Wait times at Colorado VA facilities among worst in nation
Numbers from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs show wait times for medical appointments at veterans facilities in eastern Colorado and the Denver area are among the worst in the nation.
The Denver Post reports veterans have seen little improvement in the three years since a national scandal erupted over the problem.
The average wait for a primary care appointment at the Denver VA Medical Center has grown to more than 18 days as of July 1. That’s four times the national average and three times higher than those at the main VA facility in Phoenix, where the long wait times were first exposed in 2014.
The scandal in Phoenix involved allegations that VA hospitals intentionally falsified records to make it appear patients were being seen promptly.
Trump plans to move Forest Service headquarters to Utah, shutter research sites | OUT WEST ROUNDUP
The Associated Press
the-associated-press@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 3 days ago
UTAH Forest Service bound for Salt Lake City SALT LAKE CITY — President Donald Trump’s administration will move the U.S. Forest Service headquarters out of the nation’s capital to Salt Lake City as part of an organizational overhaul that involves...
Pastors Scott Bottoms, Victor Marx win spots in Colorado GOP’s gubernatorial primary at party assembly
Ernest Luning
ernest.luning@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 8 hours ago
Two pastors from Colorado Springs qualified Saturday for the Republican gubernatorial primary ballot at the Colorado GOP’s state assembly in Pueblo in a party meeting that dragged late into the night. State Rep. Scott Bottoms, who is known as one...
Colorado House finishes work on 2026-27 state budget, finally
Marianne Goodland
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 14 hours ago
The House on Saturday, after four days of work – it usually takes two – finished up their work and voted on the $46.8 billion 2026-27 state budget, as contained in House Bill 1410 and 64 accompanying measures designed to...
Home rule has protected Colorado cities for over 125 years | Cronin and Loevy
Tom Cronin Bob Loevy
tom-cronin-bob-loevy@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 14 hours ago
Colorado is currently gripped by a political struggle between the governor plus the legislature in Denver and populous home-rule city governments, mainly on the Front Range, such as Colorado Springs. In the past few years, the legislature has been passing bills that applied to city government policies, which...
Colorado Politics calendar Apr. 13-19
Rachael Wright, Special to Colorado Politics
rachael.wright@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 4 days ago
CoPo’s weekly political calendar will help you find political and public-policy events throughout Colorado. It includes candidate and issue campaign events, public policy meetings, court hearings, state and local party conventions, assemblies, debates, rallies, parades, speaking engagements, traveling dignitary appearances,...
Minority Leader Peña argues against oil and gas bill | A LOOK BACK
Rachael Wright, Special to Colorado Politics
rachael.wright@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 4 days ago
Forty-Five Years Ago This Week: “The Colorado House of Representatives had just given its final approval to House Bill 81-1152, which created $9 million in tax relief to oil and gas companies. But this came “at the expense of local...
A longshot, upset bid and a few quick takes | SONDERMANN
By Eric Sondermann
by-eric-sondermann@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 3 days ago
It is hard to keep up these days. The flow of news often seems overwhelming. Let’s focus today on an unusual congressional race before moving on to a few quick, supplementary observations. Since its creation 54 years ago, Congressional District...
An “-“ends tribute in a week full of “odds” | Capitol M | Week of April 11, 2026
Marianne Goodland
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 3 days ago
The lighter side of the Capitol, usually… The decision to read the budget bill — the long bill, which spans 661 pages this year — put a damper on the House’s already less‑than‑festive mood. So Capitol M decided to catch...
What you need to know about the Colorado legislature reading a 661-page bill aloud
Marianne Goodland
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 14 hours ago
A rarely used procedural move by a Republican legislator threw the Colorado House into an extended slowdown, after she invoked her right to have a nearly 700-page state budget bill read aloud in full. Once Rep. Brandi Bradley, R‑Roxborough Park,...
Literal reading of budget bill complicates Colorado legislators’ plans for GOP assembly
Marianne Goodland
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 20 hours ago
Republican Rep. Brandi Bradley’s decision to force the full reading of the state budget — called the “long bill” for its obvious length — has not only slowed House business to a crawl but also disrupted her colleagues’ plans for...
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Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper: Time to roll up sleeves, address health insurance costs, market stability
In the wake of the Republican-controlled Senate’s inability to pass legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act this week, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper on Friday renewed a call for officials to sit down and come up with a bipartisan solution. “We are encouraged that the Senate has rejected efforts that would have raised health care […]
Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner: Obamacare backers 'finally' admit health care law needs bipartisan fix
U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, a Colorado Republican, said Friday that Democrats are “finally” admitting they need to work across the aisle to find bipartisan solutions to the nation’s health care system, adding that the failure by GOP senators to overturn the Affordable Care Act won’t stop efforts to replace the legislation, known as Obamacare. “It’s […]