joann ginal
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Consider pets in evacuation plans, animal rights group urges lawmakers
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A fire evacuation plan should include pets. That’s the message policymakers reviewing potential wildfire legislation heard on Wednesday from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Saving pets became a major issue during the Marshall fire, which struck on New Year’s Eve last year and tore through more than 1,000 homes and businesses.…
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Bills aiming to combat wildfire ready for committee action
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Legislators last week introduced a slate of legislation crafted during the legislative interim to combat wildfires in Colorado. The five bills, now ready for committee action, stem from the work of the Wildfire Matters Review Committee, a 10-person panel featuring six Democrats and four Republicans charged with studying wildfire prevention and mitigation during the months in which the…
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Bills on drug imports, public health option move through Colorado legislative committees
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The first two bills tied to the health care agenda of Colorado Gov. Jared Polis are already moving through the state legislative process – although, if passed, it will likely be at least a couple of years before Coloradans see results. House Bill 1004, which would set up a study on a “public option” for health…
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2 more elections on tap for Colorado state Senate
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The results of Colorado’s 2018 midterms will mean two more elections before the end of the year, both for soon-to-be-vacant state Senate seats. Democratic Sen. Matt Jones of Louisville ran for the Boulder County Board of County Commissioners and won. He will be sworn into office on Jan. 8. The same happened to Democratic Sen.…
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Bill aimed at drug abuse has tough time against Colorado doctors’ orders
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Legislators talk a lot about fighting the drug abuse epidemic, but the fate of a bill aimed at helping by connecting doctors writing prescriptions directly to pharmacies is going to down to the wire House Bill 1279 is supported by the Colorado Retail Council, which includes pharmacies who say it’s a common-sense measure to reduce the…
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Colorado House moving bills aimed at high healthcare costs
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DENVER – House Democrats have made good, so far, on their promise to pass bills aimed at curbing healthcare costs, and Thursday they passed one out of committee to address the high cost of insulin. House Bill 1009, sponsored by Rep. Dylan Roberts, D-Eagle, would require pharmaceutical companies, pharmacy benefit managers, insurers and nonprofits to…
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Bill to link doctors to pharmacies online combats forgeries for opioids
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A bipartisan bill filed in the Colorado House last week would make it harder for drug abusers to forge or duplicate prescriptions on paper to steal opioids, and it’s kind of simple: Prescribers and pharmacies should close the loop online. The bill would require podiatrists, dentists, physicians, physician assistants, advanced practice nurses and optometrists, as…
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Insights: When did knowing too much become so political?
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Normally it’s Democrats who want the public to know more about the effects of energy production near people, flora and fauna, but not so much on wind energy. That irony came to visit when Rep. Paul Lundeen brought a bill this session to create a state-approved online clearinghouse of credible information – about the public’s…
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State Sen. Irene Aguilar endorses Ashley Wheeland in HD 9 Democratic primary
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State Sen. Irene Aguilar, a Denver Democrat, this week endorsed Ashley Wheeland, one of two Democrats challenging state Rep. Paul Rosenthal in a primary in southeast Denver’s House District 9. “Ashley has a long record of fighting for Colorado communities and their health care, something I am passionate about as well,” Aguilar, a primary care physician,…
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THE PODIUM: State’s investment in oral health saves money — and lives
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There are times when reaching out to those in need is not only the humane thing to do but also the most prudent. It can make for smart policy because it eases the cost on all society – a win-win for some of our most at-risk citizens and for the taxpaying public. Coloradans have been…
