Rocky Mountain Voice

Menu

State

Republicans oust leadership in meeting Chair Williams calls ‘fraudulent’
No Comments
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Republicans oust leadership in meeting Chair Williams calls ‘fraudulent’

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice BRIGHTON -- About 77 Republicans and another 105 by proxy gathered at a church here for the second time in a month Saturday to decide the future leadership of the party. At issue for some was the leadership of Chairman Dave Williams, along with Vice Chairwoman Hope Scheppelman and Secretary Anna Ferguson. In decisions which are sure to be disputed by others in the party and certainly its leadership, all three elected leaders were taken out by the faction and replaced by well-known rivals of Williams during what his allies have termed a "so-called" meeting that is "illegal". Michael Allen, the 4th Judicial District attorney, accused Williams of attacking other Republicans, abuse of position to divert party funds to his personal campaign and...
Read More
Northern border sector up 197 percent over record migrant arrests
No Comments
Approved, Breitbart, State

Northern border sector up 197 percent over record migrant arrests

By CASEY HARPER | Breitbart The record-shattering surge of migrant crossings in the Swanton Sector continues with the apprehension of more than 2,700 migrants in July. The sector of the U.S.-Canada Border experienced an increase of nearly 200 percent from the same record-setting period one year earlier. According to the CBP Nationwide Encounters report, during the first ten months of Fiscal Year 24, which began in October 2023, Swanton Sector agents apprehended 15,612 migrants who illegally crossed the border from Canada into Northeastern New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire. This is up 197 percent from the 5,257 arrested during the same period in FY23. During the last three months, agents apprehended nearly 30 percent more migrants than during the entire previous fiscal year. ...
Read More
Williams: Colorado Republican Party will sue to prevent special session
No Comments
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Williams: Colorado Republican Party will sue to prevent special session

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice Members of the Colorado Legislature are set to convene in a 74th Special Session on Monday at the Colorado State Capitol Building to settle the issue of property tax. Gov. Jared Polis called the session to prevent two propositions from advancing to the ballot and for a voter decision on the matter come November. One of those measures, Prop. 108, this week qualified for the ballot, Secretary of State Jena Griswold announced. And that is where the Colorado Republican Party believes the matter should stay -- in the hands of the voters. The party will sue to prevent legislators and the parties which filed the measures -- Advance Colorado -- from deals to undo the process and negotiate a different property tax outcome, Republican Party Chairman...
Read More
Colorado attorney general files lawsuit against RealPage for allegedly driving up rent prices
No Comments
Approved, State, Westword

Colorado attorney general files lawsuit against RealPage for allegedly driving up rent prices

By CATIE CHESHIRE | Westword Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser has joined attorneys general from seven other states in suing software company RealPafe for an alleged illegal price-fixing scheme that has pushed rent prices up across the country. RealPage sells software to landlords, who in turn share sensitive data such as rent invoices, lease terms and vacancies. Then RealPage puts the data into an algorithm that delivers price recommendations to those same landlords. But instead of competing against each other to provide the best services or best price, landlords work together through RealPage to set rents as high as they can, according to the lawsuit. “A significant number of landlords then effectively agree to outsource their pricing function to RealPage with auto acce...
Read More
Caldara: Denver’s record high homeless entirely predictable
No Comments
Approved, Commentary, completecolorado.com, State

Caldara: Denver’s record high homeless entirely predictable

By Jon Caldara | Commentary, Complete Colorado Cyril Northcote Parkinson was a famed British naval historian (I mean really, just try to make up a snootier British name) who died in 1993. He is most noted for predicting, with complete accuracy, that in 2024 the Denver metro area would have more homeless than ever. Well, he might have used slightly different words, but lo and behold, the latest data release proved him right. In 1955, after a career of watching governmental inefficiency, he published a satirical essay in The Economist magazine and introduced the world to “Parkinson’s Law.” You instinctively know and understand it. READ THE FULL STORY AT COMPLETE COLORADO Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessaril...
Read More
Closed meetings and backroom deals: Could Colorado’s special session test SB 157, lawmakers?
No Comments
Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Closed meetings and backroom deals: Could Colorado’s special session test SB 157, lawmakers?

By Brian Eason | The Colorado Sun When Colorado lawmakers in March made the first major changes to the state’s open meetings law since the 1990s, top Democrats promised it wouldn’t reduce government transparency. “This bill is not attempting to create less transparency than we have today,” Senate President Steve Fenberg, a Boulder Democrat who sponsored the measure, said at the first committee hearing for Senate Bill 157. But open government advocates say legislative Democrats earlier this month used the new law to do just that, barring news outlets from two caucus meetings where lawmakers discussed the prospect of a special session to reduce property taxes. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
Read More
Analyzing a super-minority in Colorado’s legislature and what it means for governance
No Comments
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Analyzing a super-minority in Colorado’s legislature and what it means for governance

By Amanda Hardin | Rocky Mountain Voice In state politics, the term "super-minority" might not be as familiar as "super-majority," but it plays a crucial role in shaping the legislative landscape. In Colorado, the House of Representatives has already placed Republicans in a super-minority status, and the Senate is just a few seats away from potentially following suit. To understand the significance of this shift, let's explore what a super-minority is, how it impacts governance, and what it means for the balance of power in Colorado. What is a super-minority? A super-minority occurs when one political party holds significantly fewer seats than the other, making it nearly impossible for them to influence or block legislation without some support from the majority party. In the C...
Read More
Polis grandstands at DNC on Project 2025 agenda from which Trump has repeatedly distanced
No Comments
Approved, kdvr.com, State

Polis grandstands at DNC on Project 2025 agenda from which Trump has repeatedly distanced

By The Associated Press, via Fox 31 News Colorado Gov. Jared Polis addressed the crowd Wednesday night at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago as a slate of speakers focused on the Project 2025 agenda and the “freedoms” they argued Republicans want to take away. Vice presidential nominee Tim Walz was set to accept his nomination on the third night of the convention, which was also to feature former President Bill Clinton. Speaker after speaker argued that their party wants to defend freedoms — especially abortion access and voting rights — while Republicans want to take them away. READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX 31 NEWS
Read More
In look ahead to 75th session, legislators may renew emission-reduction tactic discussion
No Comments
Approved, State, The Sum & Substance

In look ahead to 75th session, legislators may renew emission-reduction tactic discussion

By Ed Sealover | The Sum & Substance Colorado legislators once again are discussing how to move office workers and other commuters out of single-occupancy vehicles, setting up another potential confrontation on the subject during the 2025 legislative session. Democrats on the Transportation Legislation Review Committee, which examines issues each year in between legislative sessions, voted Friday to draft a bill that would require state officials to make air-quality improvements related to transportation. Although Sen. Kevin Priola, the Henderson Democrat who asked for the bill draft, did not specify the contents of the proposal, he said it could incorporate numerous suggestions that environmental advocates presented to the TLRC. Those suggestions included two ideas that have ...
Read More
Study: In Colorado public schools, 1 in 4 students misses at least 10% of school days
No Comments
Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Study: In Colorado public schools, 1 in 4 students misses at least 10% of school days

By Erica Breunlin | The Colorado Sun More Colorado students regularly showed up to class last school year following record rates of absences during the pandemic, but attendance rates were still higher before COVID, data released Thursday morning by the Colorado Department of Education shows. The latest numbers signal schools are headed in the right direction following efforts among the state education department and districts to double down on getting kids to come to class every day. The majority of Colorado school districts and Boards of Cooperative Educational Services — groups of districts that pool resources — saw improvements in their attendance rates last year, but the progress doesn’t necessarily translate to a giant turnaround. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
Read More