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In Colorado, only one town lets nonresidents vote. Now it’s considering adding LLCs to voter rolls.
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

In Colorado, only one town lets nonresidents vote. Now it’s considering adding LLCs to voter rolls.

By Jason Blevins | The Colorado Sun When the town of Mountain Village above Telluride incorporated in 1995, emerging from a special district, the town charter allowed nonresident property owners to vote. Mountain Village is still the only town in Colorado that allows nonresidents to vote in local elections for council members, mayors and new regulations.  Now the town board is considering amending Mountain Village’s charter to expand voting to owners of LLCs and trusts that own property in the tony resort municipality.  “This is something that no other community has done,” Mountain Village Mayor Marti Prohaska said at the beginning of the work session on Wednesday. “So we are sort of charting new territory here and we want to be conscientious of all the questio...
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Future of Colorado charter schools could be determined by Democratic primary for a State Board of Ed seat
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Future of Colorado charter schools could be determined by Democratic primary for a State Board of Ed seat

By Sandra Fish and Erica Breunlin | The Colorado Sun Hundreds of thousands of dollars are being spent to affect the primary for a seat on the state Board of Education, a race that could determine the future of Colorado charter schools for years to come.  What’s at stake is the panel’s willingness to overturn local districts when they reject a charter school’s application.  Nearly $685,000 from Progressives Supporting Teachers and Students, a pro-charter school state-level super PAC, has poured into the contest in the 2nd Congressional District to support education consultant Marisol Lynda Rodriguez in her bid against former Boulder Valley School Board President Kathy Gebhardt. Board members are elected to six-year terms in each of the state’s eight congressional distr...
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Why is Democrat Adam Frisch running TV ads in 3rd District primary? To boost his chances in November
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Why is Democrat Adam Frisch running TV ads in 3rd District primary? To boost his chances in November

By Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun Democrat Adam Frisch is spending at least $100,000 to air a TV ad in the Republican primary in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District in an apparent attempt to shape the race and give himself a better chance to win in November. The ad attacks Grand Junction attorney Jeff Hurd for “ducking Republican debates” and for refusing to say who he voted for in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, as well as for being the beneficiary of corporate super PAC money. It’s a clear call to GOP primary voters in the Republican-leaning 3rd District to back a different candidate in the six-way race — someone Frisch believes will be easier to beat in November. Someone like former state Rep. Ron Hanks, an election denier who attended Donald Trump’s rally on Jan. 6, 2021,...
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In show of her dominance in 4th District, Boebert has out-raised and spent her five opponents combined
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

In show of her dominance in 4th District, Boebert has out-raised and spent her five opponents combined

By Sandra Fish | The Colorado Sun U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert vastly outraised her five Republican opponents in the 4th Congressional District in the two months leading up to the June 25 primary while spending heavily on TV and mailers to reach voters, campaign finance reports filed Thursday reveal. The $334,000 Boebert raised from April 1 to June 5 lagged the $624,000 she raised during the lead up to the primary in 2022. But the money was still enough to eclipse the $178,000 brought in by her five GOP competitors combined this year, according to Federal Election Commission reports. The reports, the last ones before the primary, are another indication that Boebert is likely to dominate on June 25. Her Republican opponents have failed to gain financial and political tra...
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Moffat County wants $118 million in help from the company that’s closing power plant and coal mines
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Moffat County wants $118 million in help from the company that’s closing power plant and coal mines

By Mark Jaffe | The Colorado Sun Faced with a “near-existential threat” as a coal-fired power plant and the mines that feed it close, Moffat County and the City of Craig, backed by state officials, want Colorado utility regulators to require the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association to provide up to $118 million in aid. Tri-State, which operates the coal-fired Craig Station, plans to shutter the plant’s first unit at the end of this year and has moved up the final closure of two other units to 2028. The two local mines that provide the coal are also expected to close. The closures will leave a large hole in the region’s taxbase and jobs. In 2023, the power plant and mines provided 43% of property tax revenues for the county and accounted for 437 high-paying jobs. ...
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Has your water bill gone up? Some Coloradans have seen increases up to 600%
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Has your water bill gone up? Some Coloradans have seen increases up to 600%

