Rocky Mountain Voice

Blog

‘The people of Pueblo have spoken’: Heather Graham claims victory in mayoral runoff
Approved, Local, Southern Colorado, The Pueblo Chieftain

‘The people of Pueblo have spoken’: Heather Graham claims victory in mayoral runoff

By Anna Lynn WinfreyJosué Perez | SOURCE: THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN Heather Graham appears to be the next mayor of the city of Pueblo. She took a decisive lead in the first round of unofficial results posted by the Pueblo City Clerk's Office Tuesday evening and incumbent Mayor Nick Gradisar called Graham to concede. Graham was up by nearly 6,000 votes with over 22,500 counted when the first batch of unofficial results were reported just before 7:30 p.m. She said those initial results showed that the "people of Pueblo have spoken." “I feel relieved to know that the city of Pueblo will now move in a different direction,” Graham told the Chieftain. Gradisar joked that he was looking forward to being a "has been" but congratulated Graham on her victory. The race between Gra...
On the table — a crazy quilt of Dem justice ‘reforms’ | George Brauchler
Approved, gazette.com, State

On the table — a crazy quilt of Dem justice ‘reforms’ | George Brauchler

By George Brauchler | SOURCE: THE GAZETTE With more than 100 days left in the 2024 legislative session, the Democrat-controlled General Assembly has already revealed its theme for criminal justice reform, and that theme is “bonkers.” A review of the Democrat bills thus far introduced are the kind only conceivable with one party dominance in Colorado government. Many thought it would be impossible for the Democrats to top legislation that mandates a school refer to a child by any name they choose at any time and for any reason. Democrat Rep. Lorena Garcia just said “hold my Bud Lite.” Current Colorado law prohibits convicted felons from legally changing their name — for obvious reasons. Garcia’s HB 1071 seeks to override that long-standing prohibition to permit name changes when...
Rose Pugliese elected new leader of Colorado House GOP caucus following Mike Lynch’s resignation
Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Rose Pugliese elected new leader of Colorado House GOP caucus following Mike Lynch’s resignation

Pugliese, a Colorado Springs Republican, is in just her second year as a state representative, but she had been serving as assistant minority leader in the House By Jesse Paul | SOURCE: THE COLORADO SUN Republicans in the Colorado House of Representatives on Thursday elected a first-term lawmaker from Colorado Springs to be their new leader, replacing Mike Lynch, who stepped down from his leadership role a day earlier following revelations about his 2022 arrest on suspicion of drunken driving.  Rose Pugliese, a Colorado Springs Republican, is in just her second year as a state representative, but she had been serving as assistant minority leader in the House. She beat out state Reps. Matt Soper, R-Delta, and Ken DeGraaf, R-Colorado Springs, for the job in two rou...
EDITORIAL: Cut bureaucracy at Colorado’s colleges
Approved, gazette.com, State

EDITORIAL: Cut bureaucracy at Colorado’s colleges

By The Gazette Editorial Board | SOURCE: THE GAZETTE Each fall, Colorado parents have ever greater misgivings as they send another round of freshmen to the state’s colleges and universities. Foremost among their concerns has to be the skyrocketing cost of higher ed, with tuition ratcheting up year after year. The spiraling price of a college degree seems to outpace even inflation. Colorado students pay higher in-state tuition than the national average. There’s also a perception of chaos on campus, fostered by a culture in which fringe values are rendered mainstream. Professors and protesters alike have been known to harangue students for holding views that would be regarded as conventional anywhere off campus. Students have been denounced as racist merely for their skin color. And...
Boebert faces first test in new district as firebrand fights for her political life
Approved, denvergazette.com, State

Boebert faces first test in new district as firebrand fights for her political life

By Peyton Sorosinski, Washington Examiner | SOURCE: THE GAZETTE Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) will have to convince voters from her new district why they should send her back to Washington in Thursday’s first Republican primary debate. Boebert made the switch to the plains of Colorado's 4th Congressional District across the state from her mountainous 3rd District, which she is representing for a second term after narrowly beating Democratic challenger Adam Frisch in 2022. The two were slated to go head-to-head again this year before Boebert switched to the eastern Colorado district over uncertainties of whether or not she could beat him again. Despite her new district voting for former President Donald Trump, of whom she has been a staunch supporter, by 20 percentage poin...
What’s next in the Texas border wire legal battle?
Approved, gazette.com, National

What’s next in the Texas border wire legal battle?

