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Tag: Public Accountability

Gabbard Releases Declassified Files Alleging Fauci Ties To Wuhan Research
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Just The News, Approved, National

Gabbard Releases Declassified Files Alleging Fauci Ties To Wuhan Research

By Joseph Weber | Just the News Fauci was the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases during the COVID pandemic. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said Friday, on her final day on the job, said she is releasing "never-before-seen" communications and documents "exposing" how Dr. Anthony Fauci provided millions in U.S. taxpayer dollars to fund dangerous gain-of-function research at the Wuhan lab in China. Fauci was the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic. China has said the virus jumped from animal to human at a food market near the lab, which has also conducted so-called gain of function research, which is generally regarded as manipulating a virus to gain...
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Colorado Lawmakers Receive Quiet Back Door Pay Raises Through Commission Process
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado Lawmakers Receive Quiet Back Door Pay Raises Through Commission Process

By: Jon Caldara | Commentary, Complete Colorado I am personally responsible for helping overpay socialists to make Colorado unaffordable, overregulated and one windstorm away from a power blackout. I failed you. Colorado legislators already get automatic inflation raises. You know, just like your job (I’m assuming the sarcasm bled through that one). No private-sector worker has that kind of protection forever. Even union jobs eventually meet reality. Ask Spirit Airlines employees. And that’s the problem. What happens when lawmakers no longer depend on the private sector for most of their livelihood? They stop understanding the people they supposedly represent. They get disconnected. And has Colorado ever had more of a disconnected team of politicia...
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Gambling with taxpayer dollars: Colorado bill could allow nonprofits to get paid before work is done
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Approved, Colorado Accountability Project, Commentary, State

Gambling with taxpayer dollars: Colorado bill could allow nonprofits to get paid before work is done

By Cory Gaines | Colorado Accountability Project Gambling taxpayer money to bolster our nonprofit ecosystem. When you hire someone to do something for you, do you give them an advance? I’ve done it both ways: cash on delivery only and an upfront payment for, say, the materials. The bill linked at bottom makes some noteworthy changes to the way our state interacts with multiple nonprofits it pays to do its work. There are multiple directions you could go in with your speculation, but I think it’s reasonable to conclude overall that the bill bolsters the connection between our government and nonprofits, that it enriches the tightly-interconnected ecosystem of NGO’s and nonprofits in Colorado.** Under current law, prior to this bill, if a state awards a grant to a nonprofit for so...
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Transparency for All, Not Just Some
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Transparency for All, Not Just Some

By Dusty Johnson | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Editor's update: SB26-147 is scheduled for third reading and final passage in the House today, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. The legislative day began at 11 a.m. Coloradans may listen live at sg001-harmony.sliq.net/00327/Harmony/en/PowerBrowser/PowerBrowserV2/20260506/74/18834#info_  Coloradans deserve a government that operates in the open. They deserve to know who is influencing their laws, how those decisions are being shaped, and how taxpayer dollars are being used in that process. That is exactly why I am proud to sponsor SB26-147.  At its core, this bill is simple. It applies the same transparency standards to everyone involved in lobbying, including those working inside government.  Right now, private ...
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As climate costs rise, will Colorado follow New York’s “breathing room” playbook?
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

As climate costs rise, will Colorado follow New York’s “breathing room” playbook?

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project NY’s narrative on “breathing room” for climate mandates here in Colorado? I got the issue of Sarah Montalbano's energy newsletter about a week ago.** In it, Ms. Montalbano details how New York Governor Hochul recently mentioned how that state needs some "breathing room" on its self-imposed climate mandates. This is a site/newsletter dedicated to Colorado issues, so I will leave the rest of her newsletter there, save for one quote which will be relevant for us here. Quoting with links left intact: "Hochul blamed factors such as a 'global pandemic,' and 'some of the highest inflation we had seen in years,' for rattling supply chains, as well as a 'hostile' administration in Washington eli...
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He reported election irregularities. Weeks later he was fired: Now a Colorado fire chief appeals in federal court
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

He reported election irregularities. Weeks later he was fired: Now a Colorado fire chief appeals in federal court

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Erik Holt says he didn’t expect reviewing surveillance footage from a polling location inside the Florissant fire station would cost him his career. Holt says the fallout came quickly. Within weeks of providing investigators the footage he believed showed election rule violations, he was out of a job. The dispute that began inside the Florissant fire station is now before the federal appeals court. Judges will review whether reporting suspected wrongdoing can cost a public employee his job. Holt is no longer fighting the appeal alone. Mountain States Legal Foundation has joined the case and is now representing him. “Public employees do not surrender their First Amendment rights when they take a government job,” said Grad...
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Denver Audit Questions Spending On Alcohol And Meals For Taxpayer Supported Nonprofit
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kdvr.com, Approved, Local

Denver Audit Questions Spending On Alcohol And Meals For Taxpayer Supported Nonprofit

By Shaul Turner | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) —  A Denver addiction and mental health foundation spent thousands of taxpayers’ money on alcohol and food, according to a city audit. The city and county of Denver tells FOX31 the nonprofit Caring For Denver Foundation issued funds to organizations that submitted falsified and misleading information. The foundation refutes the claims but is now making some changes. Created in 2018, the Caring For Denver Foundation has awarded more than $185 million in grants to 270 different organizations.  Executive Director Lorez Meinhold issued a statement to FOX31 saying the Foundation “has helped make a meaningful difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of Denverites suffering from addiction and ment...
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Did Colorado’s gun violence prevention director visit your community in 2025?
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Did Colorado’s gun violence prevention director visit your community in 2025?

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Did the director for the Office of Gun Violence Prevention come to your town? Part 2 I wanted to update a 2023 story (see the first link below for the original) about the all of the places the Director of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention went to in Colorado.As with 2023, I don’t think you could call the list of places anywhere near representative of all the diverse views and experiences of this state.I will let the current Director give you how she describes her yearly roundabout in her own words. Quoting her letter from the January 2026 newsletter out of the Office:“What also helps me to feel grounded in focus is the perspective I gain through the conversations I’ve had and continue to have across Colorado...
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Colorado ag department seeks dismissal of whistleblower complaint over DEI as employee calls for HR director removal
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado ag department seeks dismissal of whistleblower complaint over DEI as employee calls for HR director removal

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice More than two months after a single chat comment during a virtual meeting sparked a whistleblower complaint at the Colorado Department of Agriculture, the case has escalated into a legal standoff, with the department moving to dismiss the complaint as the employee seeks the removal of its HR director. At the center of the dispute is the employee’s contention that diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are embedded in state governance and being promoted within a federally funded agency despite a federal executive order restricting DEI activities tied to federal programs. “Complainant cannot establish a Whistleblower Act claim for several reasons,” the CDA response states. “First, Complainant failed to comply with the Act’s man...
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Memo Shows Weak Oversight and Lack of Accountability in Cherry Creek Schools
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Memo Shows Weak Oversight and Lack of Accountability in Cherry Creek Schools

By Nicole C. Brambila | The Denver Gazette To avoid a conflict of interest, the wife of Cherry Creek Schools Superintendent Chris Smith — who resigned this week amid allegations of a toxic work environment — was supposed to report to Deputy Superintendent Jennifer Perry. In the wake of Smith’s resignation Wednesday, Perry was named interim superintendent. According to a Denver7 investigation, insiders said Smith and his wife, Chief Human Resource Officer Brenda Smith, had created a “toxic culture” — leaving employees with no recourse. A one-page memo dated May 9, 2022 from then Board President Kelly Bates outlined the arrangement. “In the event that the ability of either Christopher Smith or Brenda Smith to perform their professional duties, includin...
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