Rocky Mountain Voice

Menu

Blog

Montezuma County Judge Agrees to 90 Day Suspension After Misconduct Admissions
No Comments
Colorado Politics, Approved, Local

Montezuma County Judge Agrees to 90 Day Suspension After Misconduct Admissions

By: Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics A Montezuma County judge and the Colorado Commission on Judicial Discipline both agreed this month that a suspension and public censure are the appropriate consequences for his multiple instances of misconduct, including invoking his title when facing a citation from state officials and exhibiting bias against a criminal defendant. Under constitutional Amendment H, which voters adopted in November 2024, a three-member panel will formally administer discipline to County Court Judge Ian J. MacLaren. The commission originally sought MacLaren’s removal from the bench for actions that allegedly included lying to disciplinary officials. However, on July 11, the parties told the panel that a combination of a public censure, unpaid...
Read More
Colorado’s renewable milestone deserves a reality check
No Comments
Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado’s renewable milestone deserves a reality check

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Sarah Montalbano, the author of the Complete Colorado piece below makes a great point in her article about renewables. In response to a recent article by fellow energy writer Allen Best, see the second link below, about Colorado hitting an energy milestone of “More than half the state’s electricity came from wind, solar and hydro during the first months of 2026”, Montalbano notes that perhaps it’s not time for celebrating yet. Quoting from her Complete piece, “The trouble is that this jubilant announcement of a ‘majority’ renewables power grid owes more to a stark drop in coal-fired generation than the wind and solar that was added. Percentages rely on both the numerator — how much wind, solar, and hydropower...
Read More
Has Trump kept his promises? You decide.
No Comments
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, National, Top Stories

Has Trump kept his promises? You decide.

By Russ Minary | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice I am tired of uninformed people and ideologues who complain that the Trump administration is not getting things done. So, here is a list of some of his accomplishments in just his second term. NOTE: I am not a Trump fanboy nor a partisan ideologue; I am a conservative who values the truth. You may dislike or disagree with Mr. Trump or certain members of his cabinet, or some of the 56 items on this list (sourced from Jeff Childers in his Coffee&Covid blog) but it provides hard details for your consideration.  I’ve read it and found it to be fairly accurate. Of course, nitpickers who like to sort the fly crap out of the pepper may find a few insubstantial things to correct. My focus is on facts and results.  Y...
Read More
Aurora Congregation Under Review Following Reports Of Homeless Exploitation Scheme
No Comments
The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Aurora Congregation Under Review Following Reports Of Homeless Exploitation Scheme

By: David Migoya | The Denver Gazette Two regional Seventh-day Adventist conferences that oversee the activities of its member churches across several states have launched inquiries into an Aurora-based congregation tied to a Medicaid operation that exploited the homeless. The Rocky Mountain Conference and the Central States Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist church — based in Denver and Kansas City, Kansas, respectively, and representing about 150 congregations in six states — said revelations that a newly created Aurora church was part of that enterprise were troubling. A Denver Gazette investigation into “The Program” showed how the Maranatha Indonesian-American Seventh-day Adventist Church was connected to a home-health agency that over three years collec...
Read More
Trump Election Security Address Draws Sharp Responses Across Colorado
No Comments
KJCT-TV ABC 8, Approved, National

Trump Election Security Address Draws Sharp Responses Across Colorado

By: Rachee Hatch | KJCT 8 GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KJCT) - Colorado state and federal lawmakers from both parties responded to President Donald Trump’s Thursday night address, in which he alleged the nation’s current election system exposes high levels of foreign interference ahead of the November midterm elections. During the address, Trump released unclassified documents he said showed China interfered in the 2020 election, which Trump lost to former President Joe Biden. “For many years I’ve called for bold, swift, and decisive action to protect the integrity of America’s elections,” Trump said. “Every American deserves to know that when they cast their vote, that vote will be counted accurately in a system, and that is to make that system secure, one where cheating an...
Read More
Vice President JD Vance Welcomes First Newborn To A Sitting VP In More Than 150 Years
No Comments
Daily Wire, Approved, National

Vice President JD Vance Welcomes First Newborn To A Sitting VP In More Than 150 Years

