Author: Dean Toda
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Dispute over drilling rules remains hot
DENVER • Colorado’s gas- and oil-drilling boom is turning to bust. The state is about to introduce new rules addressing what some see as excesses of the boom years. Some argue the first fact is being worsened by the second one. Supporters say the rules preserve public safety, respect the rights of landowners and protect…
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Colorado ranks no. 2 in index of free states
DENVER • Do you read stories about our state government and wonder, “Why don’t they just stop messing around and leave me alone?” According to a study, Colorado does a better job of leaving you alone than almost every other state. Only New Hampshire, and only by a whisker, scores higher in “Freedom in the…
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Ritter endorses insurance expansion
DENVER • Gov. Bill Ritter and the legislators who set the state’s budget gathered Thursday to publicly endorse new legislation that they said would extend coverage to about 100,000 Coloradans who currently lack health insurance. The proposed Colorado Healthcare Affordability Act “will responsibly make significant progress toward reducing the number of uninsured citizens, and it…
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Bill changing road funding advances
DENVER • A bill changing the way Colorado funds its highway system cleared its last major hurdle Tuesday when the state House of Representatives gave preliminary approval to the measure. Supporters said the bill, dubbed Funding Advancements for Surface Transportation and Economic Recovery, or FASTER, would raise at least $250 million a year to repair…
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Flurry of bills focusing on immigrants now down to one
DENVER · As usual, this year’s legislative calendar is liberally sprinkled with bills aimed at immigrants. And as usual, most of them are biting the dust.The 2009 legislative session is barely a month old, and already the ax has fallen on bills to:· Prohibit a judge from accepting a plea bargain from an illegal immigrant…
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County party to elect leaders
Defending a slowly shrinking majority, grappling with factional disputes and smarting from a drubbing at the national level, the El Paso County Republican Party meets today to elect new leadership. A generational contest for chairwoman pits Kay Rendleman, whose political background is mostly out of state, against Cami Bremer, who married into local name recognition.…
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State bill would ban hands-on cell phone use while driving
DENVER • Parked near the intersection of Oro Blanco Drive and North Carefree Circle in Colorado Springs, Suzanne McKinney was had just tucked her 3-year-old daughter into the child seat in her car when another car slammed into her, pinning her between the two vehicles. McKinney lost half her left leg in that October 2007…
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Gitmo detainees worry state GOP
DENVER • Gov. Bill Ritter triggered a tempest last week when he said Supermax, the ultra-maximum-security federal prison in Florence, was “well-suited” for some of the detainees who will need a new home as a result of President Barack Obama’s order closing the facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Republican lawmakers pounced on the remark, gathering…
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Battle brewing over ability to sell full-strength beer
DENVER • David Harper of Colorado Springs owns a 7-Eleven near the intersection of I-25 and Circle Drive. He was not minding the store Tuesday morning. Harper and hundreds of other convenience store operators were in the state Capitol, rallying in support of a bill that would legalize the sale of full-strength beer in the…
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Bill to prohibit ‘initiative-buying’ struck down
DENVER • The battle of the ballot initiatives was a bruiser of Colorado’s 2008 campaign season. Citizen petitions placed three pro-business, union-inhibiting measures on last November’s ballot. In retaliation, organized labor introduced its own petition campaign, which succeeded in placing four amendments on the ballot that extended employee rights and employer responsibilities. Each side feared…