Current News

Local heavyweight politicos wasted no time accusing each other of partisan gamesmanship at a panel Tuesday night discussing gun control. The conversation took place as conservatives and liberals from across the nation have targeted Colorado’s efforts to increase restrictions on firearms.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar sounded the alarm over climate change during his remarks at the Governor’s Forum on Colorado Agriculture last Thursday in Denver.

“No matter what you may hear from some people, including some people in this room, our climate is, in fact, warming,” Salazar told the nearly 200 attendees gathered for the day-long conference at the Denver Renaissance Hotel.

A well-intentioned bill that aims to make it easier for the public to obtain public documents under the Colorado Open Records Act has caused a kerfuffle. Activists claim that House Bill 1041 secretly seeks to empower dubious records custodians to charge exorbitant fees in order to pad government budgets and block transparency.

Sponsored by Rep. Brittany Pettersen, D-Lakewood, and Sen. John Kefalas, D-Fort Collins, the measure has already cleared the House and made it through the Senate Local Government Committee on Tuesday. The party-line vote was 3-2.

Gov. John Hickenlooper on Tuesday threatened to veto legislation that would ensure statewide collective bargaining rights for Colorado firefighters. But union officials and the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Lois Tochtrop, D-Thornton, believe the Democratic governor will be spared some of the political battery that his Democratic predecessor, Gov. Bill Ritter, experienced for opposing a similar measure.

Quoting one of the Founding Fathers and invoking the arrival of Ronald Reagan on the national scene — just when the country seemed to be floundering in the late 1970s — Secretary of State Scott Gessler told a group of Jefferson County Republicans to stick with their principles and persist trying to educate voters about conservative solutions last week at the county GOP’s central committee meeting at Green Mountain High School in Lakewood.

A monumental and at times grueling week under the Gold Dome was filled with marathon public hearings and more than 12 hours of House floor debate on gun control. The conversation saw a lot of love lost between Republicans and Democrats during this Valentine’s Day week. But as the midnight hour passed late Friday night, Democrats walked away victorious, clearing a major hurdle by pushing centerpiece agenda items through the divided lower chamber.

One day after the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission passed a statewide 500-foot setback on drilling, Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat and former geologist, sent a shockwave through the environmental community by admitting on Tuesday to literally drinking the frack-aid.

Speaking before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in Washington, D.C., Hickenlooper said he took a sip of hydraulic fracturing fluid produced by Houston-based Halliburton, one of the largest providers of products and services to the energy industry.

State Democrats this week unveiled their proposals for gun control just two days before National Rifle Association President David Keene made the rounds at the Capitol, expressing his organization’s concerns to legislative leaders and Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper. Even before the proposals were released, Democrats and Republicans were immersed in a skirmish over the issue.

Democrats unveiled their proposals on Tuesday, and a handful of the measures were introduced later in the week. The agenda includes:

Former House Speaker Andrew Romanoff’s path to take on incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, an Aurora Republican, became clearer this week after a Democratic legislator said she wouldn’t join what could be one of the country’s marquee congressional races.

State Sen. Linda Newell, D-Littleton, on Friday quelled speculation — fueled by her daughter’s Facebook post the previous week — that she would run in the 6th Congressional District and threw her backing behind Romanoff.

Just days before Congress began debating sweeping proposals to reform the country’s immigration policies, one of the key congressional architects of the plans appeared with two Colorado Democratic lawmakers to discuss the issue.

More than 350 packed Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church on Saturday afternoon at a community forum sponsored by U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette that also included U.S. Reps. Jared Polis and Luis Gutiérrez of Illinois, who heads the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Immigration Task Force.

