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RTD leadership sets new CEO goals for ridership and on-time service
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RTD leadership sets new CEO goals for ridership and on-time service

By Parker Yamasaki | The Colorado Sun The Regional Transportation District in Denver passed a set of amendments on Tuesday night that will push CEO Debra Johnson to improve on-time service and increase ridership. The agency responsible for Metro Denver’s rail and bus services has been trying to regain its footing after the pandemic slashed ridership and internal disputes surfaced. Public trust in the agency is also sinking, as demonstrated during the public comment portion of the meeting. People showed up in-person, online and through email to express their discontent with unpredictable wait times and unreliable customer service, and called out poor service on the E Line specifically, which runs southeast from downtown Denver to Lone Tree, and has been undergoing maintenance and s...
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Colorado has spent $389M to fund its far-reaching water plans in the past two years
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Colorado has spent $389M to fund its far-reaching water plans in the past two years

By Jerd Smith | The Colorado Sun The state has spent $389 million in the past two years on programs designed to help Colorado stave off future projected water shortages even as it continues to grow. During the last two years, from July of 2022 through July of 2024, the Colorado Water Conservation Board has funded $232.7 million in loans and awarded $156.3 million in grants, and completed about 20% of the projects and activities the Colorado Water Plan has identified are needed to ensure the state has enough water in decades to come. The news came Tuesday as part of a water plan status update presented to the Colorado Water Conservation Board. The board is responsible for putting the plan into action and channeling loans and grants to dozens of major programs, including d...
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Colorado’s unemployment rate rises to 4.4%, the highest in three years
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Colorado’s unemployment rate rises to 4.4%, the highest in three years

By Tamara Chuang | The Colorado Sun Colorado’s unemployment rate rose to 4.4% last month, up one-tenth of a percentage point and the highest in three years. At the same time, there are fewer job openings and fewer people filing to start a new business.  While that seems like the opposite direction state officials prefer, there were some positives and additional context to better understand what happened, Secretary of State Jena Griswold said during a news conference Monday.  “Job and GDP growth numbers are encouraging and indicate the economy is stabilizing after several years of inflation,” Griswold said. “Colorado remains in a strong economic position and the state and national outlook is positive.” READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Public school enrollment is on the decline. How is your local school district changing?
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Public school enrollment is on the decline. How is your local school district changing?

By Erica Breunlin | The Colorado Sun Most Colorado school districts are continuing to count fewer students in their classrooms, propelling a statewide trend of declining enrollment. Total state enrollment in preschool through high school this school year fell by a modest 399 kids — from 881,464 students during fall 2023 to 881,065 students last fall, state data shows. Education leaders attribute decreasing student counts across both the state and country to a mix of factors, primarily declining birth rates and increasing housing costs. Four of the Colorado’s 10 largest districts saw a notable year-over-year decrease in students: Jeffco Public Schools, Adams 12 Five Star Schools, Poudre School District and Boulder Valley School District. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO ...
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How the return-to-office order will affect 45,000 federal employees throughout Colorado
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How the return-to-office order will affect 45,000 federal employees throughout Colorado

By Tamara Chuang | The Colorado Sun As per one of the new orders from President Donald Trump, remote work is ending for federal employees, who must return to the office full time. That could be a boon for downtown Denver, which hasn’t recaptured the office workers, visitors and companies it once had. But the impact of such a move will be a challenge to measure as efforts are already underway to complete 16th Street Mall construction, recruit new retail, restaurant and corporate tenants, and steer tax dollars to the central business district. Many may already be back in their downtown offices, if only a few days a week.  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Senate Bill 3, banning semiauto firearms, could cause gun shops to shutter, owners warn
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Senate Bill 3, banning semiauto firearms, could cause gun shops to shutter, owners warn

By Lucas Brady Woods and Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun Colorado gun stores say they may be forced to shutter should Democrats in the legislature this year pass a ban on the manufacture, sale and purchase of semiautomatic firearms with detachable ammunition magazines. Senate Bill 3 would make a large portion of the merchandise at Colorado gun stores illegal to sell overnight, hitting their bottom lines but also presenting safety and liability issues.  The measure is aimed at making it harder for people to violate the state’s 15-round magazine limit, and in turn limit the violence someone can inflict during a mass shooting. It targets semiautomatic rifles and shotguns that are capable of accepting detachable ammunition magazines, like AR- and AK-style firearms, as well as ...
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Colorado schools may soon be required to have a cellphone policy
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Colorado schools may soon be required to have a cellphone policy

By Erica Breunlin | The Colorado Sun All Colorado school districts would be required to adopt a cellphone policy with rules for when and how students can use phones in school under a bipartisan bill set to be introduced in the legislature later this month. The legislation aims both “to promote a conducive learning environment” and protect students’ mental health, said state Rep. Meghan Lukens, a Steamboat Springs Democrat and prime bill sponsor. The hope is to eliminate, or at very least limit, distractions to student learning caused by cellphones and other devices. The bill, which would allow districts to make their own decisions about how to address cellphone use during school hours, shows educators’ shared concerns about the toll devices can take on kids’ academics and well-bei...
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A fight over 340B, the fed’s program to cut hospitals’ prescription drug costs, is coming to the Colorado Capitol
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A fight over 340B, the fed’s program to cut hospitals’ prescription drug costs, is coming to the Colorado Capitol

By John Ingold | The Colorado Sun Colorado is on the verge of a massive fight at the state Capitol over a multibillion-dollar federal health care program you may have never heard of. The program goes by the super-unsexy name of 340B, and it pulls together a battle royale of health care industry heavyweights: hospitals versus pharmaceutical companies versus pharmacies versus insurers. Advocates on various sides of the issue have already started sponsoring panel discussions and buying up ads (one of which appeared this week in The Colorado Sun’s politics newsletter, The Unaffiliated). And that’s before the legislation this fight is all about has even been introduced. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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More Colorado PERA benefit cuts “likely” in next two years
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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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Child care assistance is frozen across Colorado as counties run out of funding
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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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