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Potholes and Broken Promises: Colorado’s Working Class Deserves Better
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Potholes and Broken Promises: Colorado’s Working Class Deserves Better

By Bobbie Daniel | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Drive a mile in Colorado and you’ll know the truth: our roads are crumbling, and so is the promise that the government would take care of this basic function. Families scrape by to keep their cars running while the same political elite who’ve run this state for twenty years pour billions into pet projects and leave working people holding the bill. Colorado’s highways were built the way a farm is built — ditch by ditch, fence by fence, harvest by harvest. Generations of Coloradans invested billions so our economy could function. From rural to urban, our families could get where they needed to go. But now the ditch and fence are broken, and instead of repairing it, the political class is off buying themselves a BMW. Nice ride, m...
Colorado Teachers Priced Out of Their Communities
State, Approved, CBS Colorado

Colorado Teachers Priced Out of Their Communities

By Tori Mason | CBS Colorado A new survey of more than 3,200 educators in Colorado says the housing crisis is pushing teachers out of their communities, and in some cases, out of the profession. The Keystone Policy Center's report, We Can't Live Where We Teach: Teacher Perspectives, finds that more than half of educators are spending well above the recommended share of their income on housing, with some paying more than 40%. Nearly 6 in 10 say they would be interested in district-provided affordable housing, and 70% would be comfortable with their school district as their landlord. "Colorado's ability to deliver quality education depends on having committed, effective teachers in every classroom," said Van Schoales, senior policy director at the Keystone Policy Center. "This repor...
Now or Never: Colorado businesses punished for renting to conservatives
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Now or Never: Colorado businesses punished for renting to conservatives

By Heidi Ganahl | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice I was recently invited to speak at an event organized by a small grassroots Republican group in Jefferson County. The event, called Now or Never, brought together four speakers to talk about school safety, election integrity, and Colorado’s political future. Details are available at hdr.nucleuspages.com/events/now-or-never. The group rented space at a local brewery on a slow Tuesday night. They lined up a food truck and a musician. We are intentionally not naming the brewery. But once word spread that conservatives would be gathering, the brewery became the target of an online mob. A Reddit post titled “[Local Brewery] hosting a MAGA party” blew up with comments calling for boycotts: “Never going there again.”“Hit them with one...
Colorado’s path to ruin: How bad policy created crisis and dependency
Substack, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado’s path to ruin: How bad policy created crisis and dependency

By Christopher Richardson | Commentary, Substack Colorado stands at a crossroads. For too long, state policy has ignored the basic truths of economics and public safety, and we are now paying the price. The upcoming general session must be more than another exercise in partisan talking points—it must be an honest debate about how we got here, and how we can get back on track. The warning signs are everywhere. Overregulation and endless legal risks have driven businesses out of Colorado. Entrepreneurs hesitate to expand, while larger firms look to friendlier states. The result? Job growth has shifted almost entirely to government payrolls, leaving fewer private-sector opportunities and stagnant wages for working families. At the same time, rising crime has made Colorado less at...
New state law underpins Xcel’s $4.9B grid plan: Bills projected to rise
denvergazette.com, Approved, State

New state law underpins Xcel’s $4.9B grid plan: Bills projected to rise

By Scott Weiser | Denver Gazette $8.71 per month estimated cost for residential ratepayers Colorado's largest utility company is proposing a $4.9 billion plan to modernize the power grid, accommodating vehicle and building electrification, as well as distributed electric generation and storage. The goal, Xcel Energy added, includes enhancing reliability, resiliency, and safety benefits, as required by a recently adopted state law. The five-year plan is expected to cost Colorado residential ratepayers approximately $8.71 more per month, while business customers will pay about $10.24 more per month by 2029. The grid modernization plan includes adding 3.1 gigawatts of new capacity to the distribution system, which the company said would be enough to serve nearly 500,000 ho...
Lord Polis now plans your town through ‘strategic growth’ mandates
ScottKJames.com, Approved, Commentary, State

Lord Polis now plans your town through ‘strategic growth’ mandates

By Scott K. James | Commentary, ScottKJames.com One smart post about Colorado land-use policy sent me digging – what I found says a lot about where the state is really heading. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – being a Weld County Commissioner has its perks, and I’m not just talking about the bad coffee and the occasional angry email in ALL CAPS. I’ve had the good fortune to meet some dangerously smart, surprisingly cool people in this gig. Case in point: Chris Richardson. Chris and I crossed paths back when he was repping Elbert County as a County Commissioner. Then, in a moment of what I can only assume was temporary insanity, he decided to run for the Colorado House. Somehow, the voters in HD 56 took the bait, and now he’s down at the Capitol, actually doing the job ...
Selective reporting skews the Sun’s take on Colorado’s budget reality
Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Selective reporting skews the Sun’s take on Colorado’s budget reality

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Paul's and Eason's disingenuous reporting on the special session The Colorado Sun article linked at bottom has the title "Frequently asked questions — and misunderstandings — about Colorado’s special session to close a nearly $1B budget hole", but the article itself fails to deliver on that claim. The article in reality devolves more into "what do conservatives and Republicans have wrong" editorializing than an informative piece.Don't misunderstand me, the article makes plenty of valid points. I would, in fact, include it on a list of required reading to get a partial understanding of Colorado's budget situation and also of the upcoming special session.But, it is that "partial" in there that is the operative word. What ...
Colorado’s Top Lawyer Is Breaking the Law He Swore to Uphold
Fox News, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado’s Top Lawyer Is Breaking the Law He Swore to Uphold

By Hans A. von Spakovsky | Commentary, Fox News Mesa County sheriff removes two deputies from drug task force over information sharing with ICE. By suing Mesa County Deputy Sheriff Alexander Zwink for sharing information about an illegal alien with federal authorities, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser is blatantly violating federal law. The Justice Department has already filed a lawsuit to go after the state law he was enforcing, which violates a specific provision of federal immigration law and the U.S. Constitution. Not only should that state law be declared null and void by a federal court, but the two Colorado deputies and their supervisors who’ve been disciplined for this should be immediately reinstated and commended for their work. All of this arises out of Zwink...
Appliance Group Challenges Colorado Gas Stove Warning Labels In Court
State, Approved, The Gazette

Appliance Group Challenges Colorado Gas Stove Warning Labels In Court

By Scott Weiser | The Gazette A trade organization representing gas stove manufacturers filed a request for a temporary restraining order against the state over a requirement that gas stoves sold at retail have a yellow sticker warning buyers of the purported health risks of using natural gas for cooking. The complaint, filed by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, asserted a First Amendment violation over government-compelled speech and sought an injunction against the law. The trade association alleged HB25-1161’s labeling requirement unconstitutionally compels its members to convey a message they disagree with. The law went into effect Aug. 1. It requires the yellow label read: "Understand the air quality implications of having an indoor gas stove" and include ...
Gaines: Youth Summit Trains Climate Activists Not Critical Thinkers, Says Educator
completecolorado.com, Approved, Commentary, State

Gaines: Youth Summit Trains Climate Activists Not Critical Thinkers, Says Educator

By Cory Gaines | Complete Colorado As a decades-long teacher I see education helping someone learn how to think, to be able to understand novel situations. In this, education is separate from training.  For example,I might train a student how to do a particular calculation in physics.It would be something they could repeat later with other numbers, but it’s not transferable.  They’ve not learned to evaluate or apply what they know in a new context. Given the name, you might think that a recent Youth Climate Summit held in Carbondale (covered in both a Post Independent piece and later a Colorado Sun effort) would be about teaching youngsters about climate and climate change. You’d be close, but the point of this summit was not education, it was activist t...

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