Colorado schools getting $24M to address influx of immigrant students

Colorado will distribute $24 million in one-time funding to public school districts and charter schools impacted by the unprecedented influx of immigrant students who arrived after the annual October headcount that determines districts’ state funding. Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday signed the bipartisan bill, HB24-1389, authorizing that money to be distributed this fiscal year from … Read more

Colorado House passes supervised drug use bill but obstacles remain

A bill to allow supervised drug-use sites to open in willing Colorado cities cleared the state House for the second time in two years on Friday, but it faces a significant uphill battle in the face of opposition in the Senate and from Gov. Jared Polis. House Bill 1028 is Rep. Elisabeth Epps’ second attempt to … Read more

Colorado’s Jena Griswold faces criticism for anti-Trump advocacy

It is no secret that Jena Griswold, Colorado’s secretary of state since 2019, has a major problem with former President Donald Trump. A quick scroll through her account on X, formerly known as Twitter, reveals dozens of condemnations of the former president, with Griswold repeatedly calling him an “oath-breaking insurrectionist” and a “threat to democracy.” … Read more

Lawmakers poised to ban occupancy limits in Colorado cities

Colorado lawmakers are poised to ban occupancy limits in cities and towns across the state, clearing the way for more roommates to live together as part of Democrats’ push to reform local zoning regulations and address the state’s housing crisis. Roughly two dozen cities and towns in Colorado have the type of occupancy limits that … Read more

Colorado lawmakers target another $5 million for Denver Health

A bipartisan group of Colorado lawmakers is again moving to direct a special $5 million infusion to Denver Health amid rising concerns about the hospital’s financial security and fears of a potential descent into a “death spiral.” Members of the powerful Joint Budget Committee, which gave initial approval to the allocation Wednesday night, acknowledged that … Read more

U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo unveils migrant bills that would help Denver

U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo of Colorado unveiled a package of migrant-related bills in the House Thursday that aim to break a partisan logjam on immigration reform and would assist cities like Denver that have shouldered unforeseen costs. The congresswoman, who represents Colorado’s most heavily Latino congressional district, said her aim is to help interior cities … Read more

Colorado child sex abuse constitutional amendment faces new opposition

Unexpected partisan opposition to a state constitutional amendment that’s aimed at clearing the way for survivors of childhood sexual assault to sue over older claims has clouded the measure’s chances in the Colorado Senate. Backers, who are working to shore up support, see it as a black-and-white proposal that would give survivors of abuse that … Read more

Denver will cut DMV, recreation center hours to pay for migrant crisis

Some Denver Motor Vehicle offices will close for a week at a time, recreation centers will reduce their hours and the parks department will slash spring recreational programming by 25% to help offset the fast-rising costs of sheltering migrants in the city. Efforts to trim city spending will be visible in other small ways. too. … Read more

Colorado weighs ban on sodium nitrite, a poison used in suicides

At first, Bruce Brown thought the substance in his son’s room was a performance supplement, like the plastic bottles alongside it. He’d never heard of sodium nitrite, so he searched it on the internet. But he accidentally typed in the wrong word, searching instead for sodium nitrate. Still, even the results for the wrong substance … Read more