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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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$2M federal grant awarded to help prevent youth violence in Aurora
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Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

$2M federal grant awarded to help prevent youth violence in Aurora

By Tori Mason | CBS Colorado A $2 million grant will help the city of Aurora's efforts to reduce youth violence. The money was awarded by the Department of Justice's Community-Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative, a federal investment in local programs. Standing Against Violence Every Day, or SAVE, is Aurora's violence-reduction strategy that focuses on teens and young adults who are at high risk for violent victimization and offending.  The program uses proactive measures to address the root causes of youth violence.  READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
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Nonprofit helping veterans, first responders cope with PTSD with time in Colorado outdoors
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Approved, kdvr.com, Local

Nonprofit helping veterans, first responders cope with PTSD with time in Colorado outdoors

By Jeremy Hubbard | Fox 31 News A group of veterans and first responders from all over the country are in Colorado, hoping to heal their wounds with the help of nature, and a new non-profit dedicated to helping those suffering from PTSD. Mountain Valor Foundation launched its new initiative at a kick-off event last Thursday at the VFW in Sheridan. The founder got the idea when a good friend needed a helping hand. READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX 31 NEWS
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Denver Water’s 10-year, $700M project to replace lead pipes gains momentum
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Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Denver Water’s 10-year, $700M project to replace lead pipes gains momentum

By Austen Erblat | CBS Colorado Updating Denver Water's pipes to meet new lead standards is a massive, multi-year project. Denver Water says it's making progress on efforts to replace service lines that use lead in the pipes. The city is working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to remove about 60,000 service lines. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
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Business owners ask City Council for help with homeless activity, get no action in Grand Junction
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Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice

Business owners ask City Council for help with homeless activity, get no action in Grand Junction

By Lindy Browning | Contributor, Rocky Mountain Voice Grand Junction businesses and residents in the downtown area have become fed up with the nefarious and criminal activity stemming from the Homeward Bound Day Center for the homeless, and they are directing their ire at elected officials on City Council. Ben Van Dyke, who owns the car wash next door to the center, says that although he understands, and has compassion for, the people who are homeless, the criminal and nuisance activities that are not being managed are unsafe and are driving away his business. “My revenue is down 30 percent because my customers tell me they feel unsafe," he said. "I used to go down and do maintenance on my building at night so I didn’t have to shut down operations during the day. I can’t do that a...
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Denver considers $1M contract with Denver Health for homeless response
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, Local

Denver considers $1M contract with Denver Health for homeless response

By Noah Festenstein | Colorado Politics, via Denver Gazette The Denver City Council on Monday will consider a $1 million contract to better utilize the city’s hospital system for homeless response efforts. If approved on second reading Monday, Denver Health will receive $990,900 from the city to become more involved with homeless response efforts and Roads to Recovery until at least Sept. 30, 2026. The money is planned to “support and strengthen existing internal infrastructure focused on partnerships with Denver homelessness resolution partners and the Roads to Recovery project to better align housing and health supports for some of the most at-risk persons experiencing homelessness,” city officials said in the council’s resolution request. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLI...
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Huerfano County discovers ballot scanning error stemming from vendor
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Approved, Fox21, Local

Huerfano County discovers ballot scanning error stemming from vendor

By Norishka Pachot | Fox 21 News The Huerfano County Government announced on Monday, Oct. 28 it discovered an error in some ballots that resulted in a scanning issue. Huerfano County said via Facebook the error came from the vendor, Fort Orange Press. They further explained some of the ballots received in the mail had damaged timing marks, causing a scanning issue. According to the County, the issue was detected recently and there is a process in place to ensure every ballot is scanned and every vote is counted, reiterating every ballot returned is being processed. READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX 21 NEWS
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