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Syphilis cases in Colorado are exploding. The state just issued a public health order to try to stop that.
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State, The Colorado Sun

Syphilis cases in Colorado are exploding. The state just issued a public health order to try to stop that.

By John Ingold | The Colorado Sun Syphilis is among the most brutal diseases known to humans, but it is also among the sneakiest. Dr. Michelle Barron, an infectious disease expert with UCHealth, calls it “the great masquerader.” Early symptoms in adults are often painless, temporary and easy to miss. After that, the disease can lie silent in the body for years until it makes itself known. And Colorado, like other states across the country, is now dealing with the devastating impacts that can occur when syphilis goes undetected and untreated. Since 2018, syphilis cases in the state have more than tripled, to 3,266 last year from 1,084 in 2018. Those 2018 numbers were already a significant jump from previous years. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Plan to quadruple property taxes on short-term rentals fails in late-night Capitol committee vote
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State, The Colorado Sun

Plan to quadruple property taxes on short-term rentals fails in late-night Capitol committee vote

By Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun A bill that would have quadrupled the property taxes on many homes offered as short-term rentals in Colorado was rejected late Tuesday in a Colorado Senate committee, marking at least the third time in recent years that such a proposal has failed at the Capitol.  Senate Bill 33 was voted down 6-1 by the Senate Finance Committee during the bill’s first hearing, an outcome that came after months of loud opposition from vacation rental owners and companies like Airbnb and Vrbo.  The only “yes” vote on the measure came from its main sponsor, Sen. Chris Hansen, a Denver Democrat. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Colorado locked up middle-aged women for “lunacy,” old jail ledger reveals 
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State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado locked up middle-aged women for “lunacy,” old jail ledger reveals 

By Jennifer Brown | The Colorado Sun The leather-bound ledger smells of tobacco and dust, each page listing the names of people booked into the Jefferson County Jail more than 100 years ago.  The men in the ledger, identified in old-timey cursive as immigrants, Native Americans and miners, were mostly booked for crimes typical in Golden’s mining heyday — drunkenness, bootlegging, fighting and murder.  The most common charge for women, however, was lunacy. Of the 280 charges against women listed in the book, 74 are for “lunacy” or “insanity.” And of those women, at least 31 were sent from jail via train to what was then called the Insane Asylum at Pueblo. That’s 26% of all charges against women. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Lawsuit alleges Trisha Calvarese, Democratic nominee for 4th CD special election, is ineligible
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State, The Colorado Sun

Lawsuit alleges Trisha Calvarese, Democratic nominee for 4th CD special election, is ineligible

By Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun Trisha Calvarese’s selection as the Democratic nominee for the June 25 special election in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, a race that will determine who serves out the rest of former U.S. Rep. Ken Buck’s term, is being challenged in court.  A lawsuit filed Wednesday in Denver against Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold alleges that Calvarese was ineligible to be selected by delegates at a special Democratic convention last week because of a provision in state law known as  1–4-402. It says that “any candidate nominated by a political party must be affiliated with the party for at least twelve consecutive months prior to the date the convention begins, as shown in the statewide voter registration system.”  Calv...
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Colorado’s $40.6 Billion budget is nearing final passage. Here’s what’s in it.
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State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado’s $40.6 Billion budget is nearing final passage. Here’s what’s in it.

Brian Eason | The Colorado Sun After weeks of debate and over two dozen amendments, Colorado budget writers Wednesday put the finishing touches on a $40.6 billion budget that increases spending on state workers, health care services, K-12 and higher education. But the spending plan leaves a number of unanswered questions for the final month of the legislative session — including how the Democratic majority will pay for property tax cuts, a major priority for Gov. Jared Polis and top lawmakers. The budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year, which starts July 1, still has a few procedural hurdles to go, but no further changes are expected. The Joint Budget Committee on Wednesday rebalanced the budget after the House and Senate passed different versions over the last two weeks. READ THE ...
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Colorado lawmakers approve bill to require landlords to complete serious repairs faster
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State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado lawmakers approve bill to require landlords to complete serious repairs faster

