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Colorado voters may get final say over the legislature side-stepping open meetings
Approved, completecolorado.com, State

Colorado voters may get final say over the legislature side-stepping open meetings

Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado DENVER — Doing what he is well known for, Independence Institute president Jon Caldara has started the process to let Colorado voters decide whether legislators should be treated differently than other elected officials when they meet in groups of more than two. Last Friday, Caldara and his co-proponent, Vanessa Rutledge appeared before the Legislative Council staff to answer questions about Initiative 287, which would repeal Senate Bill 157. Rutledge is the communications and marketing manager for the Independence Institute, a Denver-based free market think tank, which is also the publisher of Complete Colorado. SB 157, which was passed earlier this year in record time and signed into law by Gov. Polis on March 12, created a carv...
Colorado’s $40.6 Billion budget is nearing final passage. Here’s what’s in it.
Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado’s $40.6 Billion budget is nearing final passage. Here’s what’s in it.

Brian Eason | The Colorado Sun After weeks of debate and over two dozen amendments, Colorado budget writers Wednesday put the finishing touches on a $40.6 billion budget that increases spending on state workers, health care services, K-12 and higher education. But the spending plan leaves a number of unanswered questions for the final month of the legislative session — including how the Democratic majority will pay for property tax cuts, a major priority for Gov. Jared Polis and top lawmakers. The budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year, which starts July 1, still has a few procedural hurdles to go, but no further changes are expected. The Joint Budget Committee on Wednesday rebalanced the budget after the House and Senate passed different versions over the last two weeks. READ THE ...
Hurd qualifies for primary ballot in Colorado’s 3rd District U.S. House race
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Hurd qualifies for primary ballot in Colorado’s 3rd District U.S. House race

Brian Porter | The Rocky Mountain Voice Jeff Hurd, a Grand Junction attorney, has qualified for a place on the ballot in Colorado's 3rd District in Congress, the Secretary of State's office announced Wednesday. Hurd has been endorsed by former Secretary of State Scott Gessler and former State Treasurer Walker Stapleton, who also was the Republican nominee for governor in 2018. On his campaign website, Hurd is in the race, it says, to "provide a sincere and hardworking representative focused more on doing something than being someone." Border security, improving the economy through job creation and empowering families are among the issues on his website. Hurd submitted 4,388 signatures on his petition, with more rejected signatures than accepted. The 2,162 signatures accepted me...
Holtorf, a Republican, and McCorkle, a Democrat, qualify for 4th District ballot
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Holtorf, a Republican, and McCorkle, a Democrat, qualify for 4th District ballot

Brian Porter | The Rocky Mountain Voice A three-time candidate for the office and the sitting Colorado House minority whip have both qualified for a place on the ballot in Colorado's 4th District in Congress. The Secretary of State's office has verified that Democrat Ike McCorkle and Republican Richard Holtorf both have enough verified signatures to qualify for the ballot in thier respective primaries. McCorkle is making his third bid for the Democratic nomination, having twice before opposed ex-U.S. Rep. Ken Buck for the seat. McCorkle submitted 2,179 signatures on his petition, with 1,783 being accepted. Holtorf is making his first bid at the Republican nomination, presently serving as minority whip in the Colorado House. He submitted 2,612 signatures on his petition, with 1,...
Boulder County food bank loses 1,500 pounds of food in power outage
Approved, denvergazette.com, State

Boulder County food bank loses 1,500 pounds of food in power outage

By Kirin Pandit | 9News (via Denver Gazette) Even after a food bank that serves Boulder and Broomfield counties lost 1,500 pounds of food, including 45 gallons of milk, in the power outage – the agency is still working to help thousands of families who lost spoiled food from the April windstorm. Staff with Community Food Share said the quick work of staff to seal up their food helped salvage the majority of it. "We were actually able to salvage almost all of the food that was in our freezers and our refrigerators. Which we're so thankful for that because that was about $80,000 worth of food," said Kim Da Silva, the CEO of Community Food Share. "And then we went in and tested a whole bunch of our food to make sure all the temps were within range of safe food distribution." READ ...
Second calf in a five-day stretch killed by wolves in Northern Colorado, CPW says
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Second calf in a five-day stretch killed by wolves in Northern Colorado, CPW says

