The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel editorial: Senate should pass SB40
As we observe Sunshine Week, the annual nationwide celebration of access to public information, there’s some good news coming out of Denver.
Senate Bill 40, which seeks to modernize the Colorado Open Records Act, passed out of the state Senate Appropriations Committee Tuesday and is expected to be debated by the full Senate soon.
While this is not a perfect bill, we remain hopeful that the legislative process will preserve its original intent and fix some problematic amendments. The Senate deliberations are the first step.
The bill is predicated on an idea that every member of the Senate should champion: that the records of government belong to the people and the public deserves meaningful access to them to be able to fully understand the operations of government.
Federal judge green-lights excessive force trial against Fort Collins officers
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 11 hours ago
A federal judge concluded last week that a jury will need to resolve whether two Fort Collins police officers violated a man’s constitutional rights by using excessive force after he refused to accept a citation. In a Jan. 21 order,...
Colorado House launches ethics review of Rep. Ron Weinberg filed by fellow GOP legislator
Marianne Goodland
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 13 hours ago
The Colorado House will convene an ethics committee to review a complaint filed by Rep. Brandi Bradley, R-Roxborough Park, against fellow Republican Rep. Ron Weinberg, R-Loveland. It will be the first time since 2012 that the House has formed an...
Colorado lawmakers reverse course, OKs $2.4M funding for additional prison beds
Marissa Ventrelli
marissa.ventrelli@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 11 hours ago
The Colorado legislature’s budget panel changed course on Wednesday, reversing its previous decision to deny the Department of Corrections $2.4 million request to pay for additional prison beds. Last week, JBC members voted, 4-2, to deny the department’s request, with...
Trump allies urge Supreme Court to uphold his birthright citizenship order
Jack Birle, Washington Examiner
jack.birle.washington.examiner@gazetteedit.wpenginepowered.com
Updated 14 hours ago
The Supreme Court will soon hear a landmark challenge over precisely who can enjoy the birthright citizenship granted under the 14th amendment, and the Trump administration and its allies are urging the high court to side with the president’s view....
Trump sues IRS and Treasury for $10 billion over tax return leak
David Zimmermann Washington Examiner
davidzimmermannwashingtonexaminer@wpstage.coloradopolitics.com
Updated 12 hours ago
President Donald Trump filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS and Treasury Department as one of the plaintiffs on Thursday, alleging a former IRS employee leaked his confidential tax records over six years ago. The federal lawsuit, filed in...
Party-line vote sends ‘red flag’ law expansion to Colorado Senate
Marissa Ventrelli
marissa.ventrelli@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 11 hours ago
A panel of Colorado state senators voted along party lines Tuesday to advance a bill that would further expand who can ask a judge to temporarily restrict a person’s access to firearms under Colorado’s extreme risk protection order law. The...
Colorado Republicans plan to return to Pueblo for 2026 state GOP assembly | TRAIL MIX
Ernest Luning
ernest.luning@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 16 hours ago
The Colorado Republican Party plans to hold its 2026 state assembly in Pueblo in April, marking a return to the largest city in the only county in the state that’s flipped from Democrat to Republican to Democrat to Republican in...
Several Denver-area school districts cancel classes Friday amid national shutdown
Michael Braithwaite
michael.braithwaite@gazette.com
Updated 10 hours ago
The protest is in response to ICE operations Several Denver-area school districts canceled classes on Friday due to staff shortages amid a shutdown campaign nationwide. The shutdown, held across the country on Friday, came about in response to recent U.S....
‘Shrek’ check: ‘Rally more, protest less,’ suggests former Parker mayor
John Moore
john.moore@denvergazette.com
Updated 18 hours ago
‘There is this major lack of empathy out there right now,’ says the bearded and burly Mike Waid, who plays three roles in controversial musical Mike Waid wonders if this country might not be so divided if we just rallied...
Federal judge declines to dismiss strike-breaking nurses’ lawsuit over wage violations
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 11 hours ago
A federal judge last week declined to dismiss 39 nursing employees’ claims for compensation against a Greenwood Village-based company for its alleged violations of state and federal law. U.S. Nursing Corporation employs health care professionals to cross the picket lines...