common sense institute
-
Plagued by crime, metro Denver is among the worst in America: CSI report
A new report paints metro Denver as an urban region plagued by rising crime – with numbers that are among the worst in the country. Car theft in Denver is second highest in the nation, and three other Colorado cities rank in the Top 10, according to the Common Sense Institute, a free enterprise think tank. Indeed,…
-
Common Sense Institute names Kelly Caufield as its new Colorado leader
The Common Sense Institute tapped Kelly Caufield on Friday as executive director of the research organization’s Colorado branch. Denver-based Caufield will take the reins in Colorado as Kristin Strohm, the organization’s president and CEO, focuses on expanding the Common Sense Institute nationwide. Currently, the Common Sense Institute operates in Colorado and Arizona, with plans to…
-
Local governments’ participation is crucial to goals of $300 million ballot measure, analysis says
The buy-in of local governments is key to successfully implementing the goals of Proposition 123, which, if approved by voters this November, would direct $300 million per year in TABOR refund revenues into affordable housing programs, according to an analysis from a Colorado think tank. Indeed, the proposal will only be as successful as the…
-
Report: Education budget increases did not translate to higher teacher pay
The salaries of Colorado teachers are not increasing at the same rate as the budgets for school districts, according to a report released Wednesday. The annual Dollars and Data Report from the Common Sense Institute found that, over the last 14 years, Colorado’s funding per student has increased by 47% while the average teacher salary…
-
Common Sense Institute: Colorado Option could lead to cuts in services or higher premiums
Is the Colorado Option sustainable? A new report from the Common Sense Institute, a think tank that hews to the conservative values of free enterprise and individual opportunity, is raising concerns that the Colorado Option, a state-mandated health insurance plan for the individual and small group markets that becomes available in 2023, may be hindered…
-
House judiciary panel tackles sweeping legislative response to fentanyl crisis
Editor’s note: The House Judiciary Committee this afternoon heard testimony on a sweeping legislation aimed at confronting Colorado’s fentanyl crisis. This story has been updated multiple times. Here’s the latest. Herod can’t attend fentanyl hearing as Joint Budget Committee meets at the same time Rep. Leslie Herod, who was temporarily appointed to the House…
-
Advocates for stricter penalties for fentanyl press their case
A coalition of business leaders and law enforcement officials made the case Monday for making simple possession of fentanyl a felony, one day ahead of a House panel hearing a sweeping bill that seeks to confront Colorado’s opioid crisis. JJ Ament, president and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, thanked Speaker of the…
-
COVER STORY | Unsustainable? Colorado’s government keeps growing
Proponents of Colorado’s TABOR designed the constitutional amendment to curb government’s voracious appetite for more spending. But Colorado’s most recognizable tax law, which turns 30 this year, hasn’t stopped the state government from growing. Not even close. Consider this: lawmakers propose to spend $36.4 billion in the next fiscal year, an amount that funds 62,928…
-
WATCH: Colorado Conversations panel discusses solutions to state’s affordable housing problem
Solutions to Colorado’s lack of affordable housing problem will have to come from myriad angles, including regionalizing and streamlining permitting, increasing the skilled labor workforce and curing “NIMBYism,” industry experts said Thursday during a “Colorado Conversations” panel discussion. The event, hosted by The Denver Gazette and Colorado Politics, focused on the causes of extremely low…