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Meet ‘The Good Ol’ Boys’ Club of Douglas County, where you can ‘throw your two cents in’
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Local, Rocky Mountain Voice

Meet ‘The Good Ol’ Boys’ Club of Douglas County, where you can ‘throw your two cents in’

By BRIAN PORTER | The Rocky Mountain Voice CASTLE ROCK – There’s no mollycoddles or wallflowers allowed. But just about anything else goes. In a back room of the Castle Cafe here once a week meets a group of like-minded men from a variety of professional backgrounds known as ‘The Good Ol’ Boys’. Now, this isn’t Bo and Luke Duke, and Boss Hogg is no where to be found, mind you. Cigar smoke doesn’t fill the air and no one is running illegal moonshine. No, in fact, most of the members of this club might have trouble sliding across the hood of a 1969 Dodge Charger. These Good Ol’ Boys meet weekly to hear from candidates for office, other subjects, and in general to reach conservative solutions on the big issues of the day. “We may all be retired – or most of us – but that doesn’...
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Urdiales to seek HD63 seat in Northeastern Colorado
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Eastern Plains, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Urdiales to seek HD63 seat in Northeastern Colorado

By BRIAN PORTER | The Rocky Mountain Voice Brian Urdiales, a Realtor and former member of City Council in Fort Morgan, has announced he will seek the Republican nomination for Colorado House District 63, setting up an opposed primary. The seat is presently held by Rep. Richard Holtorf, R-Akron, the minority whip in the Colorado House of Representatives. Holtorf, who is not seeking re-election, was among the first to enter the race for the U.S. House of Representatives District 4 seat when U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, R-Windsor, announced he would not seek re-election. “We see the policy in Denver and at the state capitol, and we know in Morgan County and other areas of Eastern Colorado that one size government does not fit all,” Urdiales said. He opposed top-down government policies whi...
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Camping ban in Pueblo aims to clean community, put homeless in shelters
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Local, Rocky Mountain Voice, Southern Colorado

Camping ban in Pueblo aims to clean community, put homeless in shelters

'I see it as compassionate that I care enough about my human neighbors that I’m not going to allow them to lay out in the wilderness like a bunch of wild animals' – President Mark Aliff A parade of three doctors, activists, non-profit personnel, pastors and previously homeless residents approached Pueblo’s City Council for the better part of two hours Monday seeking their opposition to a ban on unauthorized camping on public property. “It’s rare we get an ordinance with residents lining out the door to speak,” said City Councilwoman Sarah Martinez, who opposed the ban. At issue is a homeless population creating concerns which some say has grown out of control – from drug refuse and human waste, to fires and fear of drownings, to one member hearing gunshots during the night. Cit...
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Editorial: Asking EV owners to pay for electricity at taxpayer-funded stations is right call
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Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Editorial: Asking EV owners to pay for electricity at taxpayer-funded stations is right call

By Rocky Mountain Voice Editorial Board The issue: Some local governments are moving to user fees for electric vehicle charging stations. We say: This is the correct call. Taxpayers may appropriately invest in the infrastructure, but should not bear the burden of supplying free electricity to the minority of motorists. The free ride on the backs of the taxpayer is over in one Western Slope community. Grand Junction city officials correctly decided last week to end free access to electric vehicle charging at city-owned stations, and rather to implement a fee structure. It is worth commending City Manager Greg Caton for bringing this matter to a head. “There shouldn’t be an expectation of free charging provided by your local government,” he told the City Council. The cit...
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In barber shop chat, Rep. Holtorf finds more reason to call for Republican unity
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State

In barber shop chat, Rep. Holtorf finds more reason to call for Republican unity

When he removed his cowboy hat and sat down in the barber’s chair in a shop in Denver, Eastern Colorado rancher Richard Holtorf could not have known he was about to have a meaningful discussion on the present state of Colorado. The House District 63 representative had visited the barber shop before – preferring it as a traditional barber shop, replete with a barber pole – but this time was different. “The barber, she asked me where I was from, originally,” Holtorf recalls. “I told her Akron, on the Eastern Plains.” He works a 4,000-head family cattle ranch there, residing in a house overlooking his mother’s home on the property. Holtorf was likely poised for a quiz on how he got from Akron to Denver, and just what he was doing in that moment sitting in a Denver barber shop. Ins...
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In Rifle, police officer initiates city discussion of obscured license plates, ‘huge problem’ of inoperable vehicles
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Local, Rocky Mountain Voice, Western Slope

