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June 11 CPW meeting highlights failure to share data: “Producers left in the dark”
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Approved, State, The Fence Post

June 11 CPW meeting highlights failure to share data: “Producers left in the dark”

By Rachel Gabel | Fence Post Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commissioner Tai Jacober said it’s “ugly” right now for Pitkin County livestock producers. In the June 11 CPW Commission meeting, he said when a particular pack of wolves, the Copper Creek pack, were causing problems for livestock producers, CPW and the commission made decisions that have landed the wolves and the producers again, in a problematic situation. Jacober criticized the decision to go “against the management plan and capture the wolves, went further against the management plan and rereleased the wolves, and here we are today.” “Not only is it a blunder on the agency, it’s a blunder on the wolves, and it’s really difficult on the ranchers,” he said. “It seems we’ve removed one wolf — a yearling wolf that was kicked...
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Jacques: Colorado’s speech police aren’t protecting rights—they’re punishing dissent
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Approved, Commentary, State, USA Today

Jacques: Colorado’s speech police aren’t protecting rights—they’re punishing dissent

By Ingrid Jacques | Commentary, USA Today Colorado has threatened to sic the thought police on anyone who doesn't comply by using state-approved language about transgender people. You’d think that after two significant losses at the U.S. Supreme Court, Colorado would tread more carefully with its anti-discrimination laws.  No such luck. A new law, signed by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis in May, expands the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act to make deadnaming and misgendering transgender individuals a punishable offense. California, not surprisingly, has tried something similar but on a more limited basis. The updated Colorado provisions have already attracted lawsuits on the grounds that the law violates the U.S. Constitution, includ...
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Critics warn Polis’ immigration law oversteps Constitution, ignores federal authority
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Approved, completecolorado.com, State

Critics warn Polis’ immigration law oversteps Constitution, ignores federal authority

By Savana Kascak | Complete Colorado DENVER—Despite repeated claims that Colorado is not a “sanctuary state” for illegal immigration, Gov. Jared Polis on May 23 signed a bill into law that both reinforces and expands Colorado’s existing protections for immigrants living in the country illegally. Senate Bill 25-276, Protect Civil Rights Immigration Status was a top priority for majority Democrats in the state legislature as they continue their attempt at isolating Colorado from the Trump administration’s deportation policies, with the bill picking up a remarkable 46 prime and co-sponsors on its way to passage. Expanded protections Colorado state law already limits interaction and information sharing between local and federal officers. However, SB 276 extends this measure to proh...
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Polis defends ICE data release as criminal investigation matter, but documents raise doubts
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Approved, Axios, State

Polis defends ICE data release as criminal investigation matter, but documents raise doubts

By Alayna Alvarez, John Frank | Axios Legal pressure is mounting against Democratic Gov. Jared Polis after revelations that he ordered state officials to comply with an ICE subpoena and hand over personal data of undocumented children in Colorado to federal immigration agents. The latest: Colorado WINS — the union representing more than 27,000 state workers — civil rights group Towards Justice and labor organization Colorado AFL-CIO announced Monday they're joining as plaintiffs on a whistleblower lawsuit filed last week by Scott Moss, a senior labor official in Polis' administration. The groups accuse the governor of "colluding" with ICE agents and violating multiple state laws that restrict cooperation with federal immigration enforcement...
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Priced out, packed in: Colorado renters squeezed by costs, policy gridlock and population growth
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Priced out, packed in: Colorado renters squeezed by costs, policy gridlock and population growth

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado’s affordable housing crunch – especially in the rental sector – has been building for years. Reports from the Common Sense Institute and Bell Policy Center trace the tipping point to around 2015, when demand consistently began outpacing supply. The last decade has seen rising home prices, stagnant wages and insufficient new construction which has made the situation worse due to recent immigration pressures and allegations of resource allocation issues. Origins and escalation of the crisis Bell Policy Center noted a statewide rental rate increase from 30.9% in 2009 to 34.8% by 2022, with urban counties like Denver reaching 50.1%.  In just a year, Colorado slipped further down the affordability scale, now rank...
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Gazette editorial board: Time to repeal the delivery fee feeding Colorado’s bloated government
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Approved, Commentary, denvergazette.com, State

