Good morning, Colorado, and happy first day of May.
Oh, and happy May Day. And National Skilled Trades Day and School Principal’s Day. And you can’t forget it’s also National Chocolate Parfait Day and National Mother Goose Day. And lastly, happy hump day.
Now that we got all the pleasantries out of the way, let’s get on with today’s news.
Presentation Editor
THE NEWS
POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
Colorado Democrats announce major deal with governor to cut income taxes, redirect TABOR refunds to low-income families
4.25%
Where the income tax rate is expected to drop from 4.4%
Democrats in the state legislature reached a deal with Gov. Jared Polis to reduce income taxes and redirect hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer refunds to low-income parents and the middle class.
Under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights amendment, the government must refund money to taxpayers when revenue rises faster than the combined rate of inflation and population growth. But lawmakers have wide discretion in how they distribute the money. Now, Democrats have turned TABOR — a darling of the conservative movement — into a vehicle for progressive policy.
Brian Eason and Jesse Paul have more on the changes ahead.
AGRICULTURE
$20,000 offered to help Grand County ranchers fend off wolves that are killing calves
The Colorado Department of Agriculture will spend $20,000 on nonlethal deterrents, including nighttime patrols and herd protection, in Grand County, where two wolves have killed six cows and one wolf is thought to be pregnant or with pups. But ranchers told Tracy Ross that they doubt it’ll help.
ENERGY
Xcel’s grid, facing growing power demands, to get help from a bill racing through the legislature
Homeowners want to put solar panels on their roofs. Builders want to add EV chargers to their neighborhoods. An already built solar community is sitting, waiting to be added to the grid.
All of these new demands for electricity are putting more and more load onto Xcel Energy’s distribution system, Mark Jaffe reports.
Section by Danika Worthington | Presentation Editor
THE COLORADO REPORT
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Section by Kevin Jeffers | Product Team
THE OPINION PAGE
COLUMNS
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 opinion@coloradosun.com.
SunLit
BOOKS
Explore Booksellers suggests titles spanning time travel to poetry
Each week as part of SunLit — The Sun’s literature section — we feature staff recommendations from bookstores across Colorado. This week, the staff from Explore Booksellers in Aspen recommends:
Read what the bookstore staff had to say about each. Pick up a copy and support your local bookstores at the same time.
Section by Kevin Simpson | Writer
Have a happy Wednesday! Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow for National Truffle Day.
— Danika & the whole staff of The Sun
Corrections & Clarifications
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