By Rocky Mountain Voice Staff The second incident of a livestock kill in five days by a wolf has been confirmed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Following the depredation of a calf in Grand County, another was realized in neighboring Jackson County on the morning of April 7, the CPW reports, following a field investigation. "The field investigation found injuries on a dead calf consistent with wolf depredation, including a partially consumed hindquarter," the CPW press release reads. "Partial wolf tracks were also found in the same area. CPW is aware of four wolves in the area and these included wolves that were released in December 2023 and a wolf or wolves with known territory in North Park." The calf killed April 2 in Grand County was near Kremmling, and could be within about...
Colorado lawmakers approve bill to require landlords to complete serious repairs faster
Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado lawmakers approve bill to require landlords to complete serious repairs faster

Tatiana Flowers | The Colorado Sun The state legislature Tuesday gave final approval to a measure that aims to improve living conditions for renters across Colorado by closing “loopholes” that make it difficult to request repairs from landlords. Colorado has for years had a so-called warranty of habitability law on the books, which sets basic housing standards for landlords. But lawmakers and fair housing advocates have said the 2008 statute needs improvement because exceptions in the law make it difficult for residents to request action for serious issues such as mold, sewage leaks and rodent infestations. State lawmakers this week passed Senate Bill 94, which would require landlords complete repairs for most issues within 14 days, including things such as fixing loose ...
Republican House whip and CD4 candidate Richard Holtorf calls upon State GOP Chair Williams to resign
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Republican House whip and CD4 candidate Richard Holtorf calls upon State GOP Chair Williams to resign

By BRIAN PORTER | The Rocky Mountain Voice State Rep. Richard Holtorf, a candidate for Colorado's 4th District seat in Congress, called Tuesday for Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dave Williams to resign, citing "numerous conflicts of interest" and "radical endorsement policies" alienating candidates for statewide and federal office. Williams "ram-rodded 10 resolutions through state assembly" and then moved to endorse an individual candidate in the 4th District race against Colorado GOP bylaws, Holtorf cites in a press release. He is additionally calling for Williams, a candidate in the 5th District for Congress, to face ethical and legal review for "continued abuse of state GOP policies and bylaws". In a statement to Colorado Politics, Williams responded: "If Holtorf wishes to...
Poll finds illegal immigration top issue for Colorado voters
Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Poll finds illegal immigration top issue for Colorado voters

Nicole C. Brambila | Colorado Politics A new statewide poll shows illegal immigration emerging as the paramount issue for Colorado voters, with roughly two-in-three viewing the unprecedented influx as a major problem. Conducted by the Colorado Polling Institute, the survey posed an open-ended question to 632 likely voters, asking — among other things — what they believed were the most important issues facing the state. The take away? Illegal immigration was the primary concern with 14% of respondents replying that border surges were the top issue lawmakers should address. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
Big wind cuts power to tens of thousands in Colorado, closes roads, coincides with fires
Approved, State, The Coloradoan

Big wind cuts power to tens of thousands in Colorado, closes roads, coincides with fires

By Rebecca Powell | Fort Collins Coloradoan Wind speeds in Larimer County exceeded 90 miles per hour over the weekend, causing at least 20,000 people to experience power outages in Larimer and Weld counties and coinciding with two wildfires. Xcel Energy pre-emptively cut power to some of its power lines on Saturday afternoon, citing high fire danger. That affected 55,000 customers, including some in northwest Fort Collins, Laporte, and west of Fort Collins and Loveland, according to maps provided by the utility. But not all of the outages were intentional. On Saturday night, Xcel's power outage map showed 9,500 customers in the Larimer and Weld areas were without power. By Sunday afternoon, the map showed 6,500 were still affected. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE FORT COLLINS COL...

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