By Shannon Mullane | The Colorado Sun It’s time to take a second look at that monthly water bill: For some Coloradans, the cost of turning on the tap has been rising for decades, and experts say it is primed to keep climbing. Water utility providers in Colorado are adding new services, adapting to increasingly stringent environmental regulations and facing looming repairs for aging pipelines and pumps. These providers don’t make a profit from their services, but they have had to hand down more costs to customers. “Utilities know that some of their customers are making choices every month on which bills to pay,” said Melissa Elliott, executive vice president at Raftelis, a consulting firm focused on governments and utilities. “The service provided is really valuable. You can’t live...
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Eight gun-control bills were passed by Colorado’s legislature and signed by the governor. Here’s a look.
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Eight gun-control bills were passed by Colorado’s legislature and signed by the governor. Here’s a look.

By Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun Gov. Jared Polis signed into law eight bills passed by the legislature this year that tighten Colorado’s gun statutes.  Colorado Ceasefire, a nonprofit that calls for tougher gun regulations, says that’s a legislative-session record for the state.  The laws impose new requirements on people obtaining concealed carry permits, the way firearms must be stored in vehicles and how weapons and ammunition are sold. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Nearly $300K from group with hidden donors pours into Colorado Democratic primary
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Nearly $300K from group with hidden donors pours into Colorado Democratic primary

By Sandra Fish and Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun Hundreds of thousands of dollars from a group that appears to be maneuvering to hide its donors is pouring into Democratic state Senate primary in Aurora, raising questions about the organization’s intentions and how it may affect the trajectory of the race.  Representation Matters has spent $271,000 thus far on mailers, digital ads and canvassing to help Aurora attorney Idris Keith in his Senate District 28 race against state Rep. Mike Weissman. Keith has the backing of business groups, while Weissman is endorsed by a slate of his Democratic colleagues in the legislature, as well as union, environmental and progressive groups.  The district is so favorable to Democrats that whoever wins the June 25 primary will almost cer...
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Elk stomping in Estes: Wildlife officials call for human caution after three incidents at gateway to RMNP
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Approved, Local, The Colorado Sun

Elk stomping in Estes: Wildlife officials call for human caution after three incidents at gateway to RMNP

By Michael Booth | The Colorado Sun An elk stomped a human and caused injuries early Friday for the third time in two weeks in Estes Park, prompting warnings of unprecedented elk behavior during calving season at the Rocky Mountain National Park gateway.  In the latest incident, an adult woman was walking a dog using a leash, near South St. Vrain and Stanley avenues, when an elk 20 yards away was startled. The woman tried to run behind a tree, but was knocked down by the elk and stomped and kicked repeatedly. The woman is receiving medical treatment.  The elk cow’s calf was later spotted in the area, Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials said.  Elk, from newborn calves to massive bulls, are ubiquitous in and around Rocky Mountain National Park, and often wander through gre...
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Elk on the loose isn’t the only concern for visitors this summer in Estes Park
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Approved, Local, The Colorado Sun

Elk on the loose isn’t the only concern for visitors this summer in Estes Park

By Michael Booth | The Colorado Sun Rocky Mountain National Park appears to have found the formula for handling 4 million-plus people a year in this idyllic retreat.  You might need to give the town another year of grace to handle their end. Downtown Estes Park is often at a traffic standstill in summer as park-seeking RVs rev their engines at caramel corn-seeking pedestrians. Now downtown is deep into the crucial year of a project that will create a one-way loop around town and out toward the park. Most town leaders and business owners welcome the change, but before it’s done, there’s still a lot of disruption ahead.  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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