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Xcel’s large load tariff fight: Who will pay for Colorado’s data centers?
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Xcel’s large load tariff fight: Who will pay for Colorado’s data centers?

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice One of the biggest open questions about who pays for Colorado's data center boom is being decided this fall at the Public Utilities Commission, and the answer testimony that frames the fight is already filed. By Aug. 19, intervenors had filed a stack of answer testimony in Proceeding No. 26AL-0137E, Xcel Energy's proposed Large Load Tariff. The case has drawn a crowd. Google is in it. So is Walmart. So is the City and County of Denver, the City of Boulder, the electric cooperative United Power, the state's own energy office, and the commission's trial staff. The evidentiary hearing is set for 5 days across late October, Oct. 21, 22, 26, 27 and 28. A second public comment hearing is set for Oct. 20. The hearing wraps 6...
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Democrats Eye New Governor in Renewed Push to Change Colorado Union Law
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Democrats Eye New Governor in Renewed Push to Change Colorado Union Law

By Colette Bordelon | Denver7 After Gov. Jared Polis vetoed similar bills twice, those behind the proposal to change how workers unionize in Colorado believe they will have better luck in 2027 with a new governor. LOUISVILLE — Democratic Colorado lawmakers are confident that their plan to change the way workers unionize in the state will be successful next year, hoping that a new governor leads to a different outcome for the legislation. Dubbed the Worker Protection Act by advocates, two iterations of the concept to eliminate the second vote needed to form a union in Colorado have passed out of the state Legislature and were then vetoed by Gov. Jared Polis in 2025 and 2026. Maggie Roesink, who works as a server and bartender at the Hotel Boulderado, attended t...
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Former Colorado Bureau of Investigation Scientist Sentenced to 10 Years After DNA Evidence Misconduct
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Former Colorado Bureau of Investigation Scientist Sentenced to 10 Years After DNA Evidence Misconduct

By Olivia Prentzel | The Colorado Sun Yvonne “Missy” Woods ordered to serve 10 years behind bars after pleading guilty to four felonies in June. Former state forensic scientist Yvonne “Missy” Woods was sentenced to 10 years in prison Tuesday, a milestone in a years-long scandal that cast doubt on DNA evidence in more than 1,000 criminal cases and continues to ripple through Colorado’s courts. Woods, who had worked for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for 29 years, pleaded guilty to four felonies in June. In exchange, prosecutors dropped the remaining 100 charges against her.  “At its core, this case is about trust — the extraordinary trust placed in Ms. Woods, and her breach of that trust,” Jefferson County District Judge Andrew Poland said before del...
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Boebert Welcomes Trump Wolf Review as Colorado Ranchers Face Continued Losses
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Boebert Welcomes Trump Wolf Review as Colorado Ranchers Face Continued Losses

By Marianne Goodland The Denver Gazette President Donald Trump has directed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to launch a 90-day review on whether gray wolves and Mexican wolves should be removed from Endangered Species Act protections. The order drew mixed reactions for Colorado’s wolf-reintroduction effort, with ranchers and some state leaders calling it a step toward more flexible management, while wolf advocates argue it strips away key safeguards. If Burgum determines delisting or downlisting is warranted, the order said states would be encouraged to remove gray wolves and Mexican wolves from their own protected species lists and to loosen lethal-control standards to help ranchers respond to predation. The order also says the Interior Secretary...
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Despite Missed Deadline, Judge Orders Libertarian Sean Vadney Onto Colorado Secretary of State Ballot
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Despite Missed Deadline, Judge Orders Libertarian Sean Vadney Onto Colorado Secretary of State Ballot

By Ernest Luning | Colorado Politics A Denver judge ruled Friday that the Colorado Libertarian Party’s pick for secretary of state will appear on the November ballot after the party’s original nominee withdrew one day after the deadline to replace minor party candidates. Following a hearing on Thursday, Denver District Court Judge Adam J. Espinosa approved a motion filed by Sean Vadney asking that state election officials list the 26-year-old Highlands Ranch resident as the Libertarian nominee, concluding that the party met the appropriate “substantial compliance” standard with legal requirements for parties to fill ballot vacancies. Vadney will face Democrat Amanda Gonzalez, the Jefferson County clerk, and Republican James Wiley, a former Libertarian, for the office h...
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Denver Chamber CEO Says One-Party Rule Is Making Colorado Harder to Live and Do Business In
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Colorado Public Radio, Approved, State