By: Brecca Stoll | The Daily Wire “Usha and the baby are happy and healthy." Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance welcomed their fourth child on Sunday. Alec Neel Vance was born Sunday morning at Walter Reed Medical Center. “Usha and the baby are happy and healthy, and our kids are overjoyed to meet their little brother,” Vance said on Sunday. Alec Neel Vance joins older brothers Ewan and Vivek and older sister Mirabel. https://twitter.com/JDVance/status/2078962245216731298?s=20 Alec Neel Vance’s birth marks the first time in more than 150 years that a sitting vice president has welcomed a newborn. The last baby born to a sitting vice president was Vice President Schuyler Colfax’s son, born in 1870 during President Ulysses S. Grant’...
Read More
Colorado Taxpayers Face Billion-Dollar TABOR Refund Money Grab Under Proposition NN
No Comments
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Taxpayers Face Billion-Dollar TABOR Refund Money Grab Under Proposition NN

By: Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics A coalition that includes the state teachers’ union on Tuesday launched a campaign for a ballot proposal that would reduce more than $1 billion in taxpayer refunds and spend the money on education. The measure is among several campaigns taking shape this year over state revenue. Broadly speaking, one side has long sought to raise more money, arguing what the state collects is insufficient to pay for services and programs. The other side counters that current revenues are sufficient but used unwisely, and what policymakers need is fiscal discipline. Referred to the ballot by the state legislature via Senate Bill 135, the average Colorado taxpayer would lose about $7,300 in TABOR refunds between the 2026-27 and 2036-37 fisca...
Read More
Colorado’s New Semiautomatic Firearm Law Takes Effect Aug. 1
No Comments
The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado’s New Semiautomatic Firearm Law Takes Effect Aug. 1

By Marissa Ventrelli | The Denver Gazette A Colorado law passed in 2025 established new requirements for individuals planning to purchase semiautomatic weapons. Here’s what residents should know before Senate Bill 003 goes into effect on Aug. 1. From a ban to a training course For decades, advocates have been pushing for a ban on semiautomatic weapons with detachable magazines, which they have described as “assault weapons,” though efforts escalated following the Columbine High School shooting in 1999. After the 2012 movie theater shooting in Aurora, the Colorado legislature passed House Bill 1224, which prohibited the sale, transfer and possession of ammunition magazines capable of holding more than 15 rounds. However, some advocates wanted mor...
Read More
Colorado Air Commission Advances Gas-Powered Lawn Equipment Restrictions
No Comments
The Sum & Substance, Approved, State

Colorado Air Commission Advances Gas-Powered Lawn Equipment Restrictions

By Ed Sealover | The Sum & Substance Hoping to ween commercial landscapers off emissions-producing gas-powered equipment, Colorado regulators will consider rules later this year to limit the percentage of companies’ mowers and blowers that are revved by fossil fuels. The Colorado Air Quality Control Commission on Thursday voted to schedule a November rulemaking that is a successor of sorts to a 2023 rule that banned the summertime use of the same equipment by the state and local governments over the past two years. AQCC members declined to impose the same regulations on commercial operators back in 2023, saying at the time that they worried a quick shift away from traditional equipment would cost too much for companies and lead to job losses. Three years ...
Read More
Colorado Faces Long Fire Season As Crews Gain Momentum On Major Blazes
No Comments
The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Colorado Faces Long Fire Season As Crews Gain Momentum On Major Blazes

By Justin George | The Colorado Sun Procession along I-70 scheduled Monday for pilot killed fighting Gold Mountain fire. On Sunday, firefighters worked across Colorado and prepped for monsoon weather. As firefighters work to fortify containment lines on wildfires burning across Colorado, a procession is set for Monday to escort the body of helicopter pilot Nicholas Dale from Montrose to Denver International Airport.  Dale, 56, of Canada died July 12 when his helicopter crashed into Silver Jack Reservoir while fighting the Gold Mountain fire near Ouray.  A small convoy of about 10 emergency vehicles is scheduled to leave Montrose at 7 a.m. Monday from Cripping Funeral Home and will travel north to Grand Junction then east on Interstate ...
Read More