Author: Eileen Welsome
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County fighting to acquire foreclosed home; mom, daughter won’t leave
On Nov. 19, 2007, Jeanette Dobbs and her daughter, Jessie, went to the El Paso County Public Trustee’s office in downtown Colorado Springs to find out how much they owed to get back the house they’d lost to foreclosure. Their home at 2924 Drakestone Drive had been auctioned off by the trustee, and a third-party…
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Petition circulators no strangers to tax limitation measures
When organizers of three Colorado initiatives targeting government spending launched a petition drive to get on the November ballot last year, they didn’t rely solely on amateurs, according to an analysis of data from the Colorado Secretary of State and the Washington D.C.-based Ballot Initiative Strategy Center. The initiative backers used experienced circulators to help…
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Petition circulators link Bruce to statewide ballot initiatives
Anti-tax advocate Douglas Bruce has sought to distance himself from three statewide initiatives that could limit the ability of local and state governments to raise taxes or borrow money. But records filed with the Secretary of State’s Office show that eight people who gathered thousands of signatures to get the measures on the November ballot…
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Sheriff Maketa won’t run for re-election
Terry Maketa is turning in the badge he’s worn for more than two decades, saying he doesn’t have the desire anymore to serve as El Paso County sheriff. Maketa, 45, who is entering his eighth year as sheriff, made the surprise announcement Wednesday that he would not be seeking a third, four-year term in November.…
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McInnis unveils economic plan at local breakfast
With his hair trimmed and mustache shaved off, Scott McInnis, a Republican gubernatorial candidate, unveiled the first stage of his plan for economic recovery at a speech in Colorado Springs on Wednesday morning. McInnis, 56, promised to bring more military-related and energy industries to Colorado. And, like Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, who announced on Tuesday…
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County decides it won’t pay its full Stormwater Enterprise bill
El Paso County is going to pay its 2009 bill to the Colorado Springs Stormwater Enterprise, but it won’t be the full amount.In a resolution approved Tuesday, the county commissioners decided to prorate their bill from January 1 through Nov. 16, 2009, the day the final results of an election were certified in which voters…
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El Paso County commissioners to consider how voters will cast ballots in primary races
County commissioners are scheduled to vote Thursday on whether to eliminate traditional polling booths for the Aug. 10 primary and make it a mail-in ballot election only. In a resolution, Bob Balink, El Paso County Clerk & Recorder, said a mail-in election would increase voter participation, reduce fraud and save the county an estimated $165,000.…
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Opponents say initiative backers need to come clean on campaign cash
A committee fighting three ballot initiatives that will greatly affect how local and state governments operate filed a complaint Monday with the Secretary of State’s Office alleging that the initiative backers have not disclosed who financed the massive signature-gathering process. “You don’t get three initiatives on the ballot without spending thousands of dollars – or winking…
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El Paso County commissioners agree to settlement in stun gun case
A Peyton man who was shot twice in the chest with a Taser stun gun by an El Paso County Sheriff’s Office deputy said he probably will accept a $56,000 settlement that the county commission agreed Tuesday to pay him in exchange for dropping a federal civil rights complaint. “I’ve had enough. I want some…
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County spending $530,000 to keep Health Dept. buildings running
The two buildings that house the El Paso County Department of Health and Environment are so debilitated that the county’s going to have to pay more than a half-million dollars to keep them bandaged so they can continue to function. ‘We’re having almost daily breakdowns,” Monnie Gore, deputy county administrator, told county commissioners on Tuesday.…