new, almost $20,000 camera system since this Resource Center came in," business own...
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Highlands Ranch road renamed to honor Kendrick Castillo, the hero in the STEM school shooting
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Approved, DENVER7, Local

Highlands Ranch road renamed to honor Kendrick Castillo, the hero in the STEM school shooting

By Richard Butler | Denver 7 News A major roadway in Highlands Ranch was renamed to honor Kendrick Castillo, the hero student who charged at the gunman during the 2019 STEM School shooting, giving his classmates time to hide and run. Castillo's family and Highlands Ranch officials unveiled Kendrick Castillo Way, formerly Lucent Boulevard, on Tuesday. The Kendrick Castillo Memorial Oversight Committee requested the name change, and it was approved by the Board of Douglas County Commissioners. READ THE FULL STORY AT DENVER 7 NEWS
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Union workers file lawsuit against King Soopers, Safeway for alleged actions during 2022 strike
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Approved, kdvr.com, Local

Union workers file lawsuit against King Soopers, Safeway for alleged actions during 2022 strike

By Samantha Jarpe | Fox 31 News A class action lawsuit was recently filed by local union workers against the Kroger Company and Albertsons, the owners of King Soopers and Safeway respectively. The lawsuit is in response to certain unlawful “no-poach agreements” the grocery stores allegedly entered into during a 2022 strike against King Soopers and City Market by the union United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 in Denver. A spokesperson for the Kroger Company released a statement about the lawsuit and denied that there were any no-poach agreements between the two companies. READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX 31 NEWS
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Summit County residents pay a tax for work U.S. Forest Service says it won’t do this year
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Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Summit County residents pay a tax for work U.S. Forest Service says it won’t do this year

By Spencer Wilson | CBS Colorado The U.S. Forest Service says it will not be hiring seasonal workers that do campsite enforcement in Colorado this upcoming year. In past years, those workers have kept the campgrounds clean and the trails safe. The decision by the Forest Service has upset some people in Summit County who pay extra in their taxes for some of those positions. The tax was created because the county is not allowed to hire people to do that enforcement themselves. The work needs to be done by a USFS employee. The Forest Service doesn't have the money to create those positions this upcoming year and wants to use the money that they'll save for other priorities, according to county leaders. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
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She worked for Denver for 20 years. Now she’s suing Mayor Mike Johnston’s office and his chief equity officer
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Approved, Denverite, Local

She worked for Denver for 20 years. Now she’s suing Mayor Mike Johnston’s office and his chief equity officer

By Kyle Harris | Denverite A City of Denver employee is suing the Mayor’s Office and the Mayor’s Chief Equity Officer. Jessica Calderon’s allegations include sex and national-origin discrimination, retaliation and violations of her constitutional rights to free expression and assembly.  She filed the complaint in August and her attorneys amended it this week. It addresses several years of grievances that span the administrations of former mayor Michael Hancock and Mayor Mike Johnston. The Denver City Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the complaint, and neither the Mayor’s Office nor Chief Equity Officer Ben Sanders have responded to Denverite’s requests for comment on the allegations.  READ THE FULL STORY AT DENVERITE
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Traveling for Thanksgiving? Here’s a look at the airports with the most delays
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Approved, KOAA News, Local

Traveling for Thanksgiving? Here’s a look at the airports with the most delays

By Lauren Brand | KOAA-TV NBC 5 The week of Thanksgiving is one of the busiest times of the year to travel. Many get stuck dealing with delayed flights and cancellations. With this incoming winter storm, flights will likely be impacted. Flights are usually delayed due to snow, strong winds, fog, and thunderstorms. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 26% of delayed flights from September of 2023 to August of 2024 were due to weather. They also explain that there were 371,553 flights were delayed due to weather. That's equivalent to 28 million minutes in delays. READ THE FULL STORY AT KOAA-TV NBC 5
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Boulder County’s affordable housing tax spending plan frustrates some supporters who helped pass it
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Approved, Boulder Reporting Lab, Local

Boulder County’s affordable housing tax spending plan frustrates some supporters who helped pass it

By John Herrick | Boulder Reporting Lab Earlier this month, Boulder County unveiled its spending plan for the Affordable and Attainable Housing Tax, a voter-approved measure projected to generate $16.7 million in 2025. The tax marks a significant boost in funding to address the region’s urgent need for affordable housing. The county’s plan allocates $9.7 million to new affordable housing development, $5.2 million to supportive services aimed at helping residents remain housed, and $500,000 to a grant program for nonprofits and small cities and towns. This new revenue comes at a critical time for Boulder County, where eviction filings are rising, housing costs remain high, and safety net services are increasingly strained. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE BOULDER REPORTING LAB
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El Paso commissioners give 4th Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen $50k pay raise
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Approved, gazette.com, Local

El Paso commissioners give 4th Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen $50k pay raise

By Savannah Eller | The Gazette Last week the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners approved a requested $50,000 raise for newly reelected Fourth Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen.  Allen is the only county elected official whose salary is set by commissioners and not state statute. The raise came recommended by the county budget office, which presented commissioners with a high and low end of cost-of-living increases based on a consumer price index and market data. Allen's salary will factor into the District Attorney's Office's 2025 budget and cannot be changed for the rest of his four-year term.  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE GAZETTE
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Judge declares Elizabeth midnight curfew law unconstitutional following family’s $12k fight of $30 ticket
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Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Judge declares Elizabeth midnight curfew law unconstitutional following family’s $12k fight of $30 ticket

By Brian Maass | CBS Colorado A district court judge in Elbert County has declared the town of Elizabeth's curfew law unconstitutional after a Colorado family says they spent $12,000 fighting their son's $30 curfew ticket. "To me, this was worth the fight," said Mike Saunders, whose son Joe was one of four teenagers stopped by Elizabeth police in July of 2021. The teens said they had been bowling in Parker and were driving home when an Elizabeth police officer pulled their car over for having a broken headlight. It was shortly after midnight, which is when the town's curfew ordinance kicks in on Saturday nights. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
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