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Simple Backyard Upgrade Leads To Costly Zoning Battle in Denver
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Simple Backyard Upgrade Leads To Costly Zoning Battle in Denver

By Chierstin Roth | CBS Colorado Denver homeowner EJ Braquet built a pergola over his back patio for his aging mother back in 2023. She can no longer make it to the nearby park, so he wanted to give her a shaded spot in the backyard to get outside. However, he could never have imagined what happened next.  "I basically said I don't want to cut any corners," said Braquet. "I want to build it right and build it nice." Little did he know that his backyard project would spark a multi-year battle with the city. "Didn't have anything to hide, didn't realize I needed a permit at the time, I thought this was very similar to what you could buy at Costco and assemble yourself," Braquet said. Braquet says he was contacted by city zoning after a neighbor reported th...
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Polis Names Northern Colorado Judge Susan Blanco To Supreme Court
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Polis Names Northern Colorado Judge Susan Blanco To Supreme Court

By Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics Chief Judge Susan Blanco of Larimer and Jackson counties is the newest member of the Colorado Supreme Court, Gov. Jared Polis announced on Tuesday. “A few words come to mind: Innovation. Excellence. Creativity. Hard work. These are values we need across society,” said Polis during a news conference announcing Blanco’s appointment. Blanco, 48, became a district judge in January 2017. She will join four other former trial judges, including two other former chief judges, on the seven-member Supreme Court. “I’ve conducted home visits, jail visits, and appeared in dozens of Colorado courtrooms witnessing firsthand the extraordinary diversity of our communities and the very vast barriers that many face in accessing justice,” Blanc...
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Gov. Polis Seeks Answers As Colorado’s Largest Publicly Traded Company Leaves for Florida
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Gov. Polis Seeks Answers As Colorado’s Largest Publicly Traded Company Leaves for Florida

By Tamara Chuang | The Colorado Sun Valued at $300B, Palantir was the largest publicly traded company in Colorado. CEO Alex Karp recently bought a monastery in Old Snowmass. Palantir Technologies, a government contractor known for mass surveillance technology aided by artificial intelligence, has moved its headquarters out of Denver in favor of the Miami area, the company said Tuesday in a post on X.com.  The company left Palo Alto, California, in 2020 to move to Denver. Founded by billionaire Peter Thiel and its CEO Alex Karp, Palantir was in the news this month after activists behind the “Purge Palantir” database publicized the company’s donations to two of Colorado’s Democratic members of Congress. U.S. Rep. Jason Crow of Aurora and Sen. John Hickenlooper ...
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Georgia Pollster Says 2020 Election Questions Were Never Fully Debunked
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James Magazine Online, Approved, Commentary, National

Georgia Pollster Says 2020 Election Questions Were Never Fully Debunked

By Matt Towery | Commentary, James Magazine Online Since the 2020 presidential election I’ve consistently stated that, while the election may have experienced fraud, it would never be quantified. I still don’t believe it will. But if I am wrong, I will debunk my own statement. One reason I could have to correct myself is if the U.S. Department of Justice can get its hands on the state’s complete voters list that existed during the 2020 election, and can use its vast resources to see how many improper voters were on that list who voted. That would be telling. I know that issue has allegedly been debunked but data experts I consider the best in Georgia tell me the list was full of vot...
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Denver Mayor Johnston Claims Sanctuary Policies Boost Safety As Federal Lawsuits Advance
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Denver Mayor Johnston Claims Sanctuary Policies Boost Safety As Federal Lawsuits Advance

By Deborah Grigsby | The Denver Gazette Denver has joined some 140 cities, counties and elected officials in filing two amicus briefs backing Minnesota and Rochester, New York — jurisdictions sued by the Trump administration’s over their “sanctuary” policies. In a statement, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston characterized the White House’s actions as “defunding” and “punishing” America’s “sanctuary cities.” The Trump administration, meanwhile, said sanctuary jurisdictions have stood in the way of enforcing immigration laws. Johnston’s office described Minnesota and Rochester as “cities that, like Denver, are fighting back against the White House’s baseless attempts to rewrite local and state law in violation of the U.S. Constitution.” An amicus brief – or friend...
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America’s real election crisis: A collapse of public trust
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, National

