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Big Lots shuttering more than half of Colorado locations among 300 nationwide
Approved, BizWest, State

Big Lots shuttering more than half of Colorado locations among 300 nationwide

By Christopher Wood | BizWest Discount retailer Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) will close more than half of its remaining Colorado stores, including locations in Greeley and Longmont. The Columbus, Ohio-based company is closing almost 300 stores nationwide, including at least eight of its 14 locations in Colorado. The closures come a year and a half after Big Lots shuttered locations in Fort Collins, Arvada, Denver and Englewood. READ THE FULL STORY AT BIZWEST
Families of officers lost in the line of duty would get $1M benefit if ‘Back The Blue’ initiative passes
Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Families of officers lost in the line of duty would get $1M benefit if ‘Back The Blue’ initiative passes

By Deborah Grigsby | Colorado Politics Proponents of a measure that would create a $1 million death benefit for the families of officers killed in the line of duty submitted 199,067 signatures to the office of the Secretary of State in hopes of garnering a place on the November ballot. Initiative 157, also known as the “Back The Blue” initiative would require the state to appropriate $350 million in funds already collected from taxpayers to the newly created Peace Officer Training and Support Fund within the Colorado Department of Public Safety. The funding would not only enhance the recruiting, training, retention and compensation of law enforcement and peace officers across the state, but would also provide a death benefit of $1 million to surviving spouses, children, or estate ...
Senate approves bill to give Colorado two more federal judges
Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Senate approves bill to give Colorado two more federal judges

By Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics The U.S. Senate unanimously approved a bill on Thursday that would add judgeships to Colorado's federal trial court for the first time in 40 years. The bipartisan JUDGES Act would expand the size of district courts across the country in two-year increments over the next decade. Colorado's U.S. District Court currently has seven presidentially appointed judges, and the number under the bill would increase to nine by 2033. The Judicial Conference of the United States, which is the governing body for the federal courts, has repeatedly recommended Congress give two additional judgeships to Colorado based on caseloads. Data from 2022 showed 558 cases filed per judge on Colorado's federal trial court, a higher number than neighbo...
Students on Colorado’s Youth Advisory Council come with ideas for state lawmakers
Approved, Chalkbeat Colorado, State

Students on Colorado’s Youth Advisory Council come with ideas for state lawmakers

By Ann Schimke | Chalkbeat Colorado Help schools install solar panels to cut fossil fuel use. Reduce cafeteria food waste by creating “share” tables and composting programs. Stock opioid overdose remedies in school AED cabinets. These are a few of ideas that Colorado teens proposed to state lawmakers on Thursday as part of a program that seeks to include young people in the legislative process. It’s possible some of the ideas could eventually become law. Most of the eight proposals presented Thursday by students on the Colorado Youth Advisory Council touched on environmental or health issues. Others addressed the shortage of school bus transportation and the difficulty that students with disabilities face in navigating school buildings. The advisory council consists of 40 students...
Republican campaigns say Colorado GOP turmoil means they are going it alone heading into November
Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Republican campaigns say Colorado GOP turmoil means they are going it alone heading into November

By Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun Republicans running in tight races across the state this year don’t expect to get the kind of help from the Colorado GOP that the party has offered in the past, a big deficit as conservatives try to claw their way back to political relevance.  They have good reasons for that assumption. Fourteen of the 18 candidates the party endorsed this year in contested Republican primaries lost. Chairman Dave Williams used the party’s limited funds to pay for mailers to benefit his own failed congressional primary bid. And Williams hasn’t been seen much since his primary loss even as a movement to remove him as chair is underway.  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
Cats Aren’t Trophies group advances mountain lion hunting ban to ballot
Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Cats Aren’t Trophies group advances mountain lion hunting ban to ballot

By Jason Blevins | Colorado Sun Colorado voters will get a chance to ban mountain lion hunting in November.  The Colorado Secretary of State on Wednesday confirmed that the campaign to end mountain lion hunting in Colorado had gathered enough signatures to get Proposition 91 on the November ballot. The initiative asks voters to declare that “any trophy hunting of mountain lions, bobcats or lynx is inhumane, serves no socially acceptable or ecologically beneficial purpose, and fails to further public safety.” The measure would ban any shooting or trapping of wildcats but allows killing cats that are threatening livestock or people. Representatives with the Cats Aren’t Trophies group submitted 147,529 valid signatures, more than the 124,238 that were required for ball...
‘I voted’ sticker art contest open to Colorado high school students
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

‘I voted’ sticker art contest open to Colorado high school students

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice High school students throughout Colorado are encouraged to participate in a contest being offered by the secretary of state's office to create an "I Voted" digital sticker. “The digital ‘I Voted’ sticker is a great opportunity for students to engage with our democracy,” Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold. “I’m already looking forward to seeing the designs Colorado high schoolers come up with to encourage Coloradans to vote!” A selected sticket design will be sent to voters via BallotTrax once they have voted in the upcoming general election, a press release from Griswold's office reads. It will also be featured on the Secretary of State’s website, media channels, press releases, in media coverage and as part of digital effort to encour...
Enough with beef, wolves feast on lamb in latest depredation, CPW officials say
Approved, State, The Craig Press

Enough with beef, wolves feast on lamb in latest depredation, CPW officials say

By Meg Soyars Van Hauen | Craig Press Colorado Parks and Wildlife confirmed that eight sheep in Grand County were killed by wolves. The agency updated its Gray Wolf Depredation Report webpage on Wednesday. According to the webpage, the depredations occurred on Sunday, and the investigation is still in progress. This is the 14th wolf depredation incident confirmed in Colorado since reintroduction. On Sunday, Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials responded to another possible wolf depredation in Grand County. Two sheep were involved — a lamb and a ewe.  “The field investigation, which included a necropsy, found injuries consistent with wolf depredation,” stated Parks and Wildlife in an email. “… This is still an ongoing investigation.” READ THE FULL STORY AT THE CRAIG PRESS...
RFK, Jr., qualifies for the Colorado ballot, secretary of state announces
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

RFK, Jr., qualifies for the Colorado ballot, secretary of state announces

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and his running mate Nicole Shanahan have qualified for a place on the general election ballot in Colorado, a statement from the Colorado secretary of state's office reads. They will appear as an independent on the ballot. RFK, Jr., is the son of 1968 Presidential contender Bobby Kennedy and the nephew of President John F. Kennedy. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Candidates for President and Vice President are required to collect at least 1,500 valid signatures in each of the state's eight congressional districts. The campaign collected 21,702 valid signatures, and met the qualifying total in each district. The campaign collected the most signatures in the wide-ranging, 21-county 4th District, which is largely r...
If your aim is to keep property tax dollars in your pocket, here’s a look at some of your options on Election Day
Approved, i2i.org, State

If your aim is to keep property tax dollars in your pocket, here’s a look at some of your options on Election Day

By Independence Institute Coloradans have several options to try to address rising property taxes in 2024.   The state legislature passed SB24-233 with bipartisan support at the end of the 2024 legislative session. Voters could choose to keep SB24-233 or eschew the bill for either or both Initiatives 50 and 108.   Despite being a better alternative than if no legislation had been passed in 2024, property taxes would still rise in 2025 under SB24-233. Meant to head-off future acute property tax spikes rather than cut existing taxes, the new law modestly reduces both residential and non-residential assessment rates and adopts a 5.5 percent limit on revenue growth for some local districts. As a result, most Coloradans would still see their...

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