Rocky Mountain Voice

State

Supermarket super merger that would have impacted 105 grocery stores in Colorado collapses
Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Supermarket super merger that would have impacted 105 grocery stores in Colorado collapses

By Tamara Chuang | The Colorado Sun A day after two judges in two lawsuits ruled against the proposed $24.6 billion supermarket merger, Albertsons Companies said Wednesday it would end its merger agreement with Kroger. “Given the recent federal and state court decisions to block our proposed merger with Kroger, we have made the difficult decision to terminate the merger agreement. We are deeply disappointed in the courts’ decisions,” Albertsons CEO Vivek Sankaran said. At the same time, the Idaho grocery chain, which owns 105 Safeway and Albertsons grocery stores in Colorado, said it filed a lawsuit against Kroger for breach of merger agreement accusing the larger supermarket chain “repeatedly refusing to divest assets necessary for antitrust approval, ignoring regulators’ feedbac...
House Republicans announce committee assignments for 75th state legislative session
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

House Republicans announce committee assignments for 75th state legislative session

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice A bench of Republicans offering diverse skill, experience and conservative values will serve Coloradans in the 75th session of the Colorado General Assembly, Minority Leader Rose Pugliese said Wednesday as she announced the party's committee assignments. “The House Republican caucus is proud to bring common-sense leadership and thoughtful solutions to the issues Coloradans care about most,” she said. “These assignments truly reflect the caucus’ commitment to increasing affordability, keeping Colorado families safe, and protecting taxpayers while providing strong leadership and expertise across all legislative areas." She joined Assistant Minority Leader Ty Winter in announcing the committee assignments. “Our committee members bring a wealt...
As Colorado slips behind other states in economic strength, slower economic growth in 2025 is ‘new reality’
Approved, gazette.com, State

As Colorado slips behind other states in economic strength, slower economic growth in 2025 is ‘new reality’

By Bernadette Berdychowski  | The Gazette As Colorado slips behind other states in terms of economic strength, its economy is projected to grow — albeit slower in 2025, according to a new report. The Business Research Division at the University of Colorado Boulder released its 60th annual outlook Monday detailing forecasts of Colorado’s economy and various industries for 2025 based on the analysis from 140 statewide government, business and academic experts. The report found Colorado’s economy is growing, but falling behind in several areas. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE GAZETTE
Colorado officials outline ‘conflict minimization’ efforts ahead of next gray wolves release
Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado officials outline ‘conflict minimization’ efforts ahead of next gray wolves release

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics Colorado Parks and Wildlife said it has made improvements to its "conflict minimization" program following feedback from livestock producers, who have pleaded with the agency to delay the introduction of the next set of gray wolves. Notably, the state is adding "conflict reduction" staffers and "non-lethal mitigation specialists" to its staff.  Up to 15 more wolves are expected to be released in Colorado early next year.  "Through partnerships with the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA), the Colorado Wolf Restoration Ad Hoc Working Group, USDA-APHIS Wildlife Services, Colorado State University Extension, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA NRCS) and NGOs, we are in a position to offer Colorado livestock...
Lundberg: More light needs to be shed on Griswoldgate, despite ‘move along’ spin
Commentary, State

Lundberg: More light needs to be shed on Griswoldgate, despite ‘move along’ spin

By Kevin Lundberg | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Nothing to see here, move along, move along… This week it was widely reported that a “third party” investigation concluded Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold’s public posting of hundreds of passwords for months on her official website was inadvertent and therefore no harm was done. Absent in this report is an adequate analysis of the serious compromise that occurred to the election equipment which the passwords were intended to protect (no one really knows who may have found this information online or how it may have been used to manipulate election results), nor did the report deal with the fact that the secretary of state (SOS) hid this password breach from the public and the county clerks while the election ...
Colorado experts predict what the state’s economy will look like in 2025
Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado experts predict what the state’s economy will look like in 2025

By Tamara Chuang | The Colorado Sun The Herculean effort of predicting how the current year has gone and what will happen to Colorado’s economy in next year took 140 local experts from every major industry sector, meetings since September and dozens of staffers at University of Colorado’s business school putting in roughly 1,000 hours of work.  On Monday, it was summed up with a sentence: “The economy is on stable footing.” The full 171-page report is also available online for those who prefer to dive deeper, but on Monday, senior economist Richard L. Wobbekind, the faculty director of the Business Research Division at the Leeds School of Business, shared highlights during the annual Colorado Business Economic Outlook & Forum event. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO ...
10th Circuit: Attorney cannot deduct $300K racecar ‘advertising’ as business expense
Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

10th Circuit: Attorney cannot deduct $300K racecar ‘advertising’ as business expense

By Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics The federal appeals court based in Denver agreed on Monday that a Colorado attorney could not claim more than $300,000 in car racing expenditures as "ordinary and necessary" business expenses to be deducted from his taxes. The Internal Revenue Service began looking into the tax filings and non-filings of James W. Avery between 2008 and 2013. Avery had been licensed to practice law in Colorado since the early 1980s and worked as a personal injury attorney, but he lived in Indiana from 2003 to 2010. Once there, he became interested in car shows and car racing. During the tax proceedings, Avery said he affixed a decal for his law firm on the back of the car, which he considered "advertising." He believed racing would enable him to meet lawyers or...
Colorado Parks & Wildlife vows to do better job at Rd. 2 of wolf reintroduction starting in January
Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado Parks & Wildlife vows to do better job at Rd. 2 of wolf reintroduction starting in January

By Tracy Ross | The Colorado Sun Colorado Parks and Wildlife is vowing to do a better job at wolf reintroduction ahead of the planned release of 15 gray wolves from British Columbia starting in January.  That’s according to a joint news release by CPW and the Colorado Department of Agriculture in which CPW director Jeff Davis said “staff and partners have been working hard, learning and adapting through the first year of restoration in Colorado” and that they’re “coming back with a stronger conflict minimization program” for the well-being of ranchers, their livestock and wolves.  The assurance comes during a time of pushback on the Colorado wolf program and the agency in charge of managing not only wolves but hundreds of other wildlife species in the state.  READ THE...
Hegseth, Trump’s Sec. of Defense pick, is ‘good man, committed to America’, U.S. Rep.-elect Crank says
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Hegseth, Trump’s Sec. of Defense pick, is ‘good man, committed to America’, U.S. Rep.-elect Crank says

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice While half of the eight Coloradans in the U.S. House are Republican, when it comes down to a vote on confirming President Donald J. Trump's nominees, it is unlikely anyone can depend on one from Colorado senators. "There are lots of Republicans who voted to confirm all or most of Joe Biden's cabinet, and that's the way it should work," said new U.S. Rep.-elect Jeff Crank, a Republican, of Colorado Springs' 5th District during an appearance on the Dan Caplis Show. https://twitter.com/jeffcrank/status/1864718732997841189 He is joined in the U.S. House by Republican U.S. Reps. Lauren Boebert (4th District), Gabe Evans (8th District) and Jeff Hurd (3rd District). The U.S. Senate holds the advise and consent approval power over nominees, mean...
Democrats reject audit of Colorado Secretary of State’s password breach
Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Democrats reject audit of Colorado Secretary of State’s password breach

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Just hours after a third party investigation found the Secretary of State's Office "unintentionally" violated policy in posting a spreadsheet with election equipment passwords, Democrats on the Colorado General Assembly's Legislative Audit Committee rejected calls for an audit of that breach. The committee is evenly between Democrats and Republicans; hence, the potential for a tie vote. And the panel killed the proposal along party lines, with Democrats balking at the request and Republicans supporting it. The committee voted, 4-4, dooming the audit request.   READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS