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Tag: Public Transparency

White House Seeks Accounting of Federal Funds Sent to Colorado and Other Blue States
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DENVER7, Approved, National

White House Seeks Accounting of Federal Funds Sent to Colorado and Other Blue States

By Tony Kovaleski | Denver7 The order comes a week after Trump said he intended to cut off federal funding that goes to states that are home to “sanctuary cities” that resist his immigration policies President Donald Trump's budget office this week ordered most government agencies to compile data on the federal money that is sent to 14 mostly Democratic-controlled states and the District of Columbia in what it describes as a tool to “reduce the improper and fraudulent use of those funds.” The order comes a week after Trump said he intended to cut off federal funding that goes to states that are home to “sanctuary cities” that resist his immigration policies. He said that would start Feb. 1 but hasn't unveiled further details. A memo to federal depart...
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How Colorado laws are really made: What Rep. Matt Soper says voters rarely see
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

How Colorado laws are really made: What Rep. Matt Soper says voters rarely see

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice The Colorado legislature is about to gavel in for another 120-day sprint, and with it comes a flood of bills most Coloradans will never see until the consequences land.  What many don’t see is how quickly ideas move, who pushes them forward—and why outcomes can feel disconnected from public input. Few lawmakers are positioned to explain that gap as clearly as Matt Soper, now the longest-serving Republican in the House and widely regarded inside the building as the caucus “dean.” With term limits constantly churning the legislature, Soper has watched the same policy ideas cycle through multiple sessions, often repackaged and moving faster each time. “There’s the textbook version of how a bill becomes a law that everyone...
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Grand Junction quietly pursued $8.45M pedestrian bridge as auto dealer faced eminent domain
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The Business Times, Approved, Local

Grand Junction quietly pursued $8.45M pedestrian bridge as auto dealer faced eminent domain

By Brandon Leuallen | The Business Times Why was GJ Auto Sales selected as the site for the Colorado Department of Transportation’s Downtown Grand Junction Mobility Hub when other nearby options existed, including city and county-owned land? Neither CDOT nor the City of Grand Junction has answered that question, despite multiple requests by The Business Times. However, city records, planning documents, and emails reveal a longer story, one involving years of redevelopment planning, conceptual drawings, and a vision for linking downtown to Dos Rios via a pedestrian bridge and the 2nd Street Promenade.  City Maps and Early Planning City maps appearing to date from before 2021 show the GJ Auto Sales property — the future site of the mobility hub — being converted into park...
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Denver Public Schools under fire: Legal twist could force transparency in school debt strategy
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denvergazette.com, Approved, Local

Denver Public Schools under fire: Legal twist could force transparency in school debt strategy

By Nicole C. Brambila | Denver Gazette After arguing in court filings that its lease-financing structure is legal because a nonprofit organization — not the district — incurred the debt without voter approval, Denver Public Schools now contends the same corporation is a “public entity” entitled to governmental immunity from lawsuits. The contradiction is more than semantics. If the Denver School Facilities Leasing Corporation (DSFLC) is deemed a public entity, it would be subject to Colorado’s open records and public meetings laws, an attorney and a watch dog group said. DPS has denied a public information request for documents in the corporation’s possession, suggesting district officials, despite their legal arguments, recognize DSFLC as a private organization. Scott Pribb...
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