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Whooping cough cases have tripled in Colorado since 2023, according to CDC
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Approved, CBS Colorado, State

Whooping cough cases have tripled in Colorado since 2023, according to CDC

By Justin Adams | CBS Colorado Whooping cough cases in Colorado have tripled, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.' As of Aug. 3, Colorado has had 333 confirmed cases of the respiratory disease that is also known as pertussis. At this time last year, Colorado had only seen 90 cases. "It's one of the ones that can easily spread and spread rapidly," said Joyce Bertram, School Director at Bethany Busy Bee Early Learning Center. Whooping cough is one of the most dangerous, preventable respiratory diseases. It's also a highly contagious bacterial disease that spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. This is one reason why Bertram takes extra precautions around the infants she watches. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
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Should Colorado’s constitution protect school choice? Voters will decide in November.
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Should Colorado’s constitution protect school choice? Voters will decide in November.

By Erica Breunlin | The Colorado Sun Colorado voters will decide whether they want to protect the right to school choice in the state constitution in November after a measure with that goal qualified for the ballot Friday. Put forth by conservative political nonprofit Advance Colorado Action, Initiative 138 sets out to reinforce parents’ ability to send their children to any public school, charter school, private school or homeschooling program they want. But some education advocates and policy experts see it as a stepping stone toward a state voucher program in disguise. Voucher programs give parents public dollars to enroll their kids in private schools, including those with a religious affiliation. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Concerns grow over expanded property-tax proposal
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Approved, State, The Sum & Substance

Concerns grow over expanded property-tax proposal

By Ed Sealover | The Sum & Substance A new version of the tax-cut bill at the heart of the special legislative session seeks to further limit property-tax revenue growth — a provision producing angst around what proponents are touting as a compromise solution that could head off a costly ballot battle. Colorado legislators will gavel into session again at 10 a.m. Monday at the request of Gov. Jared Polis to consider a brokered deal designed to stop two property-tax-cut initiatives that could cut billions of dollars in state and local funding from going to the ballot. Instead, the Democratic governor is asking legislators to pass a bipartisan bill that will expand a recently passed $1.3 billion property-tax cut to roughly $1.6 billion and will, if signed into law, commit proponent...
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Republicans oust leadership in meeting Chair Williams calls ‘fraudulent’
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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...
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Northern border sector up 197 percent over record migrant arrests
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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. ...
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Williams: Colorado Republican Party will sue to prevent special session
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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...
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Colorado attorney general files lawsuit against RealPage for allegedly driving up rent prices
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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...
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Caldara: Denver’s record high homeless entirely predictable
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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...
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Closed meetings and backroom deals: Could Colorado’s special session test SB 157, lawmakers?
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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
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Analyzing a super-minority in Colorado’s legislature and what it means for governance
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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...
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