One of the most magical parts of living in Colorado is the vast diversity in the great outdoors we have across this gorgeous state just a short drive away. We have everything from wide open plains in the east, sand dunes in the south, snow covered mountains and red rock canyons in the west, … Continue Reading
We all like to say that people’s lives are priceless. Or that we value the presumption of innocence. But that’s just lip service unless we pass SB21-062. In Colorado, and in practice, life and liberty comes with a price tag. In Michael Marshall’s case it came down to $100. Continue Reading
Simon Lomax: "The ideological demands of party activists and donors have grown so loud that many elected officials can’t — or won’t — pay attention to much else." Continue Reading
As members of the legislature meet to consider updates to the school funding formula, I strongly urge a shift away from a twenty-year-old formula that limits additional funds to support our most economically disadvantaged English-Language-Learners (ELL). These students need more support allo… Continue Reading
Eva Henry: "In recent years, Colorado has been assertively ramping up its efforts to reduce the carbon pollution that causes climate change, and 2021 is shaping up to be the year where Colorado genuinely hits its stride in tackling the climate crisis." Continue Reading
Health-care providers like myself, discuss health and prevention whenever we can. From specific issues that include diet and exercise to other behaviors like wearing your seatbelt and obtaining vaccines. Our job is to raise the issues we think can best help our patients live their healthiest lives. Continue Reading
Papa Dia: "Families are asking for their kids to receive a high-quality high school education that sets them up for long-term success — so let’s give it to them." Continue Reading
Hand on the doorknob, I braced myself before entering my patient’s room. After a six-week hospitalization for COVID pneumonia that included a complicated intensive care unit stay, he was eager to return home to his wife and two young children. I had bad news for him. He would need months of … Continue Reading
Lawmakers have yet again put a policy on the table that will exacerbate the housing shortage in Colorado. It will force residents to pay some of their neighbors’ rent — letting those neighbors off the hook for contributing their fair share. Continue Reading
The origin of the word crisis signified a “turning point in a disease.” This lends us a broader perspective on what happens when there is a systemic trauma: a shift in directions. Continue Reading
Reps. Lisa Cutter and Alex Valdez: "Plastic pollution is out of control — clogging up trails and streams in the beautiful mountains of HD25 and littering the streets of this country’s most polluted zip code in HD5, plastic is everywhere." Continue Reading
Jennifer Schubert-Akin: "What would Dr. King think of current efforts to award jobs, promotions, and contracts on the basis of skin color rather than on merit?" Continue Reading
Javier Mabrey: "In the words of Bryan Stevenson, we live in a country that treats you better if you are rich and guilty than if you are poor and innocent. The rich can afford bail and walk free while they await trial, and the poor are forced to go to jail." Continue Reading
Nellie Dephtereos: "Despite the difficulties and closures small businesses have faced, the homeless community, however, has managed to build something of an empire, a permanence that has taken on new life since COVID-19." Continue Reading
Colorado Senate Bill 188, in its current form, jeopardizes Colorado’s much-touted reputation as a leader in election security and must be rejected or amended to minimize risk to our elections.Under current law, voters with disabilities are allowed to electronically receive and mark a ballot,… Continue Reading
The last year of the COVID-19 pandemic created widespread concern about the health and well-being of ourselves, our loved ones and our community. Beyond worrying about contracting the virus, many have worried about their or others’ ability to receive routine care. Now, Colorado politicians a… Continue Reading
Sarita Parikh: "I’m surprised that I have to defend legislation that would help more entrepreneurs access quality health care. Unfortunately, it’s necessary because the debate over this matter has turned into a political fight fueled by deep-pocketed special interests that are more concerned with profits than with helping small businesses thrive." Continue Reading
In addition to the direct assistance to local governments that the American Rescue Plan Act will deliver, the state of Colorado also will be the recipient of roughly $4 billion. While there are no doubt significant needs the aid will address, the windfall also can salve a wound that was open… Continue Reading
