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Colorado’s renewable milestone deserves a reality check
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado’s renewable milestone deserves a reality check

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Sarah Montalbano, the author of the Complete Colorado piece below makes a great point in her article about renewables. In response to a recent article by fellow energy writer Allen Best, see the second link below, about Colorado hitting an energy milestone of “More than half the state’s electricity came from wind, solar and hydro during the first months of 2026”, Montalbano notes that perhaps it’s not time for celebrating yet. Quoting from her Complete piece, “The trouble is that this jubilant announcement of a ‘majority’ renewables power grid owes more to a stark drop in coal-fired generation than the wind and solar that was added. Percentages rely on both the numerator — how much wind, solar, and hydropower...
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Colorado Falls to Lowest Ever CNBC Business Ranking
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The Sum & Substance, Approved, State

Colorado Falls to Lowest Ever CNBC Business Ranking

By Ed Sealover | The Sum & Substance As business leaders warn of an eroding atmosphere, Colorado has plummeted to its lowest spot in the 20-year history of CNBC’s Top States for Business rankings, placing the one-time national model now firmly in the middle of the pack among states. The financial-news network, whose rankings are widely cited by business and economic-development leaders, dropped Colorado this year from No. 11 to No. 25 on its list and noted that it’s now the second-most expensive state for living, behind only California. Though it improved its rankings in technology and innovation versus 2025, the Centennial State fell or remained even in every other category, now ranking in the bottom half of states in areas like business friendliness and infras...
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Xcel says it has no affordability crisis. Its customers and regulatory filings tell another story.
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Xcel says it has no affordability crisis. Its customers and regulatory filings tell another story.

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Every week, Carlos H. sits down with his bills and works out what his family can go without. Some weeks it is dinner. “I just opt out to say, hey, okay, maybe won’t be cooking up something tonight, so we can just make ends meet,” the Denver father said. Some weeks it is gas—a quarter tank instead of a full one, and the math of whether that gets him to the next payday. He has a 14-year-old daughter and a baby due in February. His electric bill runs $120 to $150 a month. A proposed Xcel settlement could push it higher. “We don’t have an affordability crisis,” Robert Kenney, president of Xcel Energy Colorado, told the House Energy and Environment Committee on April 23, arguing against a proposal to give regulators more power over how util...
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High Housing Costs Put Colorado Business Growth at Risk
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Colorado Public Radio, Approved, State

High Housing Costs Put Colorado Business Growth at Risk

By Sarah Mulholland | CPR News Colorado’s businesses are at risk of losing their competitive edge to companies in other states and it comes down to whether people can afford to live here, according to a report from the Romer Institute of Evidence-based Policy. The reasons behind the state’s economic headwinds are multifaceted, but one thing is clear. The housing crunch is making it harder to recruit workers, the report found. The analysis looks at Colorado’s economy relative to Arizona, North Carolina, Texas, Utah and Washington. The states were chosen because they overlap Colorado’s economy based on region or industry, and they compete for talent, investment and business location decisions, according to the Denver-based nonprofit policy group that bears the name ...
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Denver Mayor Rolls Out $100 Million Strategy to Boost Business and Revive Downtown
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Denver Mayor Rolls Out $100 Million Strategy to Boost Business and Revive Downtown

By Chierstin Roth | CBS Colorado Denver Mayor Mike Johnston has unveiled a $100 million, four-part plan to address everything from workforce development to low interest loans, and incentives for companies to move to the city. Thursday's press conference was held outside the original Snooze, a popular breakfast and brunch restaurant serving pancakes and mimosas. Snooze, which launched at its Ballpark Neighborhood location 20 years ago, is now a nationwide success. Its co-founder says it's opportunities like these that got his business off the ground. "We've got 70 restaurants now, 10 states, we have over 3,000 Snoozers working for us," said co-founder Adam Schlegal. They grew despite the odds. "Running a restaurant in Denver is actually harder than most...
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The American Dream still depends on rewarding hard work
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