Tatiana Flowers | The Colorado Sun The state legislature Tuesday gave final approval to a measure that aims to improve living conditions for renters across Colorado by closing “loopholes” that make it difficult to request repairs from landlords. Colorado has for years had a so-called warranty of habitability law on the books, which sets basic housing standards for landlords. But lawmakers and fair housing advocates have said the 2008 statute needs improvement because exceptions in the law make it difficult for residents to request action for serious issues such as mold, sewage leaks and rodent infestations. State lawmakers this week passed Senate Bill 94, which would require landlords complete repairs for most issues within 14 days, including things such as fixing loose ...
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A new plan for the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park: Sell it to the State of Colorado
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Local, The Colorado Sun

A new plan for the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park: Sell it to the State of Colorado

By Jason Blevins | The Colorado Sun The deal to sell the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park to an Arizona nonprofit has faded, so the state of Colorado is stepping in with a plan to buy the hotel.  The Colorado Educational and Cultural Facilities Authority, which helps nonprofit educational and arts groups fund capital projects, plans to take over ownership of the historic Stanley Hotel.  The authority will take the role as owner after the plan to sell the hotel to Arizona’s Community Finance Corp. fell through. Instead of selling to the Arizona group and taking ownership after as much as $450 million in bonds for renovating and upgrading the hotel are paid back, the Colorado Educational and Cultural Facilities Authority, or CECFA, will create a subsidiary and be...
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Faith Winter, a top Senate Democrat, seeking treatment after appearing intoxicated at Wednesday meeting
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State, The Colorado Sun

Faith Winter, a top Senate Democrat, seeking treatment after appearing intoxicated at Wednesday meeting

By Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun Assistant Senate Majority Leader Faith Winter, the No. 3 Democrat in the Colorado Senate, is seeking medical treatment for substance abuse, she told The Colorado Sun on Thursday. Winter is specifically seeking assistance with alcoholism.  The Broomfield lawmaker’s decision comes after she appeared to be intoxicated Wednesday evening as she attended a community hearing in Northglenn about a state plan to open a controversial mental health transitional living facility that could house people convicted of sex offenses. Winter’s speech was slurred and halting and she seemed to struggle to gather her thoughts. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Colorado Democrats say property tax relief is coming. There’s no money in the state budget to pay for it.
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State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado Democrats say property tax relief is coming. There’s no money in the state budget to pay for it.

By Brian Eason | Colorado Sun With just a month left in the state’s legislative session, top Colorado lawmakers still haven’t come out with a plan to deliver promised property tax relief — but they insist one is coming. “This is still a very high priority,” Sen. Chris Hansen, a Denver Democrat who is leading the legislature’s tax discussions, said Tuesday. “I expect to pass a large property tax bill this session.” There’s just one problem. Unlike this time last year, there’s no money set aside in the budget to pay for it. That has left lawmakers with limited options — and difficult trade-offs — as they look to overhaul Colorado’s property tax code in the face of public outcry over rising tax bills. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN...
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Democrats select Trisha Calvarese to be their nominee for the special election to replace Ken Buck
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State, The Colorado Sun

Democrats select Trisha Calvarese to be their nominee for the special election to replace Ken Buck

By Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun Trisha Calvarese, a former congressional and campaign staffer, was selected Monday by a Democratic vacancy committee to be the party’s nominee for the June 25 special election that will determine who serves out the term of Republican U.S. Rep. Ken Buck in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District.  “I will fight to defend Social Security, to get the government out of reproductive choices and freedoms, I will work to create paths to well paid union jobs and apprenticeships right out of high school,” Calverese told committee members. “We can flip this seat.” Calvarese faces steep odds in the special election. The 4th District, which includes Douglas County and Loveland and spans the Eastern Plains, is highly favorable to Republicans. Buck,...
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