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The road to nowhere: When planners decide how people should live and travel
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GregWalcher.com, Approved, Commentary, State

The road to nowhere: When planners decide how people should live and travel

By Greg Walcher | Commentary, GregWalcher.com At Club 20 in the 1990s, we often fought against diverting highway funds for non-highway purposes, such as mass transit. We reminded national officials that “there will never be a Japanese bullet train from Slick Rock to Egnar.” They had never heard of either place, of course, so it was a succinct way to explain that what might work in Boston and New York can never work in Colorado, or anywhere in the West, where cities evolved around the automobile. People here do not live 20 floors above their offices. Even in Denver, hundreds of thousands of people live in single family homes strung out one after another, mile after mile, and workers commute great distances along the Front Range every day. Suburban commuters in Jefferson, Arapa...
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Lawmakers press agencies as SMART Act hearings expose budget growth and policy shifts
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Christian Home Educators of Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Lawmakers press agencies as SMART Act hearings expose budget growth and policy shifts

By Colleen Enos | Commentary, Christian Home Educators of Colorado The hearings were billed as SMART. The answers raised harder questions. The last two weeks have been full of SMART Act (State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent Government) hearings at the Capitol with a smattering of committee work on bills. The Joint Judiciary Committee met for three days, and the Joint Health and Human Services Committee met for two. Here are some of the highlights from the hearings. Attorney General Phil Weiser presented to the Joint Judiciary Committee on behalf of the Department of Law (DOL). During his presentation, he stated that Colorado, at his direction, has filed 51 lawsuits against the Trump Administration for a cost of approximatel...
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Lawmakers admit the problem: One-time money built permanent government
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Lawmakers admit the problem: One-time money built permanent government

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Reporters talk about shared reality, some want it to be their reality. Over and over I have heard and read journalists discussing our "shared reality"--the need to operate from a basis of fact.I don't disagree.The problem is that many of those same journalists want to substitute their take on reality, they want to be the arbiters of fact.This is not their role.I wrote an op ed on this dynamic using some statements and "reporting" by 9News' Zelinger and Clark as an example.More on the topic in the link below.https://completecolorado.com/2026/01/08/colorado-journalists-shared-reality-deciders/ Were it not for TABOR (weakened as it is) … I wanted to share the Sun article below, but per...
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Colorado Confirms 14th Wolf Death Since Voter Mandated Reintroduction
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Confirms 14th Wolf Death Since Voter Mandated Reintroduction

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics The 14th wolf to die in Colorado since their reintroduction about two years ago took place during a “collaring” operation in the northwestern region of the state last week. Colorado Parks and Wildlife said the wolf, identified as #2305 — meaning it was one of the original 10 animals that came from Oregon — died on Jan. 28 in Routt County. The wolf was the male of the breeding pair that produced the King Mountain pack last year. Of the original 10 wolves from Oregon, five have now died. Two yearlings from the Copper Creek pack, whose mating pair were from Oregon, also died. Another seven wolves from the original 15 of the British Columbia wolves have also died. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Colorado House Immigration Resolution Reveals Tension Over Sanctuary Policies and Taxpayer Burdens
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado House Immigration Resolution Reveals Tension Over Sanctuary Policies and Taxpayer Burdens

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics A joint resolution affirming lawmakers’ “commitment to Coloradans navigating the complex United States immigration system” sparked more than three hours of debate on the House Floor on Tuesday morning, reflecting the tension rising between Colorado and the Trump administration, which has traded barbs and lawsuits, underpinned by the former’s campaign to crackdown on illegal immigration and the latter’s “sanctuary” policies. At the outset, Colorado’s Democratic officials have signaled a confrontational stance vis-a-vis the Trump administration — the attorney general last month announced the launch of an online “tool” for Coloradans to report misconduct by federal agents, while the city of Denver is considering barring the wearing o...
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Colorado’s political shift meets a population reality check
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the Aspen beat, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado’s political shift meets a population reality check

By Glenn K. Beaton | Commentary, the Aspen beat Last year, more people moved out of Colorado to other states than vice versa. Interstate “net migration” was negative. After factoring in births, the state’s overall population increased less than half a percent. That’s the lowest since the oil and gas bust of 1989 nearly a half century ago. These figures put Colorado in the bottom half of population growth. We’re 29th of the 50 states. Neighboring Utah grew at the fifth-highest rate, so Colorado can’t blame it on the demise of the carbon-spewing, environment-wrecking, injury-causing, traffic-jamming ski industry which is mired in a record snow drought. Colorado used to be cool. It was young, vibrant, virile. Colorado often led the nation in th...
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Colorado Bill Would Let Select Housing Projects Bypass Local Zoning Rules
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Colorado Bill Would Let Select Housing Projects Bypass Local Zoning Rules

By Danielle Kreutter | Denver7 Advocates say HB26-1001 will make it easier to build affordable housing; critics warn it takes away local control. DENVER - A bill that would allow certain landowners — such as schools and affordable housing nonprofits — to bypass certain local zoning restrictions is heading to committee. HB26-1001, or the HOME Act, is heading to the House Transportation, Housing and Local Government Committee on Tuesday. Qualifying properties can be no more than five acres and must belong to: - A nonprofit organization that historically has provided affordable housing- A nonprofit that works in public transit- A nonprofit that is in agreement with an affordable housing nonprofit- A school district- A state college or university- A housing aut...
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Colorado Democrats Advance Immigration Accountability Bills After National Protests
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Colorado Democrats Advance Immigration Accountability Bills After National Protests

By: Colette Bordelon | Denver7 While a handful of bills have not been introduced yet, SB26-005 advanced out of its first committee hearing on Monday afternoon. DENVER — On the heels of protests that erupted across the nation related to federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota, Colorado Democrats announced legislation they contend will protect civil rights. On Monday, Democratic lawmakers from both the State Senate and House of Representatives rallied alongside community members and stakeholders to unveil a new package of bills that are intertwined with immigration in America. The new bills have not been introduced yet, but legislators said they will increase "accountability" and "transparency" through the enforcement of violations when personal i...
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New Colorado Bill Targets Data Center Growth Energy Use and Water Impact
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DENVER7, Approved, State

New Colorado Bill Targets Data Center Growth Energy Use and Water Impact

By: Allie Jennerjahn | Denver7 DENVER — A bill has been introduced in the Colorado state legislature to propose regulations on data centers continuing to pop up around the state. It's a discussion Denver7 has been listening to with many people struggling with the amount of water and energy needed to make them function. HB26-1030 aims to hold developers accountable to meet climate goals, while also working to boost the economy. Colorado House of Representatives Majority Leader Monica Duran, D-Jefferson County, and state Rep. Alex Valdez, D-Denver County, shared the below joint statement about the proposed regulations with Denver7: READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT DENVER7
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Red flag law expansion questioned as data shows wrongful gun seizures in Colorado
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Red flag law expansion questioned as data shows wrongful gun seizures in Colorado

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Expanding red flag laws without fixing current problems I wanted to share David Kopel’s written testimony against the proposed expansion--the second time in two years for those keeping count--of Colorado’s Red Flag Law (aka Extreme Risk Protection Order Law). It’s linked first below.As he has done in the past, Mr. Kopel does a wonderful job of dispassionately laying out arguments against the gun control we’ve seen, often striking at the underpinnings and foundations of the law as well as the arguments made by legislators/others for it.I will leave it to you to read the op ed, but I will share a couple things that made it especially noteworthy to me.Besides the unproven (and probably unprovable) narrative tha...
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