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Tag: Jared Polis

Colorado ICE Detention Capacity Set to Nearly Double Under New Federal Contract
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Colorado Politics, Approved, Local

Colorado ICE Detention Capacity Set to Nearly Double Under New Federal Contract

By: Nico Brambila | Colorado Politics The federal government has signed a five-year contract with private prison company GEO Group that will effectively double Colorado’s immigration detention capacity to about 2,700 beds. Signed July 9, the contract comes a year after the Trump administration told Colorado’s congressional delegation it planned to reopen the shuttered Hudson Correctional Facility as an immigration detention center. The deal is worth up to $528.6 million, federal contracting records show. Located about 30 miles northeast of Denver in Weld County, the Hudson Correctional Facility is a medium-security prison that closed a decade ago. The prison is operated by the GEO Group, while the Highlands REIT Inc. — a real estate investment firm — owns it....
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Victor Marx Wins GOP Nomination Setting Up Colorado Governor Showdown
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Victor Marx Wins GOP Nomination Setting Up Colorado Governor Showdown

By Robert Garrison | Denver7 DENVER — The too-close-to-call GOP primary for Colorado governor has been settled more than a week after the election. The Associated Press has projected that Marine Corps veteran Victor Marx has won the Republican nomination, defeating his opponent, Barbara Kirkmeyer, by at least 2,142 votes. The June 30 Republican primary for governor had been too close to call at the end of election night, with Marx having a slight lead. However, most counties, including the largest ones, have now reported their final results. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT DENVER7
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Polis Declares Disaster Emergency As Ferris Fire Tops 57,000 Acres
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Polis Declares Disaster Emergency As Ferris Fire Tops 57,000 Acres

By: Christa Swanson | CBS Colorado The growing Ferris Fire in southwest Colorado has consumed over 50,000 acres, prompting Colorado Gov. Jared Polis to declare a disaster emergency. On Wednesday, the governor's office announced the verbal declaration, which activates the State Emergency Operations Plan and increases the resources available for containment efforts. Ferris Fire moves up steep terrain in the Glade Creek area. Ferris Fire Incident Command READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT CBS COLORADO
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What Would Colorado’s Declaration Of Independence Say Today?
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

What Would Colorado’s Declaration Of Independence Say Today?

By: Jon Caldara | Commentary, Complete Colorado Happy 250th Birthday, America! You look fabulous. As all the cool countries are saying, “250 is the new 230.” The Declaration of Independence wasn’t merely an announcement of war against a tyrant. It was the most revolutionary political document ever written. The Declaration was a landmark in human development, perhaps the landmark of all human history. For the first time government was no longer affirmed sovereign. The individual was. That simple idea changed the world. You rule yourself. Your life belongs to you. Your liberty belongs to you. Your happiness is yours to pursue as you define it. Your property belongs to you. Government exists not to rule over you, but to secure your&n...
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Colorado Faces Supreme Court Fight Over South Platte Water Rights
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Colorado Faces Supreme Court Fight Over South Platte Water Rights

By: Jeff Rice | The Colorado Sun Attorney General Phil Weiser is ready for the fight over water flowing across the border: “Nebraska’s burden to prove claims is incredibly high.” The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear Nebraska’s lawsuit against Colorado over a proposed canal that would take water out of the South Platte River in Colorado and send it to a reservoir in Nebraska. Nebraska claims Colorado is deliberately obstructing efforts to build the ditch, known as the Perkins Canal, even though everyone agrees Nebraska has the right to do so. The canal is necessary, Nebraska says, because Colorado isn’t sending enough water into Nebraska. The Perkins Canal would divert water from the South Platte River near Ovid to a storage site somewhere in Nebraska. The...
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Second Amendment Lawsuit Targets Denver Gun Ban and State Magazine Limits
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Second Amendment Lawsuit Targets Denver Gun Ban and State Magazine Limits

By Deborah Grigsby | The Denver Gazette A lawsuit filed in federal court by three Denver residents and two gun rights groups aims to strike down the city’s “assault weapon” restrictions, along with bans on ammunition magazines holding 15 rounds or more. The complaint, filed on June 30 by Ray Elliott, Trevor Alley and Michael Vitco, along with the Firearms Policy Coalition and the Colorado State Shooting Association, an arm of the National Rifle Association, alleges Denver’s semiautomatic firearm ban is unconstitutional, as is its ban on 15-round or larger magazines. Naming the city government, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, Attorney General Phil Weiser, Colorado Bureau of Investigation Director Armando Saldate III, Colorado State Patrol Chief Col. Matthew Packard and Denve...
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Colorado AG Joins Lawsuit Over USPS Mail Ballot Proposal
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado AG Joins Lawsuit Over USPS Mail Ballot Proposal

By Marissa Ventrelli | The Denver Gazette The Colorado Attorney General’s Office joined 24 state attorneys general in filing a formal complaint against what it called the U.S. Postal Service’s attempt to aid President Donald Trump’s efforts to seize control of elections and restrict mail-in voting. In March, Trump signed an executive order calling for the compilation of a list of individuals in each state who are legally eligible to vote. Under the order, USPS would only be permitted to send mail ballots to individuals on the lists. Last month, a court struck down the executive order, ruling it unconstitutional. However, according to Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, USPS has not withdrawn its proposed rule to implement the order. “This is another...
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Victor Marx Holds Narrow Lead as Colorado GOP Governor Race Nears Finish
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Victor Marx Holds Narrow Lead as Colorado GOP Governor Race Nears Finish

By Ernest Luning | Colorado Politics Republican Victor Marx held on to a narrow lead Monday over state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer as county clerks continued to count ballots in Colorado’s gubernatorial primary. Following an update posted at 3:30 p.m. by the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office, Marx had 206,477 votes to Kirkmeyer’s 204,527, for a lead of 1,950, or about 0.38% of the 518,490 votes tallied so far. State Rep. Scott Bottoms trailed in the three-way race with 107,486 votes. At present, the difference between Marx’s and Kirkmeyer’s totals is short of the number that would trigger a mandatory recount under Colorado law. Although Kirkmeyer jumped out to an early lead on primary election night last Tuesday, Marx overtook her the following afternoon and has sinc...
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No way out: Rural Colorado is outvoted at every turn
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

No way out: Rural Colorado is outvoted at every turn

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Tom Harrington manages a 500-cow operation on the Crystal River Ranch, two miles from the town of Carbondale on a mesa west of town.  He grew up in Ridgway.  A friend sent him some papers from the North Park area of Walden showing the school news, a note from the old folks' home and local ads. "I looked through these papers and I thought, man, this is like the 70s in Ridgway," he said. Those things have disappeared from the Carbondale he lives in now. "They've certainly left here." He has also watched the valley floor transform in his 18 years on the ranch, hayfields replaced by a shopping complex and apartment buildings, the quiet gone with it. "Once things are paved over," he said, "they never come back....
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Grand Junction Pays Tribute to Three Firefighters Lost in Snyder Fire
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DENVER7, Approved, Local

Grand Junction Pays Tribute to Three Firefighters Lost in Snyder Fire

By Robert Garrison | Denver7 GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — The three firefighters killed in the Snyder Fire west of Grand Junction last month were remembered and honored during a memorial service Sunday. Federal firefighters Emily Barker, 38, Nick Hutcherson, 27, and Sydney Watson, 27, were killed June 27 fighting the more than 30,000-acre wildfire on the Colorado-Utah state line. Authorities said they were trying to shield themselves from flames by deploying tent-like shelters when they were overcome. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT DENVER7
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