trump administration
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Congressional deal means Space Force cleared for launch
A rare congressional compromise, backed by the White House and set for a vote this week, will give birth to a new military service for space, with Colorado airmen forming the core cadre of the new Space Force. Details on the new service were sparse Monday, but insiders say it will fall under the Department…
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Bennet gets assurance federal marijuana data will be collected evenly
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet says he’s gotten assurances that the Trump administration will play fair with marijuana data. Colorado Politics told you in August that the Democrat from Colorado was concerned the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) intended to cherry-pick the most damning information it could to make a case against legalized pot,…
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Environmental group puts up Pueblo billboard to defend Great Sand Dunes
As vehicles zip through Pueblo burning fossil fuels, the Denver-based Center for Western Priorities has a new billboard along Interstate 25 announcing its “Don’t Drill Our Parks” campaign. The advertising features the Great Sand Dunes National Park in southern Colorado. The Bureau of Land Management is considering leasing out parcels for oil and gas development…
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Hickenlooper makes plea to preserve domestic-violence funding
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is again making his views known to Washington, this time about domestic violence. Hickenlooper has the White House on his mind these days as he considers whether to seek the Democratic nomination for president in 2020. Congress left for its August recess without reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Congress…
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Interior opines on Endangered Species Act, as protesters await Zinke in Steamboat
On Thursday, Coloradan David Bernhardt, the deputy director of the Department of Interior, was making a case for the Trump administration’s changes to the Endangered Species Act in a Washington Post op-ed. Meanwhile, protesters in Colorado were making plans to protest his boss, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, as he speaks at a private event in…
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HUD chief Ben Carson tours Aurora complex, touts partnerships to ease housing crisis
After meeting with an older couple who sang the praises of their new, affordable rental unit, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson surveyed the view from the fourth-floor deck of the Aurora apartment complex – Pikes Peak barely visible through a slight haze that clung to the foothills – and then paused for…
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BIDLACK | Trump team denigrates expertise; shakeup at VA is a case in point
I stood in a very deep hole a few years ago, when I was a staffer working veterans issues for Colorado U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet. I had been given my very simple marching orders – make Colorado the best state for veterans – by the boss. Which is how I ended up in that hole.…
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INSIGHTS | Left won’t take Gardner at his word on support for parks
Environmentalists are hitting U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner where it hurts him most: On Colorado’s great outdoors. Part of the charm and, I’d argue, success of the Republican farm boy from small-town Yuma is his affability, and the inability of the left to get his goat. But his camp has fought back against the suggestion that…
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OUT WEST ROUNDUP | Oklahoma fast-tracks medical marijuana, faces pushback
Oklahoma Oklahoma fast-tracking medical marijuana, but with pushback OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma pushed ahead last week with emergency rules aimed at fast-tracking operations of the medical marijuana industry, but not before concerned health officials tacked on requirements that cannabis advocates say will only slow things down. The state Board of Health narrowly voted to prohibit…
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Advocacy group’s new poll shows western voters value public lands
A new poll from an environmental advocacy organization suggests western voters feel strongly about preserving public lands. The Denver-based Center for Western Priorities’ poll, Winning the West, asked those who were questioned online to weigh in on issues involving public lands, parks and wildlife. Republicans, Democrats and unaffiliated voters were surveyed. Among the results: The full…