Colorado News Miner: January 22, 2025

Law and Order, Trump Style: Trump has pardoned some 1,500 people involved with the violent invasion of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Olivia Prentzel reports that the pardons apply to "more than 20 Coloradans," including some who assaulted police officers. Shameful. What "law and order" means to Trump, precisely, is that he and his supporters are free to break laws and create disorder with impunity. In the same hour that Trump promised to protect our cities from violent criminals, he released domestic terrorists from prison. Kudos to Republican Rep. Jeff Hurd for strongly condemning the January 6 violence. Hurd told CPR that he was "deeply disappointed" in the pardons "for those who assaulted law enforcement officers and for those who fought to stop the constitutional certification of the 2020 election." Hurd also said, "I'm a rule of law Republican. January 6 was a dark day in American history, and it was an assault on our republic and the peaceful transfer of power." Meanwhile, Trump made this decision by saying, "Fuck it; release 'em all."

Weiser on Immigration: "The White House executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship is flatly unconstitutional. The idea that a president could override the Constitution with the stoke of a pen is a flagrant assault on the rule of law and our constitutional republic," Colorado AG Phil Weiser said (and he's right). In related news (Jennifer Brown), "About 100 lawyers just took a crash course in persuading immigration judges to grant bond and release people who are locked up at the ICE detention center in Aurora."

Pettersen Pushes for Proxy Voting: Rep. Brittany Pettersen, who currently is expecting her second child, made the New York Times for her efforts to allow new parents to vote in Congress remotely. This is an obviously great idea.

Union Bill Advances: See CPR.

Transparency: Krista Kafer defends House Bill 24-157, which delimits application of the Open Meetings Law, on grounds that legislators need a certain amount of behind-the-scenes privacy to efficiently legislate. I agree. I add that legislators do not give up their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and of association just by virtue of being elected to the legislature. I'm not totally sure about the details, but roughly any official meeting, where legislators are acting in their official capacities, should be open to the public, recorded, and published online. But legislators should be free to meet informally to discuss legislation and the like with the same rights to privacy that the rest of us enjoy.

School Troubles: CBS 1: "Former Aurora school resource officer who inappropriately texted teen sentenced to probation." CBS 2: "Fort Collins police arrested a Fossil Ridge High School teacher Thursday after he allegedly sexually assaulted a child in his class."

Defending Reporters: I'm glad to see some Grand Junction residents standing up against racism and for the rights of news reporters to do their jobs free from violence. This is in response to a man who attacked a local journalist. See also a report from the Daily Sentinel.

Fire Building Code: Caroline Llanes reports, "In 2023, Colorado lawmakers approved a bill, signed into law by Governor Jared Polis, to create a Wildfire Resilience Code Board (WRCB), [to] develop a statewide wildfire code" and a risk map. I see nothing in principle wrong with the state doing this, but I wonder how effective the codes will be in terms of reducing fire risk and how easily a property owner can obtain a variance if wanted.

LGBTQ and BLM Flags in Classrooms: Ryan Simonovich reports, "The Durango School District 9-R Board of Education is moving forward with two resolutions supporting the display of Progress Pride and Black Lives Matter flags in classrooms." This well-illustrates the inherent politicization within public schools of decisions that, in a market, would be up to individual schools.

Buc-ee's Fight: For reasons I don't well understand, Buc-ee's plans to build a convenience store and gas station near the town of Palmer Lake depends on the town annexing the land in question near I-25. This has set off a huge public dispute. See Jessica Alvarado Gamez's report. The development of private properties is far too politicized in this country and this state. Another annexation story: Some people want "Colorado Springs to annex 1,900 acres for development near Schriever Air Force Base has gotten initial approval from city council," CPR reports.

Oil Company Sues: Judith Kohler: Denver-based K.P. Kauffman Co. "is suing to overturn an order imposing a $2.3 million penalty and restrictions on its ability to sell its oil and gas. . . . [A]ttorneys for KPK have accused the state of selective enforcement of its rules."

Nuclear Waste: The Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado is trying to land a nuclear waste facility in the area.

Denver Acquires Park Hill Golf Course: Denver has traded property to acquire the Park Hill Golf Course, which it plans to convert to a park. Kyle Harris relates some of the background: "After Westside first acquired the land, the Hancock administration and the developer pledged to bring thousands of units of housing to the land, plus space for a large park, a potential grocery store, room for local businesses and other amenities. But neighbors around the former golf course revolted, pointing to a conservation easement that legally protected the land as an 18-hole golf course, or as open space if golf wasn't feasible." Voters defeated the proposal in 2023. Easements are tricky.

A Progressive Take: See the Get More Smarter podcast episode from January 17. These guys, regardless of how often you agree with them on policy, have a very deep knowledge of the nuts and bolts of Colorado politics. The January 21 episode covers RTD and national issues. Also they watch the inauguration.

Journalism and Safety: Jason Van Tatenhove says he's transitioning "from nonfiction journalism and public political commentary to focus entirely on my book writing." Why? "Personal safety concerns have made it clear that continuing in my current capacity is no longer safe nor sustainable. . . . I've also had to confront the harsh reality that journalism, both local and national, has been defanged, gutted, and compromised. Making a sustainable living as a journalist has become nearly impossible, and the avenues for creating meaningful change through nonfiction are rapidly narrowing." The news business definitely has been rough. On the other hand, in important ways, "avenues for creating meaningful change through nonfiction" are expanding, through funding models offered by Patreon, Substack, and others.

Bottoms Running for Governor: Scott Bottoms says he's running for governor. Ha, ha, ha ha.