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Denver Seeks $11 Million Boost To Cover Police Overtime And Staffing Strains
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Denver Seeks $11 Million Boost To Cover Police Overtime And Staffing Strains

By Deborah Grigsby | The Denver Gazette The Denver Police Department is short $11 million and is asking the city to pick up the tab for unplanned and unfunded overtime tied to numerous protests and officer-involved shootings this year. Part of the request would also cover shortfalls in DPD separation payouts. The money, if approved by the City Council, would come from a supplemental general fund appropriation from the city’s contingency fund. Members of the council’s Governance and Intergovernmental Relations Committee voted unanimously on Tuesday to advance the request, and others to claw back $13.9 million from the current general fund contingency, authorizing it as a supplemental appropriation for various general fund agencies and special revenue funds. “This is something...
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Colorado’s Uranium Prospects Return as America Seeks Reliable Fuel Sources
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado’s Uranium Prospects Return as America Seeks Reliable Fuel Sources

By Scott Weiser | The Denver Gazette Uranium mining in Colorado has a bright future. George Glasier believes that. From his cattle ranch near Nucla, Colo., where sagebrush valleys give way to rugged canyons, Glasier leads a company working to restart old uranium mines and build a new ore processing plant. This push comes at a pivotal time for an industry that’s endured decades of booms and busts. Uranium, the key material for nuclear power, was recently reclassified as a “critical mineral” by the U.S. Geological Survey under an executive order from President Donald Trump, who said he wants to “unleash” American energy. Formerly classified as a fuel source, uranium miners and refiners have not been eligible for the same kinds of taxpayer support offered to other mineral suppl...
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Colorado, Western States Face Federal Deadline to Avert Colorado River Showdown
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado, Western States Face Federal Deadline to Avert Colorado River Showdown

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette This Tuesday is the deadline set by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for the seven states of the Colorado River to develop a framework for an agreement governing the river’s operations. But that agreement seems just as far away now as it did when Scott Cameron, who was named acting head of the Bureau of Reclamation in October, announced the deadline in June. Cameron told the Arizona Reconsultation Committee during its June meeting that Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum is prepared to act if the seven states failed to come up with the agreement framework by this week’s deadline. “Our goal is to parachute a seven-state deal” into an environmental impact statement the agency is developing and as the preferred alternative in Mar...
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Denver Council Rejects Mayor’s Budget, But Johnston’s Spending Plan is Alive and Well
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Denver Council Rejects Mayor’s Budget, But Johnston’s Spending Plan is Alive and Well

By Deborah Grigsby | The Denver Gazette The Denver City Council rejected Mayor Mike Johnston’s $1.66 billion spending plan, but the proposal, as amended, will still govern operations, as the charter requires the city to have a budget in place by Nov. 12. In a split 6-6 vote on Monday, councilmembers expressed disappointment with various aspects of the budget process, citing its complicated nature and “lack of collaboration and transparency.” One councilmember was absent. Councilmembers Chris Hinds, Kevin Flynn, Diana Romero-Campbell, Jamie Torres, Amanda Sandoval and Darrell Watson voted in favor of the budget, while Councilmembers Flor Alvidrez, Shontel Lewis, Stacie Gilmore, Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, Paul Kashmann, and Amanda Sawyer balked at the spending plan. At-large C...
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Six Colorado counties hike lodging taxes while two hold the line
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Six Colorado counties hike lodging taxes while two hold the line

By Rachael Wright | The Denver Gazette Six mountain communities across Colorado voted on Tuesday to raise their lodging taxes after the state legislature passed a bill allowing counties to triple such taxes and spend the money on a wider range of projects, including public infrastructure, childcare and housing for workers.  Lodging tax increases passed in Eagle, Gilpin, Hinsdale, Ouray, Routt and Park but failed in Chaffee and Custer counties. Rural mountain communities have struggled for years under the pressures of increased tourism. Supporters said the new state law would allow those communities to pass along some of their increased costs to visitors. Before the new law’s adoption, the tax revenue could be used only for tourism marketing and some worker housing. Some of...
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Fort Lewis College Faces Political Fire from GOP Lawmakers After Blocking Turning Point USA
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Fort Lewis College Faces Political Fire from GOP Lawmakers After Blocking Turning Point USA