By Kaelan Deese, Washington Examiner | SOURCE: THE GAZETTE Advocates for Texas's efforts to place razor wire fences along the southern border say an appeals court should soon pave the way for such efforts after the Supreme Court ruled federal border agents could cut through them earlier this week. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday delivered a striking blow to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who has sought to use his border security program "Operation Lone Star" to block migrants from illegally entering the country. Through a 5-4 vote with no comments, the justices overturned a lower court injunction that permitted Texas to maintain miles of such fences around the southern border, siding with the Biden administration's bid to allow federal ...
Colorado dad accuses school officials of retaliating against daughter after “embarrassing” viral video
Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Colorado dad accuses school officials of retaliating against daughter after “embarrassing” viral video

By Shaun Boyd | SOURCE: CBS COLORADO A seventh grader in Colorado is facing disciplinary action after a video she shot at recess went viral. "My daughter's so scared for by what she is witnessing, that she begins to record this video," said Aaron Frost, whose 12-year-old daughter shot the video. The video shows a group of students at Monarch PK-8 School in Louisville standing in a circle around a classmate on the ground. "Who is very clearly convulsing, twitching, writhing," he said. He says she was scared when the students began chanting, "sacrifice!" and "heil Satan!" "Is that for real? Is it for fun? Is it just a joke? No matter what it is, it's terrifying and shouldn't happen," he said. What happened next shocked him even more. READ FULL ARTICLE ON CBSNEWS.COM
It’s Almost Morning in America
Approved, Commentary, National, Real Clear Politics

It’s Almost Morning in America

By Lynn Friess | SOURCE: REAL CLEAR POLITICS It might not seem like it right now, but it’s almost morning in America again. Americans of all sides are waking up. Democrats, Independents, and Republicans are uniting around shared concerns. Big city mothers aiming to rescue their children from failing schools and suburban moms losing their kids to woke educators are both waking up to the broken education system, where administrators get bigger and bigger salaries while kids suffer. Meanwhile, both “granola” foodies and conservative farmers are becoming aware of the broken food system, where small farmers struggle, and it’s impossible to ban chemicals we know harm our kids. Despite citizens trying to effect change, their efforts are in vain against the flood of lobbying dolla...
Map released showing where Colorado wolves roamed
Approved, denvergazette.com, Local, Western Slope

Map released showing where Colorado wolves roamed

By Luige Del Puerto | SOURCE: DENVER GAZETTE Colorado wildlife officials on Wednesday published a map showing where wolves have roamed in the past month, but it does not pinpoint where the animals are in real time. To protect the wolves, officials said they won't release specific GPS data. The administration of Gov. Jared Polis produced the map on the day legislators grilled wildlife officials over what policymakers described as communication failures and problems tied to the release of wolves in Grand and Summit counties last month.  During a hearing, lawmakers said the state mishandled communications, destroying trust with ranchers and landowners. They said those ranchers and land owners are now saying they will no longer work with the state's wildlife division on conser...
Additional students buoy Denver schools’ budget
Approved, denvergazette.com, Downtown Denver, Local

Additional students buoy Denver schools’ budget

By Nicole C. Brambila | SOURCE: DENVER GAZETTE An unexpected influx of students this academic year means Denver Public Schools might not have to dip into its reserves, the district’s chief financial officer said this week. The Board of Education is expected to review the district’s amended budget when directors meet on Thursday for their regular meeting. The budget for the state’s largest district this school year is about $1.5 billion. District officials had anticipated using $12 million from reserves to help offset budget shortfalls. The district has roughly $140 million in its fund balance, which is on target for its 10% of budget goal, said Chuck Carpenter, chief financial officer for Denver Public Schools. READ FULL ARTICLE ON DENVERGAZETTE.COM