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Smrz: Venezuelan Gang Expands In Denver
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Smrz: Venezuelan Gang Expands In Denver

By Jimmy Smrz | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Denver is facing an unprecedented threat as the Venezuelan criminal gang Tren de Aragua (TDA) expands its operations into the city. Notorious for its involvement in extortion, kidnapping, and murder, TDA has given its members a “green light” to attack and open fire on Denver police officers, sparking serious concerns about the safety of the city. With local law enforcement already stretched thin by budget cuts and escalating crime, Denver's Mayor Mike Johnston and the city seem ill-prepared for this threat. Global Cartel, Local Consequences TDA’s influence reaches far beyond Venezuela, where it has operated with impunity, and is now taking root in U.S. sanctuary, cities including New York, Chicago, and ...
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Property tax bill passes Colorado House during special session
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Approved, CBS 11 KKTV, State

Property tax bill passes Colorado House during special session

By Tony Keith | CBS11 The Colorado House passed HB24B-1001 on Wednesday hoping it will help reduce property taxes. News releases from both House Democrats and House Republicans shared their take on the legislation. ”We are committed to making Colorado a more affordable place to live, and with this bill we’re delivering additional property tax relief in a responsible way while protecting funding for our schools, parks, libraries and community institutions,”said Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon.“Two initiatives from wealthy special interests on the November ballot would de-fund schools, lengthen emergency response times, and strip health care away from our most vulnerable Coloradans. Stopping these measures with small changes to the bipartisan property tax package from last session...
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Tren de Aragua Gang expands to Denver and Aurora, unleashing chaos in sanctuary cities
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Approved, Fox News, State

Tren de Aragua Gang expands to Denver and Aurora, unleashing chaos in sanctuary cities

By Christina Coulter | Fox News Although Denver's suburbs don't share its sanctuary city policies, the influx of migrants into the Mile High City has spilled outward. Now, its neighbors are facing an unprecedented wave of activity from a notorious Venezuelan prison gang.  Officials from Aurora, about nine miles east of Denver, told Fox News Digital the Tren de Aragua gang has gained a strong foothold in their city, commandeering apartment complexes and drumming up violent crime and sex trafficking.  "We currently have entire complexes under gang control — complexes where staff have been beaten up, they've been threatened, their families have been threatened [and] complexes where there are no staff left on the property," Aurora City Council Member Dani...
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Colorado’s Campaign Against Christians Continues
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Approved, National Review, State

Colorado’s Campaign Against Christians Continues

By Andrea Picciotti-Bayer | National Review The state will provide preschool education only to children of parents who are happy to subject them to progressive ideology. ‘Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” For many parents, Proverbs 22:6 offers powerful guidance as another school year begins. One group of Catholic parents in Colorado takes this directive to heart and wants to partner with Catholic preschools for the education and formation of their little ones. They are demanding that the state’s universal preschool program allow them to use the public benefit at their schools of choice. It shouldn’t surprise you to learn that the intolerant demands of progressive ideology are at issue. READ MORE AT NATIONAL REVIEW
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Colorado rep shares treatment for depression to ‘de-stigmatize mental illness’
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Approved, News Nation, State

Colorado rep shares treatment for depression to ‘de-stigmatize mental illness’

By Carie Canterbury | News Nation Rep. Yadira Caraveo (D-Colo.) on Monday opened up about her experience with depression, revealing she is seeking treatment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and wants to “de-stigmatize” mental illness. Caraveo, in a statement Monday, said she, “like many Americans, struggle with depression,” and the symptoms became “more severe” in recent months. “As a doctor, I always urge my patients to take care of their health first and receive the support that they need,” she said, adding, “I decided to take my own advice and seek treatment at Walter Reed Medical Center.” “I’m sharing this today because I believe we need to de-stigmatize mental illness — in Colorado and across our country. It is my hope that the millions of people who struggl...
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Some counties did not lower levies as assessments increased, gouging taxpayers, Rep. Taggart says
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Some counties did not lower levies as assessments increased, gouging taxpayers, Rep. Taggart says

