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Caldara: Talk radio’s not dead, but is showing its age
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Approved, Commentary, completecolorado.com, National

Caldara: Talk radio’s not dead, but is showing its age

By Jon Caldara | Complete Colorado (You can listen to this column, read by the author, here.) I must have hit that age. Nostalgia keeps overtaking me. I remember a Colorado that had thriving, competitive newspapers in every city, along with equally thriving local radio to keep them in check. There was a time when local radio was big. Colorado, and the Front Range in particular, had some of the most competitive radio wars in the country due to more stations than similarly sized metro areas. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocated radio frequencies very miserly, so one station’s broadcast wouldn’t bleed into another’s. And since the Front Range market was so far away from other big urban markets, we had more radio real estate available. Hard to have lo...
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Colorado could be first to protect biological data from Big Tech
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado could be first to protect biological data from Big Tech

By Marissa Ventrelli | COLORADO POLITICS A panel of lawmakers approved legislation that would make Colorado the first in the nation to protect people's biological data from technology companies, raising worries that new machines could be come so powerful they could read thoughts.  The House Judiciary Committee advanced House Bill 1058, which expands upon the Colorado Privacy Act's definition of "sensitive data" to include biological and neural data.  Under the measure, biological data means information that provides a "characterization of the biological, genetic, biochemical, or physiological properties, compositions, or activities of an individual's body or bodily functions." It includes neural data, which the bill defines as "information that c...
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El Paso official to Denver Mayor Mike Johnston: Keep asking for federal funds | Border Crossroads
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, Downtown Denver, El Paso County, Local

El Paso official to Denver Mayor Mike Johnston: Keep asking for federal funds | Border Crossroads

By Nicole C. Brambila | SOURCE: COLORADO POLITICS Editor's note: Welcome to Border Crossroads, a series of dispatches from America's southern border, where reporter Nico Brambila and multimedia producer Tom Hellauer are chronicling the crisis that is spilling over into Denver and other interior cities.     EL PASO, TEXAS — El Paso Deputy City Manager Mario D’Agostino offered some advice to Denver Mayor Mike Johnston: Keep pushing for federal money to address the crisis brought on by surges of immigrants crossing the border. El Paso Deputy City Manager, Mario D'Agostino, discusses how his city obtained federal funds to address the immigration surges in recent yearsPlay Video “Don’t give up on the funding requests,” D’Agostino said. "Continuing to push for the fund...
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Fankhauser remembered as fierce advocate for beef industry
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Fankhauser remembered as fierce advocate for beef industry

Terry Fankhauser, among the state’s greatest advocates for the cattle industry, is being remembered by cattle raisers and dignitaries in Colorado for his unwavering devotion. Fankhauser died Monday, Jan. 29, following complications from a heart surgery. For more than two decades, he served as the executive vice president of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association, retiring in 2022 to return to the family’s farm in Kansas. Terry Fankhauser served for 22 years as the executive vice president of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association, retiring in 2022 to return to the family’s farm in Kansas. (Photo Courtesy Colorado Cattlemen’s Association) “We have lost a truly great man; a loving husband, dad, and friend,” said Robert Farnam of Brush, president of the Colorado Cattle Association. “H...
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2 Colorado counties and RTD use taxpayer dollars on political consultants to generate more tax dollars
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Approved, CBS Colorado, Denver Metro, Local

2 Colorado counties and RTD use taxpayer dollars on political consultants to generate more tax dollars

By Shaun Boyd | SOURCE: CBS News As Coloradans brace for massive property tax spikes, some local governments are quietly laying the groundwork for ballot measures that would hike taxes even further, and a loophole in Colorado state law allows them to use your tax dollars to figure out how to get more of your tax dollars. Under state law, a government entity can't spend more than $50 to support a measure after it's on the ballot, but there's no limit on what they can spend before it makes the ballot. Natalie Menten, founder of Colorado Engaged, says the Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners is among those using the loophole to run political campaigns on the public's dime. A political activist, government watchdog and chief nemesis of the commissioners, Menten says they're ...
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While Boebert’s fundraising has slowed, she still holds big cash lead in new district
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Approved, National, The Colorado Sun

While Boebert’s fundraising has slowed, she still holds big cash lead in new district

By Sandra Fish | The Colorado Sun Lauren Boebert started the year with a large campaign cash advantage over her Republican primary opponents in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, even as the congresswoman’s fundraising slowed in the last three months of 2023, according to federal campaign finance reports filed Wednesday. Some of Boebert’s opponents in the 4th District, which includes the Eastern Plains and sweeps into Loveland and Douglas County, received financial help from big-name GOP donors, while others injected money into their own campaigns.  The reports, covering federal campaign fundraising and spending from Oct. 1 through the end of the year, are the first filed since U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, a Windsor Republican who represents the 4th District, announced in November...
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Gov. Polis signs first 2024 bill into law, increasing earned income tax credit
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Gov. Polis signs first 2024 bill into law, increasing earned income tax credit

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday signed the first law of the 2024 session — a throwback to a measure from the 2023 session that got tangled up in a lawsuit from a Republican lawmaker. House Bill 1084 would double the size of the earned income tax credit for low income Coloradans.  The measure, a do-over from last year, intends to repeal and replace House Bill 23B-1002, which is now the subject of a lawsuit from Rep. Scott Bottoms, R-Colorado Springs. Bottoms alleged he was denied an opportunity to have the bill read at length during the special session, and he sued the governor and House Speaker Julie McCluskie of Dillon. No hearing has yet been set for that lawsuit. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADOPOLITICS.COM
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Colorado lawmakers clash over ‘Bill of Rights’ guaranteeing gender pronouns, freedom from religious activities for foster youth
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado lawmakers clash over ‘Bill of Rights’ guaranteeing gender pronouns, freedom from religious activities for foster youth

By Marissa Ventrelli marissa.ventrelli@coloradopolitics.com Republicans and Democrats on Monday clashed over legislation that creates a "bill of rights" for youth in foster care — in particular because the proposal seeks to guarantee the ability to refuse religious activities and ensures the right to "express gender identity."  House Bill 1017 provides foster children 5 years and older with an expansive list of rights and freedoms, including guaranteeing access to services and programs, timely court proceedings and effective case management and the right to be placed in a safe environment free of abuse. The legislation also delves into gender identity issues, saying foster youth have the right to freedom of discrimination or harassment on the basis of gender identit...
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Denver City Council narrowly approves banning homeless camp sweeps below 32 degrees
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Denver City Council narrowly approves banning homeless camp sweeps below 32 degrees

By Noah Festenstein noah.festenstein@denvergazette.com Denver can no longer force homeless people to move from outside living situations during freezing temperatures, at least for the time being. The Denver City Council on Monday narrowly approved an ordinance to ban homeless encampment sweeps when temperatures fall below 32 degrees. The 7-6 vote in favor of the proposed ordinance was the closest vote in six months of action by the new Denver City Council. READ FULL ARTICLE ON COLORADOPOLITICS.COM
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Colorado Forward Party is state’s newest minor political party
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado Forward Party is state’s newest minor political party

By Thelma Grimes thelma.grimes@coloradopolitics.com The Secretary of State announced Tuesday that the Colorado Forward Party has attained enough registered voters to be recognized as a minor political party in the state. In a statement announcing the designation, the Forward Party said the “vital milestone” caps a year-long effort by a team of volunteers. The minor party status allows the Forward Party to provide ballot access and other support to candidates aligned with its values. READ FULL ARTICLE ON COLORADOPOLITICS.COM
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