Tag: freshink
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Food-stamp stampede continues unabated
Applications for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps, are pouring into El Paso County’s Department of Human Services at a rate of about 700 a week. The deluge has pushed local food stamp usage to all-time highs.About 49,400 residents in nearly 21,000 households got food stamps last month, Arturo Serrano, economic…
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County’s May sales tax collections only slightly less than expected
El Paso County’s May sales tax collections fell 2 percent below forecasts, but county officials aren’t ready to say it’s a sign the recession is easing..“Whether this is a blip or whether we see a stability setting in, only time will tell,” county finance director Nicola Sapp said Thursday.Previous months’ totals were as much as…
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A sesquicentennial look back
Part 1 of 4:Aug. 12 will mark the 150th birthday of what is now called Old Colorado City. The community will host a Founders Day celebration on August 8 in Bancroft Park.In the meantime, local historian Dave Hughes will outline the history of Old Colorado City each week in FRESH•INK and its sister publication, YourHub,…
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Jones throws hat back into county ring
Ed Jones, defeated for a second state senate term in 2006, will seek a seat on the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners.Jones’ filing last month widens to five the field of Republicans seeking the seat now held by Jim Bensberg, who’s barred from re-election by term limits.The other candidates are state education board…
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State budget to be slashed by $437M
Raising the bar for state budget cuts, Gov. Bill Ritter’s office has called on state agencies to trim $437 million from their spending in the 2009-10 fiscal year, which began July 1.When the state Legislature’s economists issued their quarterly economic forecast on June 22, they predicted a budget shortfall of $384 million in the 2009-10…