By: Marissa Ventrelli | The Denver Gazette Republican state lawmakers are criticizing the student government at Durango’s Fort Lewis College for rejecting a proposal to establish a Turning Point USA chapter on campus. Turning Point USA is a nonprofit organization that advocates for conservative issues on high school and college campuses. Its founder, Charlie Kirk, was killed during a campus event in Utah in September. According to the Durango Herald, more than 30 students spoke on the matter during a four-hour-long meeting last week, with most expressing opposition to the proposal. The effort to bring Turning Point USA to the Fort Lewis campus was led by senior Jonah Flynn, who told the Durango Herald he wanted to “keep the conversation going” about conservative values in ...
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Denver City Council Blocks Proposal to Cut Police Budget for Homeless Services
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Denver City Council Blocks Proposal to Cut Police Budget for Homeless Services

By Deborah Grigsby | The Denver Gazette A push to shift millions of dollars away from the Denver Police Department to pay for homeless families’ shelter failed on Monday night, when councilmembers waded through more than two dozen amendments. The council voted against a pair of amendments, sponsored independently by Councilmember Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez and At-large Councilmember Sarah Parady, both of which proposed a one-time budget reallocation of $9 million from the police department to Denver’s Department of Housing Stability (HOST) to pay for the needs of approximately 240 homeless families. The two amendments would have taken funding from DPD’s recruiting program, as well as from its service and supply budget line. When asked how HOST might use the additional cash infus...
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Why Colorado’s Elections No Longer Belong to Its Voters
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Commentary, State

Why Colorado’s Elections No Longer Belong to Its Voters

By: Vince Bzdek | Commentary, The Denver Gazette Why is Michael Bloomberg, the former presidential candidate, three-term New York mayor and founder of the financial info firm that bears his name, spending millions on Colorado elections? The short answer: because he can. The liberal New Yorker has donated $2.7 million to support Denver’s flavored tobacco ban, Referendum 301, to be decided on Tuesday. Two of his donations to that campaign were the largest individual contributions in Denver history, according to an Axios analysis. Bloomberg is also the largest donor in the 2026 governor’s race, giving $500,000 to a super-PAC supporting U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet’s campaign. “This is a very large donation for a statewide race,” Seth Masket, professor of political sc...
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Aurora Police Arrest Man Deported Three Times After I-225 Shooting
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Aurora Police Arrest Man Deported Three Times After I-225 Shooting

By Kyla Pearce | The Denver Gazette Aurora police officers arrested a suspect in connection with a shooting on I-225 last weekend in what officials described as a case in which camera technology and cooperation with federal immigration agents played a major role. The case also illustrated the stark differences between the cities of Denver and Aurora in how they approach the use of surveillance videos and working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Police on Thursday apprehended Celin Villeda Orellana, 38, on charges of attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault, menacing and illegal discharge of a firearm, all felonies, according to Acting Assistant Chief Mark Hildebrand in a news conference on Friday. Orellana has been deported three times since 2007. Th...
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Hospitals on life support: Report says 70% of Colorado facilities losing money
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Hospitals on life support: Report says 70% of Colorado facilities losing money

By Marissa Ventrelli | The Denver Gazette Nearly 70% of Colorado hospitals ended 2024 with “unsustainable” margins, according to a new financial report from the Colorado Hospital Association. Tom Rennell, the group’s senior vice president of financial policy and data analytics, said hospitals’ expenses are outpacing their revenue, as an increasing number of Colorado patients are losing their insurance coverage, partially due to the post-pandemic Medicaid unwind. “Over the last several years since the COVID times and through the high inflationary times, hospitals have been experiencing some significant econmic turbulence,” Rennell said. “We don’t have the full picture yet, but I can tell you that what we’re seeing so far in 2025 is that there has been even more of a deterioration a...
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