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Colorado News Miner: March 11, 2025
Journalists More Equal: In my March 3 column for Complete, I argued with respect to an open-records bill, "Government should not be defining what constitutes journalism, and certainly it should not give preferential treatment to the people politicians regard as journalists." In a March 6 follow-up, legal scholar Rob Natelson adds, "Both rights [to freedom of speech and freedom of the press] were highly democratic: Anyone could exercise them, not just 'newspersons.' . . . When the First Amendment was adopted, it was considered at least as important for ordinary citizens to enjoy freedom of the press as for professional 'newspersons' to do so." In his February 28 newsletter, Corey Hutchins, responding to Senator Cathy Kipp's disparagement of bloggers, pointed out, "People with podcasts, or newsletters like the one you’re currently reading, contribute valuably to the state's news and information ecosystem." Hutchins continued the discussion in his March 7 newsletter, quoting both Natelson's and my articles.
Lawlessness and Disorder: CPR: "The U.S. Justice Department plans to review [Tina Peters's] case for [alleged] 'abuses of the criminal justice process.'" This, on the heels of Trump pardoning the January 6 domestic terrorists, tells you what "law and order" means to today's leading Republicans: the legal system twisted to serve the president's personal vendettas and to protect the president's lawless friends. Disgusting. Megan Neary: "Protesters gathered in Ft. Collins, holding signs, playing instruments, and claiming, without evidence, that jailed Mesa County election official Tina Peters is innocent. . . . Darcy Schoening, a state Republican Party official who's running to be the next leader of the Colorado Republican Party, attended the protest."
Price Controls Update: Ed Sealover: "Colorado House members passed a bill to boost the state's price-gouging regulations on Monday—but only after scaling it back significantly so that it applies only during periods of declared disasters." Price controls remain idiotic, and many Colorado Democrats continue to love them. We should not be relieved that the legislature is merely making bad bills somewhat less-bad.
Financial Literacy: You can't accuse Colorado legislators of not having a sense of humor. At the same time that legislators grapple with a billion-dollar shortfall created by their profligate past spending and unwillingness to rein in program costs, "some Colorado lawmakers want financial literacy to be a requirement for high school graduation" via House Bill 1192, CBS reports. How about require legislators to pass a financial literacy test before they assume office? Also, how about let schools set their own policies?
Aurora Leadership Defends City: In response to Donald Trump's disparaging remarks, councilor Curtis Gardner told the Aurora Sentinel, "Aurora is not now, nor has it ever been, destroyed or buckled under the strain of TdA [Tren de Aragua] gang members," and Mayor Mike Coffman said he was "very disappointed" with Trump's characterizations. True, Aurora has suffered some problems with the gang, but Trump wildly exaggerated the scope of that threat.
Tariff Threats Harm Colorado: Chase Woodruff: "Trump's chaotic 'game of chicken' in a trade war with Mexico and Canada threatens to raise consumer costs, undermine Colorado's economy and complicate the state's efforts to close a billion-dollar budget gap, Treasurer Dave Young said." Tamara Chung discusses the "estimated $1.4 billion in new tariffs Colorado small businesses could pay as part of the Trump administration's" tariffs. Sarah Mulholland: "Now Colorado's craft brewers . . . are girding for even higher costs. As . . . Trump lobs tariffs at the United States' largest trading partners, prices are poised to go up on everything from aluminum cans to grain." But Trump has changed his tariff pronouncements several times, so how the trade war shakes out is anyone's guess.
Homelessness: The Colorado Times Recorder reports, "Denver saw an increase in youth homelessness from 10% to 25% between 2017 and 2021." This is based on an Anschutz-affiliated study. But, even assuming the authors' statistical extrapolations reflect reality, "homelessness" by the authors' definition (according to their release) includes "staying temporarily with friends or family." Okay, that means that I was "homeless" for several years when at different times my family lived in the basement of my grandparents' house, even though I had a roof over my head and never once thought of myself as "homeless." The release in question does not specify what fraction of the "homelessness" actually involved living in a home. Regardless, it remains the case that anti-housing land-use policies unjustly drive up housing costs and create artificial shortages.
Governor Bennet? I'd certainly prefer Michael Bennet to the consistently anti-business Phil Weiser.