NEWS & EVENTS

COMMENTARY

FEATURES

SUBSCRIPTIONS

ABOUT

Diverse panel targets gun violence

Salazar reflects on energy policy, climate change

Open records bill also opens Pandora’s box

Guv fires off veto threat on firefighters bill

Republicans in Jeffco, Denver hope for rosier political future

House approves gun restrictions in marathon session

Hick gets flak over swig of flack-aid

Gun debate fires off with legislation

Romanoff’s primary path becomes more certain

Community forum deals with immigration reform

Jun. 14, 2013

Vol. 114, No. 24


Not a Member? Search this site: Home NEWS & EVENTS Current News Legislative News 2008 Political Campaigns 2010 Political Campaigns COMMENTARY Letters to the Editor Editorials Guest Columns FEATURES 2008 Democratic National Convention Jerry Kopel InnerView Jay Fox's Dining Guide Politi-Flix Politics Uncorked 'Those Were the Days' SUBSCRIPTIONS Subscribe Online ABOUT Contact Us Submissions & Editorial Guidelines	Current News Diverse panel targets gun violence Moderator Hickenlooper stays out of the fray as both sides take aim 2/22/2013 By Peter Marcus The Colorado Statesman Local heavyweight politicos wasted no time accusing each other of partisan gamesmanship at a panel Tuesday night discussing gun control. The conversation took place as conservatives and liberals from across the nation have targeted Colorado’s efforts to increase restrictions on firearms. Read more Salazar reflects on energy policy, climate change Outgoing Interior Secretary returning home to Colorado 2/22/2013 By Ernest Luning The Colorado Statesman Interior Secretary Ken Salazar sounded the alarm over climate change during his remarks at the Governor’s Forum on Colorado Agriculture last Thursday in Denver. “No matter what you may hear from some people, including some people in this room, our climate is, in fact, warming,” Salazar told the nearly 200 attendees gathered for the day-long conference at the Denver Renaissance Hotel. Read more Open records bill also opens Pandora’s box Opponents claim HB 1041 lacks transparency, but Senate committee passes it on party-line vote 2/22/2013 By Peter Marcus The Colorado Statesman A well-intentioned bill that aims to make it easier for the public to obtain public documents under the Colorado Open Records Act has caused a kerfuffle. Activists claim that House Bill 1041 secretly seeks to empower dubious records custodians to charge exorbitant fees in order to pad government budgets and block transparency. Sponsored by Rep. Brittany Pettersen, D-Lakewood, and Sen. John Kefalas, D-Fort Collins, the measure has already cleared the House and made it through the Senate Local Government Committee on Tuesday. The party-line vote was 3-2. Read more Guv fires off veto threat on firefighters bill 2/22/2013 By Peter Marcus The Colorado Statesman Gov. John Hickenlooper on Tuesday threatened to veto legislation that would ensure statewide collective bargaining rights for Colorado firefighters. But union officials and the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Lois Tochtrop, D-Thornton, believe the Democratic governor will be spared some of the political battery that his Democratic predecessor, Gov. Bill Ritter, experienced for opposing a similar measure. Read more Republicans in Jeffco, Denver hope for rosier political future Direction of party up for grabs 2/18/2013 By Ernest Luning The Colorado Statesman Quoting one of the Founding Fathers and invoking the arrival of Ronald Reagan on the national scene — just when the country seemed to be floundering in the late 1970s — Secretary of State Scott Gessler told a group of Jefferson County Republicans to stick with their principles and persist trying to educate voters about conservative solutions last week at the county GOP’s central committee meeting at Green Mountain High School in Lakewood. Read more House approves gun restrictions in marathon session 2/18/2013 By Peter Marcus The Colorado Statesman A monumental and at times grueling week under the Gold Dome was filled with marathon public hearings and more than 12 hours of House floor debate on gun control. The conversation saw a lot of love lost between Republicans and Democrats during this Valentine’s Day week. But as the midnight hour passed late Friday night, Democrats walked away victorious, clearing a major hurdle by pushing centerpiece agenda items through the divided lower chamber. Read more Hick gets flak over swig of flack-aid Governor says energy industry has become ‘unseen villain’ 2/18/2013 By Peter Marcus The Colorado Statesman One day after the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission passed a statewide 500-foot setback on drilling, Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat and former geologist, sent a shockwave through the environmental community by admitting on Tuesday to literally drinking the frack-aid. Speaking before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in Washington, D.C., Hickenlooper said he took a sip of hydraulic fracturing fluid produced by Houston-based Halliburton, one of the largest providers of products and services to the energy industry. Read more Gun debate fires off with legislation 2/11/2013 By Peter Marcus The Colorado Statesman State Democrats this week unveiled their proposals for gun control just two days before National Rifle Association President David Keene made the rounds at the Capitol, expressing his organization’s concerns to legislative leaders and Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper. Even before the proposals were released, Democrats and Republicans were immersed in a skirmish over the issue. Democrats unveiled their proposals on Tuesday, and a handful of the measures were introduced later in the week. The agenda includes: Read more Romanoff’s primary path becomes more certain Sen. Newell says she won’t run in CD 6; Coffman not focused on campaign right now 2/11/2013 By Ernest Luning The Colorado Statesman Former House Speaker Andrew Romanoff’s path to take on incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, an Aurora Republican, became clearer this week after a Democratic legislator said she wouldn’t join what could be one of the country’s marquee congressional races. State Sen. Linda Newell, D-Littleton, on Friday quelled speculation — fueled by her daughter’s Facebook post the previous week — that she would run in the 6th Congressional District and threw her backing behind Romanoff. Read more Community forum deals with immigration reform U.S. Reps. DeGette and Polis joined by Gutiérrez 2/11/2013 By Ernest Luning The Colorado Statesman Just days before Congress began debating sweeping proposals to reform the country’s immigration policies, one of the key congressional architects of the plans appeared with two Colorado Democratic lawmakers to discuss the issue. More than 350 packed Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church on Saturday afternoon at a community forum sponsored by U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette that also included U.S. Reps. Jared Polis and Luis Gutiérrez of Illinois, who heads the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Immigration Task Force. Read more « first ‹ previous … 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 … next › last »	Jun. 14, 2013 Vol. 114, No. 24