Author: David O. Williams Special to Colorado Politics
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COVER STORY | Energy, environment at forefront of Colo. AG’s race
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From standing up to President Donald Trump to gun control, there are a lot of issues where George Brauchler and Phil Weiser diverge dramatically. But there’s no starker distinction between the two candidates for Colorado attorney general than on the twin topics of energy and the environment. And it’s over those issues that Brauchler and…
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Bennet says Silverthorne dodged a wildfire bullet
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SILVERTHORNE – Looking west to California, where a wildfire just exploded into the largest in state history, Colorado forest officials and politicians had a “there but for the grace of God (and a lot of hard work)” moment on the flanks of Buffalo Mountain above Silverthorne Tuesday. Colorado U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet Tuesday toured a 90-acre…
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COVER STORY: Mining cleanups under Trump: A speedup or just ‘sound and fury’?
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MINTURN – In the 1980s, as Vail was gaining international notoriety as a global ski destination and Beaver Creek was struggling through its formative years, there was a dirty little secret in the river flowing between the two resorts – a fish-killing mix of arsenic, zinc, cadmium, lead and copper causing the Eagle River to…
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Will a #MeToo wave help elect a woman as Colorado governor?
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Cary Kennedy sees two waves potentially carrying her into the governor’s mansion in November: Not only a blue wave of support for Democrats, but also potentially a women’s wave born of frustration with President Donald Trump and the many sexual-harassment scandals that have plagued Congress and the Colorado legislature. “I see women all over…
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Illegal pot busts are booming across Colorado’s forests. Are cartels to blame?
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Deep in Colorado’s national forests, shadowy teams of people are clear-cutting underbrush, trenching hillsides for cultivation, diverting and damming streams to create reservoirs, and using chemicals that are killing fish and wildlife. They leave behind animal carcasses, garbage and human waste, polluting mountain streams. And the destruction is spreading. In a state where growing…
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Granby ‘Killdozer’ author and Steve Bannon classmate blasts anti-government trend
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EDWARDS – Longtime Granby newspaper editor and publisher turned author Patrick Brower argues former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon helped propel Donald Trump to the presidency by stoking the growing flames of anti-government anger in ways that are dangerous for democracy and potentially deadly for innocent citizens caught in the crossfire. Brower should know.…
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Bennet, Polis roll out wilderness bill to tout public lands ahead of Outdoor Retailer show
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Not since December of 2014, when Republicans controlled both chambers but not the White House, has a federal wilderness bill in Colorado been approved by Congress. The climate would seem even more unfavorable these days, with the GOP now firmly in charge of Congress and the executive branch and President Donald Trump using his power…
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Politics of skiing: As Colorado eyes Winter Games, world politics, climate change share the podium
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VAIL – Snow sports – and the ultimate competitive form of them, the Olympics – are supposed to be apolitical, right? If NBA superstar Michael Jordan had been a snow skier, he might have said, “Republicans buy skis, too” – if in fact he ever really uttered his infamous line about sneakers. But the reality…
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Bears Ears public lands debate in Utah spills over into Colorado
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BLANDING, UTAH – A coalition of outdoor recreation businesses in Colorado plunged headlong this week into the war of words between Republican lawmakers and clothing-and-gear maker Patagonia over the President Trump shrinking Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah. The move highlights a growing push by Colorado’s outdoor recreation industry to use the more conservative…
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Business leaders, some lawmakers push for clean Dream Act by Christmas
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With Republicans dreaming of a tax bill in their stockings by the holidays, business leaders are still hoping for a clean Dream Act by Christmas. And so are the immigrants shielded from deportation by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. But Colorado business leaders are still optimistic Congress will pass the bipartisan Dream Act,…
