Today is April 29, 2024, and here’s what you need to know:

Is Colorado’s local government sector functional or dysfunctional? | ANALYSIS

While much of the attention is focused on politics and governance at the state Capitol, the bulk of decisions that directly affect people’s daily lives often come out of the local city council, school board and county commission.

Indeed, the saying all politics is local aptly describes the role that local governments play in shaping America’s body politic. In fact, one think tank says 95% of all elected offices in the U.S. serve at the municipal level.

But while local governments are perhaps the most significant arm of America’s democratic polity, they have little oversight, begging the question: Is the local government sector functional or dysfunctional?

In Colorado, entire city councils have resigned amid controversies since 2023. State legislators have intervened by passing laws to keep towns operating. County commissions have engaged in numerous public battles. And school boards have become decidedly political.

Federal judge orders John Eastman to explain why he should remain attorney on Colorado case

A federal judge in Colorado has ordered John C. Eastman, the alleged legal architect of former President Donald Trump’s plan to remain in office despite losing the 2020 election, to explain why he should not be removed as the plaintiff’s attorney in an ongoing civil lawsuit.

Under the rules of Colorado’s U.S. District Court, an attorney cannot be in “good standing” to practice if they are not in good standing everywhere else they are admitted to practice. Eastman is currently on “involuntary inactive status” in California, after a state judge concluded last month that Eastman’s attempts to subvert the presidential election on Trump’s behalf merited his disbarment.

On April 9, the clerk’s office for the district court notified Judge S. Kato Crews that Eastman, one of the attorneys on a constitutional rights lawsuit out of Colorado Springs, was “no longer considered in good standing” because of his discipline in California. Crews, in turn, directed Eastman to explain why he should not be removed as an attorney from the case.

BREAKING: Despite CPW claims 'depredation has ceased,' 2 more cattle killed in Grand County

A yearling and a heifer were killed in Grand County over the weekend, with evidence both died from wolf attacks, despite claims by a Colorado Parks and Wildlife official that the agency’s non-lethal efforts to stop the killing have “ceased depredation.”

The heifer, a young female that has not yet calved, was on the same ranch that lost four yearlings about 10 days ago, according to Steamboat Radio.

Rancher Conway Farrell said Sunday they’ve been working with the local Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff.

Colorado Democrats advance 2 gun bills, including proposal to ban firearms in 'sensitive' spaces

Colorado House Democrats on Friday gave preliminary approval to a pair of firearms bills from the state Senate, including legislation that would prohibit lawmakers from bringing guns into the Capitol.

Senate Bill 131, which seeks to ban guns in “sensitive spaces,” initially prohibited firearms in 19 locations. The bill was amended by its sponsors to limit those locations to just a handful, including polling places, child care, schools, public college and university campuses, and local government offices and courthouses.

The bill was drafted against the backdrop of landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions on guns.

Tents back at pro-Palestinian protest on Auraria Campus in Denver

Ignoring university officials, pro-Palestinian protesters set up roughly 40 tents over the weekend at the Auraria Campus in Denver, saying they are prepared to “defend” the encampment until their demands — notably divestment from companies that operate in Israel — are met.

Police officers arrested dozens of protesters on Friday, a day after hundreds occupied the Auraria Campus, which is shared by the University of Colorado Denver, Metropolitan State University of Denver and the Community College of Denver. Authorities had also cleared several tents that went up near the Tivoli building.

On Sunday, the tents were back — and there are more of them.

“Our plan is to defend the encampment and keep our numbers up, and just keep going that way,” said Khalid Hamu, an organizer with Students for a Democratic Society, whose Facebook page prominently says, “Free Palestine.”