America’s real election crisis: A collapse of public trust

By Brian C. Joondeph | Commentary, American Thinker One of the most corrosive realities in contemporary American electoral politics isn't polarization, misinformation, or even foreign interference. It is something more basic: a majority of Americans no longer trust the integrity of their elections. This is not a fringe belief limited to one party or ideology. According to polling from Rasmussen Reports, ahead of the 2024 presidential election, 62 percent of likely voters were “concerned that cheating will affect the outcome of the 2024 election.” This skepticism crosses party lines and has persisted over the years. The pattern is clear: whichever party loses a presidential election claims the winning party cheated. Democrats insisted George W. Bush stole the 20...
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CORA changes would extend deadlines and expand government discretion
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

CORA changes would extend deadlines and expand government discretion

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Kipp is back with another stab at CORA. I had heard from my state senator (B Pelton) that Senator Kipp would be back this year with another run at modifying the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA).Her bill recently came out and I link to it first below. The Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition (CFOIC) article on the bill is linked second below as an additional resource if you want it.I will be advocating against this bill both here and, hopefully, by testifying against it in committee (as of this writing there is no date set).To her credit, Kipp is not oblivious to past criticism (or strident enough to not care a la Senator Sullivan) about her previous attempts at modifying CORA; having been following her ...
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Denver Urbanism Push Part Of Progressive Agenda to Discourage Automobile Use
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, Local

Denver Urbanism Push Part Of Progressive Agenda to Discourage Automobile Use

By Mike Rosen | Commentary, Complete Colorado Bicycle lanes in Denver are much more than just a nuisance for motorists, they’re a small but glaring symptom of the radical progressive mentality of Democrats that have grossly mismanaged Denver government in recent years. This is a sad reflection on Denver voters, who have brought this on themselves. Worse than useless and ridiculously underused, they obstruct traffic and pose a safety hazard for bicyclists and pedestrians. The lanes on Broadway north of Speer Blvd. are positively laughable, repositioning cars that were parked at the curb now out into a former traffic lane and inserting the bicycle lane in its place.  Vehicles making a left turn crossing that bicycle lane do so at the peril of cyclists, which can also be sa...
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Northern Colorado Rancher Says Wolf Attack Killed Family Dog
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kdvr.com, Approved, Local

Northern Colorado Rancher Says Wolf Attack Killed Family Dog

By Anna Coon | KDVR DENVER (KDVR) — A fifth-generation rancher in northern Colorado says his nine-year-old dog was killed earlier this month in what he believes was a wolf attack, marking the latest reported conflict between livestock producers and gray wolves reintroduced to the state in 2023. Coy Meyring said he found his dog, Scout, dead along a back fence line on Feb. 7. Meyring believes one or more wolves were responsible, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife confirmed the incident on its wolf depredation site. “We’re really defenseless here,” Meyring said. Meyring told Steamboat Radio that it was not the first time wolves had attacked animals on his property. He said two cattle have been killed and two others injured in previous incidents, which he attribu...
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Denver Judge Says Colorado Prison Work Policies Violate State Constitution
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Denver Judge Says Colorado Prison Work Policies Violate State Constitution

By Austen Erblat | CBS Colorado A Denver judge on Friday ruled that the Colorado Department of Corrections has been violating a 2018 amendment to the state constitution by requiring people in state prisons to work under the threat of solitary confinement and other punishments. The ruling comes as part of a class action lawsuit filed four years ago by Harold Mortis, who's serving a 40-year sentence at the Sterling Correctional Facility for a 2016 second-degree murder charge, to which he pleaded guilty. The suit was filed on behalf of thousands of people who are incarcerated in Colorado state prisons. Denver District Court Judge Sarah Wallace ruled that CDOC, its director Moses Stancil, and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis are violating people's rights under Article II, Section...
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