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Denver City Council to consider banning homeless camp sweeps in frigid weather
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Approved, denvergazette.com, Downtown Denver, Local

Denver City Council to consider banning homeless camp sweeps in frigid weather

By Noah Festenstein | SOURCE: The Denver Gazette Denver buying the $88.5 million Denver Post building and a ban on sweeps of homeless encampments while temperatures are below 32 degrees top the agenda for the Denver City Council meeting on Tuesday. City offices are closed on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, delaying the council’s weekly Monday meeting.  Two of the items likely to be most talked about were tabled at the past two meetings. Council members two weeks ago voted to postpone the purchase of the Denver Post building, citing a need for more information about the purchase plan. The city is considering buying the building for $88.5 million. Denver needs more courtroom space by 2030, according to a 2020 courts master plan. READ FULL ARTICLE ON DENVERGAZETTE.COM
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Colorado’s Minimum Wage Hike Leads to Massive Layoffs
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Approved, State, thelobby-co.com

Colorado’s Minimum Wage Hike Leads to Massive Layoffs

SOURCE: THELOBBY-CO.COM Colorado’s decision to raise its minimum wage from $12.32 to $14.77 per hour has ignited a fierce debate over the effects on businesses and workers alike. While proponents argue that the increase will stimulate the economy and alleviate poverty, critics contend that it will have detrimental consequences for small businesses, potentially resulting in job losses and operational changes. According to a recent report by the Colorado Restaurant Association, over 40% of the state's restaurants have already reduced staff or hours in response to the wage increase. Major fast-food chains like McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's have also announced plans to automate their operations, replacing human workers with machines. Among the casualties of this wage hike is...
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How States May Respond to Illegal Immigration
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Approved, i2i.org, National

How States May Respond to Illegal Immigration

By Rob Natelson, SOURCE: Independence Institute This essay was first published in the Jan. 8, 2024 Epoch Times. As unauthorized foreigners continue to flood across the Southern border, state officials continue to cast about for solutions. In normal times, the federal government would remedy the problem. But these are not normal times: The administration of President Joe Biden actually seems to be aiding the influx. State officials are hampered by a Supreme Court doctrine called “implied federal preemption.” The courts use this doctrine to void some state laws as contradicting federal statutes, even when the federal statutes do not explicitly override them. For example, the Arizona legislature adopted four measures to address illegal immigration. They were consist...
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Husband of Rep. Brittany Pettersen lands hefty Jefferson County consulting gig; questions swirl around bid process
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Approved, completecolorado.com, Denver Metro, Local

Husband of Rep. Brittany Pettersen lands hefty Jefferson County consulting gig; questions swirl around bid process

By Sherrie Peif | SOURCE: Complete Colorado Page Two LAKEWOOD — Despite voters in Jefferson County (Jeffco) overwhelmingly rejecting higher taxes twice in the last three years, the Democrat-controlled county commission is back at it again. Only this time, they are willing to pay big money to a political consulting company co-owned by Ian Silverii, the activist husband of US Representative Brittany Pettersen, whose congressional district includes Jeffco. Silverii is hoping he can help secure what looks to be another ballot initiative to de-TABOR county revenues and/or raise taxes in some form. However, multiple problems with the process around how and to whom Jeffco awarded the hefty contract, appear to signal inside connections influencing the decision. On Nov. 2, 2023, Jeffco’...
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Colorado Republican Party endorses Donald Trump ahead of state’s 2024 presidential primary
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado Republican Party endorses Donald Trump ahead of state’s 2024 presidential primary

By Ernest Luning | SOURCE: Colorado Politics The Colorado Republican Party endorsed former President Donald Trump’s bid for another term late Sunday, nearly two months before state voters are set to cast ballots in Colorado's presidential primary. In an unprecedented decision, the state GOP's central committee voted to endorse Trump over objections from some Republicans that the move abandons the party's policy of staying neutral in primaries. The party approved the endorsement in an online meeting of its roughly 400-member governing committee, held on the eve of the GOP's first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses, where polling shows Trump holds a commanding lead. The endorsement resolution passed with 65% of the committee voting in favor, 34% voting against, and the remainder abstain...
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Five takeaways from opening week of Colorado’s legislative session
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Five takeaways from opening week of Colorado’s legislative session