In Rifle, police officer initiates city discussion of obscured license plates, ‘huge problem’ of inoperable vehicles

An inquiry by Rifle police officer Kallie McCain to the municipal court led Wednesday to a full discussion on the appearance of license plates and vehicles by the City Council. At issue is obscured plates and the process by which police officers face additional workload writing citations to both municipal and county courts for the violation. The state’s statute on the display of license plates was not included in Rifle’s Model Traffic Code – a statute at least one member of City Council finds to be vague. By adding the language of the state statute to the local code, officers could write the ticket and potentially others into one court, said Municipal Court Clerk Kathy Pototsky, avoiding the need to appear in separate courts. It would be a $25 citation. “Most officers would write ...
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‘It shouldn’t be free’: In Grand Junction, EV owners will pay at city-owned charging stations
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Local, Rocky Mountain Voice, Western Slope

‘It shouldn’t be free’: In Grand Junction, EV owners will pay at city-owned charging stations

‘The majority of the power is coming from coal,’ City Councilman Cody Kennedy says Electric vehicle operators will no longer have a free ride from the City of Grand Junction. City Council unanimously supported the implementation of a fee structure Wednesday, similar to fees implemented by some other local governments to cover public expenses related to charging stations. “I used one of the EV charging apps and there are 40 some odd places in town where you can charge for free,” said City Councilman Scott Beilfuss, also indicating he didn’t support a free-use structure. The proposed rates are comparable to what a gas or diesel-powered vehicle owner might expect to pay for metered parking, City Manager Greg Caton said. “There is a significant amount of public investment in thi...
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‘A bad night for Nikki Haley’ and maybe more to come in her home state, poll finds
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National, Rocky Mountain Voice

‘A bad night for Nikki Haley’ and maybe more to come in her home state, poll finds

Donald Trump could pass the 100 delegate threshold later this month, signaling the foregone conclusion he is on the way to his third straight nomination as the Republican Party’s choice for President. He has thus far gathered 33 delegates in Iowa and New Hampshire to the 17 collected by Nikki Haley, Trump’s lone remaining challenger. But, the outcome in Nevada was especially harmful to Haley. She lost the primary to “none of these candidates” without Trump on the ballot and then failed to register for Thursday’s caucus, where Trump stands to be awarded all 26 delegates. “A bad night for Nikki Haley,” Trump wrote on social media.  That would leave four delegates at stake Thursday in the Virgin Islands caucus, with the South Carolina primary looming on Feb. 24 in Haley’s home s...
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Revitalizing Colorado’s economy with clean energy falls short, yet again
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Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Revitalizing Colorado’s economy with clean energy falls short, yet again

A second attempt at defining nuclear energy as a clean energy source died in the Colorado State Legislature last week, despite a robust turnout of supportive citizens across the political spectrum that outnumbered opponents two to one.  Senate Bill 24-039, titled “Nuclear as a Clean Energy Resource” and introduced by Sen. Larry Liston, would have classified nuclear as a clean energy source, allowing it to be considered for local clean energy project financing and added to the list of energy sources that count toward meeting the state’s 2050 climate targets. As a Colorado native concerned about protecting my beautiful home state, I testified in favor of the fact that nuclear energy is clean, acknowledging that it offers carbon-free energy.  As an accountant by trade, I al...
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Telehealth bill aims to increase rural access to vet care
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Rural Colorado, State

Telehealth bill aims to increase rural access to vet care

When Rep. Matthew Martinez, D-Monte Vista, needed critical care for a dog which developed spine issues, it resulted in a six-hour round trip drive to a veterinarian in Colorado Springs. “We have been known as a home for wayward Pomeranians,” said Martinez, presenting a telehealth veterinarian care bill Monday to the Colorado House Agriculture, Water & Natural Resources Committee. He recalled every two to three weeks transporting the dog from the San Luis Valley to Colorado Springs for treatment. “I was able to make the drive, but a lot of people can’t,” Martinez said. House Bill 24-1048, which Martinez sponsored with Rep. Karen McCormick, D-Longmont, would aim to make veterinary care more accessible to those living in similar outlying areas of the state, with limited veteri...
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