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice The reason lawmakers in the 74th General Assembly are back in session boils down to one reason, Republican Rep. Rick Taggart says. Some county governments did not adjust their mill levies while property owners received assessment increases in a double-whammy. "I understand they are concerned, but they had a windfall and could have helped our taxpayers by adjusting their mill levies," Taggart said. "Quite honestly, had they done that we probably wouldn't be here today. [Amendment] 50 and [Prop.] 108 probably wouldn't exist. That's the reason why we are here." He used two counties as examples of the gouging taxpayers have faced. "Adams County had additional revenues of $288 million. That's an increase of 23.3%," Taggart said. "In my caree...
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Special session ‘robbing the taxpayers of their money’ caused by deception on Gallagher repeal, Rep. Bradley says
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Special session ‘robbing the taxpayers of their money’ caused by deception on Gallagher repeal, Rep. Bradley says

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice It is simply Day 2 of the 74th General Assembly's special session, but it has already become contentious. Take, for instance, the mere mention of the Gallagher Amendment by Douglas County Republican Rep. Brandi Bradley. "This body deceived the people and here we are five years later without property tax relief," she said. That deception, she says, was the repeal of the Gallagher Amendment in 2020. It set forth property tax guidelines for the state for 38 years, but was undone in 2020 by voters. "The voters voted out Gallagher," countered Democrat Rep. Marc Snyder. "Voters did vote out Gallagher in the misplaced trust that it would be replaced," said Republican Rep. Ken DeGraaf. So, for the second time in 10 months, lawmakers have ...
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‘DEVASTATED’, the story of fentanyl in Colorado, will be shown Thursday in Fort Morgan
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

‘DEVASTATED’, the story of fentanyl in Colorado, will be shown Thursday in Fort Morgan

By DRAKE HUNTER | Rocky Mountain Voice The equivalent of a capacity school bus is killed each week by fentanyl, making the drug the leading cause of death for those ages 18 to 45 in America. It has been termed by the Drug Enforcement Administration as the "deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced." The story of fentanyl in Colorado, as told by the movie DEVASTATED, has been shown for the second time in Morgan County on the Eastern Plains this week. DEVASTATED delves into the stories of parents who have lost children to the drug, with members of law enforcement, addicts, dealers, politicians and the medical community participating in the movie. "The fentanyl issue is not only an epidemic issue statewide, but it is a monster in our own backyard affecting every aspect of o...
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Rep. Holtorf offers cattle class 101 to ‘city slickers’ in special session tax discussion
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Rep. Holtorf offers cattle class 101 to ‘city slickers’ in special session tax discussion

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice What is the impact of rising taxation on a cattle ranch or agricultural operation? That's what Eastern Colorado rancher Richard Holtorf asked what he termed "city slickers" in the Colorado Legislature to consider Tuesday as he offered a master's class in the costly prospects of cattle-raising, while perhaps straying from the topic at hand. "To run cattle, you have to have grassland," Rep. Holtorf said. "To have grassland, you have to own or lease grassland. There is a property tax element to that." In Eastern Colorado where Holtorf ranches, many cattle raisers and agriculture producers work on 640-acre "sections" of land or larger. The land is dry and most cattle raisers restrict grazing to no more than a head per 15 acres, or supplement w...
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Liberty Scorecard releases six position points to guide lawmakers in special session
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Liberty Scorecard releases six position points to guide lawmakers in special session

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice Members of the 74th General Assembly are not the only ones working overtime during a special session called by Gov. Jared Polis. So is Liberty Scorecard Colorado. The team behind Liberty Scorecard has released six position points to guide the special session, after review of bills proposed for the session's single focus of property tax relief. The House and Senate convened the special session Monday, with Democrat House Speaker Julie McCluskie lamenting two special sessions and a regular session all within about 10 months. "When we concluded our regular session in May, we came together and delivered a bipartisan property tax bill that reduced rates, capped growth and permanently fixed our antiquated property tax system," she said. "It was ...
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