John Adams Academy: Amber Carlson worries about John Adams Academy, a proposed charter school in Douglas County, "The school network's founders come from Christian backgrounds, and there are themes within the school's literature that are suggestive of religious ideas and values." But we live in an overwhelmingly Christian country in terms of people's religious beliefs, so of course much of the leadership of any institution is likely to be Christian. And most literature generally is infused with "religious ideas and values."
Cops Should Do Their Jobs: A Denver liquor store lost its license ostensibly because a clerk sold alcohol to an undercover police agent, as Haylee May reports. But it seems like police targeted the establishment because of "a long history of criminal activity at the store" (in May's words). But it's not the job of business owners or their employees to try to stop crime in and around the business. That's the job of police. Police should do their jobs, not scapegoat local business owners.
Tax-Funded School Meals: Yesenia Robles discusses "a bill that would ask voters to approve new funding for universal school meals." Background: "In 2022, Colorado voters approved a ballot proposal to make breakfast and lunch free for all students regardless of family income. The program was funded by lowering a tax credit for taxpayers making more than $300,000 a year, meaning they pay more in net taxes. But many more students than the state projected are eating the subsidized school meals. That means the cost has also gone up and has led legislators to look for more funding." My take: Why further subsidize relatively wealthy families?
Religion in Colorado: John Frank: "Christian affiliation at the state level fell from 64% to 52% in the decade ending in 2024. At the same time, people who don't identify with any religion increased significantly to 40% from 29%." This is based on the Pew survey.
Housing Bills: Although I have not reviewed the bills in question, I tend to trust Liberty Scorecard's evaluations here. That organization supports HB25-1272, "Construction Defects and Middle Market Housing," and opposes HB25-1261, "Consumers Construction Defect Action"; and SB25-185, "Claims Against Construction Professionals."
Population Growth Calculation: That's the title of SB25-180. Liberty Scorecard also opposes that bill, but a sponsor is reliably conservative Barbara Kirkmeyer. Seems to me the aim should be to accurately adjust for population under TABOR.
Johnston Goes to Washington: Denver Mayor Mike Johnston went before Congress to defend his city's immigration policies. Among the many articles on the matter is one from the Colorado Times Recorder.
Closing Time: Sherrie Peif: "A bill that would have pushed back the closing time for bars and nightclubs from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. was killed off on Thursday after the bill's sponsors withdrew it in committee." God forbid we let businesses set their own policies.
Pilke Pushed Out? Roger Pilke, Jr.: "I was a tenured full professor at the University of Colorado Boulder for almost 24 years. At the end of 2024, I left. Officially, it was a voluntary departure. But I sure felt like I'd been pushed out." Pilke is critical of various claims regarding climate change.
Minors on Social Media: SB25-086, among other things, requires social media companies to submit detailed user reports to state government. Government has no proper business demanding such information from private companies. I think it's okay for government to require social media companies to clearly post their policies. I'm not sure what government's role should be (if any) in enforcing policies regarding minor users. Jon Caldara suggests leaning on parents to set and enforce internet use rules.
No Tamales for You: Sherrie Peif: "Democrats . . . killed off a bill in the House Agriculture Committee that would have expanded Colorado's cottage food law to include items requiring refrigeration," such as tomales. That was HB25-1190.
Juvenile Detention: This is quite the headline from the Denver Post: "Broken bones, excessive force and drug overdoses: Inside Colorado's juvenile detention facilities." Here's a bit from the article, by Sam Tabachnik: "Amani Ince described [a] youth services specialist grabbing him and slamming him into the wall. . . . Staff put Ince in handcuffs and, though he said he wasn't resisting, proceeded to drop him on his face five or six times." Where is the criminal investigation? Obviously inmates who claim abuse might be lying. But government has a moral and legal responsibility to ensure the safety of incarcerated persons.
Costly Records: Sage Kelley reports open-records fees in Jefferson County of $2,550 and even $30,000. Obviously hardly any individual can afford to pay such fees. I do recognize that certain records may need to be redacted over privacy concerns. And it's possible for someone to pepper local governments with records requests just to gum up the works. But government documents properly are accessible by the public. State government at least should set a maximum fee or something.
March for Ukraine: Hundreds marched for Ukraine in Denver March 9. See some of my photos.
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