Author: The Daily Sentinel editorial board

Remember the hand-wringing that accompanied the Grand Junction City Council’s initial deliberations over developing Las Colonias Park, including building an outdoor amphitheater? The thinking at the time was that Grand Junction needed more cool stuff to plump up its vibrancy and that investing in quality-of-life amenities would see a return in the form of development…

It’s been more than five years since civil unrest erupted in Ferguson, Missouri over the shooting death of an 18-year-old African-American man by a white police officer. That August 2014 incident and several other officer-involved shootings sparked a national debate about accountability measures for police officers. Former Grand Junction Police Chief John Camper’s administrative team…

Has a piece of legislation been subject to greater misinterpretation – or misinformation – than the CORE Act? On three separate occasions this year, critics have taken shots at the bill in a way that supporters say is misleading. First, Mesa County commissioners came out in opposition to the bill in February on a false…

With Thanksgiving and Black Friday behind us, the holiday season is officially in full force. For many, thoughts now turn not only to shopping and decorating, but to expanding waistlines. It’s easy to stand in front of a platter of cookies and tell yourself you’ll start a program on Jan. 2 after all the egg…

Imagine what Rob Bleiberg calls a “rubber tomahawk emporium” selling kitschy tourist trinkets where South Camp meets Monument Road south of Grand Junction. Such an enterprise isn’t unheard of in that kind of location – near the entrance to a National Park Service property. If one existed there, it wouldn’t mesh with what the Monument…

Imagine what Rob Bleiberg calls a “rubber tomahawk emporium” selling kitschy tourist trinkets where South Camp meets Monument Road south of Grand Junction. Such an enterprise isn’t unheard of in that kind of location – near the entrance to a National Park Service property. If one existed there, it wouldn’t mesh with what the Monument…

Thanks in part to the efforts of local counties, a natural gas marketing initiative that the state of Colorado helped form and later walked away from has quickly been growing into a regional force. Read more at The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.

Maybe when Mesa County Sheriff Matt Lewis is finished calculating the cost of a bare-bones plan to expand the county jail, he can become an advocate for early childhood education. More sheriffs on jumping on this bandwagon. For example, former Oklahoma County Sheriff John Whetsel penned an op-ed in 2015 urging other sheriffs to become…

Everybody should have seen this one coming. Even so, stormwater drainage is like flossing. It’s extremely important and yet easy to overlook. There was a moment when it appeared as though the various entities responsible for stormwater drainage in the valley would come together and provide a comprehensive solution to a mounting problem. Read more…

There’s a lot to like about a plan hatched by Grand Valley Catholic Outreach to acquire a downtown apartment complex so it can help get chronically homeless people off the streets. The Grand Junction City Council is so receptive to the idea that council members are considering budgeting $500,000 to help Catholic Outreach acquire the…