Colorado News Miner: January 29, 2025

Socialism and Immigration: At a recent protest against Trump's anti-immigrant policies, Nate Kassa of the Party for Socialism and Liberation demonized "rich, wealthy developers." But the problem with poor-quality, high-cost housing is not the developers, but the politicians who impose harsh restrictions on the building and provision of housing. What we need, precisely, is more private development of housing. It's surreal to read Cassandra Ballard quote socialists in the Aurora Sentinel without any critical pushback. Meanwhile, in an article about the "rally against Trump's mass-deportation plan," the Denver Post published photos featuring signs from the socialist organization and signs declaring, "Victory to the Palestinian Resistance." I'm not sure what that has to do with U.S. immigration policy. It is disturbing to see socialism put forward as the main alternative to Trump's xenophobic nationalism. Those are not the only options!

YIMBY Denver: I attended a YIMBY Denver event on January 23. The organization has done some very-important work. It also advocates various regulations that I oppose. Anna DeWitt from the organization reviewed the organization's main achievements from last year: HB24-1304 gets rid of a lot of minimum parking requirements for buildings, HB24-1007 gets rid of arbitrary residential occupancy limits, HB24-1152 gets rid of most restrictions on accessory dwelling units. All of those bills are unambiguously good, in my view. I regard HB24-1313 as mixed; rather than simply repeal zoning controls, it institutes new mandates for more-dense construction in certain transit zones. That's probably closer to what a market would come up with, but I'd rather there just not be any arbitrary building restrictions. I'm not sure about HB24-1107, Judicial Review of Local Land Use Decision. I think HB24-1098, which prohibits property owners from evicting non-contracted leasers except for cause the government deems "just," is a flagrant violation of property rights and rights to freedom of association. Coming this year (perhaps) are bills for "smart stair reform," enabling religious (and perhaps other community groups) to use their property for housing, and streamlining regulations for modular construction. Those sound good, depending on details. A bill on landlord enforcement (SB25-020) probably is okay. A bill on price coordination is bad. Still, on net I am thrilled with YIMBY Denver's efforts. Rep. Javier Mabrey, who has called himself a "democratic socialist," declared at the meeting, "we need housing abundance," a sentiment that I totally share. Related: Aaron Miripol has a YIMBY-friendly op-ed for the Sun that I largely agree with.

Denver Rents Drop: "Metro Denver’s apartment market experienced its biggest quarterly rent decline on record [3.6%] as a massive wave of new supply swamped demand," Aldo Svaldi reports. Whoah, you mean increasing the supply of housing reduces the price? It's almost as if prices are governed by supply and demand. on the other hand, Axios reports, "Metro Denver's median monthly mortgage payment was about $3,300 in the third quarter of 2024—an 86% spike from five years ago," based on reports from the National Association of Realtors.

Colorado Sues Greystar: AG Weiser alleges apartment owner Greystar "consistently misrepresents the total cost" of renting from company, as Seth Klamann reports. I have not read details of the case. However, in general, government certainly has a legitimate interest in making sure that contracts and business offerings are clear and not deceptive.

Committee Passes Gun Ban: SB25-003 passed out of committee on a party-line vote. Dave Kopel explains the wide-ranging nature of this "extreme" gun ban that "reduces safety."

Black and Armed: Photographer Christian K. Lee says about his Denver exhibit "Armed Doesn't Mean Dangerous," "The point of this project is to recondition myself, and others, toward the more positive view of Black people and guns: to promote a more balanced archive of images of African Americans with firearms by showing responsible gun owners—those who use these weapons for sport, hobby and protection. I hope these photos bring that important point into focus." See also Lee's talk on Youtube and Ray Mark Rinaldi's Denver Post article.

Safety First: While we're on the topic of guns . . . A family member unintentionally shot a two-year-old in Loveland. To review: Unintentionally shooting someone requires the gun operator to simultaneously violate every gun safety rule.

Boebert's Bathroom Debacle: Sigh. Carpetbagger Rep. Lauren Boebert claimed a guy was in a women's restroom at the capitol. There wasn't. See Daily Kos, Daily Beast, Saturday Night Live (!), and 9News. This is just more buffoonery from Boebert, but we should remember that people most likely to be harassed over policies like this are women who happen to have some more-masculine characteristics.

Pay-to-Play for Government Documents: Natalie Menten asked "Jefferson County for emails exchanged between county employees and consultants from The Bighorn Company, a firm paid to craft a controversial ballot measure." The county sent her a bill for $2,550. That's shameful. Government entities should provide public documents to members of the public at no cost.

CBI Problems: Not only was a CBI analyst charged with 102 felonies for mishandling DNA evidence, the agency is being sued for lax oversight. See Jenny Deam's report.

Mysterious Raid: Sam Tabachnik reports, "On Oct. 1, 2020, federal agents raided the home of [Johan Lumsden of] Adams County. . . . They threw flash grenades, handcuffed [Lumsden], used a Taser on his dog, confiscated hard drives—and seized $5 million worth of switchblade knives" (which he sells). There seems to have been no purpose for this violent raid. Lumsden is suing.

