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Colorado avoided big funding cuts for schools. But relief for districts could be short-lived.
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State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado avoided big funding cuts for schools. But relief for districts could be short-lived.

By Erica Breunlin | Colorado Sun Colorado lawmakers averted the potential for serious funding cuts for schools after passing a set of modest property tax cuts during the special legislative session in August. But the relief for school districts could be short-lived. A tight state budget forecast and competing funding priorities are stoking fears that Colorado elected leaders could drop their pledge to begin ramping up funding for schools next year. A new funding formula — signed into law in May after three decades of little change to the way Colorado distributes money to schools — was celebrated by a bipartisan group of lawmakers as a landmark accomplishment of the 2024 legislative session. The new approach added to momentum for school finance after Gov. Jared Polis and legislator...
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Cost of living, housing affordability are top concerns for Colorado residents
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coloradopolitics.com, State

Cost of living, housing affordability are top concerns for Colorado residents

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics Cost of living, housing and politics top the list of concerns for Coloradans this year, according to the Colorado Health Foundation's annual pulse survey. Of the 2,404 individuals surveyed, 19% identified cost of living and inflation as the most important issue facing the state, while 17% named housing affordability and 11% cited government and politics. Other top concerns included homelessness, immigration and public safety. Immigration saw the highest change — a 12-point increase from last year's survey. Responses for cost of living and housing increased 3 and 2 points, respectively.  READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Thick wildfire smoke from fires surrounding state will arrive in Colorado by today
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CBS Colorado, State

Thick wildfire smoke from fires surrounding state will arrive in Colorado by today

By Joe Ruch | CBS COLORADO We are in the thick of fire season across the Western United States. No fires are currently burning across Colorado, but hundreds of fires are actively burning as seen on the Watch Duty map. Critical fire weather will make a return tomorrow, so please avoid any potential activities that may cause a spark. Smoke filtered in from Idaho on Monday and Tuesday, it remained light enough there was no impact to air quality but did reduce visibility a bit across the Front Range. A new wave of smoke is headed towards the Denver metro area, this time moderate to thick smoke is expected.  READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
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Colorado Sens. Bennet, Hickenlooper introduce legislation to finish financing the long-delayed Arkansas Valley Conduit
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coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado Sens. Bennet, Hickenlooper introduce legislation to finish financing the long-delayed Arkansas Valley Conduit

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics The hopes for clean drinking water for more than 50,000 families in the Arkansas Valley in southeastern Colorado could take one more significant step forward with the introduction of legislation this week to finalize payment arrangements for the Arkansas Valley Conduit. The conduit is a 130-mile pipeline that starts at Pueblo Reservoir and goes to Lamar, just shy of the Colorado-Kansas border. According to Bill Long of the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservation District, it is intended to provide clean drinking water to the residents of the Arkansas Valley. For decades, they have relied on wells with water that contains high levels of salt, selenium, and even radioactive materials. Selenium is the most difficult to eradicate, he said. REA...
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Aurora officials admit knowing about Venezuelan gang’s activities months ago
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denvergazette.com, State

Aurora officials admit knowing about Venezuelan gang’s activities months ago

By Denver Gazette Aurora officials on Wednesday admitted they had been arresting people suspected — though not yet confirmed at the time of their apprehensions — of being members of a Venezuelan gang operating in the metro Denver long before the media spotlight on the city. The gang's activities also "significantly affected" apartment complexes in the city, officials acknowledged. To date, authorities have linked 10 people to the gang and arrested eight, the city said in a news release sent a day after the gang situation in Aurora took center stage at last night's first presidential debate between Republican Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. READ THE FULL STORY AT DENVER GAZETTE
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Colorado conservatives face get-out-the-vote gap as election looms
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Colorado conservatives face get-out-the-vote gap as election looms

By Heidi Ganahl | Rocky Mountain Voice With just over 50 days remaining before a critical election, Colorado's conservatives are grappling with a major organizational gap in their get-out-the-vote (GOTV) efforts. Internal battles over leadership have left the state party in limbo, while national political grassroots groups—typically a key source of support—are largely absent. Despite some outside help for two congressional races, the lack of coordinated efforts has left conservative activists and volunteers across Colorado asking: How can they make a difference with so little time left? This disconnection comes at a frustrating moment for many conservative voters, who feel that Colorado’s increasingly blue voting trends have diminished the state’s role in national elections. Without ...
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Colorado ranchers ask U.S Fish and Wildlife to intervene, take control of wolf reintroduction program
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coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado ranchers ask U.S Fish and Wildlife to intervene, take control of wolf reintroduction program

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Ranchers who have lost dozens of livestock to wolves no longer have confidence in Colorado Parks and Wildlife and are now asking the federal government to intervene. On Aug. 28, Don Gittleson of Jackson County and Conway Farrell of Grand County and their families wrote to regional officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, asking them to take control over decision-making regarding program to reintroduce wolves in Colorado. While Colorado Parks and Wildlife manages Colorado's wolves, under the wolf restoration plan and the 10(j) rule issued by U.S. Fish & Wildlife, the federal agency still maintains primary oversight. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Remember Those Apartment Complexes Taken Over by Venezuelan Gangs in Colorado? Well…
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State, TownHall.com

Remember Those Apartment Complexes Taken Over by Venezuelan Gangs in Colorado? Well…

By Madeline Leesman | Town Hall A Colorado landlord has agreed to sell an apartment complex because it was taken over by the violent Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua.  According to the New York Post, landlord Zev Baumgarten had been fighting with Aurora, Colorado leadership after the city accused him of allowing Aspen Grove apartments to become a “trash-ridden, gang-infested hellhole.” Baumgarten also owns the property where a viral video showing members of the gang breaking into an apartment unit. READ THE FULL STORY AT TOWN HALL
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DA Linda Stanley to be disbarred over misconduct during Barry Morphew prosecution, state board rules
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Canon City Daily Record, State

DA Linda Stanley to be disbarred over misconduct during Barry Morphew prosecution, state board rules

By Shelly Bradbury | Canon City Daily Record Eleventh Judicial District Attorney Linda Stanley will be disbarred for ethical violations and misconduct that largely happened during the high-profile prosecution of Barry Morphew in the 2020 murder of his wife, a Colorado disciplinary board ruled Tuesday. State disciplinary authorities found Stanley made inappropriate comments to the media during the since-dismissed Morphew case, did not adequately supervise the prosecution of the case, caused numerous discovery violations and initiated a baseless, retaliatory investigation into the judge on the case. She also made inappropriate comments to the media in an unrelated case, the board found. “…Nothing short of disbarment would adequately address respondent’s betrayal...
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Xcel drained its $94M energy efficiency budget after marijuana growers took notice — and wants $34M more
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State, The Colorado Sun

Xcel drained its $94M energy efficiency budget after marijuana growers took notice — and wants $34M more

By Mark Jaffe | Colorado Sun “Unexpectedly high customer interest” led Xcel to pull the plug on a program helping businesses green their operations — for now. After shooting through most of its energy efficiency budget for this year, Xcel Energy has suspended all its programs for businesses and asked state regulators for an additional $34 million above the $93.6 million already agreed on. In a filing to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, Xcel Energy’s Colorado subsidiary — Public Service Company of Colorado — said that there was “unexpectedly high customer interest and participation in the company’s electric energy efficiency offerings this year.” READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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