Author: Durango Herald Editorial Board

On Monday, before the Colorado House passed an amended House Bill 22-1326, the expansive bipartisan fentanyl bill that divided law enforcement and harm-reduction groups, we came across a headline that leveled us. “We’re Done with Dead Kids” ran over a recent U.S. News & World Report story about fentanyl overdoses. It hit close to home…

If you want to see community members take off the boxing gloves and really come together, get them talking about their kids and education. Not curriculums, not what teachers are or aren’t doing, not the fiery politics within polarized school boards around the country. But what we want our children to learn, embody and take…

We share in the excitement of the Senate confirming Judge Kentanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court in its 53-47 vote on Thursday. Since the hearings, we’ve had time to process and untangle all that happened. The grandstanding, the showboating, the self-serving behavior of some senators with higher political ambitions who used their time to…

This is April Fools’ Day and tobacco use is a foolish habit, but addiction is no joke and there is nothing remotely humorous about the diseases tobacco causes. That is reason enough to urge Colorado lawmakers to enact legislation banning flavored tobacco products. An effort to accomplish that is being spearheaded by a group called…

Bitter custody battles over Native American children have reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which will examine biology versus the best interests of a child, and culture and attachment. At the heart of the argument is the constitutionality of the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act, which prioritizes placement of Indian children with relatives, other Native Americans…

Watching the Senate hearings on Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, one can almost feel sorry for Sens. Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz. Stuck as they are in the 21st century, they cannot use the words they feel in their hearts are appropriate. Their dilemma might warrant a constitutional amendment. The words on the tips…

One word can carry so much weight. In this case, it’s the word “undocumented.” Enrique Orozco, community advocate with Compañeros, brought this to the attention of reporters and editors at The Durango Herald recently, when the word “undocumented,” used in a direct quote, was included in a story. “Undocumented” can “out people in jeopardy of…

Problem-solving politics over partisan politics gets our attention. In The Durango Herald on March 5 and The Journal on March 9, guest columnist Kristi Burton Brown, chairwoman of the Colorado State Republican Party, offered a list of what she called “real solutions” from a 44-bill package unveiled on the first day of the legislative session.…

It took about a week for Powerhouse Science Center’s Facebook page to be up and running again after Facebook suspended it on Feb. 17, hours before a final presentation on COVID-19, vaccines, pediatric health and misinformation. Powerhouse Executive Director Jeff Susor said Facebook would only say the nonprofit was reported for “violating community standards.” This…

A by-now familiar Associated Press photo captured U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., on the floor of the House as President Joe Biden delivered his first State of the Union address. The two were standing, mouths agape, as they screamed “build the wall” at the president. That picture says it…