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Tourists may soon pay double or triple in lodging taxes in 7 Colorado counties
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Tourists may soon pay double or triple in lodging taxes in 7 Colorado counties

By Jason Blevins | The Colorado Sun Chaffee, Custer, Eagle, Gilpin, Routt, Ouray and Park counties hope voters will approve increased lodging taxes — allowed under new legislation — to pay for budget shortfalls As revenue flowing into local governments ebbs, more communities are looking to visitors to pay bills.  At least seven counties will ask voters this November to double or triple the local lodging tax outside cities and towns to pay for roads, police, housing and early child care. These are the first counties to deploy a law passed this year — Senate Bill 1247 — that allows voters to raise county lodging taxes to 6%, up from 2%, to pay for infrastructure, conservation, emergency services and sustainable tourism policies.  Commissioners in Chaffee,...
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Board of Education clash over science standards reveals how politics steers Colorado classrooms on climate change
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Board of Education clash over science standards reveals how politics steers Colorado classrooms on climate change

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Politicizing climate change Let me start with a quote from the CPR article linked at bottom. The article is about how the Colorado State Board of Education recently amended science standards. "The board’s lengthy discussion reflects how a topic the scientific community agrees on — that human activities cause global warming — can become political outside of scientific circles." The article then proceeds to detail how conservative/Republican members of the Board of Ed sought amendments to some of the science standards around global warming. There is, conversely, little to nothing about the liberal/Democratic board members, save for some snappy comebacks included by CPR's Brundin. As for the Republican members, th...
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Shoshone Water Rights Could Bolster Fish, Wildlife and Recreation on Colorado River
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State, Approved, The Colorado Sun

Shoshone Water Rights Could Bolster Fish, Wildlife and Recreation on Colorado River

By Shannon Mullane | The Colorado Sun Allowing the state to use Shoshone’s water rights to help the environment could save fish and improve the aquatic environment, according to state studies. Colorado water officials will gather in Durango this week to decide whether a pair of powerful Colorado River rights can be used to benefit the environment.  The Colorado River District, supported by a broad Western Slope coalition, has entered into a $99 million agreement with Xcel Energy to buy two key water rights tied to Shoshone Power Plant, located on the Colorado River near Glenwood Springs. Part of the deal is to add a newly approved use to the existing water rights: keeping water in the river to help the aquatic ecosystem.  That environmental use, called an in-stream flow ri...
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Elon Musk Slams “Soft-on-Crime” Policies in Clash With Governor Polis
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The Western Journal, Approved, State

Elon Musk Slams “Soft-on-Crime” Policies in Clash With Governor Polis

By: Michael Austin | The Western Journal Elon Musk confronted Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis over a violent criminal released back on the streets, prompting a response from the official that failed to acknowledge how he signed a law allowing such circumstances to arise. The exchange came after Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams revealed to residents that under Colorado law, he was forced to release Debisa Ephraim, who was deemed incompetent to stand trial, into the public on Monday. Ephraim was arrested on second-degree murder and assault charges after he allegedly attacked residents in an unprovoked manner, per a report from CBS News. Reams remarked in a video that Ephraim has had several encounters with police. “It is a very violent crime, and how rapidly this person ha...
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Colorado’s laws put parents on the sidelines — and kids at risk
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Colorado’s laws put parents on the sidelines — and kids at risk

By Heidi Ganahl | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado politicians have been busy passing laws that put government between parents and kids. From mental health and gender identity to abortion and what’s taught in the classroom, the message is clear — parents don’t get a say. Families across our state are raising the alarm, sharing stories of confusion, heartbreak, and harm.  It’s time we take a hard look at what these laws are doing to our children. Mental health without parents HB19-1120 opened a door most parents didn’t know existed. Kids 12 and up can start therapy without a parent’s consent and often without a heads-up. Picture a seventh grader talking through depression or identity questions while mom and dad are kept out until there’s a crisis. The only guara...
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Minority Leader Pugliese resigns from House: “I want more than anything to follow God’s path”
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Minority Leader Pugliese resigns from House: “I want more than anything to follow God’s path”