As a 13-year-old girl, I fled a civil war in my native country, Liberia. I watched as armed individuals held my mother at gunpoint, attempting to find her fiancé, who, at the time, was a high-ranking government official. Despite everything, my family and I were able to flee Liberia and settl… Continue Reading
Elsa Bañuelos: "There was a major loss this week in the fight for racial justice in Colorado. Senate Bill 182, which sought to address the devastating systemic racism within school discipline and school policing, was defeated by a collection of law enforcement leaders, school administrators, conservative talk radio listeners, and Nextdoor enthusiasts." Continue Reading
Since the pandemic started, our state’s unemployment system has been a disaster. At the very time that unemployed Coloradans most needed the state government to show basic competency, it failed them. Continue Reading
Bill Levis: "Let the PUC do its job and come up with its recommendation before the General Assembly supersedes its law of two years ago to require something that it mandated that the commission study." Continue Reading
Luke Niforatos: "Allowing drive-through weed purchases has created multiple problems for regulators and law enforcement. Purchases conducted in the car make it much harder to identify when underage customers, for example, are purchasing the product or if the product is consumed while driving. In addition, this policy has made the drug much easier to obtain." Continue Reading
Anita Seitz: "To an outsider looking at a map of Colorado, you can understand why it might not seem like the fires have much to do with a city like Westminster, where I live with my family. But living in Westminster, or anywhere else across the Front Range, we understand all too well why it matters." Continue Reading
As a physician, I have served families and their health needs for many years. Every day, I am a firsthand witness to the struggles these families go through as they try to navigate a health-care system that is getting increasingly complex and expensive every year. Continue Reading
Sonya Jaquez Lewis and Julie Gonzales: "At a time when we should be coming together, pharmaceutical companies continue to charge Coloradans 65 to 85% more than people in other countries for the same drugs." Continue Reading
Will Coggin: "Colorado lawmakers are thinking about the future with their proposed legislation to reduce plastic waste. They want to ensure Coloradans have clean communities to enjoy for generations to come. While their goal is admirable, they must be judicious when determining which “single-use" plastics they want to eliminate." Continue Reading
Kristi Pollard: "Over the course of the last 18 months, a lot of ink has been given to the subject of metropolitan district elections and the eligibility of their board members. As a nonprofit promoting more transparency and education around this important funding mechanism, we welcome the discourse and want to do our part to take the mystery out of the process." Continue Reading
Last November, Colorado voters made history when we overwhelmingly approved Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) at the ballot. As a life-long fiscal conservative and small-business owner, I was concerned about the potential impact on my business and my employees. However, through my partici… Continue Reading
Much has been written about America’s staggering $1.7 trillion student loan debt but comprehensive solutions have been MIA. Many proposals to forgive debt don’t make sense because they primarily help wealthier borrowers. They also fail to address how some educational institutions have been r… Continue Reading
Sticks in the mud. Overly cautious. Obstacles to progress. Continue Reading
Cheri Witt Brown: "In Weld County, 22% of families are renter households and are extremely low income. Having a secure, long-term place to call home has significant positive impacts on public health outcomes and gives families a stable foundation for the future. Unfortunately, buying a home continues to be out of reach for many families, and it’s not just the cost of the monthly mortgage." Continue Reading
Kim Roberts: "As someone who has both adopted a dog from a rescue and purchased one from a pet store, this seems ludicrously ironic and disingenuous. It is not the licensed pet stores that need oversight and additional rules for the protection of both consumers and animals, but unlicensed individuals and groups that portray themselves as 'rescues.'" Continue Reading
Terri Richardson: "Establishing a new, state government-run public option could ultimately hurt the very communities it is purportedly designed to help, leaving racial and ethnic minorities communities behind yet again." Continue Reading
While the pandemic made the rich richer and the poor poorer, it has also shown how essential blue- and white-collar working families are to keeping our communities together. We already know Colorado’s economic recovery will be better for some people than others, which is why we must prioriti… Continue Reading
