Rocky Mountain Voice

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Restaurants win relief as Colorado bill leaves wage hikes to local control
Approved, Axios, State

Restaurants win relief as Colorado bill leaves wage hikes to local control

By John Frank | Axios Denver The nasty fight at the Colorado Capitol over how much to pay tipped restaurant workers ended in a standoff this week. The big picture: Gov. Jared Polis signed the Restaurant Relief Act into Colorado law on Tuesday, with backing from the Colorado Restaurant Association and other major industry organizations. Why it matters: The result is a victory for the opposition, which mounted an aggressive campaign against the legislation, though it gives cash-pinched restaurant owners another chance to make their case at the local level. Threat level: The state's restaurant industry faces a crisis, with as many as 200 closing statewide last year — a majority of which operated in Denver — partially prompting the legislative proposal...
New rules take effect July 1 for Colorado gun owners seeking concealed carry permits
Approved, kdvr.com, State

New rules take effect July 1 for Colorado gun owners seeking concealed carry permits

By Heather Willard | Fox31 DENVER (KDVR) — A law changing the requirements for concealed firearm carry permits will go into effect on July 1, and gun owners should be aware of what is changing. In just under a month, anyone who wants to renew or apply for a concealed weapons permit must complete further steps, due to HB-24-1174. The new law drew criticism from gun rights groups, which said the law could deter gun owners who would otherwise carry their firearms. If you’re renewing your concealed carry permit, the law requires that the applicant “demonstrate competence with a handgun,” which can be done through participating in organized shooting competitions, current military service, or current certifications as a peace officer. You can also show competence ...
Boulder terrorist case reveals immigration enforcement blind spot: overstayed visas
Approved, National, New York Times, State

Boulder terrorist case reveals immigration enforcement blind spot: overstayed visas

By Miriam Jordan | New York Times Unlawful border crossings dominate the political debate about immigration. But estimates suggest 40 percent of undocumented people entered the United States lawfully and then stayed. The suspect in the Boulder, Colo., attack highlights a type of immigrant who has been largely absent from the heated political messaging on immigration: a person who arrives in the United States legally, on a tourist or other temporary visa, and remains after their permission to stay has lapsed. Mohamed Sabry Soliman, an Egyptian national accused of carrying out the attack in Colorado, entered on a tourist visa in August 2022 that would have allowed him to remain in the country for six months once he presented his passport to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection offic...
COvid Chronicles May 24–31, 2020: When ‘peaceful protests’ overruled pandemic policy—and unleashed chaos
Approved, Commentary, National, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

COvid Chronicles May 24–31, 2020: When ‘peaceful protests’ overruled pandemic policy—and unleashed chaos

By Rocky Mountain Voice Editorial Board The sixth installment of RMV’s COvid Chronicles covers the week Colorado dropped the mask—just not in the way you’d hope. Restrictions vanished for rioters, but stayed in place for students and small businesses. It wasn’t science guiding policy. It was politics. No, it’s not short. Neither was the fallout. The sixth installment of RMV’s COvid Chronicles covers the week Colorado dropped the mask—just not in the way you’d hope. Restrictions vanished for rioters, but stayed in place for students and small businesses. It wasn’t science guiding policy. It was politics. No, it’s not short. Neither was the fallout. Looking back five years later, it’s hard not to feel for everyday, taxpaying Coloradans. As May 2020 ended, COVID cases dropped, testin...
Kalam: Colorado’s Woke Zealotry Ushers Islamist Terror into Boulder
Approved, Commentary, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Kalam: Colorado’s Woke Zealotry Ushers Islamist Terror into Boulder

By Ahnaf Kalam | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Just over a week ago, I warned that the shooting of two young Israeli embassy employees in Washington, D.C., by a far-left zealot chanting “Free Palestine” was not an isolated act but a harbinger.  In progressive strongholds, where criminal fanatics like Luigi Mangione are lionized, such violence would not merely persist—it would metastasize. And so it has. In Boulder, Colorado, barely an hour from my home, the grim prophecy has been fulfilled. Last Tuesday, I was in Washington, D.C., attending a policy conference under heavy security. That morning, I spoke with a friend and colleague, an IDF reserve major in the Homefront Command, about the gnawing vulnerability we felt in a city like D.C.Stripped of the Sig Sauers we c...
Sixth wolf death of 2025 confirmed—CPW says ‘wolf population will continue to grow’
Approved, DENVER7, State

