As a working mom of a 12-year-old boy with autism and ADHD, I was happy to see Colorado Politics coverage of SB22-144. Thousands of parents and guardians use HopSkipDrive for transportation services, but few were aware of the impact this legislation could have on their everyday lives. As cov… Continue Reading
Gov. Jared Polis announced last week that Colorado income taxpayers will receive a $400 cash “dividend” this summer, moving up the payout from the original 2023 timeframe. The commonly-known definition of a dividend is a sum of money paid regularly (typically quarterly) by a company to its s… Continue Reading
On behalf of Colorado’s 64 sheriffs, their deputies and the communities they protect, we want to recognize the hard work that is being done by the Colorado General Assembly to address the fentanyl crisis and to provide harm reduction and substance-use prevention within House Bill 22-1326. Continue Reading
Colorado Politics’ coverage of the abortion bill recently signed by Gov. Jared Polis states that this new law will guarantee a right to abortion in Colorado. This seems to overlook and re-frame the facts from a specific advocacy position. Continue Reading
The Denver police violated activists’ rights during racial injustice demonstrations following George Floyd’s murder in 2020. And on March 25, a federal court jury awarded a $14.5 million settlement to 12 activists as a move toward repairing this harm. And yet, on the heels of this settlement… Continue Reading
Re: BIDLACK | Alamosa shouldn't recall DA on taxpayer dime, March 18 Continue Reading
State Rep. Marc Catlin from the Western Slope is sponsoring HB1151, providing grants for replacement of irrigated turf. This is another important tool to assist homeowners in water conservation. Continue Reading
I live in Firestone and could potentially be a live participant — or maybe a guinea pig? — in a test to see whether or not regulators follow the new state law and put public health and safety first. Will the regulator protect David or Goliath? Continue Reading
The Build Back Better Act being contemplated in Washington is bad for Colorado business and Coloradans. Here in Colorado, we have been building back better from the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses and everyday Coloradans pulled together, had each other’s backs, and together we’re creating a st… Continue Reading
The Feb. 11 article “Bill to mandate industry-paid recycling poised to surface in Colorado House” failed to note that all materials are not created equal, nor are they recycled at the same rates. In fact, more paper by weight is recycled from municipal waste streams every year than plastic, … Continue Reading
At this year's March for Life, anti-abortion advocates celebrated. A majority of Supreme Court justices support abortion bans, so an upcoming ruling on the case of Dobbs v. Jackson puts Roe v. Wade at risk. Despite calling themselves pro-life, I do not feel as if the movement cares for my life. Continue Reading
This past week we lost an outstanding public servant, wonderful husband and father, and good friend to many of us. Pat Teegarden, the director of policy and legislation at the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE), passed away late last week. His passing was far too soon in the … Continue Reading
Fifty-seven organizations partnered together to create a list of demands at the State of the Climate Rally on Jan.13. I agree with the environmental community’s calls on Gov. Jared Polis to declare a climate emergency for the state of Colorado, as well as requiring the COGCC, CDPHE, and othe… Continue Reading
If you ask anyone in the San Luis Valley about the Renewable Water Resources (RWR) proposed pipeline, you will hear a clear and honest answer in opposition to this idea. We are starting to see a trend around the Front Range and Denver Metro area to where the answer to their water issues is l… Continue Reading
Like many other students, the COVID-19 pandemic threw my routine and learning environment into chaos. I spent my final year in college on Zoom, rather than learning in a classroom with my peers. When schools were forced to move college classes online in March 2020, we had just days to get us… Continue Reading
Re: “Saudi Arabia presents fresh opportunities,” Dec. 8. Continue Reading
It is clear, after the last two years of teaching both in-person and virtually, that education will forever include the use of technology. We’ve all managed an incredible level of uncertainty this past year-and-a-half. And with cases spiking and guidance around classroom protocols continuing… Continue Reading
Re: "State must improve oil well management," Nov. 18. Continue Reading
As the news from Texas gets worse and worse about patients being denied their Constitutional right to abortion, I think it’s time we in Colorado took action on our own. Continue Reading
I am honored to be the elected representative for Denver City Council's District 8, which includes Northeast Park Hill and the former Park Hill Golf Course. I am deeply committed to ensuring my constituents' voices are heard and their interests are represented on Council and in city processe… Continue Reading
Re: OPINION: Make drillers, not taxpayers, cover cleanup costs, Sept. 20 Continue Reading
As the retired executive director of the Colorado AFL-CIO, the former state representative from Colorado's House District 2, and the former chair of the Democratic Party of Denver, I have spent much of my life fighting to protect and expand health care for my family, union members that I rep… Continue Reading
As an educator and a school board member, I hold conflicting views on this issue. I am not a fan of masks or the thought of forcing a vaccine that the CDC has yet to affix their stamp of approval. However from a school board member's point of view, we are bound by what the state and local he… Continue Reading
Re: "INSIGHTS | What penance does Colorado pay for the sins of a globe?" June 21. Continue Reading
