Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Transportation

Colorado Ballot Measure Seeks To Lock Transportation Taxes Into Road Funding
Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Ballot Measure Seeks To Lock Transportation Taxes Into Road Funding

By Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado DENVER – Colorado voters are one step closer to ensuring revenue intended for building and maintaining Colorado’s highways actually goes to fixing the roads.  A proposed ballot measure seeks to reinstate a prior funding mechanism, repealed by the legislature decades ago after the lawmaker it was named for retired. This time, however, the method would be enshrined in the state’s constitution, if passed. The secretary of state’s office has okayed Initiative 175 for signature gathering, and if it makes it onto the November ballot, Colorado’s roads and highways may finally begin to see the much-needed repairs that, according to critics, have been pushed aside to satisfy progressive leaders’ desire for things such as mass transit....
Federal Officials Cite Fraud Concerns In Proposed Cuts Affecting Colorado and 3 Other States
The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Federal Officials Cite Fraud Concerns In Proposed Cuts Affecting Colorado and 3 Other States

By: Thelma Grimes | The Denver Gazette The Trump’s administration is planning to withhold some public health and transportation money from a group of Democratic-led states, including Colorado. The other states are California, Illinois and Minnesota. Full details have not been released, including whether the states could take any steps to avoid losing the funding. Colorado has sued the White House or joined lawsuits filed by other states over similar efforts to withhold funding. The federal government cited concerns over fraud and mismanagement of taxpayer dollars. A spokesperson for the Colorado Department of Health and Human Services said the state learned of the potential cuts through the media and has not been formally notified by the federal agency. ...
Hacked Denver Signs Flash Anti-Car Messages as Transportation Debate Heats Up
The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Hacked Denver Signs Flash Anti-Car Messages as Transportation Debate Heats Up

By Daniel Boniface | The Denver Gazette Denver transportation officials said an anti-car message that was displayed on traffic signs in Denver on Friday was the result of a hack. One sign, photographed by The Denver Gazette on Friday evening at E. Colfax Avenue and Lincoln Street near the Colorado Capitol, shared the message “Cars ruin cities.” “Yes, the sign was hacked,” Nancy Kuhn, a spokeswoman for the Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, told The Denver Gazette in an email Sunday. “We heard about it last night and sent someone out to address it.” A second sign was apparently hacked on 14th Street in Denver, displaying the same message, and a photo of it was posted on various social media accounts, including The Denver Urbanist an...
Colorado Audits 1,745 Immigrant CDL Holders After New Federal Restrictions
The Colorado Sun, State

Colorado Audits 1,745 Immigrant CDL Holders After New Federal Restrictions

By Jennifer Brown | The Colorado Sun The state paused its commercial driver’s license program for immigrants with temporary legal status after a new Trump administration rule Of the 126,525 people in Colorado licensed to drive 18-wheelers, school buses, and trucks carrying hazardous materials, 1,745 are immigrants who do not have permanent legal status to live in the United States.  That number won’t rise anytime soon, if ever.  Colorado paused new licenses and renewals for immigrants without citizenship or green cards after the Trump administration announced “emergency action” in September to drastically restrict who is eligible for commercial driver’s licenses. The new restrictions include refugees, asylum seekers and people protected by DACA, or Deferred Action for Chil...
Billions in Marijuana Taxes and Crumbling Roads Sparks Online Fight Between Polis and DeSantis
Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Billions in Marijuana Taxes and Crumbling Roads Sparks Online Fight Between Polis and DeSantis

By: Savana Kascak | Complete Colorado DENVER–An online beef erupted between Colorado Governor Jared Polis and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Wednesday evening on X (previously Twitter) over legalized marijuana and Colorado’s poor road conditions. In a thread of posts, the Florida governor said Colorado’s declining marijuana taxes have not helped alleviate anything for the state, rather the recent decrease in marijuana sales is due to a surge in the black market caused by high taxes on legal weed. The claims led Governor Polis to jump in the conversation, defending his record. The battle at the keyboard started from a post made by Florida’s Voice, highlighting a survey saying a majority of Floridians want the right to vote on marijuana legalization themselves, “not have...
FAA Orders DIA and Dozens of Airports to Cut Flights 10% Over Safety Concerns
kdvr.com, Approved, National

