staging.rockymountainvoice.com

Menu

State

Colorado lawmakers OK bills on AI, oil and gas, medical malpractice
No Comments
coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado lawmakers OK bills on AI, oil and gas, medical malpractice

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics With the end of the legislative session looming closer, members of Colorado's state House worked on Sunday to debate bills, hold a committee hearing and advanced several measures.   With a vote of 37-24, the House passed House Bill 1468, which aims to broaden the scope of the state's facial recognition software task force to include the study of additional facets of artificial intelligence and biometric technology. Lawmakers also adopted an amendment to allow the task force to study the effects of artificial intelligence and biometric technology on "vulnerable communities," addressing points raised by parties and Judiciary Committee members regarding what they described as potential biases against people of color in faci...
Read More
Rockies tickets for 5 bucks? Tickets for Giants series at Coors Field are turning back the clock
No Comments
denvergazette.com, State

Rockies tickets for 5 bucks? Tickets for Giants series at Coors Field are turning back the clock

By Paul Klee | Denver Gazette Hey, it's not all bad news with the Rockies. Tickets are cheap. The local ballclub is last in the National League and first in your budget. The Rockies said Friday lower-level tickets for the San Francisco Giants series Tuesday-Thursday are good to go for as low as $5.05. It's the "Hot Rox" Cinco de Mayo special. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
Read More
Lundberg: A look at the bad bills remaining in the final week of session
No Comments
Commentary, State

Lundberg: A look at the bad bills remaining in the final week of session

By Kevin Lundberg | KevinLundberg.com I have not ever seen this many really bad bills in one session. Further there are still way too many bills yet to be fully processed and this too looks like a record-breaking volume. Please note that the bad bill list is not exhaustive, these are just the worst ones I have snagged. To see the most recently introduced bills, read the list from the bottom up. Follow Kevin Lundberg at kevinlundberg.com. Good Bills HCR24-1005 Parents’ Bill of Rights This is a resolution to refer to the people this constitutional addition. I helped write this bill, which was heard in House State Affairs last Monday. There was great testimony presented for several hours, but it was still killed, PLV (Party Line Vote). HB24-1022 Publis...
Read More
Bill to boost rural broadband, opposed by Polis administration, dies in committee
No Comments
coloradopolitics.com, State

Bill to boost rural broadband, opposed by Polis administration, dies in committee

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics A panel of Colorado lawmakers on Wednesday rejected legislation that would have prohibited the Colorado Department of Transportation from charging annual fees for right-of-way access to deploy broadband networks in some of the most remote areas of rural Colorado.  The Polis administration, which is pushing for high-speed broadband access to 99% of Coloradans in three years, opposed the measure.   Introduced back in January, negotiations over Senate Bill 91 with the Colorado Department of Transportation — whose fees broadband providers claimed would make rural access unaffordable — delayed its first hearing until this week, just a few days before the end of the 2024 legislative session. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLIT...
Read More
Three fallen officers added to the Colorado Law Enforcement Memorial
No Comments
denvergazette.com, State

Three fallen officers added to the Colorado Law Enforcement Memorial

By Sage Kelley | Denver Gazette Bagpipes playing "Amazing Grace" swept over the Colorado Law Enforcement Memorial on Friday, as three officers who fell in the line of duty last year took their place on the memorial. "This democracy was founded on the belief that people would be willing to sacrifice for others," Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said at the memorial — placed directly outside of the Colorado State Patrol Academy in Golden. "There is no more selfless act of service in this state, no more daunting act of heroism, than the decision of a law enforcement officer every morning to stand up and put on a uniform," Johnston said.  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
Read More
Colorado 14ers to see new trail construction, maintenance this summer
No Comments
gazette.com, State

Colorado 14ers to see new trail construction, maintenance this summer

By Seth Boster | Out There Colorado The nonprofit leader in building and maintaining trails on Colorado's highest peaks enters the field season with plans to progress on an unprecedented project. Colorado Fourteeners Initiative is celebrating 30 years this summer. Mount Shavano represents "the most massive project that CFI has ever undertaken," the organization's executive director, Lloyd Athearn, has said. Eight years ago, CFI bought 41 acres of old mining claims around the Chaffee County summit. That was ahead of work that began in 2021 to build new trail along the route deemed to be among the most environmentally damaging and unfriendly to hikers across the state's fourteeners. READ THE FULL STORY AT OUT THERE COLORADO
Read More
Colorado House approves bill to regulate funeral industry
No Comments
coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado House approves bill to regulate funeral industry

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics The bill to put Colorado's funeral home operators under state regulation for the first time in 40 years won near unanimous approval from the House Wednesday. Senate Bill 173 requires licensing for funeral directors, mortuary science practitioners, embalmers, cremationists, and natural reductionists. The licensing requirements are steep. The bill says perspective funeral industry professionals must apply, pay an application fee, pass a criminal history check and not be subject to discipline in another state. Those regulations go into effect Jan. 1, 2026. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
Read More
Colorado GOP leader angers candidates, county leaders with primary endorsements
No Comments
State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado GOP leader angers candidates, county leaders with primary endorsements

By Sandra Fish | The Colorado Sun Colorado Republican candidates and local party officials are objecting to a plan by statewide GOP leaders to endorse candidates in the June 25 primary, a break from the party’s decades-long tradition of staying neutral. The GOP on Tuesday sent a three-page questionnaire to Republican congressional and state legislative candidates nominated at assemblies quizzing them on a range of issues, including whether they support “President Trump’s populist, America-first agenda.” Three congressional candidates have denounced the plan to endorse candidates in the primary. And party leaders in two of the state’s eight congressional districts — the 3rd and 8th, both of which are competitive — told The Colorado Sun they won’t participate by refusing t...
Read More
Colorado owes taxpayers $34M in refunds it never sent. That means trouble for the state budget. 
No Comments
State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado owes taxpayers $34M in refunds it never sent. That means trouble for the state budget. 

By Brian Eason | The Colorado Sun The state government owes Colorado taxpayers an extra $34 million in refunds it should have sent out years ago, legislative budget staff told lawmakers Friday, blowing a hole in the state’s budget with just days left in the 2024 legislative session. The error was first uncovered by a state audit released in February. State officials had planned to come up with a solution by June, but after conferring with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, Joint Budget Committee staff members say the matter can’t wait until after the session. “We really don’t have any choice,” JBC Director Craig Harper told the budget writing committee Friday. “That’s an under-refund from prior years and will need to be refunded at the earliest available opportunity.” ...
Read More
Despite Boeing delays, Southwest Airlines VP talks Colorado Springs Airport service expansions
No Comments
Colorado Springs Gazette, State

Despite Boeing delays, Southwest Airlines VP talks Colorado Springs Airport service expansions

By Savannah Eller | Colorado Springs Gazette In a month that's seen Southwest Airlines dropping airports and limiting hiring in response to poor financial reports, a representative on Tuesday said business was good three years into service at the Colorado Springs Airport.  Vice President and Chief Sales Officer Dave Harvey said that the airline, which expanded to Colorado Springs in 2021, is seeing promising demand in the new market. He said in general new airports in the Southwest service network take three to five years to "mature" as customers become aware and start to take advantage of new flights.  In what Harvey said was a response to demand, Southwest recently announced the addition of a nonstop flight to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, st...
Read More