Sonia Riggs: "Today, the public overwhelmingly supports alcohol to-go. In fact, 85% of adults over the age of 21 want this to be permanent in Colorado. As a political issue, that’s a slam dunk. This is not just a pro-consumer innovation, but a pro-business one as well. Yet there is opposition to legislation making the governor’s executive order part of Colorado law, and that’s perplexing." Continue Reading
Colorado U.S. Sen Michael Bennet has a reputation as a mild-mannered guy. He makes self-effacing jokes. He calls himself an “accidental senator”— a reference to his surprise appointment in 2009 to fill the seat vacated by Ken Salazar when he joined President Obama’s cabinet. He can have real… Continue Reading
Higher pay for high-quality teachers; incentivizing concurrent enrollment; making our schools safer. Sounds brilliant right? That’s what Senate Republicans thought, too, until 23 of the 24 education reforms we proposed were rejected by Senate Democrats during our last legislative session. Continue Reading
Kelly Brough: "While many of us have had a brief respite from congestion due to the pandemic, we are already seeing traffic jams and delays while much of our workforce continues to work remotely. There’s no question that as more of us begin to head back into our offices, much of our time will be wasted sitting in our cars again." Continue Reading
Jeffrey J. Clayton: "Senate Bill 62 is legislation built upon a false premise — never a good idea when lawmakers are trying to sell meaningful change to their constituents. Pushed as a solution by the ACLU of Colorado to reduce jail populations, the organization holds that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, crime was not a problem this past year." Continue Reading
Amber Freed: "Imagine the state of Colorado standing in the way between your son with a rare disease and life-changing drugs. That is my real-life nightmare playing out at the State Capitol." Continue Reading
Frances A Koncilja: "If SB72 passes, this new Transmission Authority has the sole discretion to build transmission lines anywhere they want, with no notice to you and no way for you to participate in the decision." Continue Reading
Kathie Barstnar and Dave Davia: "Colorado went from boasting the best economy in the nation to ranking nearly dead last when measuring which states' unemployment rates are bouncing back most from the COVID-19 crisis. Our primary concern should be recovery. We must salvage our economy and reclaim the economic vitality that fuels opportunity and prosperity for everyone." Continue Reading
Our country suffers from extreme polarization. There is no easy way to diffuse the controversies and find common ground without a common set of facts. If there are many conflicting narratives, each claiming to reflect the truth, we will continue to be stymied. By promoting objective fact … Continue Reading
Last March, as toilet paper and disinfectant flew off shelves, Coloradans didn’t know how our state could weather this global health emergency. But a year into the pandemic, we’ve seen how some unlikely heroes have used their grit and a sense of community to help us persevere. Continue Reading
Ana Lara-Roca: "I’ve found that trust between patients and our clinic is integral to providing quality health care and our clinic’s success. Unfortunately, during the span of my career, but especially in the past four years, I’ve seen trust in government plummet among immigrants, specifically those who are undocumented or living with undocumented family members." Continue Reading
There’s a looming crisis in our state’s support system for our most challenged at-risk youth. It may only impact a small portion of Colorado’s children and teens, but if not addressed, it could create significant gaps in care for youth who depend on behavioral health and substance-abuse services. Continue Reading
Mike Kopp and R. Stanton Dodge: "We all watched with sadness the events that unfolded in Texas in mid-February, when their public utilities experienced blackouts brought on by the brutally cold arctic weather. ... Witnessing the impact of that failure crystallized just how important having a reliable electrical grid is to our society and economy." Continue Reading
Sick people are already going through a lot. Colorado’s health care system is forcing us into impossible choices. What happens when your health system refuses to contract with any insurance providers on the market, and you lose access to your doctors in the middle of a pandemic? Continue Reading
Rob Moulton: "Frequent changes at both the state and local levels increase the difficulty of understanding pandemic-related requirements from week to week, much less implementing them with the kind of fidelity mandated by the issuing entities." Continue Reading
