Author: Colorado Springs Gazette Editorial Board

Urbanites who enjoy America’s playground can thank 36,000 rural landowners for managing and preserving landscapes that make Colorado an ethereal land of awe. Coloradans who leave the city to hunt, fish, hike, bike, climb, bird watch, camp, stargaze or enjoy countless other outdoor activities can thank rural property owners for voluntarily opening more than 2…

Want to watch a Colorado politician jump out of his seat and run for cover? Just whisper the word, “immigration.” It is, of course, a sensitive subject in the state’s political circles these days – and new polling results reported in The Gazette last week underscore why mere mention of it makes elected leaders so…

The transformational District 11 School Board wants better outcomes for children. Period. That is and should be the board’s primary focus, given the district’s historically low proficiency scores on state testing of students. This should also be the highest concern of the Colorado Springs Education Association. Leaders of the union siphon public money from teacher’s…

To impose a litany of dangerous new gun-control measures of questionable legality, legislative Democrats have put ignorance on full display. Take, for example, Rep. Chad Clifford’s recent comments reported by the Colorado State Shooting Association (the official state association of the NRA) in a March 28 email. After multiple gun owners testified that Senate Bill…

Some Colorado cities and counties are breathing new life into an old call to action, “Think globally, act locally.” They are tackling tough problems the state government can’t or won’t address – or, in some cases, that the state created in the first place. The advocacy group Advance Colorado – familiar to voters for championing…

“I’m leaving, I’m going back to Denver. You guys have too many rules.” Springs Rescue Mission President and CEO Jack Briggs hears this and slight variations from homeless people who enter the facility for food, shelter and an assortment of other needs – and then complain about it. Colorado Springs City Councilors – who augment…

There’s broad agreement that a shortage of new condominiums is a key factor driving Colorado’s affordable-housing crunch. Last week, the Legislature took another step toward adopting reforms that promise to kick-start condo construction. It’s about time. Senate Bill 24-106, which passed the Senate Local Government and Housing Committee on Thursday, nips and tucks at current…

When urban Front Range liberals released wolves on Western Slope farmers and ranchers, they illustrated how 51% of voters can tyrannize the other 49%. In this case, a slim majority brazenly imposed liability on a large minority. Wolves kill livestock, outdoor pets and on rare occasions, children. Because the wolves certainly will kill livestock and…

A state panel charged with finding long-term relief from Colorado’s skyrocketing property taxes had better not settle for a mere “Version 2.0” of the ineffectual relief-lite that was ginned up by last fall’s special legislative session. If it does, hard-pressed taxpayers are likely to give up waiting for the state to take meaningful action –…

Try as they might to smother our state’s innovative, flourishing and wildly popular public charter schools, teachers unions and their minions in the Legislature can’t seem to get the job done. It is, perhaps, a testament to the incompetence of anti-charter special interests – but also to the depth and breadth of genuine support for…