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Superintendent’s cuts result in $5M in annual savings from 38 central office positions
coloradopolitics.com, Local

Superintendent’s cuts result in $5M in annual savings from 38 central office positions

By Nicole C. Brambila | Colorado Politics, via The Denver Gazette Denver Public Schools Superintendent Alex Marrero laid off dozens of employees in the central office to save the district roughly $5 million annually. The 38 eliminated positions will be effective July 1, according to a memo sent to staff on Friday. “We are facing great uncertainty compounded by significant concerns for our future funding from both the state and national levels,” Marrero wrote. “This all comes on top of a period of declining birth rates and lower enrollment across our city and the nation. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
Prosecution of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters to be reviewed by Justice Department
coloradopolitics.com, State

Prosecution of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters to be reviewed by Justice Department

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics The U.S. Department of Justice has announced it will review the Colorado case that led to the prosecution of former Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters. In May 2021, Peters was convicted of multiple felonies and misdemeanors related to a security breach involving election equipment at the Mesa County Clerk and Recorder's Office. The Justice Department's intervention is connected to a federal lawsuit Peters filed against the Larimer County Sheriff, seeking to be released from jail while the appeals process moves forward. Peters was sentenced to nine years in prison, with six months to be served in county jail and the rest in state prison. She was convicted of four felonies, including three counts of attempting to influence a public se...
Campaign finance complaint against Jena Griswold to be investigated
coloradopolitics.com, State, Trending

Campaign finance complaint against Jena Griswold to be investigated

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics The Colorado Department of Law said it will investigate a campaign finance complaint against Secretary of State Jena Griswold tied to a website proclaiming a run for governor. The Jan. 14 complaint from The Public Trust Institute, which is represented by Suzanne Taheri of West Group Law, alleged that Griswold “expended funds on a gubernatorial campaign and had a website dedicated to a gubernatorial run but has not registered a committee or filed a candidate affidavit for governor.” The website — jenaforgovernor.com — first surfaced in August but was taken down soon after 9News reported its existence on Dec. 20. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
Colorado Senate committee advances bipartisan bill to repeal parts of Farmworkers Bill of Rights
coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado Senate committee advances bipartisan bill to repeal parts of Farmworkers Bill of Rights

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics A bill seeking to repeal a portion of the 2021 Farmworkers Bill of Rights cleared its first hurdle last week when the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee advanced the measure. Senate Bill 128 won a bipartisan 5-2 vote, with two Democrats and three Republicans in favor and two Democrats voting against it. It now heads to the full Senate for debate. The short hearing showed that divisions remain between moderate and progressive Democrats, with a compromise deal collapsing just before debate. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
Colorado Senate passes bill to extend public’s wait time for records requests
coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado Senate passes bill to extend public’s wait time for records requests

By Thelma Grimes | Colorado Politics A measure allowing Colorado government entities to take even longer to process public records requested by residents passed in a 26-7 vote in the Senate on Wednesday. Currently, public entities must respond to Colorado Open Records Act requests within three business days and within seven for “extenuating circumstances.” If approved, SB 77 will give records custodians five days to respond to CORA requests and 10 days under "extenuating circumstances." News media would be exempt from the new rules, keeping current deadlines in place. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
Denver auditor finds two strip clubs owe $14M in stolen wages
coloradopolitics.com, Local

Denver auditor finds two strip clubs owe $14M in stolen wages

By Carol McKinley | Colorado Politics, via The Denver Gazette Two of Denver's most popular strip clubs must pay $14 million in penalties and back pay over stolen wages in what Denver Auditor Tim O'Brien described as one of the most "extraordinary cases he's ever conducted." The clubs, he added, "violated almost every provision." Denver Labor Executive Director Matt Fritz-Mauer said that the allegations are "the tip of the iceberg" in an investigation leading to months of litigation ahead with RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc., a multimillion dollar adult entertainment company. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
Colorado’s hands-free driving law appears to be working, early data shows
coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado’s hands-free driving law appears to be working, early data shows

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics A month and some change after it went into effect, Colorado's hands-free driving law appears to be showing early success at curbing distracted driving, according to research from Cambridge Mobile Telematics.  According to CMT's data, cellphone motion distraction has decreased 3.3% statewide, an improvement the company estimates has prevented 88 crashes, 49 injuries, and $3.5 million in economic damages.  The law, which took effect on January 1, prohibits drivers from using handheld mobile devices while driving, with exemptions for emergencies. Colorado is the 30th state in the country to ban sending texts and making phone calls while driving. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signs first law of 2025 session, a bipartisan cleanup measure
coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signs first law of 2025 session, a bipartisan cleanup measure

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics Gov. Jared Polis has signed his first law of the 2025 legislative session, a bipartisan cleanup measure that affects the state's nursing homes. House Bill 1022, sponsored by Reps. Cecelia Espenoza, D-Denver, and Karen McCormick, D-Hygiene, and Sens. Janice Rich, R-Grand Junction, and Dafna Michaelson Jenet, D-Commerce City, allows individuals who passed a competency evaluation administered by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on or before July 1, 2017, to be included in the state's definition of "qualified medication administration personnel". Not only is the bill the first measure the governor has signed into law this session, but it is also Espenoza's first bill to become law since being elected in November. READ...
Del Taco suddenly closes Colorado locations ‘until further notice’
coloradopolitics.com, Local

Del Taco suddenly closes Colorado locations ‘until further notice’

By Brooke Williams | Colorado Politics All Del Taco restaurants across Colorado closed suddenly on Thursday. Signs were posted on the doors alerting customers that, effective Thursday, “all Colorado Del Taco locations are closed until further notice.” Signs were also posted in the drive-through. “We thank you for your patronage, the memories we have created together, and wish you well,” a note from staff and management on a Del Taco door reads. READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX 31 NEWS
Appeals court says state campaign finance enforcement framework is constitutional
coloradopolitics.com, State

Appeals court says state campaign finance enforcement framework is constitutional

By Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics Colorado's second-highest court agreed last week that the state's current method of adjudicating campaign finance complaints is constitutional and is not the "very definition of tyranny." For several years, state law has allowed any person to file a complaint alleging a campaign finance violation, which the Colorado Secretary of State's Office then screens, decides whether to dismiss or investigate, and potentially imposes a penalty. Legislators enacted the process after a federal judge decided in 2018 that the prior system unconstitutionally "outsourced" enforcement to individual, inexperienced complainants. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS