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Dan Haley, head of Colorado Oil & Gas Association, plans to leave post when a successor is found
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State, The Colorado Sun

Dan Haley, head of Colorado Oil & Gas Association, plans to leave post when a successor is found

By Mark Jaffe | The Colorado Sun Dan Haley, who as the head of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association has been the industry’s most high-profile advocate in legislative, regulatory and ballot initiative battles, is leaving the association. Haley said in an interview that after more than nine years he will leave his post as CEO and president of the largest industry trade group in the state later this year or early next, once a successor has been named. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Judge invalidates faction’s vote to remove Colorado GOP Chairman Dave Williams
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State, The Colorado Sun

Judge invalidates faction’s vote to remove Colorado GOP Chairman Dave Williams

By Jesse Paul | Colorado Sun Opponents of Colorado GOP Chairman Dave Williams didn’t have enough support when they voted to remove and replace him at a meeting in August, a judge ruled Wednesday night. The ruling invalidating the votes all but guarantees that Williams will remain chairman through the November election and that Eli Bremer, who claims to have been elected to replace Williams at the meeting last month in Brighton, is standing on unsteady legal ground. Even if an appeal is launched, there’s likely not time before Election Day — Nov. 5 — for it to be resolved. El Paso County District Judge Eric Bentley ruled that Williams’ opponents did not have the necessary votes — 60% of the roughly 400 members of the Colorado GOP central committee — to remove Williams fro...
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Taxpayers gave $50 million to Thornton’s Solid Power to expand, prove out EV battery technology
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State, The Colorado Sun

Taxpayers gave $50 million to Thornton’s Solid Power to expand, prove out EV battery technology

By Michael Booth | The Colorado Sun Thornton-based Solid Power has a $50 million federal grant to ramp up development of the solid-state EV batteries it considers the technology of the near-future in automobiles, putting the company closer to its goal of developing a mass production facility in the eastern U.S. or Korea.  The current EV battery market is dominated by liquid-based lithium-ion versions, and solid-state researchers believe their models are safer and offer more driving range to settle “range anxiety” fears among potential buyers. The federal grant for Solid Power, announced Friday, will allow the company to expand to a continuous manufacturing line in Colorado of the sulfide-based solid electrolytes to replace the smaller batch system currently in place.  READ TH...
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PERA needs $13 billion in cash or wide-ranging cuts for solvency, state policymakers are told
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State, The Colorado Sun

PERA needs $13 billion in cash or wide-ranging cuts for solvency, state policymakers are told

By Brian Eason | The Colorado Sun Six years and billions of dollars into Colorado’s 30-year pension rescue plan, the Public Employees’ Retirement Association has less than a 50-50 chance of reaching its goal of full funding by 2048. PERA officials on Monday are expected to report back to the legislature’s Pension Review Subcommittee on what it would take to increase those odds to 67%. The answer: $13 billion in up-front cash, or a wide-ranging package of “draconian” cuts, according to PERA’s actuaries. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Department of Homeland Security adds sniffing device to AI tools helping fight wildfires in Colorado
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State, The Colorado Sun

Department of Homeland Security adds sniffing device to AI tools helping fight wildfires in Colorado

By Tracy Ross | The Colorado Sun New technology allowing firefighters to “smell” points of origin and locate hot spots or new fires even before smoke can be seen is among the next generation of safety measures the Department of Homeland Security says will help communities and first responders facing longer, more destructive fire seasons in Colorado.  Headlining an event this week at the Boulder County Regional Fire Training Center, the sensor can detect fire-born particulates, volatile organic compounds, chemicals and gases and then send the data to a cloud-based system that updates every 18 seconds and issues geographically targeted notifications to disaster management officials and first responders. Although the sweet spot for detection is a half-mile to a mile away, developer...
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State budget faces $900M shortfall as tax cuts, Medicaid and economic slowdown take toll
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State, The Colorado Sun

State budget faces $900M shortfall as tax cuts, Medicaid and economic slowdown take toll

By Brian Eason | The Colorado Sun After Colorado lawmakers passed four rounds of tax cuts in 10 months, the state now faces a $900 million budget hole. The tax cuts are kicking in as inflation, wage growth and consumer spending cool off and unemployment ticks up — all factors that will reduce state tax collections and how much it can spend under the state’s revenue cap even as demands on the state budget are growing. State economists Thursday briefed the Joint Budget Committee on their quarterly revenue forecasts, the first since lawmakers passed a new round of property tax cuts during an August special legislative session. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Ag, water and wolf bills receiving early support from lawmakers in 75th Colorado Legislature
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State, The Colorado Sun

Ag, water and wolf bills receiving early support from lawmakers in 75th Colorado Legislature

By Shannon Mullane | Colorado Sun Bills focused on water quality, agricultural exemptions and wolf depredation claims received early legislative support Wednesday while an effort to prevent water speculation was left on the chopping block. The Colorado Legislature’s Water Resources and Agriculture Review Committee met Wednesday to decide which bills will be introduced in the upcoming legislative session. The committee supported eight bills, but five drafted policies did not make it out of the meeting — including one proposed by Sen. Dylan Roberts, a Summit County Democrat, whose idea to strengthen transparency in water rights transactions did not have enough support. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Video shows trooper being ‘ambushed’ while parked along highway, State Patrol chief says
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Local, The Colorado Sun

Video shows trooper being ‘ambushed’ while parked along highway, State Patrol chief says

By Olivia Prentzel | The Colorado Sun Authorities believe a 32-year-old Thornton man saw a Colorado State Patrol trooper parked along a median as a “target of opportunity” before he slowed down and fired multiple rounds from a semi-automatic pistol at the trooper through his window, striking the trooper in his arm. Dashcam footage released Monday showed the rear passenger window of a trooper’s truck shatter as Victor Anthony De Santiago fired shots at Cpl. Tye Simcox, who was parked along a median on U.S. 36 on Sept. 7.  Simcox then got out of his car with a rifle and returned fire, killing De Santiago. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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In order to help farmers survive drought, pests and market changes, improving the soil may be key
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State, The Colorado Sun

In order to help farmers survive drought, pests and market changes, improving the soil may be key

By Shannon Mullane | The Colorado Sun In southwestern Colorado, Greg Vlaming crouched down to look at dying remains of an oat crop baking under the July sun. It wasn’t just a dead plant — it was armor, he said.  “This minimizes wind erosion and surface runoff,” said Vlaming, a soil scientist, consultant and farmer. “Water can’t run off on something that’s like this.” Vlaming is working alongside the state, researchers, farmers and ranchers on a newly expanded soil health program established by the Colorado legislature in 2021. The goal of the program is to nurture soils in order to reap rewards — like more efficient irrigation, more carbon storage and healthier crops.  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Wildfire in northern Larimer County causing hundreds to evacuate was human-caused, officials say
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Local, The Colorado Sun

Wildfire in northern Larimer County causing hundreds to evacuate was human-caused, officials say

By Olivia Prentzel | The Colorado Sun A wildfire that forced hundreds to evacuate their homes Monday in northwestern Larimer County was human-caused and sparked on private property, officials said Monday evening. The Pearl fire was estimated at 138 acres with zero percent containment at about 9 p.m. Seventy-five people worked to control the fire and more were on the way, the sheriff’s office said in an update Monday evening. Larimer County officials began to receive calls about smoke just after 11 a.m. Monday and firefighters found a fire burning about 5 miles northwest of Red Feather Lakes. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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