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Boulder Firebomber Gets Life Plus 2,128 Years For Terror Attack On Pro Israel Demonstrators
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Boulder Firebomber Gets Life Plus 2,128 Years For Terror Attack On Pro Israel Demonstrators

By Matt Kyle | The Denver Gazette A man accused of throwing two Molotov cocktails into a crowd of pro-Israel protesters in Boulder pleaded guilty Thursday to 101 state charges in a Boulder County courthouse and received just shy of the maximum sentence allowed by law. Following a lengthy sentencing hearing and personal statement from Mohamed Sabry Soliman, District Judge Nancy Salomone sentenced him to the maximum sentence on almost every count, which must be served consecutively. He was sentenced to life in prison, plus an additional 2,128 years. Soliman, 46, was arrested shortly after the June 1, 2025 attack at the Pearl Street Mall. Soliman, who plotted the attack for more than a year, threw two Molotov cocktails into a group of people calling for the release of hos...
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Colorado Lawmakers Face Crunch Time With Hundreds Of Bills Still Pending
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Lawmakers Face Crunch Time With Hundreds Of Bills Still Pending

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette With just 10 days left in the 2026 session, Colorado lawmakers are staring down the final stretch of a crowded agenda, with 228 bills still unresolved and several major measures that have yet to even be introduced. Monday’s report from the Office of Legislative Legal Services shows that of the 619 bills introduced so far, 430 originated in the House and 189 in the Senate. The large gap between the chambers stems not only from their different membership sizes but also from the annual budget process. In February, the House introduced supplemental budget bills, and later it carried the Long Bill and its 64 accompanying “orbital” measures that adjust state law to keep the budget in balance. There are 228 bills still awaiting...
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Colorado’s War On Natural Gas Could Cost Coloradans Dearly
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado’s War On Natural Gas Could Cost Coloradans Dearly

By Elizabeth Caven | Commentary, The Denver Gazette In a state where winter isn’t optional, you’d think reliable heat wouldn’t be either. Yet, Colorado’s Public Utilities Commission seems increasingly comfortable with discarding the very energy source that keeps the majority of households in the state warm: natural gas. Residents are not thinking about long-term regulatory frameworks when they go to turn up the heat in January. They are asking much simpler questions: Will their homes stay warm, and can they afford it? This is what makes Colorados current energy trajectory so puzzling and, increasingly, troubling. Natural gas continues to be the backbone of the states energy sphere even as lawmakers at the Capitol seem determined to ignore that fact. A recent report published ...
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Colorado Democrats Advance New Oversight Rules For ICE Facilities
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Democrats Advance New Oversight Rules For ICE Facilities

By Marissa Ventrelli | The Denver Gazette Colorado state representatives voted along party lines to pass a bill establishing additional inspection requirements for immigration detention centers and expanding civil liabilities related to sharing information with federal immigration authorities. It’s the latest proposal to come out of the state Capitol, which has embraced so-called “sanctuary laws,” which limit or prohibit cooperation with federal authorities on enforcing immigration laws. Notably, House Bill 1276 permits the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to require ICE detention facilities to comply with certain health and safety standards and pay for environmental impact studies. It expands a current law prohibiting employees of ...
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Colorado Bill Could Lock Xcel Customers Into Decades Of Power Plant Costs
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Bill Could Lock Xcel Customers Into Decades Of Power Plant Costs

By Scott Weiser | The Denver Gazette State regulators would gain expanded power to order Xcel Energy to finance major costs for its chronically troubled Comanche 3 coal plant through bonds backed by a decades-long charge on every customer’s monthly electric bill. House Bill 26-1326, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission sunset bill that cleared its first committee on April 23, would let the PUC direct investor-owned utilities to use securitization under 2019’s Colorado Energy Impact Bond Act. The measure continues the PUC through 2037 while expanding its authority beyond voluntary utility applications. Securitization allows a utility to issue bonds backed by a decades-long charge on ratepayer bills. The charge stays on every bill, with periodic adjustments, only unt...
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Colorado Supreme Court Limits Reach Of Insurance Consumer Protections
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Supreme Court Limits Reach Of Insurance Consumer Protections

