Good morning, Colorado.
Did someone say coffee? No? Oh, it was me. I said coffee. I said it from behind my keyboard so you might have missed it. Don’t mind me, I’m just in desperate need.
So how about this: I’ll fill you in on today’s news, you’ll nod along while reading — thinking, “wow, an uncaffeinated person wrote this? Incredible!” — and then we’ll move on with our days. You’ll do whatever it is on your docket and I’ll go make a giant brew of pour over.
And if you’ve already had your caffeinated beverage of choice this morning, just slurp along as we go. But maybe slurp quietly so as to not rub it in.
P.S. Join us tonight for The New Car Culture: How will the revolution in electric vehicles and transportation design change Colorado? RSVP now!
POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
Governor removes Democrat from board that blocked Douglas County’s property tax cut, replaces him with Republican
In December, the state board that reviews local property tax decisions unanimously rejected Douglas County’s attempt to offer a $28 million tax break to homeowners. Gov. Jared Polis blasted the decision at the time, and last week, he removed Democrat and former Colorado Secretary of State Bernie Buescher from the panel. Polis replaced Buescher with an Englewood Republican, giving Republicans a 3-2 majority. Jesse Paul has more on the move.
WATER
Decades of inaction left a water system in southwestern Colorado in shambles. Will the state step in to help?
Jeff Richmond explains the irrigation system for his ranch — pointing out how headgates divert water from major ditches for his alfalfa fields — on Jan. 12 near Ignacio in southwestern Colorado. (Shannon Mullane, The Colorado Sun)
In southwestern Colorado, hundreds draw water from a federally managed irrigation system that has a decadeslong backlog of maintenance issues — so bad that the cost to repair it adds up to $35.3 million.
But that’s just one irrigation system in a group of 16 in the West called the Indian Irrigation Projects. Those other systems aren’t faring much better as parts fall into complete disrepair due to chronic underfunding. So how bad is it all put together? It’ll likely take $2.3 billion to repair, Shannon Mullane writes. And in case you were rubbing sleep out of your eyes while reading that, I said “billion” with a b.
HEALTH
Colorado has the nation’s third-longest waitlist for people charged with crimes and ordered into psychiatric treatment
In the past seven years, the number of forensic psychiatric beds in Colorado shrunk by 20%. Forensic beds are those ordered through the criminal justice system for people who are found incompetent for trial or found not guilty by reason of insanity. Last year, the state had 448 people on its waitlist, waiting an average of 66 days. Colorado was third worst in the nation for the number of people waiting per capita. (So who was the worst in the nation? Jennifer Brown can tell you.)
OUTDOORS
Colorado lawmakers intervene for ranchers losing livestock to wolves, saying “chronic depredation” must be defined
Don Gittleson uses a tractor to herd his cows closer to his house Jan. 19, 2022, after the cows were chased miles apart during an overnight wolf attack. On Monday, lawmakers implored Colorado Parks and Wildlife to give ranchers a definition of chronic depredation, which will help them better protect their livestock. (Hugh Carey, The Colorado Sun)
Ranchers got some help when pushing Colorado Parks and Wildlife to define chronic depredation in wolves — a key step that allows them to kill wolves that prey on their livestock. Rep. Julie McCluskie and Sen. Dylan Roberts, legislators in districts where the first 10 wolves were released and where two others migrated from Wyoming, pushed the governor and CPW to directly address the issue. And if they couldn’t, the lawmakers wanted to know why. Tracy Ross has more.
THE COLORADO REPORT
Long penalized for playing at Coors Field, Todd Helton finally gets his due with Hall of Fame nod. It took six years, but the Rockies legend earned enough votes to be inducted into this year’s baseball Hall of Fame class. He’ll join Larry Walker, who was inducted three years ago, as the Rockies’ only Hall of Famers.— USA Today As Denver officials debate warming centers, migrants and unhoused people learn to sleep cold. A final vote on a resolution to raise the threshold of opening warming shelters from 20 degrees to 32 and to prevent police from sweeping unhoused people during freezing temperatures is expected next week. “We were all freezing and they wanted us to come out of our tent into the additional cold,” said Raven Cole, who is homeless and supports the resolution.
— Rocky Mountain PBS Cherry Hills mansion, once caught up in its owner’s bankruptcy, hits the market for $9.5M. A former backup quarterback for the Denver Broncos who is being sued by the company that he founded, has listed his once-bankrupt mansion in Cherry Hills Village for sale.
— BusinessDen 🔑 Denver developer John Madden Jr., known for his art-infused buildings, dies at 94. The John Madden Co. built more than 10 million square feet of office and mixed-use space in its 60-plus-year history. Madden was known for Fiddler’s Green as well as some of the more distinctive buildings in the Denver Tech Center.
— The Denver Post
🔑 = source has article meter or paywall
COLUMNS
Why Denver’s DA should bring perjury charges in the Trump ballot case. Denver DA Beth McCann should prosecute Kash Patel and remind the world that perjury has consequences.— Craig Silverman Colorado legislators must help transform how we travel with permanent funding for public transit’s free fare programs. Expanding free fare program will help Colorado in a number of areas, from pollution to equity
— Jessica Campbell-Swanson, Arapahoe County Commissioner
The Colorado Sun is a nonpartisan news organization, and the opinions of columnists and editorial writers do not reflect the opinions of the newsroom. Read our ethics policy for more on The Sun’s opinion policy and submit columns, suggest writers or provide feedback at [email protected].
REVIEW
Poor Richard’s Books recommends titles on history, road ecology and art
Each week as part of SunLit — The Sun’s literature section — we feature staff recommendations from bookstores across Colorado. This week, the staff from Poor Richard’s Books in Colorado Springs recommends:
“The Wager” by David Grann, a nonfiction tale of an ill-fated ship “Crossings” by Ben Goldfarb, an examination of the ecology of roads “The Creative Act” by Rick Rubin, part self-help, part devotional look at the artistic lifeRead what the bookstore staff had to say about each. Pick up a copy and support your local bookstores at the same time.
Well, dear reader, the time has come. You have been lovely, as always. Enjoy your day. Now, I’m going to grind some coffee beans. See you tomorrow.
— Danika & the whole staff of The Sun
Corrections & Clarifications
Notice something wrong? The Colorado Sun has an ethical responsibility to fix all factual errors. Request a correction by emailing [email protected].
Type of Story: News
Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
English (United States) ·