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Colorado Democrats Push DOE to Restore $600M in Cancelled Energy Grants
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Just The News, Approved, State

Colorado Democrats Push DOE to Restore $600M in Cancelled Energy Grants

By: Elyse Apel | Just The News Colorado Democrats, including U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, joined together to sign a letter calling for the U.S. Department of Energy to restore over $600 million in funding for 38 Colorado-affiliated energy projects. Colorado Democrats joined together to sign a letter calling for the U.S. Department of Energy to restore over $600 million in funding for 38 Colorado-affiliated energy projects. In the letter, Colorado's U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, and Colorado U.S. Reps. Joe Neguse, Diana DeGette, Jason Crow and Brittany Pettersen argue the cuts are harmful to the state. “By cancelling over $600 million in energy-sector funding, much of which directly supported grid reliability, DOE is making it more di...
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Audit Finds Serious Financial Failures at Colorado’s Health Exchange
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Audit Finds Serious Financial Failures at Colorado’s Health Exchange

By: Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette Worries that the quasi-governmental agency that operates Colorado’s official state-based health insurance marketplace was spending money for political purposes turned out to be unfounded, according to a new audit. But the state audit found that Connect for Health Colorado has serious problems with its financial management, including a lack of oversight on the use of a credit card by its chief executive officer. That questionable spending included up to $13,000 on alcohol alone over an 18-month period. The audit released Monday by the Legislative Audit Committee looked into the financial management and sponsorship activity of Connect for Health Colorado. It found that the organization’s policies and oversight need major change...
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Colorado must stop pushing unfunded laws on local governments, lawmakers say
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The Daily Sentinel, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado must stop pushing unfunded laws on local governments, lawmakers say

By Rick Taggart, Janice Rich and Matt Soper | Commentary, The Daily Sentinel When lawmakers pass a new bill, there’s one question we should all ask before we vote: Who’s going to pay for it? Too often, that question goes unanswered. Across Colorado, local governments are being asked to carry out new state laws — on everything from wildfire codes to building standards — without the funding to make them possible. These are called unfunded mandates, and they’ve quietly become one of the biggest threats to local budgets and the essential services people depend on. In Mesa County alone, these mandates now cost nearly $10 million each year. Statewide, the total is estimated at more than $360 million — money that could otherwise fund deputies, road repairs, or mental health programs. Ins...
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Progressive tax push could cripple Colorado’s economy
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, State

Progressive tax push could cripple Colorado’s economy

By Robert G. Natelson | Commentary, Complete Colorado At a time when most states are cutting income taxes, some influential Colorado leftists want to jack up the state’s top income tax rate to one of the highest in the nation. They are hawking a “graduated” (or “progressive”) tax—that is, one that discriminates based on income. They promote this scheme with their usual demagogy, including the fraudulent claim that higher taxes will harm only “the rich.” In truth, it will harm almost everyone but the rich. Much of the Left’s demagogy is harmless, and some of it is even amusing. But this irresponsible scheme is positively dangerous. As explained below, it’s a revolver in a game of Russian Roulette aimed against the livelihood of Colorado families. A revolver with every chamber loade...
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Opt-in vs opt-out: The parental rights debate over the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Opt-in vs opt-out: The parental rights debate over the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Where do you land as a parent: opt in vs. opt out? The article below is about a recent Douglas County school board decision about participation in the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey. This is a survey that, quoting the article, includes topics such as “... physical activity, mental health, tobacco and substance use, and school safety and bullying. The high school survey includes demographic questions about sexual orientation, sexual health and sexual violence questions.” It also has questions on teens’ perceived access to guns. The board didn’t vote to not participate, they moved the decision to take it from opt in to opt out. Going forward, parents will have to allow their students to participate rather than rememberin...
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Colorado Takes Hard Line on Casino Cheating, Launches Lifetime Bans
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Canon City Daily Record, Approved, State

Colorado Takes Hard Line on Casino Cheating, Launches Lifetime Bans

By: Noelle Phillips | Canyon City Daily Record The state's Limited Gaming Control Commission launched the 'involuntary exclusion' list in 2024. Serial swindlers and men prone to violence are among the seven people Colorado’s gambling regulators have banned for life from casinos since the state created a system last year for barring problem bettors. The Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission in July 2024 added the first person to its “involuntary exclusion” list, which is posted online and distributed to casinos in Black Hawk, Central City and Cripple Creek so security officers and other casino workers can identify the offenders and eject them if they show up to gamble. Those on the list are also prohibited from placing wagers on sports betting apps. “...
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Two doors and an insurance policy: Inside the legal backstops in Tina Peters’ October 16 hearing
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Two doors and an insurance policy: Inside the legal backstops in Tina Peters’ October 16 hearing

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice After more than four years of courtroom battles and appeals, former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters’ fight now hinges on a single federal question: whether Colorado courts violated her constitutional rights by denying her bond pending appeal.  The Oct. 16 motions hearing was part of a broader federal proceeding stemming from Peters’ Application for a Writ of Habeas Corpus filed in February. That petition asks the U.S. District Court to determine whether her ongoing detention violates the Constitution. It argues that the state’s denial of bail pending appeal punished Peters for her speech, violated her First and Fourteenth Amendments, and ignored the federal obligations that she says guided her actions as Mesa County Clerk under the Supremacy ...
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Federal Judge Overturns Jury’s Verdict, Stirring Outrage in Colorado
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Commentary, State

Federal Judge Overturns Jury’s Verdict, Stirring Outrage in Colorado

By: The Gazette Editorial Board | The Denver Gazette The Trump administration ordered payroll cuts to the bloated federal bureaucracy, and Colorado sued. The administration tried to rein in a runaway budget by paring funding for public broadcasters — which Congress ultimately carried out — and Colorado sued again.  And just this week, a prominent, left-leaning Colorado federal judge lashed out at President Trump’s Justice Department over its “bad faith conduct” — for scheduling an alleged illegal immigrant’s deportation hearing just a day after he challenged his detention in court.  Heavens — we can’t have speedy justice!  In other words, the administration is taking a beating from our state’s ruling class for doing the very things everyday Coloradans have always...
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Colorado Officials Admit “Unacceptable” Error That Freed Parolee Before Deadly Chase
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CBS News, Approved, State

Colorado Officials Admit “Unacceptable” Error That Freed Parolee Before Deadly Chase

By Jesse Sarles | CBS Colorado The Colorado Department of Corrections says a mistake made by their department allowed a man who violated parole to walk free. That ultimately is what led to Tuesday's chase involving law enforcement and head-on crash which resulted in the death of an innocent person. The double fatal crash happened on Highway 6 in Clear Creek County. Steven Ainsworth, 51, died when his car got knocked into Clear Creek by the car Christopher Moore, 29, was driving. Both men died and a woman in the car with Moore was hurt. CDOC officials now say Moore, who had a lengthy criminal record, should have been behind bars. Most recently, in 2022, he was sentenced to prison in criminal cases from Summit County and Eagle County. On June 9, he was released on parole. ...
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