By Michael Karlik | The Denver Gazette The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the legislature’s consumer protections requiring insurance companies to take certain steps before they allege a policyholder failed to cooperate do not apply to any obligation specifically laid out in the policy. In 2020, the legislature changed state law to limit insurance companies’ ability to assert a failure-to-cooperate defense when they are sued for withholding benefits. Among other things, an insurer must give a policyholder time to address any specifically identified failures to cooperate in the claim investigation. Plaintiff Anthony Wenzell and the groups supporting him argued the law captures an insurer’s allegation of noncooperation across the board, including ob...
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Concerns Mount Over Transparency And Authority In State Capitol
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Commentary, State

Concerns Mount Over Transparency And Authority In State Capitol

By Jon Caldara | Commentary, The Denver Gazette The great 19th-century historian Lord Acton said it best: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Acton was building on the teachings of his mentor, Homer Simpson, who put it more plainly: “The more power you have, the more you can mess things up. Woo-hoo!” And many in Colorado’s political elite have studied under the original oracle of power, Eric Cartman: “Respect my authoritah!” If there were a motto for the progressive machine that now rules Colorado, it would be simple: “Because we f***ing can, that’s why.” Ethics don’t matter. Consistency doesn’t matter. Respecting the will of the people, or even the institution of democracy itself, doesn’t matter. Raw political power to im...
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Colorado Democrats Push Plan To Redirect TABOR Refunds To State Spending
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Democrats Push Plan To Redirect TABOR Refunds To State Spending

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette A nonpartisan analysis of a proposed ballot measure that seeks to increase public education spending by tapping Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights refunds shows that about 75% of what would otherwise go to Colorado residents wouldn’t actually go to K-12 schools. Instead, those dollars would go into the state’s general fund pot — to be used by lawmakers for whatever purposes they choose. The analysis said that arrangement could start as soon as the 2028-29 fiscal year. What that means, according to the analysis, is that every taxpayer would lose $7,381 in TABOR refunds between the 2026-27 and 2036-37 fiscal years. At its core, TABOR requires a public vote in order to raise taxes. It also limits revenue growth. Notably, it r...
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Colorado Democrats Push Bill Expanding Lawsuits Against Public Officials
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Democrats Push Bill Expanding Lawsuits Against Public Officials

By Marissa Ventrelli | The Denver Gazette Colorado Democrats are considering a bill that would let people sue federal, state, and local officials for alleged constitutional violations — a change supporters say would check government power, while critics warn it could trigger a surge of lawsuits against public employees. Senate Bill 176, dubbed the “No Kings Act,” is sponsored by Sens. Mike Weissman, D-Aurora, and Julie Gonzales, D-Denver, and Reps. Javier Mabrey, D-Denver, and Yara Zokaie, D-Fort Collins, would allow individuals who have been subjected to a “deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities” afforded in the U.S. Constitution to sue for civil damages within two years of the alleged violation. The bill still permits federal officials to claim absolute...
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San Luis Valley Faces Power Shutoffs As Drought And Winds Intensify Fire Threat
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

San Luis Valley Faces Power Shutoffs As Drought And Winds Intensify Fire Threat

By Scott Weiser | The Denver Gazette Xcel Energy will implement a Public Safety Power Shutoff for some customers in parts of western Colorado and the San Luis Valley on Wednesday because of extreme wildfire risk driven by strong winds, low humidity, hot weather and very dry conditions, the company said. The shutoff will start around noon Wednesday in portions of Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla and Rio Grande counties, Xcel said in a Tuesday afternoon news release. Conditions are expected to improve around 7 p.m. Wednesday, with restoration beginning as soon as lines can be safely inspected. About 7,100 customers are expected to be impacted by the shutoff, Xcel said. Much of the region is in extreme to exceptional drought following a record warm and dry winter, accord...
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