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Rocky Mountain Voice received a resignation letter late Sunday night from Rep. Rose Pugliese (El Paso County), announcing she will step down as Colorado House Minority Leader and from her District 14 seat effective Sept. 15. Pugliese, who rose to the top Republican leadership post in her first term after Mike Lynch’s 2024 resignation, wrote that her faith guided her decision. “If you wanted peace, you had to follow God’s path. I want more than anything to follow God’s path. I needed to understand what that path was for me in this time of my life,” she said. She explained that the message came during a homily after the special session, when she prayed for clarity. Her letter describes a painful end to that session. “The last day of Special Ses...
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Remembering Charlie Kirk: Colorado memorial service set for Sunday
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Remembering Charlie Kirk: Colorado memorial service set for Sunday

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice This Sunday, September 14, BRAVE Church will host a memorial service and prayer vigil to honor the life of Charlie Kirk. The service begins at 2 p.m. MT and will be held at Brave Church campuses in Englewood and Westminster. Speakers include Pastor Jeff, Jeff Hunt, Heidi Ganahl and Victor Marx. Pastor Jeff is the founder and senior pastor of BRAVE Church. Since launching the church in 2010, he has grown it to three campuses and a K–12 BRAVE Academy, while also hosting a nationally broadcast radio program that challenges listeners to live boldly in their faith. “Charlie Kirk was a friend, a courageous brother in Christ, a bold voice for truth and a man who loved his family,” said Pastor Jeff. “He will be deeply missed but his legacy will co...
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Colorado Political and Civic Leaders Denounce Assassination of Charlie Kirk
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State, Approved, The Gazette

Colorado Political and Civic Leaders Denounce Assassination of Charlie Kirk

By Ernest Luning | The Gazette Colorado elected officials and political groups expressed grief, outrage and resolve against political violence in reaction to the fatal shooting of conservative organizer and nonprofit leader Charlie Kirk on Wednesday at Utah Valley University. “Today is a really hard day,” said U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Windsor Republican who described Kirk as her friend in a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives in Washington. “I do not believe that Charlie’s life being stolen in this manner is in vain. Charlie is a pioneer,” Boebert said, adding that the word carries a weighty meaning for Christians. Kirk “personified this word,” she said. “It is one who pioneers a way, who makes a way for others to follow — maybe not the originator of the thin...
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Colorado’s climate agenda: Not about emissions but about ending fossil fuels
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado’s climate agenda: Not about emissions but about ending fossil fuels

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project The point of climate change is to shut down fossil fuels, not deal with emissions. I don't know the full story, but apparently someone (or some entity) proposed a nuclear power reactor be sited at DIA. The idea, per the Sun article at bottom, was quickly quashed. I am loathe to speak with too much conviction about the DIA saga since I'm not too familiar with all the dynamics. What is pretty obvious from the article that there are multiple concerns residents had. Quoting the article: "...Why waste money on an unproven, enormously expensive, extremely toxic nuclear power plant, with no place in the nation accepting the eventual radioactive waste, in a spot with hundreds of thousands of neighbors and 100 million visi...
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New Colorado program shifts defendants from jail to treatment on competency grounds
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

New Colorado program shifts defendants from jail to treatment on competency grounds

By Michael Braithwaite | The Denver Gazette In an attempt to reduce wait times for inpatient defendant competency restoration, Colorado courts are launching a new program to divert eligible people into a separate community care process. The near-$1.5 million program, which uses money from the general fund and was spurred by the passage of House Bill 24-1355 last June, will create a process in each judicial district to identify certain individuals who are not competent enough to proceed in a trial process and refer them to a wraparound program that will connect them with external care, according to a news release from the Colorado Judicial Branch and the bill itself. “This work is the result of years of collaboration, deep listening, and versatility,” said Gene Klivansky,...
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