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State Leaders Put Criminal Rights Ahead of Public Safety
The Gazette, Approved, Commentary, State

State Leaders Put Criminal Rights Ahead of Public Safety

By The Gazette Editorial Board | Commentary, The Gazette Only days ago, The Gazette editorial board weighed in on how easy it is for dangerous criminal suspects with lengthy records in Colorado to walk free — and never come back — as they supposedly await trial or other court proceedings. That includes when they are deemed “incompetent” to understand the charges against them — usually, due to presumed mental illness — and at times are released pending psychiatric assessment and treatment to restore their competency. Even under those circumstances, suspects can wind up going free for good, either because they fail to follow through on outpatient psychiatric care and disappear onto the streets, or, incredibly, they have been found permanently incompetent — and by state law, the char...
State Triggers Emergency Prison Measures Due to Overcrowding
The Gazette, Approved, State

State Triggers Emergency Prison Measures Due to Overcrowding

By Marissa Ventrelli | The Gazette Ongoing issues within the Colorado Department of Corrections have prompted the state to trigger its Prison Population Management Measures — a policy framework established in 2018 to address overcrowding. It marks the first time the measures have been put into effect. Under the law, the governor must implement the management measures if the state’s prison vacancy rate stays below 3% for 30 consecutive days, a threshold that was met on Aug. 16. The issue of overcrowding in the state correctional facilities has been a growing concern for months, with county sheriffs sounding the alarm in May over the shortage of prison beds, leading to increased strain on local jails. Facing a budget shortfall of over $1 billion, state lawmake...
The push to redefine beneficial use ignores 100 years of western water law
GregWalcher.com, Approved, Commentary, State

The push to redefine beneficial use ignores 100 years of western water law

By Greg Walcher | Commentary, GregWalcher.com Last week when some marauding teens bashed a mailbox with a bat, angry neighbors posted on nextdoor.com, “there needs to be a law against that.” Is that just an impulse reaction, or do they really not know there is a law against that. Since 1909, it has been a federal offense to tamper with, vandalize, deface, or destroy mailboxes, under penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. People often think things ought to be illegal that already are, that we should regulate things we already do, even that things ought to be defined that already are. I couldn’t help wondering how serious recent headlines were, announcing that several environmental industry groups had petitioned the Bureau of Reclamation to stop allowing water to be wast...
Colorado Gas Stove Labeling Law Faces Court Challenge
State, Approved, DENVER7

Colorado Gas Stove Labeling Law Faces Court Challenge

By Anusha Roy | Denver7 DENVER — The debate over the gas stove inside your home is headed to court. Lawmakers passed a new Colorado law requiring safety labels on new gas stoves being sold. The law would require labels in both English and Spanish. Advocates say this would help people understand the impact of gas stoves on the air quality inside their homes. On the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) website, the agency shared: “There is evidence that particulate matter (PM), nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, benzene, formaldehyde, and methane can be released into indoor air from gas stoves.1" "According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, indoor air pollutants can build up to levels that may affect people’s health if the spa...
Gold standard or clear failure? Colorado trails 36 nations on election rules.
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Gold standard or clear failure? Colorado trails 36 nations on election rules.

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado’s election rulebook emphasizes convenience—automatic mail ballots, long voting windows and ballot harvesting—exactly where most countries draw hard lines. That philosophical split is why Colorado lands at 50 out of 100 in a new international survey, and why the authors behind it want an on-the-record conversation with the secretary of state. “We’d love to speak with your secretary of state… we’ll ask questions and she can ask questions,” said Gary Meyers, who co-authored the study with Jay DeLancy. Meyers explained that The Meyers Report is a long-running research group, active for more than forty years, with contributors spread across 30 countries. “We’re interested in truth, we’re interested in fairness,” he said, describing a team...
Faith under fire: Grief, risk—and the legacy Charlie left behind
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Faith under fire: Grief, risk—and the legacy Charlie left behind

