valerie richardson
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Term-limited Gallagher spends final days fighting DIA, city hall
Dennis J. Gallagher is leaving his post as Denver city auditor after 12 years, and he’s going out with a bang. Which for Gallagher is entirely appropriate. In one of his last acts of office, Gallagher dealt a broadside to the Denver International Airport Hotel and Transit Center in the form of a “white paper,”…
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Caldara’s push for 30-round ammo magazine limit shot down by Republican legislators
Any chance for a late bill to double the ammunition magazine limit to 30 rounds this year appeared to disintegrate when GOP state Rep. Patrick Neville revealed Wednesday that 26 Republican legislators have signed a letter opposing the idea. The letter to Independence Institute president Jon Caldara, who has championed the 30-round limit in a…
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CU Regents reject fossil-fuel divestment over objections of student activists
This was a tough week for Fossil Free CU, the University of Colorado’s pro-divestment student group. First its protest camp on Boulder’s Norlin Quad was snowed out, and then the Board of Regents voted against divesting the endowment from oil, natural gas and coal. The board rejected calls for divestment in a 7-2 vote at…
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Aurora city manager gets reprieve as critics agree to drop issue, wait for Nov. election
George “Skip” Noe’s job is safe for now, but the Aurora city manager may want to think twice before ordering any 2016 season tickets. Aurora city council members pushing for his resignation agreed to drop the issue — at least temporarily — after nobody budged during Monday’s executive session. Despite a series of closed meetings…
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Rift over Aurora city manager spills into election calculus
Aurora city councilwoman Molly Markert wants to see city manager George “Skip” Noe gone, and she’s willing to run for mayor to make it happen. The Aurora city council has been locked for months in a 6-5 split over whether Noe should stay or go. Markert stands with the five-member, all-female minority pushing for his…
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Suthers, Makepeace gear up for run-off in Colorado Springs mayoral race
John Suthers and Mary Lou Makepeace will square off in a May 19 run-off election for Colorado Springs mayor after emerging as the top two vote-getters in Tuesday’s balloting. Neither candidate hit the 50 percent threshold needed for an outright win, but Suthers, 63, came the closest. He picked up about 47 percent of the…
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Democrats irked as Republicans allow Pay Equity Commission to sink into sunset
Democrats condemned Monday’s late-night vote allowing the Colorado Pay Equity Commission to expire as “indefensible,” even as Republicans dismissed the panel as a do-nothing solution in search of a problem. The Senate Committee on State, Veterans and Military Affairs voted 3-2 along party lines to defeat House Bill 15-1133, sponsored by Rep. Jessie Danielson, D-Wheat…
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CU’s Benson complies uneasily with Democratic probe into climate professor
University of Colorado officials have turned over information – albeit grudgingly – on professor Roger Pielke Jr. to U.S. House Democrats on what he calls a “witch hunt” into the funding of certain climate scientists. CU President Bruce Benson complied last week with a request by U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., for Pielke’s salary, external…
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Suthers sits atop Colorado Springs mayoral race
COLORADO SPRINGS – The burning question surrounding the Colorado Springs mayoral race isn’t whether John Suthers will win. It’s whether he can garner the votes needed to avoid a post-election run-off. Even Suthers agrees that’s probably not going to happen. Given a packed field of six contenders plus a write-in candidate, it’s unlikely anyone will…