SOURCE: Colorado Politics During last week's opening ceremonies, Gov. Jared Polis and Colorado's lawmakers sought to pick up where last year's regular and special session left off by immediately focusing on one of the state's most persistent problems — the lack of affordable housing units. Here are five takeaways: Housing, housing, housing  Polis set the tone of the first few days of session by bluntly telling lawmakers that Coloradans are desperate for affordable housing and they're impatient for concrete solutions. "There is a real sense of hopelessness and despair in our state around housing that’s on par, in many ways, with how people feel about the divisiveness of our national politics," the governor said in his State of the State address.  READ FULL ARTICL...
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Denver Progressives’ Proposed Bill Threatens Parental Rights and Promotes Confusion in Colorado Schools
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Approved, State, thelobby-co.com

Denver Progressives’ Proposed Bill Threatens Parental Rights and Promotes Confusion in Colorado Schools

SOURCE: THELOBBY-CO.COM The extreme left-wing agenda of Denver progressives is once again encroaching upon the Colorado public education system. A small group of Denver Democrats has introduced a proposal that could have far-reaching consequences for parental rights and student identity in schools across the entire state. Under HB 24-1039, which is currently being considered, public and charter schools in Colorado would be mandated to use a student's "preferred name" on school documents, and identification, regardless of whether it matches their legal name. This means that parents would be excluded from the discussion and decision-making process regarding their child's name – once their child enters a Colorado public school. One of the major concerns with this bill is ...
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Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and 11 other attorneys general urge federal rescheduling of marijuana
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Approved, State, thelobby-co.com

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and 11 other attorneys general urge federal rescheduling of marijuana

SOURCE: THELOBBY-CO.COM Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and a group of 11 other state attorneys general have signed a letter urging the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to reclassify cannabis as a Schedule III drug. This move has drawn criticism from conservative voices who believe that Weiser's stance on marijuana is misguided. In a statement released with the letter, Weiser emphasized Colorado's commitment to protecting its regulated cannabis market. Weiser acknowledged the health and safety risks associated with cannabis use and expressed confidence that a well-regulated market would best protect consumers. By advocating for the rescheduling of marijuana, Weiser believes that it will enable the market to function more effectively. Currently, cannabis is legal ...
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Fauci’s Congressional Hearing Exposes Troubling Revelations
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Approved, National, thelobby-co.com

Fauci’s Congressional Hearing Exposes Troubling Revelations

SOURCE: thelobby-co.com This week, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the face of the US Covid response, faced a two-day closed-door congressional hearing aimed at uncovering crucial facts about his role in gain-of-function research in Wuhan, scientific censorship, and the societal harms of Covid policies. While a public hearing is scheduled for later this year, Chairman of the US Select Subcommittee on Covid, Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), released a summary statement detailing some of the shocking revelations that emerged from the closed-door session. One of the most alarming revelations was the admission that the widely accepted "6 feet apart rule" for social distancing was not based on any data. According to Chair Wenstrup, Fauci was quoted as saying, "it just sort of appeared." This admissio...
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Polis’ Ambitious Housing and Property Tax Reform Faces Harsh Criticism
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Approved, State, thelobby-co.com

Polis’ Ambitious Housing and Property Tax Reform Faces Harsh Criticism

SOURCE: TheLobby-CO.com During his State of the State address, Governor Jared Polis outlined an extensive set of policy goals aimed at addressing Colorado's housing shortage and property tax issues. However, critics argue that his proposed solutions rely on liberal "big government" approaches that may have unintended consequences and fail to address the root causes of the problems. Governor Polis, emboldened by his re-election and speculation about a potential presidential run, challenged both parties to adopt unconventional thinking in order ‘to make the state more livable and affordable.’ He called on Democrats to reconsider their opposition to cutting the income tax, a plea that has historically fallen flat among the Democrat majorities in the legislature. Polis urged legis...
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