FAA Orders DIA and Dozens of Airports to Cut Flights 10% Over Safety Concerns

By: Heather Willard | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — The Federal Aviation Administration announced the specific airports that will see flight cuts as the department seeks to maintain air safety across the nation, and Denver International made the list. The order requires certain air carriers to reduce total daily scheduled domestic operations between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. at each airport by 10% through a slow ramp-up that begins Friday. There is no end date to the reductions. The FAA is requiring a 4% reduction in operations on Friday, a 6% reduction in operations by Nov. 11, an 8% reduction by Nov. 13, and to have the carriers reach the 10% reduction by Nov. 14. “My department has many responsibilities, but our number one job is safety. This isn’t about politics – it’s about assessing t...
Denver Voters Approve $935 Million Bond, Expanding City Debt and Mayor’s Agenda
kdvr.com, Approved, Local

Denver Voters Approve $935 Million Bond, Expanding City Debt and Mayor’s Agenda

By: Phil Rankin | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — Mayor Mike Johnston has declared victory on the $935 million Vibrant Denver bond package, Ballot Issues 2A-2E in Election 2025. Voters are being asked to approve funding for projects spread across five areas: 2A: $441M for transportation and mobility 2B: $175M for parks and recreation 2C: $30M for health and human services 2D: $244M for city infrastructure and facilities 2E: $59M for housing and shelters READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT KDVR FOX31
Colorado’s “Budget Crisis” Rings Hollow Amid EV Giveaway Surge
Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado’s “Budget Crisis” Rings Hollow Amid EV Giveaway Surge

By: Jon Caldara | Commentary, Complete Colorado Colorado’s governor just made this statement “The market has made it clear, EVs (electric vehicles) are here to stay.” I agree with him. Electric cars, unlike 8-track tapes and rotary-dial phones, will continue to be available to consumers for a long, long time. Cool. But why he made the statement puzzles me. He did so while touting his decision that the state will increase one of its subsidies to buy a new EV from $6,000 to $9,000. Wait a second. Which one is it? Has the market made clear electric vehicles are “here to stay”? Or do we need to increase the EV subsidy by a third to keep its market alive? And it begs another question: If the state is in a budget crisis, why spend our very scarce money buying people cars instead...
Government shutdown strains DIA operations and staffing
The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Government shutdown strains DIA operations and staffing

By  Deborah Grigsby | The Denver Gazette The shutdown of the federal government has begun to palpably affect the country’s airports, including at Denver International Airport, which is seeing staffing shortages, according to officials. By Monday evening, the Federal Aviation Administration was reporting that staffing shortages were creating delays at DIA, as well as airports in California and New Jersey. Denver International Airport officials anticipate that more than 938,000 passengers will travel through airport checkpoints between Oct. 9 and Oct. 20, a 5.5% increase over the same time period in 2024. Lawmakers, meanwhile, continue to disagree on funding the federal government, forcing air traffic controllers and other essential federal employees to work without pay. More ...
FAA Blames DIA Flight Delays on Air Traffic Controller Shortage
kdvr.com, Approved, National

FAA Blames DIA Flight Delays on Air Traffic Controller Shortage

By Heather Willard | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — Staffing issues have hit the skies above Denver as U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says the government shutdown is adding extra weight to air traffic controllers’ already high-stress jobs. Duffy visited air traffic controllers before speaking to the media at Newark Liberty International Airport on Monday. The airport is under a similar ground delay as Denver International Airport, with both advisories stating that staffing was causing the delays. Duffy said that there has been a small uptick in sick calls from controllers, and that if that gets worse during a prolonged federal government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration will have to reduce the number of flights taking off and landing, which would create further ...