Denver Chamber CEO Says One-Party Rule Is Making Colorado Harder to Live and Do Business In

By Ryan Warner | Colorado Public Radio Colorado is getting in its own way, and Democratic Socialists will only exacerbate the problem, according to the head of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. J.J. Ament believes one-party rule in Colorado means business owners are bombarded with regulation. “In each of the last two years, more than 500 new laws were introduced in the state of Colorado. No citizen, resident, small business person can keep up with that pace of change,” he said. Ament cited as examples local minimum wage ordinances and what he believes is an inflexible state family leave program. “We're certainly seeing a decline in our economic competitiveness. If you measure since 2019, we've sometimes seen as many as a thousand businesses leave the 80202 [...
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Manny Rutinel Leaves Colorado Legislature to Focus on High-Stakes Race Against Gabe Evans
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Manny Rutinel Leaves Colorado Legislature to Focus on High-Stakes Race Against Gabe Evans

By Bente Birkeland | The Colorado Sun Rutinel is challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans in the 8th Congressional District north of Denver. Manny Rutinel, a Democratic state representative from Commerce City who is running in Colorado’s most competitive congressional district this year, resigned from the state legislature Friday. Rutinel is challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans in the 8th Congressional District north of Denver. Evans narrowly won the seat two years ago, defeating Democratic U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo. It’s considered a district that could swing and the race between Evans and Rutinel has garnered national attention. Rutinel’s campaign announced Friday that he was resigning from the statehouse effective immediately. READ THE FULL ...
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Colorado Motorists Pay Record Gas Prices Over Labor Day Weekend
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Colorado Motorists Pay Record Gas Prices Over Labor Day Weekend

By Alex Dowd | Denver7 Denver7's Alex Dowd shows how gas prices in the Denver area compare to rates around the country. DENVER — Gas prices in the United States hit record highs this Labor Day weekend. Still, AAA expected millions to travel during the three-day weekend, with Denver listed as the fourth most popular destination in the country. In Colorado, AAA put the average price of regular gas at $4.19, higher than the national average of $4.15. Both of those prices are well above the previous Labor Day record of $3.82 set back in 2012. Crude oil prices are higher than they were a year ago, experts say that makes up about half the price that consumers pay for gas. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT DENVER7
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Six online schools, a $15 million balance, one district: What D49 took on when it dissolved ERBOCES
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Six online schools, a $15 million balance, one district: What D49 took on when it dissolved ERBOCES

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Five days before the School District 49 board voted to dissolve Education ReEnvisioned BOCES (Boards of Cooperative Educational Services), the withdrawal that had pushed the co-op to the brink was deferred. Pikes Peak State College had signaled it would leave the co-op effective Aug. 15, a move that would have dropped ERBOCES to a single member and made it ineligible to operate. Then ERBOCES produced a 2013 memorandum of understanding requiring a year's notice, and on Aug. 12 the college indicated it would stay through summer 2027 to honor that notice. D49 dissolved the co-op anyway, on Aug. 17.  The reversal settled little, because the state had already raised a deeper question about the MOU. The same agreemen...
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Left-Wing Anti-ICE Activists Mobilize Colorado Students for Statewide School Walkout Sept. 4th
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The Post Millennial, Approved, State

Left-Wing Anti-ICE Activists Mobilize Colorado Students for Statewide School Walkout Sept. 4th

By Katie Daviscourt | The Post Millennial The Youth Coalition, a Denver-based left-wing student activist organization, appears to be the lead organizer of the walkout. Students from more than 160 Colorado public schools will be participating in a "walkout" to protest US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The action, scheduled for September 4, is being promoted as a statewide "Walkout for ICE Out" day. The walkout has been promoted by left-wing activist organization 50501, which was a key group that was behind the "No Kings" protests around the nation.  Participating students will leave class at 12 pm, according to organizers. A central rally is planned at La Alma Park in Denver, where students from area schools will gather to demand an end to immigration enfo...
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