Rocky Mountain Voice

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A turning point for Colorado: RMV announces first Mountain Majesty Gala featuring Eric Trump on June 21 
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A turning point for Colorado: RMV announces first Mountain Majesty Gala featuring Eric Trump on June 21 

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice The conservative grassroots in Colorado is waking up – and gathering for something bigger than politics as usual. Tickets are now on sale for what organizers are calling a major turning point for Colorado conservatives. Rocky Mountain Voice will host its first Mountain Majesty Gala on June 21 in the Denver Metro area. Doors open at 5:00 PM, and guests are encouraged to dress formal for an evening built to energize Colorado’s conservative movement – something many say is long overdue. Grassroots leaders, elected officials and media voices will gather for a night of connection, clarity and shared purpose. Eric Trump will serve as keynote speaker for the evening. A national conservative voice with deep grassroots credibility, Trump is exp...
DOJ lawsuit puts spotlight on Denver’s ‘sanctuary’ policies
Approved, denvergazette.com, National, State

DOJ lawsuit puts spotlight on Denver’s ‘sanctuary’ policies

By Deborah Grigsby | Denver Gazette The U.S. Department of Justice has sued Colorado and the City and County of Denver, alleging their policies are interfering with the job of immigration officers in a case that could have ramifications for enforcement nationwide. The lawsuit filed Friday in Colorado District Court claims both the state and Denver have enacted “sanctuary laws” in violation of the U.S. Constitution, the latest in a series of actions by the president cracking down on so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions. A “sanctuary city” generally refers to a jurisdiction that discourages local law enforcement from reporting an individual’s immigration status to federal authorities. This tension was on full display during a congressional hearing in March, when Denver Mayor Mike Joh...
Colorado Senate committee rejects judicial watchdog picks over misconduct concerns
Approved, denvergazette.com, State

Colorado Senate committee rejects judicial watchdog picks over misconduct concerns

By David Migoya | Denver Gazette In a bipartisan rebuke of how a years-long scandal has been handled, a Colorado Senate committee on Monday made the rare move of not approving the gubernatorial reappointment of the top two members of the state’s Commission on Judicial Discipline. Just months after voters statewide overwhelmingly chose to change how Colorado disciplines judges, the state Senate Judiciary Committee voted — 4-3, with two Democrats joining the panel’s two lone Republicans — to offer an unfavorable recommendation to the full Senate on the reappointment of Mindy Sooter and Jim Carpenter, the chair and vice-chair, respectively, of the 10-member commission. It was the committee’s last official act as the legislative session rushed to a close on Wednesday. The full...
Flawed filing stalls Peters’ release bid as DOJ weighs in and President Trump demanding action
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Flawed filing stalls Peters’ release bid as DOJ weighs in and President Trump demanding action

By Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics A federal judge on Monday warned former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters that her request to be released while she appeals her 2024 criminal convictions appears to be brought improperly and may be subject to dismissal. Jurors convicted Peters for her role in a security breach of her office's voting equipment. She is currently serving a nine-year sentence of incarceration. While the state's Court of Appeals reviews her conviction, Peters has filed a federal petition for "habeas corpus," a legal tool used to challenge one's confinement. Specifically, Peters is seeking to be released on bond while her appeal moves forward in state court. In a May 5 order, Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak identified a problem with the petition....
Rural Southwest Colorado farmers face 65% water shortfall after dry winter
Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Rural Southwest Colorado farmers face 65% water shortfall after dry winter

By Shannon Mullane | Colorado Sun Ken Curtis, a water manager in southwestern Colorado, had two words to describe his district’s expected water supply this summer: “Pretty bad.” “(We’re) looking at about 30%, maybe 35% supply,” said Curtis, who manages the Dolores Water Conservancy District.  Water managers across Colorado and the West are looking at this winter’s snowfall and weather forecasts to plan for summer water supplies, whether it’s using water for gardens, lawns, fisheries, crops or livestock. The conditions vary widely at the local level. In some parts of Colorado, like Denver, the winter provided enough snow to fill reservoirs and avoid extra restrictions. Other regions are tightening their belts.  Curtis hoped to at least give water users in his district ...
“Parents Last”: Senate Democrats Advance HB25-1312 Despite Mass Opposition, Custody Concerns
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“Parents Last”: Senate Democrats Advance HB25-1312 Despite Mass Opposition, Custody Concerns

