Author: Paula Noonan
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A not-so-merry Christmas season for concerned Commerce City residents | NOONAN
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Happy holidays and keep your eyes and ears open for coming events in 2026 during the election season. As a heads-up, the closer government is to the people, the easier it is for small amounts of money to have big impacts. Take the recent Commerce City City Council election. For just about $175,000, local homebuilders…
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Confining pro-charter conditions destroying Colorado public schools | NOONAN
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Our public school system is injured by a thousand cuts. At year end, our most dear institutions are confronted with a lawsuit over book banning, a lawsuit over termination of a middle-school dean defending books, districts threatening educators with termination, and authorization of a tax grab and land grab by two charter schools in the…
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Underlying design failures built into Colorado’s standardized tests | NOONAN
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Third graders can’t read. That’s a common assertion. How do we know? Colorado’s CMAS standardized tests for third graders tell us. What the chicken littles who bemoan these tests scores, mostly individuals on the “pro school choice” and “voucher” side of the public education debate, don’t explain are the underlying design failures built into the…
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The theatrics of land-use in Douglas County | NOONAN
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If anyone thinks a county commission land-use session lacks theatricality, think again. Just drop into a land-use meeting in Douglas County with its current three commissioners. Citizens attending a Nov. 25 Dougco land-use session were treated to the following actions: a woman was tossed out for holding a sign; a state representative was talked over…
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Giving thanks for the long-overdue Epstein reckoning | NOONAN
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Thanksgiving is the best holiday. No gifts required. Just family and friends around a table enjoying each other’s company, expressing gratitude for the good things in their lives. Some good things arrived recently in the form of the Epstein emails. They revealed names of individuals who engaged in a variety of communications with child sex…
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Commerce City proves a harsh political fighting ground | NOONAN
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It’s a common saying: money talks. Our campaign finance laws allow money to speak loud and clear. In recent municipal elections, the blandly named Metro Housing Coalition, an organization supporting homebuilders and related businesses, sent $146,000 in election campaign dollars to another blandly named entity, Housing for Colorado, an independent expenditure committee (IEC). Independent expenditure…
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The message cost-conscious Coloradans should take from Mamdani’s mayoral win | NOONAN
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So much lately is offered about what the Democratic and Republican parties need to do to win elections. Are Democrats too lefty and Republicans too far on the extreme right? These questions are wrong. The focus should be on what actions can elected officials take to improve prospects for Americans, especially us Coloradans. Baby-boomer Americans…
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Colorado’s 2025 election hints at future of state’s public education | NOONAN
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Swoosh — that’s the sound of money flushed down the toilet by Denver Families Action on their expensive-but-weak candidates for Denver Public Schools Board of Education. Bravo — that’s the sound of praise from Denver voters for Denver’s public-school teachers. The mission of Denver Families Action led by Clarence Burton and Pat Donovan was to…
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A cabal of candidates in the Denver school board election | NOONAN
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A gaggle of geese, a murder of crows, a conspiracy of lemurs — these are the collective nouns that describe these collections of animals. In the Denver Public Schools’ board election, Denver Families for Public Schools has given us its own version: a cabal of candidates. Four candidates received Denver Families’ endorsements on top of…
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Pro-charter confusion clouds Colorado’s 2025 school board elections | NOONAN
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Confusion is the game’s name when it comes to school board elections in 2025. With outside, dark money pouring into the Denver Public Schools (DPS) race and others around the state, it’s easy for voters to get turned around. According to Clarence Burton of ironically named Denver Families for Public Schools (DFPS) along with his…
