Denver Sen. Chris Hansen’s decision to leave the state Capitol for a job in southwestern Colorado while endorsing two Democrats to ascend the political ladder behind him has frustrated party officials and sparked fresh criticism of the process that’s served as a gateway for a third of the state legislature. “The optics are (expletive),” summarized … Read more
Abortion is a hot topic in the November election at multiple levels, but particularly on the Colorado ballot, which features Amendment 79 — a proposed change that would enshrine the state’s abortion protections in the state constitution. The fate of abortion access is currently determined by the states following the 2022 overturning of Roe v. … Read more
By SOPHIE AUSTIN SACRAMENTO — California will make it illegal for social media platforms to knowingly provide addictive feeds to children without parental consent beginning in 2027 under a new law Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Friday. California follows New York state, which passed a law earlier this year allowing parents to block their kids … Read more
Colorado voters are set to weigh in on ballot questions related to abortion rights, veterinary services, mountain lion trophy hunting and an overhaul of the state’s election system in November. The deadline to finalize the state’s ballot is coming Friday, but all of the citizen initiatives — meaning ballot questions pursued by members of the … Read more
Golden dropped the hammer on more than two dozen retail outlets last year when it banned the sales of all flavored tobacco and nicotine products in the city, costing the businesses thousands of dollars in revenue. Now, this city on the western edge of the metro area is setting up a one-time $100,000 relief fund … Read more
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of State of Emergency, a series exploring how climate disasters impact voting and politics. It was published with support from the CO2 Foundation. As the one-year anniversary of the 2021 Marshall fire approached, Kyle Brown was serving as a city councilman in Louisville, a Denver suburb … Read more
California lawmakers are considering a bill that would limit homebuyer-agent contracts required under the national Realtor settlement to three months. If the bill passes, California would become one of at least 20 states with mandatory buyer-broker contract laws. “Without legal protection, buyers and brokers are susceptible to potential disputes over compensation, legal uncertainties and conflicts … Read more
On a razor-thin 4-3 vote, the Westminster City Council this week knocked down a proposal that would have opted out of a new state law that prohibits firearms from being brought into local government buildings. But across town, members of the Aurora City Council gave initial unanimous approval to a similar ordinance — exercising a … Read more
When the city council in Cortez seated its first pregnant councilwoman a couple of years ago, the seven-member body scrambled to provide arrangements for mother and baby. “We set up a room in case we needed to stop the meeting to allow her to pump,” said Rachel Medina, who was appointed mayor of Cortez by … Read more
As Colorado’s rivers shrink and its soils dry out, state lawmakers this year passed a slew of water bills that advocates say will help reduce water use and protect the critical natural resource. Nine major bills aim to reduce water use in cities, replace nixed federal protections of wetlands and minimize the amount of toxic … Read more
