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The cost of universal pre-K in Colorado: Thousands of at-risk kids got less classroom time
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

The cost of universal pre-K in Colorado: Thousands of at-risk kids got less classroom time

By Brian Eason | Colorado Sun Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’ signature preschool initiative is serving thousands more families than expected in its first year, but its success has come with a costly downside: Fewer low-income children attend full-day preschool today than before the program launched. The trade-off was laid out in stark terms during Joint Budget Committee hearings last month: The more enrollment grows for universal pre-K, the less state funding will be available for at-risk children to attend full-day preschool. Under Colorado’s previous state-funded preschool program, which ended July 1, more than 6,000 at-risk 4-year-olds received funding for a full-day classroom slot last school year. This year, the state provided only 3,500 full-day slots to the most at-risk kids — ...
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Colorado GOP sends pro-Trump mailer attacking chairman’s primary opponent, newspaper
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Approved, El Paso County, State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado GOP sends pro-Trump mailer attacking chairman’s primary opponent, newspaper

By Sandra Fish | Colorado Sun The Colorado GOP sent out a pro-Trump mailer this week attacking a congressional primary opponent of party chairman Dave Williams, as well as The Gazette newspaper in Colorado Springs, in the latest example of Williams using his party leadership position to benefit or defend himself and his allies.  The mailer, which appears to target El Paso County voters, accused The Gazette of “corrupt campaigning for Nikki Haley and Jeff Crank.”  Haley, a former U.N. ambassador, is running for president against Donald Trump, while Crank, a conservative commentator, is running in the 5th Congressional District Republican primary against Williams. RED THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Floating solar array could improve water quality, lower the power bill for Fort Lupton — if a federal grant comes through
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Approved, Local, Northern Colorado, The Colorado Sun

Floating solar array could improve water quality, lower the power bill for Fort Lupton — if a federal grant comes through

By Mark Jaffe | Colorado Sun When it came to its water treatment plant Fort Lupton had two concerns: controlling algae in the reservoir next to the plant and the aging diesel generator that backed-up the facility when the electric grid was down. In collaboration with its power supplier Brighton-based United Power and the co-op’s contractor Schneider Electric the city found a solution for both – and then some. That plan — a microgrid with a battery fed by 850 kilowatts of solar panels floating on the reservoir — is in line for a $6.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, part of $366 million awarded to 17 projects in rural areas and tribal nations from Alaska to Florida. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Adams County’s oil and gas rules are among the strictest in the state — and the industry is still rapidly growing
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Approved, Local, The Colorado Sun

Adams County’s oil and gas rules are among the strictest in the state — and the industry is still rapidly growing

By Mark Jaffe | Colorado Sun When Keith Huck, an Adams County senior oil and gas inspector, walks onto a well pad he looks, listens and sniffs. There is a lot to keep his eyes, ears and nose busy as the county has become the fastest-growing oil producer in the state. Since 2017, oil production has grown 15-fold as the county became Colorado’s second-biggest producer churning out 12.8 million barrels in 2023, with some companies still filing December numbers. Adams County remains a distant second to Weld County, where the output is 10 times as large, but since 2021 Adams County production is up about 58% and Weld’s has dropped by about 6%, according to state data. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Denver Democrat didn’t attend a Colorado House floor debate in person until 45 days into legislative session
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Denver Democrat didn’t attend a Colorado House floor debate in person until 45 days into legislative session

By Sandra Fish | Colorado Sun State Rep. Elisabeth Epps attended her first House floor session in person Feb. 23 — 45 days into Colorado’s 120-day legislative session — after asking Democratic leadership in the chamber in mid-January for permission to participate remotely “indefinitely, unfortunately” because she said she’s “experiencing an extended health condition.” That’s according to a Colorado Sun review of House journals, as well as an examination of emails and texts between the Denver Democrat and House leadership and staff obtained by The Sun through an open records request.  In requesting remote participation, Epps did not disclose her health condition. Her first day of in-person House floor attendance came a day after The Sun asked her about her ...
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Mobile harm reduction van aims to help with safer substance use, overdose prevention in Arapahoe County
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Approved, Denver Metro, Local, The Colorado Sun