The American Dream still depends on rewarding hard work

By Gabe Evans | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice When our founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence, they envisioned a nation that could stand the test of time. A United States of America that not only encouraged freedom and independent thought, but that structurally safeguarded it. They believed in a nation defined by liberty, opportunity, personal responsibility, and an enduring love of country.  Today, 250 years later, we are living the future they imagined.  Our nation is known globally as the land of opportunity, where the American Dream thrives and is achievable for anyone who has the resolve to pursue it. That sense of promise is deeply personal to my family and I, as it is what led my Abuelo Cuauhtemoc Chavez — who was born in Mexico — to ...
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Initiative 195 would raise taxes on Colorado’s top earners. A new report asks whether they’d stay.
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Initiative 195 would raise taxes on Colorado’s top earners. A new report asks whether they’d stay.

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice The income tax on a Colorado household earning under $25,000 would fall by $9 a year under Initiative 195. A filer reporting between $2 million and $5 million would pay about $13,914 more. Both figures come from the measure's certified ballot title. The Common Sense Institute, a free-market policy group in Greenwood Village, says that second household is also the one most likely to pack up and leave Colorado, and that the state would lose part of the revenue the tax is supposed to bring in right along with it. Initiative 195 would end Colorado's flat income tax. The state taxed income on a graduated scale for its first 50 years, then switched in 1987 to a single rate, now 4.4 percent, that applies to every earner.  In its place, 1...
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Boulder prepares for Sundance as housing rules face a real-world test
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, Local

Boulder prepares for Sundance as housing rules face a real-world test

By Jon Caldara | Commentary, Complete Colorado There are few things more satisfying to watch than socialists getting mugged by reality. The Sundance Film Festival is invading my hometown of Boulder early next year. Sundance drew 85,000 attendees last year in Park City, Utah. Boulder’s hotel room inventory is about 2,900. If you’ve ever wondered what happens when Hollywood’s anti-capitalist elite collide with basic supply and demand, we’re about to find out. When things don’t go as planned, the planner-class doubles down on its religion: more planning. When restrictions, rules, permits and fees don’t produce the desired outcome, more restrictions, rules, permits and fees are needed. Sundance is an event for and by well-heeled, artsy, socialist elites. So, Boulder is perfe...
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Denver Inflation Climbs To 5% As Fuel Prices Drive Costs Higher
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Denver Inflation Climbs To 5% As Fuel Prices Drive Costs Higher

By Bernadette Berdychowski | The Denver Gazette The Denver-Aurora-Lakewood metro area recorded a 5% rise in prices in the last year, according to federal data released Wednesday for the month of May from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the highest level seen since 2023.Denver is trending higher than the national annual average of 4.2%.Denver’s inflation was the second-highest among 12 metropolitan regions in the nation after Urban Hawaii in May, according to the BLS. The federal agency tracks inflation across 23 cities. Data from the three biggest cities — New York, Los Angeles and Chicago — are released monthly. Meanwhile, the federal agency releases data from the rest of the cities like Denver every other month. A surge in prices following the pandemic pushed inflation t...
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Colorado Responds To Federal Coal Extension Orders With New Emissions Requirements
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Responds To Federal Coal Extension Orders With New Emissions Requirements

By Scott Weiser | The Denver Gazette Gov. Jared Polis signed into law a bill in reaction to orders from the U.S. Department of Energy to keep older coal units online. The federal government’s instructions applied to Craig Unit 1 in Colorado, one of five coal units affected nationwide. The state legislation requires installation of modern pollution controls and cost reporting for any Colorado coal-fired power plants that continue operating beyond planned retirement dates. The measure, House Bill 26-1226, also directs the Public Utilities Commission to support resource planning consistent with state clean energy goals. The legislation signed June 4 targets qualifying coal units that emitted significant nitrogen oxides or sulfur dioxide in 2024. It...
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