Author: The Pueblo Chieftain Editorial Board

The highest-paid public employee in 39 states is either a college football or basketball coach, according to figures compiled last year by ESPN senior researcher Charlotte Gibson. In many states, the only public employees whose yearly salaries exceed $1 million are coaches at big-time public universities. Meanwhile, the “student athletes” who generate the enormous revenues…

Well, well, well. There’s a new consultant’s report available on the feasibility of Pueblo dumping Black Hills Energy and starting a city-run electric utility. And, if you’ll pardon the pun, the latest study casts the idea in a completely different light than an earlier study commissioned by the city. Black Hills paid Massachusetts-based Concentric Energy…

Sabina Genesio was introduced to the public this week as Pueblo County’s new manager and she quickly outlined a no-nonsense approach to her new job. She described her mantra as being “on time, on budget and on purpose.” “The ‘on purpose’ part is just making sure we ask the question: Are we doing things because…

Say this much for Pueblo City Councilman Mark Aliff: He hasn’t been afraid to take on some of the community’s toughest issues during his first term in office. First Aliff formed a committee to address challenges with the local homeless population. That committee successfully found a location for a permanent homeless shelter, which is something…

The Midtown Farmers Market kicked off a new season last week. In doing so, it raised a question that will be answered during the sizzling summer months: Can Downtown Pueblo support two farmers markets, both operating at roughly the same hours on the same days? The Midtown Farmers Market will be competing head-to-head with El…

“Deadbeat dads” is kind of a harsh label. And according to Joe Manzanares, a case manager for the Pueblo County Department of Social Services, it’s probably not being fairly applied to at least some non-custodial parents who fail to pay court-ordered child support. “There are lots of gray areas as to why people don’t pay,”…

A new charter school scheduled to open this year near the Colorado State University-Pueblo campus has replaced its executive director. However, that apparently is going to be only a minor setback for the K-5 school. Logan Gogarty, the founder and driving force behind the Villa Bella Expeditionary School, was removed as executive director following his…

The last few months haven’t been easy for the people who serve on the Pueblo City Schools (D60) board of education. As they’ve sought input on plans to repair or close various schools throughout the district, they’ve been accused of all sorts of things. They’ve been told they had biases toward closing certain high schools.…

Whatever else might be said about them, you’ve got to admit that the majority of Pueblo City Council members are a studious bunch. Just this week, they approved a contract to pay a Denver-based law firm $250,000 to study the legal ramifications of splitting from Black Hills Energy and getting electricity from another source. That…

About a month ago, we editorialized about Pueblo Mayor Nick Gradisar’s first three months in office. We noted then that our city’s new chief executive seemed to be keeping a low profile, although he told us he’s been busy and his to-do list is quite long. Well, he’s still keeping a low profile. And some…