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Colorado Democrat Shelves Prostitution Decriminalization Effort Amid Growing Criticism
The Daily Signal, Approved, State

Colorado Democrat Shelves Prostitution Decriminalization Effort Amid Growing Criticism

By: Tyler O'Neil | The Daily Signal Colorado’s Republican House leader is calling foul after a Colorado state senator says he is effectively killing his own bill to decriminalize prostitution—in order to protect “sex workers” from the trauma of having to testify. State Sen. Nick Hinrichsen, the main sponsor of SB26-097, told the Colorado Sun that his bill lacks the necessary support to clear the Senate Judiciary Committee, so he will ask to delay the measure until after the 2026 legislative session, effectively killing the bill. He said the “sex workers” who persuaded him to bring the bill also persuaded him to effectively kill it. “Ultimately, we all decided that having a very tense, long committee hearing, where they’d have to be in a room with a ...
Colorado bill would require devices to signal when users are minors
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado bill would require devices to signal when users are minors

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Across the country, lawmakers are trying to figure out how — or whether — government should step in when it comes to kids and the internet. Some proposals focus on social media platforms. Others target app stores. A few states have gone a step further, looking at the devices themselves. Colorado is now testing that approach. The proposal, Senate Bill 26-051, is titled “Age Attestation on Computing Devices.” The idea behind it is fairly straightforward: certain devices would send apps a signal indicating whether the person using them is a minor. Supporters say the goal is to give apps a way to recognize when younger users are trying to sign in. Not everyone who testified during the hearing w...
Free to Choose Life
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Free to Choose Life

By Rep. Scott Slaugh | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Upon arriving at the Colorado State Capitol in September to be sworn in as the new State Representative for District 64, I was eager to join the state lawmaking enterprise and already had a few ideas for new legislation. Soon I was advised by veteran lawmakers to reconsider my goals.  As one of only twenty-two Republicans facing a Majority Caucus of forty-three Democrats, it would be smart to tailor at least a couple of my early bills to topics where I might find agreement with members from the Majority Caucus.  That sounded reasonable enough; what could go wrong?  I have nothing but respect for the commonsense goal of “building bridges” where possible. Because I stand firmly in support...
Democrats Push Plan to Eliminate TABOR Refunds For The Next 10 Years
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Democrats Push Plan to Eliminate TABOR Refunds For The Next 10 Years

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Colorado voters could decide this fall whether billions of dollars that would otherwise be returned as refunds under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights should instead go to public schools under a ballot measure unveiled Thursday by Democrats. Supporters say the proposal would address chronic underfunding in K-12 education, while critics argue it takes money away from taxpayers and amounts to sidestepping the state’s constitutional spending limits. Supporters have insisted that schools are underfunded to the tune of billions of dollars, while one study says revenue and spending by schools have significantly grown in the last few years, with a noticeable shift toward non-instructional spending. Under the proposed ballot measure, the am...
Questions Surface Over Colorado Trust Approach To Equity And Grant Funding
The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Questions Surface Over Colorado Trust Approach To Equity And Grant Funding

By Debbie Kelley | The Denver Gazette A redirection in grantmaking that began two years ago for The Colorado Trust, a 40-year-old Denver-headquartered funder, has led some employees to now voice concerns, which has reportedly put their jobs in jeopardy. The vice president of communications for the private health equity foundation says the course has been set for years, with this being the third year of a strategic plan to primarily focus on three “social determinants of health:” food, housing, and mental and behavioral health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines social determinants of health as nonmedical factors that influence health outcomes, such as environmental, educational, economic and employment-related conditions arising out of where a pers...
Food Shaming Concerns Delay Colorado Plan to Ban Soda Purchases With Food Stamps
The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Food Shaming Concerns Delay Colorado Plan to Ban Soda Purchases With Food Stamps

By: Jennifer Brown | The Colorado Sun The SNAP rule change was delayed by a state board after a 7-hour hearing including fierce opposition from the governor’s fellow Democrats, Hunger Free Colorado and Save the Children. A plan to prohibit Coloradans from using food-assistance benefits to buy soda and sugary fruit juices was stalled Friday by a state board after opponents argued it was an overreach that could harm the dignity and autonomy of low-income families. The rule would ban the use of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, called SNAP, to buy soda as well as juices with added sugars or artificial sweeteners. Gov. Jared Polis won approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the “healthy choice” rule in August, but needed...
Colorado Secretary Of State Jena Griswold Peddles Blatant Lie About Supreme Court Role
TownHall.com, Approved, State

Colorado Secretary Of State Jena Griswold Peddles Blatant Lie About Supreme Court Role

By: Matt Vespa | Townhall This Democrat was caught spreading a complete lie, and it wasn’t difficult to expose. This political con job is occurring in Colorado, where Secretary of State Jena Griswold is running in the Democratic primary for the 2026 attorney general race. There’s no need for her to do this, as she’s considered the frontrunner. If you don’t remember, Griswold tried to prevent Donald Trump from running in 2024 over the January 6 incident.   That case went before the Supreme Court, which slapped down this little stunt in a unanimous decision, holding that only Congress, not the states, can determine who is ineligible for federal office. Yet Griswold makes it seem as if she were delivering oral arguments. She did not. And she appears to have little to no cou...
He reported election irregularities. Weeks later he was fired: Now a Colorado fire chief appeals in federal court
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

He reported election irregularities. Weeks later he was fired: Now a Colorado fire chief appeals in federal court

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Erik Holt says he didn’t expect reviewing surveillance footage from a polling location inside the Florissant fire station would cost him his career. Holt says the fallout came quickly. Within weeks of providing investigators the footage he believed showed election rule violations, he was out of a job. The dispute that began inside the Florissant fire station is now before the federal appeals court. Judges will review whether reporting suspected wrongdoing can cost a public employee his job. Holt is no longer fighting the appeal alone. Mountain States Legal Foundation has joined the case and is now representing him. “Public employees do not surrender their First Amendment rights when they take a government job,” said Grad...
Colorado’s forgotten Noble Bill: The fight to keep road money on the road
GregWalcher.com, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado’s forgotten Noble Bill: The fight to keep road money on the road

By Greg Walcher | Commentary, GregWalcher.com This Fall Colorado voters may see a ballot measure to change the way highway funding is spent, always a source of controversy and heated debate. For all but the most inner-city urban voters, though, the issue is a no-brainer if ever there was such a thing. Building, fixing, and maintaining the roads was the founding issue – 76 years ago – of Club 20, the voice of the Western Slope ever since. It remains a major reason that organization still holds together the diverse communities west of the Continental Divide, and it’s an issue that continues to unite people in all the rural parts of the state and most of the suburbs. Regional and state leaders have devoted their careers to making sure rural roads are not ignored by a sta...
Follow the funding: Commentary examines Gary Community Ventures media grants and Colorado Sun coverage
Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Follow the funding: Commentary examines Gary Community Ventures media grants and Colorado Sun coverage

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project An example of the coverage Gary Community Ventures (GCV) supported This post is a continuation of a series on the media grants issued by Gary Community Ventures. The first link below is to Monday’s newsletter, the previous installment. It will have a link to the first installment in it. In today’s post, I want to look at the coverage that GCV paid for, specifically the efforts by the progressive outlet Colorado Sun. In previous posts, I mentioned how the Colorado Sun raised their hand when GCV asked if anyone would like grant money to fund coverage on childcare in Colorado. I also mentioned how the Colorado Media Project (CMP, and some of its consultants like journalism professor Corey H...

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