Today is March 3, 2023 and here is what you need to know:

Colorado legislators rejected a bill that would have required retailers and companies in the hospitality industry to provide more predictable scheduling and compensation for “show up time” after sponsors acknowledged they would not compromise on a key change sought by the restaurant industry.

It signaled the first major loss by the House Democrats’ more progressive wing, which has offered legislation already facing veto threats from the governor.

House Bill 1118 died on an 2-8 vote in the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee, with the committee’s chair, vice-chair and two other Democrats voting it down, along with the committee’s four Republicans.

It’s no secret that many of the Colorado Republicans with the most experience in the political realm are sounding the alarm about the state GOP’s upcoming leadership elections, with some openly speculating that installing any of the announced candidates for the top party post threatens Republicans’ viability in the state for years to come.

Most of those in the running for state GOP chair return the favor, blaming the party’s seasoned politicians and political operatives for landing the party in the mess it’s in.

The party’s state central committee meets in Loveland on March 11 to pick a chair, vice chair and secretary for the next two years, finishing the reorganization process that began last month when county parties did the same.

With less than two weeks until mail ballots ship out, Denver’s mayoral race appears to be completely up for grabs, according to an exclusive poll released on Thursday.

The SurveyUSA poll of likely voters shows Lisa Calderón, former state Sen. Mike Johnston and former Denver Chamber of Commerce executive Kelly Brough sharing the lead in the 17-candidate field – though only barely – with 5% support for each, just outside the poll’s margin of error.

A whopping 58% of those surveyed say they’re undecided.

The poll, commissioned by The Denver Gazette/Colorado Politics, 9News and Metropolitan State University, also shows state Sen. Chris Hansen and at-large councilwoman Debbie Ortega have 4% support each, with state Rep. Leslie Herod, Al Gardner and Thomas Wolf bunched up behind them at 3% apiece.

The poll is the first of the mayor’s race done by media outlets.

Denver voters worry about crime, homelessness and affordable housing the most as the city prepares to elect a new mayor, according to a new poll released Thursday.

These subjects, in fact, have dominated the public policy discussions in the 17-way mayoral race to succeed Michael Hancock, who is term-limited.

The poll – commissioned by The Denver Gazette, Colorado Politics, 9News and Metropolitan State University and conducted by SurveyUSA – shows crime sits atop a list of 11 issues the respondents ranked as most important for Denver to address in the near future.

A parental evaluator already under fire for saying he disbelieves 90% of the domestic violence allegations he hears in custody cases faced new legal woes Thursday with the filing of a lawsuit that alleges his evaluations are extremely biased and favor abusive parents.

Colorado’s parenting evaluation industry profits as bitter child custody cases thrown into chaos

The lawsuit, filed in Boulder County District Court on behalf of six mothers, seeks certification as a class action. It states the potential class of plaintiffs is too numerous to identify but estimates at least 60 parents have similar complaints of bias against Mark Kilmer, a licensed Boulder psychologist who is the brother of the actor Val Kilmer.

“Kilmer has repeatedly and deliberately omitted credible allegations of spousal abuse, child abuse and child neglect in his reports and recommendations to Colorado’s courts,” the lawsuit states.