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Polis Plans Special Session After Trump’s Budget Bombshell: Dems See Opportunity to Revive Agenda
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State, Approved, The Sum & Substance

Polis Plans Special Session After Trump’s Budget Bombshell: Dems See Opportunity to Revive Agenda

By Ed Sealover | The Sum & Substance Passage Thursday of the budget-cutting “One Big Beautiful Bill” essentially mandates that the Legislature will return to the Capitol for a special session this summer to deal with aspects of the federal law impacting Medicaid funding and artificial-intelligence regulation. Gov. Jared Polis’ Office of State Planning and Budgeting estimates the bill’s reductions to Medicaid spending, food assistance and other benefits that are largely or partially federally funded will cut state revenues $500 million and boost state costs another $500 million. That will necessitate legislators to come back and re-balance the budget, likely by reducing funding to a number of other programs. And before passing the bill, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators strip...
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The COvid Chronicles June 8–15, 2020: Can’t visit grandma—but defund-the-police protests are doctor-approved
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, State, Top Stories

The COvid Chronicles June 8–15, 2020: Can’t visit grandma—but defund-the-police protests are doctor-approved

By Rocky Mountain Voice Editorial Board In this eighth chapter of The COvid Chronicles, the absurd became policy. You could chant in a crowd but not hold your father’s hand in the hospital. Visiting grandma was dangerous. Rioting, doctor-approved. The week was long. So is the memory of what they let unravel. By mid-June, Colorado’s citizens, corporations and governing bodies had been cowered into full complicity. The angry activists who long despised democracy finally found their authoritarian moment—and seized it with glee. It was pure bliss for the non-peaceful “progressive” puritans now in power. While COVID numbers steadily improved, health providers across the state lobbied to keep patients isolated and suffering—all while marching in lockstep to cure what they claimed was...
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Bailey: Violent crime up 30% in Colorado, 28% in the Springs—why?
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denvergazette.com, Approved, State

Bailey: Violent crime up 30% in Colorado, 28% in the Springs—why?

By Tatiana Bailey | Commentary, Denver Gazette There’s been a lot of attention in the media regarding rising crime within Colorado Springs. As someone who works closely with public data, I always try to avoid sensationalism and instead ask: What’s driving this, and how do we compare to the U.S. and other cities? When you look at U.S. trends overall and specific comparison cities, there are, indeed, some alarming trends. Crime rates in the U.S. between 2018 and 2024 are virtually identical. However, the state of Colorado and the city of Colorado Springs have both seen double-digit increases in the rate of violent crimes per 100,000 population. Both our state and region’s violent crime rate have increased by roughly 30% while the U.S. rate is relatively steady increasing 2...
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High steaks for Independence Day: Colorado beef costs top national average
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Colorado Hometown Weekly, Approved, State

High steaks for Independence Day: Colorado beef costs top national average

By Miguel Otarola | Colorado Hometown Weekly The price of meat ahead of the Fourth of July weekend will be higher in Colorado supermarkets than in the rest of the country, according to an annual industry survey. Produced by the American Farm Bureau Federation, an agriculture lobbying group, the survey found that ground beef and pork chops were more expensive — and chicken breasts were cheaper — in Colorado than in other states. State and national economists attribute the surge in beef prices to fewer cows nationwide, a result of more than a decade of drought that has withered food supplies. “When that number shrinks, you have less calves being born to go down the supply chain and prices rise,” said Nathan DeLay, assistant professor of livestock economics at Colorado S...
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Released, rearrested and now accused again: Roybal-Smith case ignites parole reform debate
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Top Stories, Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Released, rearrested and now accused again: Roybal-Smith case ignites parole reform debate

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Denver Police arrested 38-year-old Ricky Lee Roybal-Smith early Monday morning, July 1, following the death of his cellmate at the Downtown Denver Detention Center. The alleged homicide came just hours after Roybal-Smith was jailed on unrelated charges—less than a day after two Aurora stabbings. Roybal-Smith’s criminal history spans nearly two decades and includes convictions for assault, felony menacing, DUI-related vehicular assault, and obtaining controlled substances by fraud. He’s also faced repeated parole violations and multiple arrests involving weapons. Despite this record, he was granted early release in 2023. Denver Police said deputies found an unresponsive man in a shared jail cell around 2:15 a.m. Monday. Off...
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Colorado Lawmakers Reject Federal Overtime Exemption Prioritizing Revenue Over Relief
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State, Approved, Axios Denver

