Author: By Savannah Eller savannah.eller@gazette.com
-
El Paso County planning commission chair Tom Bailey vies for Colorado Springs City Council District 2
—
by
Colorado Springs City Council District 2 candidate Tom Bailey says his years on the El Paso County Planning Commission have prepared him to help the city grow sustainably. “I think we’re moving in a very good direction for the most part,” he said of Colorado Springs. Bailey is running to replace City Council President Randy…
-
El Paso County commits federal funds to Falcon Highlands for drainage issues
—
by
El Paso County has announced the allocation of $1 million in federal grant funding to help fix chronic issues with the Falcon Highlands Metropolitan District’s drainage system. Falcon Highlands is a community near Falcon in unincorporated El Paso County. As a metro district, Falcon Highlands is a quasi-governmental entity responsible for most of its own…
-
Lessons from L.A.: What Colorado Springs can learn about wildfire preparedness
—
by
When Steve Wilch deployed on scene to fight the 2021 Marshall Fire in Boulder County, the instructions he received from a coordinator were dire. “These townhomes and these condos, we’ve lost the first row,” he said he was told. “You need to protect the next six rows, and your hydrant is dead.” Now, with evidence…
-
Republicans in the lead for El Paso County commissioner races
—
by
The El Paso County Board of County Commissioners will likely stay red this year, with Republicans taking the lead against Democrats in each of three open elections. All three Republican candidates are leading against Democrats in early unofficial results. In District 3, Republican Bill Wysong has 54.02% of the vote to Democrat Naomi Lopez at…
-
Property tax relief coming in El Paso County? 2025 forecast offers a mixed bag.
—
by
For many El Paso County homeowners, opening the letter containing their 2023 property tax estimate was a blood-pressure-raising experience. “It really scared a lot of people,” said El Paso County Assessor Mark Flutcher. For good reason: The county’s biennial reappraisal process took into account the housing market from the last half of 2021 though the…
-
Palmer Lake mayor shouts down trustee during contentious Elephant Rock meeting
—
by
Tension over the fate of the 28-acre Elephant Rock property donated to the town of Palmer Lake came to a boil at a recent board of trustees meeting. “Keep your mouth shut please,” shouted Mayor Glant Havenar, interrupting trustee Shana Ball during a discussion about the property. The exchange last week prompted the walkout of…
-
Falcon Highlands Metro District replaces three board members in recall election
—
by
The Falcon Highlands Metropolitan District has changed the makeup of its board of directors, early recall election results indicate. The quasigovernmental district near Peyton entered an off-cycle recall election this month for three of the board’s five members. The recall of board members Erin Ganaway, Leo Schuhmacher and Tim Dickey were each a yes-or-no question…
-
As rates rise and coverage vanishes, Colorado Springs home insurance market reaches “tipping point”
—
by
If experience is the best teacher, then Leigh Candelas is an expert in protecting her own home from a catastrophic fire. A 2013 Black Forest fire survivor whose ranch-style house was damaged but not destroyed, she has in the intervening years made it a priority to protect her house with proactive safety measures, going so…
-
Consumer data company helps El Paso County correct voter rolls
—
by
In last year’s coordinated election, more than 33,000 ballots were returned undelivered to the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder’s Office. Using national credit data, clerk and recorder Steve Schleiker says that number is decreasing. The data, mined from international consumer credit reporting company Experian, has helped Schleiker’s office identify out-of-date addresses among the county’s…