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Colorado GOP chair Dave Williams helped push House Republican Leader Mike Lynch to resign
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coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado GOP chair Dave Williams helped push House Republican Leader Mike Lynch to resign

By Marianne Goodland | SOURCE: COLORADO POLITICS The chairman of the Colorado Republican Party helped in ousting House Minority Leader Mike Lynch, who announced on Wednesday that he is stepping down from his leadership post in the wake of mounting pressure after a DUI arrest in 2022 became public. Lynch did not disclose the arrest, which happened before he assumed the mantle of House Minority Leader, to his caucus, a sore point for his colleagues when the story broke last week. How big of a role Dave Williams played in Lynch's ouster is unclear. But the Republican Party official showed up at the state House on Tuesday and spoke with two members pushing for Lynch's resignation from leadership. Williams did not hide his animus toward Lynch in a text message on Wednesday to Colora...
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Top Republican in Colorado House steps down from leadership a week after news about his 2022 DUI arrest
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State, The Colorado Sun

Top Republican in Colorado House steps down from leadership a week after news about his 2022 DUI arrest

House Minority Leader Mike Lynch, R-Wellington, announced his decision in an emotional speech on the House floor as his ouster appeared imminent By Brian Eason and Jesse Paul | SOURCE: THE COLORADO SUN The top Republican in the Colorado House of Representatives resigned from his leadership post Wednesday morning as his ouster appeared imminent a week after revelations that he was arrested in 2022 on suspicion of drunken driving. House Minority Leader Mike Lynch, R-Wellington, announced his decision in an emotional speech on the House floor.  “I am stepping down because it is the right thing to do — because I have become a distraction for my caucus and that is getting in the way of the hard work that we have to do in this building,” Lynch said.  Lynch...
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Caldara: Let’s bring back 4-year TABOR overrides
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completecolorado.com, State

Caldara: Let’s bring back 4-year TABOR overrides

By Jon Caldara | SOURCE: COMPLETE COLORADO PAGE TWO (You can listen to this column, read by the author, here.) The former head of the leftist ProgressNow Colorado, who is married to a U.S. congresswoman living in Jefferson County, has donated to the election campaigns of all three of the current Jefferson County commissioners. So, what a coincidence those same Jefferson County commissioners, all Democrats, are now going to pay him $180,000 to help dupe taxpayers out of TABOR refunds. As reported by the news site CompleteColorado.com (a project of Independence Institute, which I run), 7th Congressional District U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen’s husband, Ian Silverii, has just inked a spectacular deal from Jefferson County. His firm “won” a $340,000 con...
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Colorado has the nation’s third-longest waitlist for people charged with crimes and ordered into psychiatric treatment
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State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado has the nation’s third-longest waitlist for people charged with crimes and ordered into psychiatric treatment

The number of state-run psychiatric beds for people who are civilly committed or ordered by the criminal justice system shrunk by 20% in seven years, according to a new report By Jennifer Brown | SOURCE: THE COLORADO SUN Colorado has for years been short on in-patient psychiatric beds for people with severe mental illness, creating a backlog that means people wait months for care and sit in jail instead of a hospital. The last time the national Treatment Advocacy Center released a status report on the psychiatric bed shortage, Colorado placed 34th among states with 543 beds.  It’s only gotten worse in the past seven years, according to the center’s latest analysis, released Wednesday and based on 2023 data.  The number of psychiatric beds at Colorado...
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Governor removes Democrat from board that blocked Douglas County’s property tax cut, replaces him with Republican
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State, The Colorado Sun

Governor removes Democrat from board that blocked Douglas County’s property tax cut, replaces him with Republican

Jared Polis took Bernie Buescher off the State Board of Equalization, giving Republicans a majority on the panel that reviews local property tax decisions By Jesse Paul | SOURCE: THE COLORADO SUN Jared Polis removed a Democrat he appointed to a state board that reviews local property tax decisions after the panel in December unanimously rejected Douglas County’s attempt to offer a $28 million tax break to homeowners. The governor blasted the State Board of Equalization’s decision at the time, and then last week took former Colorado Secretary of State Bernie Buescher off the panel and replaced him with Richard Sokol, an Englewood Republican, who sits on the board for South Metro Fire Rescue.  Polis’ swap not only sends another message about his dislike for the State Board o...
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Crime Wave Plagues Colorado, Small Businesses Suffer
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State, thelobby-co.com