Sixth wolf death of 2025 confirmed—CPW says ‘wolf population will continue to grow’

By Stephanie Butzer | Denver7 Another gray wolf that was brought to Colorado as part of the state's reintroduction program has died, Colorado and federal officials said on Monday afternoon. In a press release on Monday, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) said they received a mortality alert for a male wolf in northwest Colorado on May 31. The wolf had been brought to Colorado from Canada as part of the January 2025 reintroduction, CPW confirmed to Denver7. It is the fifth wolf from the original 15 released that month that has died. As with any wolf death in Colorado, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating because gray wolves are a federally listed species under the Endangered Species Act. The USFWS will determine its cause of death. That investigation is ongoing. ...
Two investigations signal Education Department’s pivot from Pride Month to Title IX enforcement
Approved, Daily Wire, National, State

Two investigations signal Education Department’s pivot from Pride Month to Title IX enforcement

By Mary Margaret Olohan | Daily Wire The news bears a stark contrast to the June celebrations of President Joe Biden's Education Department. WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump’s Education Department has declared June “Title IX Month” in recognition of the 53rd anniversary of the historic legislation’s passage, The Daily Wire has learned. The department will spend June highlighting the Trump administration’s actions taken to protect female sports and spaces, as well as reversing the weaponization of Title IX that took place during the previous administration. The festivities offer a stark contrast to the Biden Education Department’s “Pride Month” celebrations, which focused on gender ideology, critical race theory, and DEI. The Daily Wire can also first report that the Education ...
O’Donnell: One in 20 workers is a state employee—who’s footing the bill?
Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

O’Donnell: One in 20 workers is a state employee—who’s footing the bill?

By Mike O’Donnell | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Communism, socialism, Marxism, Maoism, post-Mao Chinese-ism, and fascism may wear different uniforms, but they all march to the same beat—state control. One-party rule, diminished freedoms, political prosecutions, judicial overreach, hostility to markets, and the slow suffocation of private enterprise under the weight of public bureaucracy. Over the past decade, Colorado’s ruling class has embraced a philosophy that echoes these themes—what academics have dubbed “Radical Markets.” Promoted by groups like RadicalxChange, the idea is that centralized systems and enforced redistribution can solve economic inequality and displace what they see as the instability of free markets.  Whether Coloradans voted for this or not, ...
Garbo: Boulder wasn’t a clash, it was terrorism
Approved, Commentary, National, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Garbo: Boulder wasn’t a clash, it was terrorism

By C. J. Garbo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice What happened in Boulder was an act of terrorism, plain and simple. The alleged actions of Mohamed Sabry Soliman, targeting Jews in what authorities have rightly identified as an ideologically motivated, antisemitic attack, must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. It was not a “disturbance,” or a “clash,” or a “misunderstanding.” It was hate. And it was violent, deliberate, and evil. This nation was founded on the principle that people of all faiths and backgrounds can worship, gather, and speak freely without fear. That principle was shattered in Boulder, and we cannot - must not - look away. Governor Jared Polis and Attorney General Phil Weiser deserve appreciation for calling this what it is: an act of hate-fuele...
Herf: When ‘Free Palestine’ becomes a pretext for terrorism
Approved, National, State, The Free Press

Herf: When ‘Free Palestine’ becomes a pretext for terrorism

By Jeffrey Herf | Commentary, The Free Press The global intifada comes to Boulder, Colorado, 11 days after the murders in Washington, D.C. On Sunday afternoon in Boulder, Colorado, a group of Jews was set on fire. They had gathered in the afternoon for a march to draw attention to Israel’s hostages, who have been held by Hamas terrorists for more than 600 days, when a man reportedly threw a Molotov cocktail at the group, seriously injuring several. The alleged perpetrator is named Mohamad Soliman, and you can see him in videos from the scene shouting “End Zionists” and “Palestine free and for us.” This incident, which the FBI has called a “targeted terror attack,” comes less than two weeks after the assassination of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim outside...