By Jen Schumann | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Grief is an ember. Handled well, it can light a thousand torches. Pastor Chris Goble put it plainly—Charlie “died because he was willing to do things that we weren’t”—then pictured that spark rising into a bonfire of new voices. The scene in Orem set the tone, the flight to Phoenix confirmed it—and the work ahead now belongs to those willing to carry the heat without burning out. The cost of courage For Heidi Ganahl, the loss feels like “a gaping hole” in the conservative movement. “Freedom can be dangerous,” she said. “And it took a dear friend’s life.” Goble anchored that grief in scripture, drawing parallels to the early church. “We live in a spiritual cosmic war,” he said. “We have to expect both real and spiritual bulle...
Western Slope Officials Push to Delay Shoshone Water Rights Decision
State, Approved, The Colorado Sun

Western Slope Officials Push to Delay Shoshone Water Rights Decision

By: Shannon Mullane | The Colorado Sun The request for a delay comes days before the state planned to decide whether two powerful Colorado River water rights could be used to help the environment. DURANGO — Western Slope water officials are asking for more time to negotiate before the state decides whether influential Colorado River water rights can be used to help the environment. A state water agency, the Colorado Water Conservation Board, is scheduled to make its final ruling Thursday on the future usage of a pair of water rights tied to Shoshone Power Plant, owned by an Xcel Energy subsidiary called Public Service of Colorado. On Tuesday, the Xcel subsidiary and Colorado River District — the Western Slope water entity leading the effort to use the rights to help the environ...
GOP Lawmakers Push for Emergency Session on Colorado Crime Wave
kdvr.com, Approved, State

GOP Lawmakers Push for Emergency Session on Colorado Crime Wave

By Jacob Factor | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — Several Republican members of Colorado’s congressional delegation are renewing calls for Colorado state lawmakers to address crime and criminal competency laws through a special legislative session. Reps. Gabe Evans, Lauren Boebert and Jeff Crank on Tuesday issued a joint letter demanding Colorado Gov. Jared Polis work with state legislators to “repeal soft-on-crime laws fueling Colorado’s rising crime.” The representatives pointed to several instances in which they say Colorado’s laws Polis himself signed “undermine law enforcement’s ability to keep communities safe.” The lawmakers’ call also echoes previous calls ahead of August’s special legislative session to address crime laws. That special session did not cover crime or crimina...
Former Senate President Kevin Grantham Enters Race for Colorado Treasurer
State, Approved, The Colorado Sun

Former Senate President Kevin Grantham Enters Race for Colorado Treasurer

By Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun Fremont County Commissioner Kevin Grantham, a Republican, was president of the Colorado Senate in 2017 and 2018. A Republican who was once president of the Colorado Senate announced Tuesday that he’s running to be the state’s next treasurer. Fremont County Commissioner Kevin Grantham led the Colorado Senate in 2017 and 2018. During his eight years in the chamber, Grantham, who lives in Cañon City, also served on the legislature’s powerful Joint Budget Committee. Grantham was elected to the Fremont County Commission in 2020 and reelected in 2024. “I was raised in a rural farming community in southeast Colorado raising hogs, so I know a little something about how to cut the fat. Coloradans deserve leaders that will be careful stewards of their ...
Is the Colorado Economy More of a Train Wreck than it Currently Appears?
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Is the Colorado Economy More of a Train Wreck than it Currently Appears?

By Mike O’Donnell | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Given all the sad news last week, a September 9 press release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announcing a major downward revision in job numbers for March 2024 to March 2025 was understandably overlooked. The serious implications the announcement had for the national and especially the Colorado economies still, nonetheless, remain today. Revisions to BLS jobs numbers are normal and happen annually because the monthly estimates of how many new jobs are being created or lost in the economy come from surveys of around 121,000 businesses representing about 631,000 individual worksites. Because companies come and go, the BLS combines their survey data with estimates of how many net new jobs are being created at ...