Mobile harm reduction van aims to help with safer substance use, overdose prevention in Arapahoe County

By Tatiana Flowers | Colorado Sun A new mobile harm reduction service is bringing overdose prevention to the streets of Arapahoe County to help people who use opioids and other drugs. The Arapahoe County Public Health department says it’s using an equity-focused approach on its new harm reduction van to help reduce the toll of the opioid epidemic on the community. The new mobile unit, Prevention Point, will offer safer substance use and sexual health services to people across the county including a syringe access and disposal program, Narcan and testing for HIV, hepatitis C and other infections transmitted by unsafe sex and drug use, officials said. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Lauren Boebert’s son arrested in western Colorado in connection with string of vehicle break-ins
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Lauren Boebert’s son arrested in western Colorado in connection with string of vehicle break-ins

By The Colorado Sun The oldest son of U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert was in a western Colorado jail on Wednesday after being arrested in connection with a recent string of vehicle break-ins and property thefts. Tyler Jay Boebert, 18, was arrested Tuesday afternoon and is facing possible felony charges of criminal possession of identification documents involving multiple victims and conspiracy to commit a felony, the Rifle Police Department said in a statement. He also faces over 15 additional misdemeanor and petty offenses, it said. Jail records say other charges he is being held on include theft of less than $300, criminal possession of a financial device and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Colorado conservatives want a property tax cap. The state’s bipartisan tax commission hates the idea.
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado conservatives want a property tax cap. The state’s bipartisan tax commission hates the idea.

By Brian Eason | Colorado Sun In late January, Colorado’s bipartisan tax commission took an informal poll among its 19 members to gauge support for the dozen or so ideas they’d been discussing to deliver tax relief to homeowners. One emerged as a clear loser: a cap on property tax revenue growth. The concept — backed by influential conservative and business groups outside the Capitol — ranked among the lowest of any proposal among the committee’s members, garnering strong opposition from Republicans and Democrats alike. “Hard caps are a terrible idea,” Sen. Chris Hansen, a Denver Democrat and chair of the commission, told The Colorado Sun in an interview. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Weld Commissioner James exits GOP primary in 8th Congressional District, making Evans more likely to be nominee
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Approved, Local, Northern Colorado, The Colorado Sun

Weld Commissioner James exits GOP primary in 8th Congressional District, making Evans more likely to be nominee

By Jesse Paul | Colorado Sun Weld County Commissioner Scott James on Tuesday abruptly exited the Republican primary in Colorado’s highly competitive 8th Congressional District, making it more likely that state Rep. Gabe Evans will be the GOP nominee in the toss-up district come November.  “I decided I could best be of service and have the highest degree of impact by staying at home in Johnstown, continuing to serve and lift my voice for the people I love in the county and state that I love,” James wrote in a Facebook post announcing his decision. Whoever wins the June 25 primary in the 8th District, which stretches from Denver’s northeast suburbs along U.S. 85 into Greeley, will face Democratic U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo of Thornton in November. Republicans ...
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Nikki Haley came to Colorado in her quest to defeat Donald Trump. Here’s how her visit went.
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Nikki Haley came to Colorado in her quest to defeat Donald Trump. Here’s how her visit went.

By Sandra Fish | Colorado Sun Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley took aim at former President Donald Trump during a rally in Colorado Tuesday, one week before the state’s presidential primary election. “No Republican statewide has gotten more than 45% statewide since Donald Trump became president,” Haley said of Colorado’s elections. “Everywhere he goes, chaos follows him.” The former U.N. ambassador criticized Trump, her former boss, over big spending and higher national debt during his administration, as well as his recent opposition to a congressional bill that would have spent billions to strengthen border security. She blended in criticism of President Joe Biden along the way, saying she has a better chance of beating the Democrat than Trump does. READ THE FULL ...
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