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More Colorado PERA benefit cuts “likely” in next two years
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

More Colorado PERA benefit cuts “likely” in next two years

By Brian Eason | The Colorado Sun State pension members in Colorado are likely to face another round of benefit cuts and contribution hikes within the next two years, board members learned last week, after a study found that the public retirement system has been underestimating some of its future debts. The Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association holds a review every four years to ensure it is accurately estimating a range of assumptions about its investments, the public workforce and the lifespans of its retirees. Think of it like a financial checkup to make sure that the assumptions underpinning the future payments it owes to retirees are unfolding as expected. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Colorado among the states aiming to pause Trump order seeking to overturn ‘anchor baby’ citizenship
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Approved, CBS Colorado, State

Colorado among the states aiming to pause Trump order seeking to overturn ‘anchor baby’ citizenship

By Karen Morfitt | CBS Colorado There's been a swift response to President Donald Trump's executive order to end birthright citizenship as 22 state attorneys general, including Colorado, filed suit. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and the other attorney generals from those states argue the order is unconstitutional. The uncertainty around the order, set to take effect in February, has left Coloradans like Maria, who asked that CBS Colorado protect her identity, searching for answers. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
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Declining marijuana industry sales in Colorado hit seven-year low in 2024
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Approved, State, Westword

Declining marijuana industry sales in Colorado hit seven-year low in 2024

By Thomas Mitchell | Westword Colorado's legal marijuana market continued sliding in 2024, hitting a seven-year low in annual dispensary sales. According to monthly reports from the state Marijuana Enforcement Division, Colorado dispensaries brought in just over $1.28 billion in sales through the first eleven months of 2024, with around $109 million of that sold in November. Unless pot shops raked in over $200 million in December, in 2024 Colorado won't break $1.5 billion in annual marijuana sales for the first time since 2016. Based on state marijuana tax revenue numbers, dispensaries didn't sell enough pot to last month to keep that streak going. READ THE FULL STORY AT WESTWORD
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Colorado AG Weiser joins suit against Trump over birthright citizenship order
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Approved, kdvr.com, State

Colorado AG Weiser joins suit against Trump over birthright citizenship order

By Zach Schonfeld, Rebecca Beitsch | KDVR-TV FOX 31 News, via The Hill Twenty-two Democrat-led states and two cities challenged President Trump’s executive order restricting birthright citizenship, that on Tuesday kicked off the first legal battles between his new Justice Department and Democratic attorneys general.  The two separate lawsuits, filed in Massachusetts and Washington state, ask federal judges to rule the order contradicts the Constitution, which under the 14th Amendment bestows citizenship on anyone born in the United States.  READ THE FULL STORY AT KDVR-TV FOX 31 NEWS
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Front Range hospitals grow while Colorado’s rural hospitals, Denver Health struggle financially
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Approved, CBS Colorado, State

Front Range hospitals grow while Colorado’s rural hospitals, Denver Health struggle financially

By Christa Swanson | CBS Colorado On Sunday, the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) released a report on the financial health of Colorado's hospitals. While some are showing financial strength, others appear to be struggling. The department's annual report measures hospital profits, reserves, costs, expenses and the level of community benefit that tax-exempt hospitals offer their communities in place of paying taxes. "These reports provide valuable insights for Coloradans into where their money is going within health care. Hospital revenue growth represents a rapidly increasing part of the overall health care dollar," HCPF Executive Director Kim Bimestefer said. "The billion-dollar annual increase shown in this report is reflected in the insurance prem...
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Child care assistance is frozen across Colorado as counties run out of funding
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Child care assistance is frozen across Colorado as counties run out of funding

By Jennifer Brown | The Colorado Sun A child care subsidy program to help low-income families afford care so they can work or search for work has been frozen in several of Colorado’s largest counties.  Enrollment in the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program, which helps more than 32,000 children attend child care statewide, is now capped in a growing number of counties, including Denver, Arapahoe, Douglas, Broomfield, Pueblo, Weld, El Paso, Larimer, Alamosa, Mesa, Jefferson and Weld counties, leaving families without assistance at a time when child care costs are soaring. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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State air quality officials identify five priority toxic contaminants, leading to more regulation
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Approved, State, The Sum & Substance

State air quality officials identify five priority toxic contaminants, leading to more regulation

By Ed Sealover | The Sum & Substance Colorado officials took the first steps Friday in adding new control measures around five priority toxic air contaminants produced by sources ranging from oil-and-gas drilling to wastewater processing to the sterilization of medical equipment. By choosing the five priority toxics, the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission triggered a process that will lead to creation of health-based standards around the compounds in September and then approval of emission-control strategies in 2026. Environmental activists cheered a future in which contaminants create fewer health problems in long-polluted areas, while business leaders warned that AQCC members selected the quintet without any discussion of whether the toxins are feasible to control. READ...
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Colorado lawmakers react to inauguration of President Donald Trump
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Approved, kdvr.com, State

Colorado lawmakers react to inauguration of President Donald Trump

By Heather Willard | KDVR-TV Fox 31 News Donald J. Trump was sworn in to serve as U.S. President for the second time on Monday, Jan. 20, drawing reactions from around the world, but also from some of Colorado’s lawmakers. Trump named Colorado several times during his campaign for presidency, and visited Aurora in October to speak about immigration and the gang violence reported at troubled apartments in the city. Those apartments are now under an emergency closure order, and the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency said in December that 16 people arrested in connection to an armed apartment invasion were suspected Tren de Aragua members or associates. READ THE FULL STORY AT KDVR-TV FOX 31 NEWS
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Which guns would be banned by Colorado’s SB3 related to semiauto firearms?
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Which guns would be banned by Colorado’s SB3 related to semiauto firearms?

By Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun Senate Bill 3 is the latest attempt by Colorado Democrats to outlaw the manufacture, purchase and sale of certain semiautomatic firearms in the state.  The bill targets semiautomatic rifles and shotguns that are capable of accepting detachable ammunition magazines, as well as some semiautomatic pistols that also can use detachable magazines. The Colorado Sun analyzed the measure and talked with experts to determine which firearms would and wouldn’t be affected by the bill, which awaits its first hearing at the Capitol. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Coloradans from the plains to the Western Slope celebrated President Trump’s inauguration in D.C.
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Coloradans from the plains to the Western Slope celebrated President Trump’s inauguration in D.C.

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice A sharp winter chill permeating the Capital City failed to deter Coloradans from gathering Monday in Washington, D.C., to witness history in the making. For just the second time, and the first time in more than a century, a president serving non-consecutive terms was to be inaugurated. The inauguration of Donald J. Trump as the 47th president was no ordinary affair — it came with its share of surprises, shifting plans and an atmosphere crackling with unpredictability.  Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District on the Western Slope found a unique gathering spot during the inauguration, as U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd’s legislative offices opened their doors to welcome approximately 50 Coloradans. The space became a hub for an impr...
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