Venezuelan Gangs: Lauren Penington reports, "Nearly 50 people living in Colorado illegally [some associated with the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang] were arrested Sunday morning after federal agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration and other partners raided a makeshift nightclub in Adams County." The reasonable position is to be for immigration of peaceable people and also for the imprisonment or deportation of gang members who have committed crimes. I will point out here that U.S. drug-war and anti-immigration policies fuel cartel operations in drugs and human trafficking. But that hardly excuses rights-violating crimes of gangsters! In related news, ICE seems to be gearing up for broader raids, which almost certainly will not be restricted to people who have committed rights-violating crimes.

Weld School District Preps for ICE: Johan Van Nieuwenhuizen, Weld Re-8 (Fort Lupton) assistant superintendent, said, "Our protocol right now is that we will not allow our ICE personnel to have access to the buildings or the district administrator, which is me, and I will interact with the agents, and if they don't have a warrant signed by a judge and verified by our legal counsel, then we will not allow them access to the building at all." See Belen Ward's report. In related news, "Denver-area schools are training staff what to do if ICE agents show up at their doors."

Douglas County Schools: Olivia Young reports, "A sweeping federal investigation into the Douglas County School District has hundreds of unearthed allegations of systemic discrimination and mistreatment, with families and advocates calling for urgent reform to protect students from racial harassment and harmful practices like 'seclusion' and 'restraint.'" But let's hear more from conservatives about how the problem is transgender people and trans-themed books in schools. Here's what I want to know: If school officials are illegally locking kids in small spaces, as the allegations have it, where are the criminal charges? I would be fiery angry if someone "restrained" or "secluded" my child for no good reason.

Erin Lee Suit: Erin Lee is suing Poudre Valley schools over allegations that someone at an "art club" pushed Lee's daughter to come out as transgender and to hide that from her parents.

Chosen Name Suit: "A federal judge . . . rejected an attempt by two parents to block a 2024 Colorado law requiring public schools to use a student's chosen name," Michael Karlik reports.

Feds Investigate East Over All-Gender Restroom: "The alarming report that the Denver Public Schools District denied female students a restroom comparable with their male counterparts appears to directly violate the civil rights of the District's female students," Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said, via Melanie Asmar. True, girls need the same access as boys. Transgender students also need access to restrooms. Still, does restroom policy really need federal intervention? What happened to the "local control" conservatives?

Durango Schools Passes Flag Resolution: "The Durango School District 9-R Board of Education unanimously approved two resolutions Tuesday allowing the display of Black Lives Matter and Progress Pride flags in classrooms," Ryan Simonovich reports. The resolution itself is fine. That this has become a news story illustrates the politicized nature of education.

Cell Phones in Schools: A CPR headline states, "A bill requiring schools to have cell phone policies aims to boost classroom learning." This is yet another reminder that schools are politicized.

CU Race-Based Hiring: "Documents posted by Manhattan Institute senior fellow John Sailer allegedly show that the different departments and programs across [the University of Colorado, Boulder] had hiring practices that looked to hire individuals based on race," Rachel del Guidice reports.

He's B-a-a-c-k: Auon'tai Anderson "is working as a restorative justice coordinator at Manual Middle School," 9News reports. So ridiculous on multiple levels.

Strangling Restaurants: Among the challenges facing Denver restaurants are "property taxes," "growing regulatory pressures," and "Denver's increased tipped minimum wage," Alayna Alvarez reports.

Business Issues: I haven't had time to dig into these articles, but readers might be interested in Ed Sealover's articles on anti-discrimination proposals and state-subsidized health insurance, as well as a Common Sense Institute policy paper on free enterprise.

Fences and Property Rights: The case of a fence in the San Luis Valley illustrates that property rights are not always clear-cut and obvious. At issue, as Elise Schmelzer reports, is an " 8-foot-tall fence topped with barbed wire that the owner of Cielo Vista Ranch is building." One problem: The fence prevents the migration of wildlife, which the property owner does not own. Another key problem: "Descendants of Sangre de Cristo Land Grant families who settled in the valley in the mid-1800s maintain legal rights to graze cattle and collect firewood on the property," Schmelzer writes.

Arrested While Filming: Dustin Harrison "is suing a Colorado Parks and Wildlife ranger and a sheriff’s deputy after he was arrested while filming the ranger on the side of the road," Katie Langford reports.

Libertarians Lay an Egg: The state Libertarian Party worked with Republican Rep. Ryan Gonzalez to introduce legislation to repeal the cage-free hen law. Even if you think people properly have the right to keep hens in highly confined conditions, this effort should be pretty low on the list of priorities for any liberty lover. As I've argued, government probably has grounds to regulate the conditions of laying hens to limit inhumane treatment. The LP claims "the Colorado legislature caused" the "egg crisis," but, first, there is no "crisis," and, second, the cage-free hen law is not mainly to blame for the moderate problems. As Ali Longwell writes, "Egg shortages and rising prices are due to the continued impacts of the highly pathogenic avian influenza on producers." Anyway, predictably, the legislature rejected the repeal.

Stanley Hotel: "The Colorado Educational and Cultural Facilities Authority approved issuing up to $475 million in bonds for the eventual purchase of the hotel," Jessica Alvarado Gamez reports. This is not a legitimate project for state (or any) government.

Boarding School Deaths: "At least 76 Native American children died at Colorado boarding schools," reports Sam Tabachnik, based on a report by the Washington Post.

Boom Supersonic: Congratulations to the Colorado company for breaking the sound barrier with a prototype.