Does not Senate Bill 293, "Property Tax Classification and Assessment Rate," strike at the very nature of the citizens' right to petition their government? Continue Reading
Colorado Politics columnist Kelly Sloan is part of the problem with self-appointed Republican pundits. So hooked on the false projection of their own bias, they fail to see the forest for the trees. Continue Reading
Re: "'Cocktails to go' helps restaurants keep going," May 28, advocating legislation to permit to-go sales of alcohol by restaurants. Continue Reading
Who will protect us from our governor's effort to violate the protective provisions of the post-WW II Nuremberg Code, which forbade medical experimentation on unwilling or unknowing subjects? Continue Reading
Recently Colorado Politics published an opinion piece titled, “Would MLK have approved of identity politics?” by the Steamboat Institute's Jennifer Schubert-Akin. Continue Reading
You have made it appear that all of Adams County agrees with Eva Henry's opinion ("Building a coalition to take climate action," April 30). I, for one of many, am not in agreement with her statements. Continue Reading
Re: “SENGENBERGER| Democrats prepare power grabs,” April 27. Continue Reading
The consequences of COVID-19 have made it clear that my right to decide my future is still in jeopardy as long as my ability to access reproductive health care is dependent on my finances and zip code. Continue Reading
It seems all too easy these days to find fighting across the political aisle, but the bipartisan appointment of Reps. Karen McCormick, D-Longmont, and Marc Catlin, R-Montrose, as the chair and vice chair of the House Agriculture, Livestock and Water Committee is a great example of putting po… Continue Reading
Are you following the current reparations happenings in the United States of America? Toward the end of March 2021, the city council in Evanston, Illinois, approved reparations expenditures to Black homeowners who can exclusively use the funding for home-related expenses. Last week, a congre… Continue Reading
Re: "Homelessness in Denver is out of control," April 19. Continue Reading
In a classic example of the tragedy of the commons, oil and gas corporations often sell off their no-longer-productive lands with haste, altogether avoiding the responsibility of reclamation. Unsurprisingly, the number of “orphaned,” or unattended, wells continues to multiply on our lands — … Continue Reading
The American people have been looking for relief from high health insurance costs. The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan and its expansion of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and its marketplaces help provide that relief. With the pandemic exposing the need for affordable health insurance, thi… Continue Reading
In their quest to cut health-care costs, Colorado lawmakers must make sure not to silence the voices of patients and caregivers who are most affected by their decisions. Continue Reading
The American Rescue Plan includes much-needed relief for consumers when it comes to health insurance costs, and at the center of this legislation is historic expansion of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and its marketplaces across the country, improving accessibility and affordability. Continue Reading
During this year’s Black Maternal Health Week, many organizations across the country are speaking out about the importance of supporting, trusting, and listening to Black women. The existing inequities that Black, indigenous and other people of color face during pregnancy are unconscionable,… Continue Reading
Our enormous daily intake of both misinformation and its more nefarious cousin, disinformation, has sickened our democracy with a kind of heart disease that is threatening to give America a massive coronary. Continue Reading
It is past time to change some of Colorado’s most offensive place names and monuments — including mascots. In her March 9 ColoradoPolitics.com column ("BARTELS | Two bills take aim but totally miss the target"), Lynn Bartels stated that the recently proposed SB21-116, a measure that will pro… Continue Reading
For those of us on a fixed income, one of our worst fears is an emergency that occurs — whether something happens to our health, a major issue in the house, or other unexpected issues. So, you can imagine how reluctant I was to even be transferred to the ER by ambulance somewhat recently whe… Continue Reading
A trade association for organizations that make their living institutionalizing children peddles scare stories about what might happen if they can’t institutionalize quite so many children. That’s the reality behind the rhetoric in a recent column by Becky Miller Updike of the Colorado Assoc… Continue Reading
The Denver City Council is considering a proposed ordinance to allow marijuana smoking and vaping indoors in certain establishments in Denver to people 21 years or older. This proposal seems not only outrageous, but a step backward from all the progress that has been made in terms of protect… Continue Reading
There is some misunderstanding about the proposed Traveling Animal Protection Act, SB21-135, which is aimed at ending wild animal performances in traveling circuses, county fairs and similar venues. Continue Reading
I was surprised to learn my friend was undecided on the abortion ban ballot measure in November. I assumed she knew the devastating impact of Proposition 115. Continue Reading
Was the recent Texas "deep freeze" unique? Continue Reading
Colorado working families need relief and the expansion of the earned income tax credit is it. As a working single parent tax season has always come a little too late. It is the time I can get caught up on bills, a time I didn’t have to drastically budget my groceries, a time I could conside… Continue Reading
There were so many lies in Douglas Groothuis’ recent commentary on abortion I’m not quite sure where to start ("THE PODIUM | Abortion isn't health care — not even close," Feb. 10). It’s insulting to doctors and patients alike. Continue Reading
