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Trump Targets State-Level AI Rules Amid Concerns Over Innovation
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, National

Trump Targets State-Level AI Rules Amid Concerns Over Innovation

By Wire Services | The Denver Gazette President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday aimed at blocking states from crafting their own regulations for artificial intelligence, saying the burgeoning industry is at risk of being stifled by a patchwork of onerous rules while in a battle with Chinese competitors for supremacy. Members of Congress from both parties, as well as civil liberties and consumer rights groups, have pushed for more regulations on AI, saying there is not enough oversight for the powerful technology. Business groups, including in Colorado, have argued against state-by-state regulations, arguing the federal government should tackle this topic and any law passed should apply nationwide, instead of a patchwork of regulations. Last year,...
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Colorado’s Appointment System Tested as Districts Lose Multiple Lawmakers
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Colorado’s Appointment System Tested as Districts Lose Multiple Lawmakers

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette Two vacancy committees that will convene in the next month or so will have an interesting challenge: Picking a new state senator and state representative who will represent the same geographic area. The vacancy election for Senate District 25, represented by the late Sen. Faith Winter, D-Broomfield, will meet on Dec. 23 at 6:30 p.m. to pick a replacement. The meeting will be livestreamed. Winter died in a car crash a few weeks ago. Reps. William Lindstedt, D-Broomfield, and Jenny Willford, D-Northglenn, are planning to run for the Senate seat.  Lindstedt already filed the candidacy paperwork for the Senate District 25 seat for 2026, given that Winter was term-limited. He noted in an announcement Monday that Win...
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Regulators Keep Pueblo Comanche Coal Unit Running While Xcel Repairs Newer Plant
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Regulators Keep Pueblo Comanche Coal Unit Running While Xcel Repairs Newer Plant

By Alexander Edwards | The Denver Gazette The Comanche Power Plant in Pueblo will continue to operate a coal-powered electrical generating unit that was slated for retirement this month for one more year. The move comes after Xcel Energy, the state’s largest utility company, petitioned in November to keep one generator operating after an outage at the coal-fired power plant. Gov. Jared Polis backed the petition. On Wednesday, the Public Utilities Commission approved a variance submitted by the utility. This allows Comanche 2, which was slated to be retired on Dec. 31, to continue operating as Xcel fixes the Comanche 3. “The Commission found that the outage at Comanche 3 was the sole justification for the extension of Comanche 2,” a fact sheet released by th...
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Small Businesses Lead Surprise Drop in U.S. Private Payrolls
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, National

Small Businesses Lead Surprise Drop in U.S. Private Payrolls

By Reuters | The Denver Gazette WASHINGTON – U.S. private payrolls unexpectedly declined in November as small businesses shed jobs, but the weakness is probably not a true reflection of the labor market’s health, with recent government data showing layoffs remaining at low levels late last month. Economists also cautioned against reading too much into the ADP employment report published on Wednesday, arguing its monthly estimate has historically diverged from the government’s private payrolls count produced by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. “It is too loosely correlated with the official data to be troubling,” said Samuel Tombs, chief U.S. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. “It would be unwise to lower forecasts for the official data, however, on...
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Trump Administration Presses Democrat States to Share SNAP Data or Face Withholding of Aid
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, National

Trump Administration Presses Democrat States to Share SNAP Data or Face Withholding of Aid

By Darlene Superville and Geoff Mulvihill | The Denver Gazette WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration said Tuesday that it will move to withhold SNAP food aid from recipients in most Democratic-controlled states starting next week unless those states provide information about those receiving the assistance. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday that the action is in the works because those states are refusing to provide data the department requested such as the names and immigration status of aid recipients. She said the cooperation is necessary in order to root out fraud in the program. Democratic states have sued to block the requirement. Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia previously sued&...
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Copper Creek Wolves Linked to Another Livestock Killing in Gunnison County
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Copper Creek Wolves Linked to Another Livestock Killing in Gunnison County

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette A heifer found dead in eastern Gunnison County on Nov. 22 was killed by one of the yearlings from the Copper Creek wolf pack, according to a rancher, who did not want to be identified. It’s the fourth livestock death in November attributed to wolves. Two calves and a ewe were also killed by wolves in November in Routt, Pitkin and Rio Blanco counties, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The Copper Creek pack is believed to be responsible for numerous livestock deaths in Pitkin, Gunnison and Grand counties. One of the yearlings was killed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) staff in May in Pitkin County after a weekend of livestock killings; a second was shot by wildlife officers in Rio Blanco County in September after it killed si...
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Incoming Progressive Douglas County School Board Sparks Backlash With Early Swearing In
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Incoming Progressive Douglas County School Board Sparks Backlash With Early Swearing In

By Noah Festenstein | The Denver Gazette The new members of the Douglas County school board have already assumed their seats — in “secret,” according to the outgoing president. The move by incoming directors effectively kicked out the four outgoing members early, said the outgoing board president, who accused the new members of being less than transparent. Douglas County voters in November elected a group of progressive-leaning directors, flipping the once conservative Douglas County School District Board of Education.  Elected directors already started their positions before Tuesday’s special meeting, when the board is supposed to be formally sworn in, according to Christy Williams, the outgoing board president. “This action, conducted without transparency, appears to ...
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Colorado Joins the Fight to Keep SNAP Benefits for Illegal Aliens
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Joins the Fight to Keep SNAP Benefits for Illegal Aliens

By Marissa Ventrelli | The Denver Gazette Colorado joined 21 other states in a lawsuit seeking to undo the Trump administration’s campaign to stop taxpayer-funded food aid from going to individuals illegally staying in the U.S., arguing the move also implicated a group of noncitizens who should be eligible to get the benefits under the law. At issue is a guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that implements the provisions of the congressional budget passed in July. That budget narrowed the groups of noncitizens who could receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that some 90,000 on average will lose eligibility per month as a result of the new law. The individuals would have received about $210 per mo...
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Audit Finds Denver Council Still Lacking Clarity on Public Funds Spending
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Audit Finds Denver Council Still Lacking Clarity on Public Funds Spending

By Deborah Grigsby | The Denver Gazette Denver’s councilmembers continue to give city funds to local organizations using a process lacking clarity and accountability, weakened by inconsistent terminology and legal opinions around donations, sponsorships and grants, according to city auditors. City Council officials countered that no definitions exist in the city charter or in ordinance for these terms and changing them at one level would have a ripple effect across government. In a new follow-up report, Denver Auditor Timothy O’Brien commended the City Council on its efforts to remedy recommendations from an earlier audit but suggested there’s more work to be done. “I commend the City Council for doing a great job implementing most of our recommendations from our initial 2...
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Before Closing Pueblo’s Coal Unit Colorado Must Guarantee Reliable Power
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Commentary, State

Before Closing Pueblo’s Coal Unit Colorado Must Guarantee Reliable Power

By The Gazette Editorial Board | The Denver Gazette To meet Colorado’s surging need for electricity, our state needs energy from a diverse array of dedicated sources. Unfortunately, with the pending closure of the two remaining, operational, coal-fired units at Xcel Energy’s Comanche Generating Station in Pueblo, things are getting tricky. Comanche is the state’s largest power plant, with an original capacity of 1,410 megawatts. But its Unit 1 was shut down in 2022 as part of the statewide phaseout of coal-burning power plants. Unit 2 now is set to close at the end of this year, with Comanche Unit 3 scheduled for closure in 2030. It’s all part of Gov. Jared Polis’ green-energy agenda, which aims to move away from fossil fuels like coal in favor of renewable energy sources like wind a...
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