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Colorado Springs Leaders Push Back on AG’s Space Command Lawsuit
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KRDO.COM, Approved, State

Colorado Springs Leaders Push Back on AG’s Space Command Lawsuit

By: Celeste Springer | KRDO COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Colorado Springs Chamber & Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and two local governing bodies are speaking out in opposition to a lawsuit over Space Command. Back in October, the Colorado Attorney General's Office announced a lawsuit against the Trump Administration over the decision to relocate U.S. Space Command to Alabama. While local officials support Space Command staying in Colorado Springs, many spoke out saying that a lawsuit against the presidency was not the right path forward. In November, Colorado Springs City Council voted 7-2 (with Councilmembers Kimberly Gold and Nancy Henjum dissenting) to denounce the lawsuit. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT KRDO
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Title Board Clears Path For Ballot Measures To End Colorado’s Flat Income Tax
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Title Board Clears Path For Ballot Measures To End Colorado’s Flat Income Tax

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Proponents hoping to change Colorado’s income tax structure from a flat rate to graduated tiers — thereby raising taxes for some brackets — walked away from a Wednesday meeting with eight ballot measures approved by the title board. The coalition backing the graduated income tax change now must pick which one to move onto the petition process. It’s a big change from the group’s last visit in October, when the three-member Initiative Title Setting Review Board rejected two proposed measures for violating a rule that ballot measures may only contain a single subject. In December, the title board turned down a third proposal for the same reason. The title board is made up of representatives from the Attorney Genera...
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Colorado Teachers Union Pushes Ballot Measure Targeting TABOR Spending Limits
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Colorado Teachers Union Pushes Ballot Measure Targeting TABOR Spending Limits

By: Blair Miller | Denver7 DENVER — The largest union of Colorado educators rallied outside of the Capitol on Thursday, calling on lawmakers to refer a measure to the ballot that they believe is a solution to funding struggles plaguing schools in the state. The measure that the Colorado Education Association (CEA) is spearheading is centered upon the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR), which voters approved in 1992. TABOR limits the amount of money the state government can keep and spend, while requiring voter approval to keep excess funds collected. Without that voter approval, extra revenue is refunded to Colorado taxpayers. The CEA would like voters to decide if they would like to raise the TABOR spending cap, which was called "outdated" several t...
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‘Fully funded’ education: Panelist cites 30–70% increase as Sen. Kipp says “TABOR is why we don’t have nice things”
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Christian Home Educators of Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

‘Fully funded’ education: Panelist cites 30–70% increase as Sen. Kipp says “TABOR is why we don’t have nice things”

By Colleen Enos | Commentary, Christian Home Educators of Colorado Friday, January 16th, Day Three of the legislative session, began in a manner that seemed to promote general agreement in the Colorado House of Representatives. Since the upcoming Monday, January 19th, was Martin Luther King Jr. Day and a legal state holiday, the House began with a resolution recognizing Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Things went south when Representative Naquetta Ricks compared Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations to the German Gestapo of Adolf Hitler. This was a shocking statement to make in the middle of recognizing the civil rights efforts of Martin Luther King Jr. Representatives DeGraff and Bottoms brought some much-needed perspective to the conversation, in addition to Rep...
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Colorado Budget Panel Rejects Prison Expansion Funding Until Plan Is Presented
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Colorado Budget Panel Rejects Prison Expansion Funding Until Plan Is Presented

By Bente Birkeland | The Colorado Sun In a 4-2 vote, the Democrats on the JBC voted in a bloc to deny the dollars, complaining that the DOC lacked a plan to address the state’s growing prison population. Democratic members of the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee denied a request Wednesday from the Colorado Department of Corrections for money to pay for additional prison beds.  In a 4-2 vote, the Democrats on the JBC voted in a bloc to deny the dollars, complaining that the DOC lacked a plan to address the state’s growing prison population, despite repeated requests for Gov. Jared Polis’ administration to do so. The two Republicans on the panel voted to approve the ask. “The frustration is that we are just at this point where it’s been repeated asks, y...
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Colorado Lawmakers Acknowledge Shared Responsibility for Budget Crisis
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Colorado Lawmakers Acknowledge Shared Responsibility for Budget Crisis

By Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun Nonpartisan staffers told lawmakers this month that the way they spent billions of dollars in one-time federal funds given to Colorado during the COVID pandemic contributed to the state’s budget shortfall. he Colorado legislature is at least partially to blame for the structural deficit forcing lawmakers this year to cut state programs and services to address a roughly $850 million funding shortfall.  The General Assembly contributed to the deficit through its handling of billions in one-time federal funding that flowed into Colorado during the coronavirus pandemic, nonpartisan staff for the legislature’s powerful Joint Budget Committee told the panel earlier this month. At issue was how some of that money was used...
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Federal Pressure Forces Colorado To Halt Wolf Reintroductions
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Federal Pressure Forces Colorado To Halt Wolf Reintroductions

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette Colorado Parks and Wildlife, facing mounting criticism from the Trump administration over its management of the wolf reintroduction program, announced Wednesday they will not bring in any new wolves to the state for the 2026 winter season. CPW was turned down in November by Washington state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Washington residents criticized Colorado for mismanaging the program. CPW director Jeff Davis resigned in lieu of termination weeks later. The CPW announcement didn’t mention the pushback the agency is getting from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, which on Dec. 18 demanded Colorado provide a complete report of all gray wolf conservation and management activities...
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Colorado prison beds could run out by 2026 and lawmakers face hard choices
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado prison beds could run out by 2026 and lawmakers face hard choices

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Spidey sense is tingling on the jail population … I had a reader mention something I thought worth sharing. Colorado has a problem. Our jail’s are nearing capacity. On top of that, we’re struggling to find people willing to guard them.A Corrections1 link is first below. It’s a copy (without the paywall) of a Denver Post article detailing how a Colorado budget analyst for the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee said we’re going to run out of beds for men in prison as early as 2026. Quoting with link intact: “Colorado’s prisons will run out of beds for men in the next fiscal year unless significant changes are made to either reduce the prison population or increase capacity, a state analyst projects in a n...
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Merit Academy: Undeniable Change, A Model For Our Next Victory
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Merit Academy: Undeniable Change, A Model For Our Next Victory

By Eric Gil | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The success of Merit Academy in Woodland Park is no secret. When your school is ranked #5 of all K-12 Colorado Public Schools, it is hard to hide. This article is a look into the origin story of Merit Academy, led by Headmaster Gwynne Pekron. A reminder that we still hold the power to shape our children’s futures and that even when faced with centralized control, a path to real change exists. As a former charter school student and public school teacher, Merit’s story of ascension inspires me to look for ways to ensure our future.   Increased attention toward public education from concerned parents is one of the many lasting outcomes of the 2020 pandemic and the subsequent shifts in education. In Woodland Park, this ...
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