Gazette editorial board: Time to repeal the delivery fee feeding Colorado’s bloated government

The Gazette editorial board | Commentary, Denver Gazette Do you use DoorDash for lunch or maybe Uber Eats for dinner? How about Amazon, FedEx or any of the other delivery services — for just about everything else? Probably. Have you ever noticed a 29-cent “retail delivery fee” on your tab once your order was fulfilled? Probably not. After all, it’s only a fraction of the price you paid for whatever was delivered, so even if you did see it, you likely shrugged it off as just another one of the taxes assessed on your order. Which, in reality, it is. But technically, it’s not a tax; it’s a “fee” that was slapped on deliveries by the Legislature in 2021. And because it was designated as a fee in statute, it didn’t require statewide voter approval as a tax would under our state c...
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Colorado ranks 5th in nation for work hours—high cost of living a key factor
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Approved, kdvr.com, State

Colorado ranks 5th in nation for work hours—high cost of living a key factor

By Brooke Williams | Fox31 DENVER (KDVR) — Coloradans spend more time on the clock than people in most states in the U.S., according to a new report. Qualtrics XM, a data tool for businesses, released a report in March analyzing what percentage of the past year people spent working. The study used data from the American Time Use Survey, conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, for all 50 states. A handful of states had fewer than 10 survey responses and were excluded from the main story, but were included in a separate list. Where do people spend the most time working? According to the report, people in these states spent the highest percentage of their past year working: Utah: 25.17% Mississippi: 23.89% North Carolina: 23.51% Alabama: 23.44% Co...
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Petition launched to stop Colorado’s nickel-and-dime delivery surcharge
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Approved, completecolorado.com, State

Petition launched to stop Colorado’s nickel-and-dime delivery surcharge

By Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado DENVER — Colorado voters may get the chance to repeal at least one of the many news fees set by the Colorado legislature in the recent past— the retail delivery fee of .29 cents on any tangible property that is delivered by motor vehicle. The fee, which was passed by majority Democrats in the legislature in 2021 and amended in 2023, is scheduled to be reduced to .28 cents on July 1. The money generated by the fee, nearly $90 million in 2023, is currently earmarked for transportation projects. The ballot initiative language approved by the title board on May 21, would repeal the fee entirely.  The measure is now awaiting approval of petitions to begin circulating for signatures. Supporters will then have six months to gathe...
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Boll: Colorado calls it protection. Parents call it betrayal.
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Approved, Commentary, State, Substack, Top Stories

Boll: Colorado calls it protection. Parents call it betrayal.

By Laureen Boll | Commentary, Genspect Colorado is increasingly unhinged when it comes to gender Imagine the nightmare: You learn that your 17-year-old daughter, with whom you’ve always shared a deep, loving bond, has embarked upon an intimate relationship with her female teacher—a deeply inappropriate situation under any circumstances. But instead of acting to safeguard your child, school officials secretly label her “homeless” to allow her to move in with the teacher, withholding the truth from you. Unfortunately, this is the harsh reality for one Jefferson County, Colorado, family. When the parent uncovered the deception and confronted the high school principal, they were met with a shocking defense: the teacher was simply “helping kids explore their sexual identity.” Some ...
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Wolf claims top $650K, but CPW records don’t add up
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Approved, Colorado Politics, State

Wolf claims top $650K, but CPW records don’t add up

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics The state wolf compensation fund, set at $350,000 by statute last year, saw claims from 2024 that are approaching double that amount. Data obtained through an open records request to Colorado Parks and Wildlife showed that the agency paid out $425,478.61 in claims. But the information provided by the agency appears to exclude claims that were denied, recent claims paid and claims still awaiting final payments or settlements. Based on information independently verified by Colorado Politics, the total amount of claims stood at at least $649,765.90, with a dozen claims still showing as pending on CPW's wolf depredation website. Two ranchers in Grand County settled for lesser amounts, which are not reflected in the data obtained from...
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