Rocky Mountain Voice

KUNC

Polis faces pressure as veto showdown looms on sweeping social media bill
Approved, KUNC, State

Polis faces pressure as veto showdown looms on sweeping social media bill

By Bente Birkeland | CPR News On November 8, 2020, Chelsea Congdon’s life changed forever.  She and her husband had invited friends over for a backyard party at their home in Old Snowmass. They were building a bonfire when a car from the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Department pulled up.  “The policeman came and found us there and let us know that our son Miles had died in Boulder and his body had been discovered that morning,” she recently recalled to CPR News. “It felt very unreal. And it feels as if your entire life just shatters on the floor and for some reason, you’re still standing. I mean, it doesn’t make any sense. It’s impossible to put together losing a kid.” Her son, Miles Brundige, was a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Colorado. He’d grown up big ...
New Democrat bill would hamper ICE, prioritize illegal immigrants over Rule of Law
Approved, KUNC, State

New Democrat bill would hamper ICE, prioritize illegal immigrants over Rule of Law

By Lucas Brady Woods | KUNC Several Colorado lawmakers are trying to create new protections for the state's immigrants against hardline deportation policies under the Trump administration. “People are scared and afraid. And I understand that, and I respect it, because I've also got a little pit of anxiety in my stomach too,” said Sen. Julie Gonzales of Denver. “We drafted a lot of this policy in response to the actual tactics that we have seen be utilized by ICE now under the second Trump administration.” Gonzales and a group of other Democrats, Sen. Mike Weissman of Aurora, Rep. Lorena Garcia of Adams County and Rep. Elizabeth Velasco of Glenwood Springs, introduced a long-awaited piece of legislation Friday that would limit local cooperation with federal immigration authorities,...
Colorado lawmakers opt to keep teen legislative panel, but cut its power
Approved, KUNC, State

Colorado lawmakers opt to keep teen legislative panel, but cut its power

By Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun via KUNC Colorado lawmakers reversed course on Wednesday and decided to keep in place a 20-year-old program that gets teens involved at the Capitol — with a big caveat. The Colorado Youth Advisory Council will no longer have the power to draft bills for the legislature’s consideration. The General Assembly planned to ax the Colorado Youth Advisory Council — known as COYAC — to save $50,000 annually as lawmakers try to close a $1.2 billion budget hole. Republicans also complained that the council had become too liberal. Sen. Faith Winter, D-Westminster, attempted Wednesday on the Senate floor to keep the council operating as-is, but an amendment she offered to Senate Bill 25-199, which will end a number of interim committees t...