Colorado Lawmakers Reject Federal Overtime Exemption Prioritizing Revenue Over Relief

By John Frank | AXIOS President Trump's "big, beautiful bill" would make some overtime pay exempt from federal income taxes. Yes, but: Colorado won't do the same. State of play: State lawmakers tucked a little-noticed provision into a lengthy tax bill earlier this year to decouple from federal law when it comes to overtime pay, starting in 2027. This means you'll have to pay Colorado's 4.4% income tax on overtime wages, state legislative analysts confirmed, even with a federal exemption. Context: Colorado typically aligns with federal tax law, meaning if there are tax exemptions at the federal level, they would apply to state taxes. In this case, the state decided to break from federal law if the spending bill passes. What they're saying: Rep. Lorena Garc...
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Colorado’s New Gun Dealer Law Slaps Small Business With Big Government Red Tape
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State, Approved, kdvr.com

Colorado’s New Gun Dealer Law Slaps Small Business With Big Government Red Tape

By Gabby Easterwood | KDVR Fox31 LONGMONT, Colo. (KDVR) — A portion of House Bill 24-1353 has gone into effect as of July 1, and firearm dealers say it’s just another burden for their businesses. The portion taking effect requires firearm dealers to have a state permit. Lawmakers have said the goal of the bill is to crack down on illegal firearm sales. Part of the law went into effect in 2024, and the final part went into effect starting in July, requiring that firearm dealers have a state firearms dealer permit, where they must hold a federal firearms license and other requirements. But firearm dealers like Rod Brandenburg, owner of Grandpa’s Pawn and Gun, say it’s just another unnecessary hoop they have to jump through. “They’re putting a huge burden on us and they can enforc...
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Stanford Halts Pediatric Gender Surgeries Amid Legal, Parental Pushback
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State, Approved, Breitbart

Stanford Halts Pediatric Gender Surgeries Amid Legal, Parental Pushback

By Katherine Hamilton | Breitbart Stanford Medicine has halted performing sex change surgeries on patients under 19 years old, becoming the second major health care provider in California to do so, as the Trump administration fights to protect youth from gender ideology. The shift occurred before the Supreme Court last week upheld Tennessee’s ban on sex changes for minors, and after the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles announced its decision to close its “trans youth program” in July, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on June 24. Stanford told the publication in a statement: After careful review of the latest actions and directives from the federal government and following consultations with clinical leadership, including our multidisciplinary LGBTQ+ program and its providers...
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Instructors, sheriffs warn: New concealed carry law causes confusion, long lines statewide
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Instructors, sheriffs warn: New concealed carry law causes confusion, long lines statewide

By Danielle Kreutter | Denver7 DENVER — New requirements to obtain a concealed carry permit in Colorado took effect on Tuesday. Under House Bill 24-1174, applicants must complete eight hours of in-person training and education on things like safe storage and handling of weapons. There is also now a live fire training requirement. One day into the new requirements, some Colorado sheriff's offices and concealed carry instructors are reporting struggles. "We follow the letter of the law. We do cover what is required under the state requirements," said Issac Chase, co-founder of Guns for Everyone, a Colorado-based company that offers free concealed carry courses. Chase told Denver7 they received an increase in people seeking permits in the months before the new require...
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State board to hear Front Range concerns over Western Slope’s $99M Shoshone river deal
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

State board to hear Front Range concerns over Western Slope’s $99M Shoshone river deal

By Shannon Mullane | Colorado Sun Front Range providers and others will voice their concerns in September about the Western Slope’s plan to purchase the historic and highly coveted water rights tied to Shoshone Power Plant Colorado’s top water board unanimously agreed Tuesday to hear out Front Range water operators’ concerns about a Western Slope plan to purchase historic Colorado River water rights. The Colorado River Water Conservation District, which represents 15 Western Slope counties, negotiated a $99 million deal to purchase water rights tied to the century-old Shoshone Power Plant, owned by a subsidiary of Xcel Energy.  The River District and the Front Range groups — Aurora Water, Denver Water, Colorado Springs Utilities and Northern Water — all want to maintain th...
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