By Tori Ganahl | Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado’s controversial “Kelly Loving Act” is one step away from becoming law, after the state Senate advanced HB25-1312 in a party-line vote Monday night. The bill passed 23-12 following hours of floor debate—nearing an end to a legislative saga that’s drawn over 700 would-be testifiers, more than 17,000 emails from concerned constituents, and ongoing warnings from legal experts, parents, and educators. The bill started as an expansion of the Colorado Anti-discrimination Act (CADA), aiming to add gender identity and expression as protected categories in schools, courts, and beyond. Even after key changes, Republicans say it still threatens parental rights and opens the door to new legal trouble for those who disagree with progressive gender pol...
Enos: If parents can’t challenge books or protect embryos, who will?
Approved, Christian Home Educators of Colorado, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Enos: If parents can’t challenge books or protect embryos, who will?

By Colleen Enos | Commentary, Christian Home Educators of Colorado The majority in the Colorado General Assembly seems to have caught the attention of the Trump Administration. The U.S. Department of Education spokeswoman Julie Hartman told the Daily Signal that “Children do not belong to the government. They belong to parents.”  Then, on March 28th of this year, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon sent a letter to educators that included the following statement: “Under President Trump’s leadership, my Department will no longer passively accept school officials’ hostility to parental involvement. The Department stands with parents in exercising their rights to the full extent of the law.” This may be news to Colorado’s General Assembly. On April 21st, the Colorado House S...
Caldara: Nothing’s more expensive than “free” school lunch
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Caldara: Nothing’s more expensive than “free” school lunch

By Jon Caldera | Commentary, Denver Gazette A key part of the planned march toward socialism is, of course, endless propaganda. It’s not enough just to rely on the politics of envy. We need to take away those dangerous little opportunities where young people might accidentally experience the benefit of the free market in their fledgling lives. So how can we teach children to participate in class warfare, punish the productive by taking their stuff and that property rights and free exchange don’t exist? Enter Colorado’s oversubscribed, already broke (as all redistribution schemes become) “free” school lunch program. Who could have guessed a $50 million take-from-thy-neighbor scheme would quickly cost $150 million? The free lunch program taxes Coloradans who make “too much money”...
Trump prioritizes Venezuelan gang crackdown, while Colorado and other sanctuary states resist
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Trump prioritizes Venezuelan gang crackdown, while Colorado and other sanctuary states resist

By Nicole C. Brambila | Denver Gazette As millions of immigrants fleeing the economic and political chaos in Venezuela used social media to navigate the journey north, Tren de Aragua (TdA) operatives embedded in their ranks and exploited these same platforms — particularly WhatsApp — to coordinate extortion, smuggling and violence. Venezuela’s economic and political chaos made the rise of an enterprising criminal organization like TdA almost inevitable, according to Ronna Rísquez, a Venezuelan journalist who's been investigating the gang. “The heads of the Tren de Aragua identified the massive and forced Venezuelan migration as a goldmine of business opportunities,” Rísquez wrote in her book, “El Tren de Aragua: La banda que revolucionó el crimen organizado en América Latina” (The...
Sanctuary showdown: Colorado Democrats pass bill while feds sue
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Sanctuary showdown: Colorado Democrats pass bill while feds sue

By Heather Willard | Fox31 DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado’s Democratic lawmakers are pushing ahead on immigration bills despite the U.S. Department of Justice filing a lawsuit Friday to challenge those laws. One of those measures, SB25-276, “Protect Civil Rights Immigration Status,” that lawmakers are pushing forward on, focuses on protecting civil rights and immigrant communities in Colorado and was passed by the House on Saturday after amendments were made. The vote was made along party lines, with Democrats in favor and Republicans opposed. The proposed measure includes a slew of actions that are designed to protect the civil rights of immigrants, including: Repealing the requirement for an affidavit stating that an undocumented person has applied for lawful presen...