Crime Wave Plagues Colorado, Small Businesses Suffer

SOURCE: THELOBBY-CO.COM In a recent City Council meeting, Aurora businessman Kenneth Shaw shared his personal stories of the escalating crime crisis that has plagued Colorado in recent years. Shaw, owner of a local car wash at Buckley, revealed the reality of his daily life, which now includes sleepless nights spent monitoring surveillance cameras to protect his business from criminals. Last August, Shaw's car wash became the target of a brazen truck ramming incident. The thieves planned to strike at the "heart of this operation," Shaw recounted. Although nothing was stolen during this incident, the repair cost amounted to a staggering $23,000. In November, another break-in occurred, resulting in the theft of $600 from a pay station. These are big loses for any small businesses...
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Colorado, 8 other states, push IRS for clarification on taxability of FAMLI benefits
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coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado, 8 other states, push IRS for clarification on taxability of FAMLI benefits

By Marissa Ventrelli | SOURCE: COLORADO POLITICS Gov. Jared Polis joined governors from eight other states in urging IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel to provide guidance on the taxability of Family and Medical Leave Insurance, or FAMLI, benefits to avoid double taxation. “As states operating these programs, we urge the Internal Revenue Service to provide clarifying guidance in this area, specifically regarding the taxability of these benefits and premiums, and to prevent the risk of double taxation," said a Jan. 18 letter signed by the state leaders. “The current absence of guidance from the IRS on the tax treatment of these programs creates a substantial risk of an unexpected and large tax liability for those who rely on these programs to take family leave, deal with a personal i...
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Draft bill puts numerous places off limits to concealed carry; Democrats test limits of ‘sensitive spaces’
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completecolorado.com, State

Draft bill puts numerous places off limits to concealed carry; Democrats test limits of ‘sensitive spaces’

By Sherrie Peif | SOURCE: COMPLETE COLORADO PAGE TWO DENVER — A bill banning the licensed carrying of a concealed handgun in many newly designated “sensitive spaces” around Colorado may soon be making its way through the legislature, despite similar laws passed in other states already being challenged in court, and losing. The bill has not yet been introduced, but at least one version of a draft has been circulating, showing how far majority Democrats are willing to go to restrict Coloradans’ gun rights. According to the copy obtained by Complete Colorado, the bill is almost identical to legislation already passed in California and New York. Those laws are already being challenged and are expected to eventually make their way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The legislation...
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Colorado-Built Weather Satellite Embarks on Journey to Kennedy Space Center
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National, State, thelobby-co.com

Colorado-Built Weather Satellite Embarks on Journey to Kennedy Space Center

SOURCE: THELOBBY-CO.COM In a remarkable display of Colorado's prowess in space technology, a cutting-edge satellite that will revolutionize weather forecasting made its way from Aurora to Florida's Kennedy Space Center on Monday. The GOES-U, a state-of-the-art satellite built on Lockheed Martin's Littleton campus in collaboration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is poised to deliver accurate and timely weather information, including the tracking and monitoring of wildfires. GOES-U is lowered into the thermal vacuum chamber. (Credit: Lockheed Martin) The GOES-U, roughly the size of a small bus, embarked on its journey to Florida inside the C-5M Super Galaxy, the largest aircraft in the U.S. Air Force's fleet. This impressive feat symboli...
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Appeals court clarifies criteria for extending juvenile speedy trial deadline
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coloradopolitics.com, State

Appeals court clarifies criteria for extending juvenile speedy trial deadline

The Court of Appeals applied the factors for extending an adult's speedy trial deadline to juveniles facing criminal charges By Michael Karlik | SOURCE: COLORADO POLITICS Colorado's second-highest court clarified for the first time earlier this month that the same criteria used to extend an adult criminal defendant's speedy trial deadline also apply to juveniles. The federal and state constitutions guarantee the right to a speedy trial. In Colorado, that means the government generally must bring defendants to trial within six months of a not guilty plea. Judges may grant an extension over the defendant's objection if the prosecution's evidence is unavailable by the trial date or the state faces unusual hurdles in preparing more serious cases. For accused juveniles, ho...
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