The Sunriser | Respect on the docket as state legislature convenes

Good morning, Colorado. This morning’s newsletter was fueled by my new best friend, Spotify’s AI DJ. 

Hesitant as I’ve been to embrace artificial intelligence in my entertainment mix, I have about 15 years of Spotify listening loaded into this particular algorithm, so it’s easy to trust and passively listen to this automated voice pump familiar favorites into my ears.

Check it out for yourself if you’re a Spotify listener. Oh, and be sure to subscribe to The Sun’s daily podcast while you’re there.

On to today’s news.

Kevin Jeffers

Product Team

THE NEWS

POLITICS & GOVERNMENT

Colorado Capitol leaders focus their message on legislative civility more than policy in kicking off 2024 lawmaking term

The tone Wednesday at the state Capitol was a departure from the typically optimistic opening day of the General Assembly. Following the resignation of two Democrats last month who cited a toxic work environment and a formal reprimand of another earlier this week, House Speaker Julie McCluskie’s opening speech called for treating each other with kindness. Here’s more from Jesse Paul and Brian Eason on the legislative session’s opening remarks.

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• Colorado’s 2024 legislative session began this week. Here’s your guide to get involved. All the information you need to understand how the state legislature works as well as how you can make your voice heard and stay up to date with the process.

ARTS

A Colorado Photographic Arts Center program helps veterans process emotions, experiences and photographs

An upcoming exhibition at the Colorado Photographic Arts Center will display the work of 27 Colorado artists who served in the military. “Through Their Lens: Personal Projects by Veterans” collects and displays the works of those who participated in a free six-month program that provided veterans with instruction and resources for developing a photography practice. See some of their work and hear some of their stories in this article from Parker Yamasaki.

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SOCIAL SERVICES

Criminal charges against another Colorado child welfare caseworker lead to renewed calls for reform

A child welfare caseworker in Larimer County is facing 99 criminal counts for allegedly failing to check on reported cases of abuse and neglect and filing false paperwork. It’s a case similar to one in Moffat County from 2020, and one in Denver from 2015. Jennifer Brown has more on how Colorado has failed to strengthen laws that could protect families who are the victims when caseworkers falsify records.

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• First year of optional Keep Colorado Wild Pass sees drivers deliver $41.1 million in revenue for parks and wildlife. Nearly 1.5 million Colorado drivers paid an extra $29 to include the parks pass on their vehicle registrations, outpacing expectations and helping fund Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Now, the question is, will Colorado’s 42 state parks see an increase in visitation from all these new passholders? Jason Blevins has that answer and more on the program’s successful first year.
• It was windy Wednesday. But at least it wasn’t as windy as it was in January 1982. Michael Booth asked NOAA about some of Colorado’s worst windy days, as gusts hit 60 mph in the foothills Wednesday. Here’s what they had to say.

Section by Kevin Jeffers | Product Team

THE COLORADO REPORT

• The polar vortex is about to blast Colorado with dangerously cold arctic air. Here’s what you need to know. The storm is also bringing a “dramatic uptick in avalanche danger.”
  — CPR News, Summit Daily
• Will Pueblo be the latest Colorado city to adopt a public camping ban? Council to decide. People would have the option to move into “sheltered bed space.” Otherwise, they could face a fine up to $1,000.
  — The Pueblo Chieftain 🔑
• Cost of living instills economic pessimism in southwestern Colorado residents. Local incomes have not kept up with inflation since the start of the pandemic.
  — The Durango Herald 🔑
• Where to find gasoline for under $2 a gallon in the Denver metro area. Gas Buddy, a website that relies on consumers to report the latest prices, listed a half dozen stations in different parts of the metro area with sub-$2 prices.
  — The Denver Post 🔑

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

Section by Danika Worthington | Presentation Editor

THE OPINION PAGE

COMMUNITY

• Colorado veterinarians and pet owners deserve greater access to telemedicine visits, but proposed bill would limit them. State lawmakers must ensure veterinary telemedicine is available to all families and Colorado-licensed veterinarians.
  — Elise Gingrich, DVM, is a veterinarian who lives in Fort Collins and is the senior director of shelter medicine for the ASPCA

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.

What’s Happening

Cooking Classes with Iliana Regan. Iliana Regan grew up on a small farm in Indiana. You can learn this by reading the first page of her memoir, “Burn the Place,” which I did while living in Chicago last year. Regan built her culinary celebrity in the Midwest — Chicago, in fact — first by hosting an apartment supper club, then by working her way through Chicago’s finest dining establishments before opening her very own restaurant, Elizabeth, in 2012. Elizabeth earned a Michelin star in its second year of service, 2014, and continued to earn one every year thereafter until Regan backed away from it in 2020.

Now, Regan is in Colorado. She’s spending January (and a couple days in February) as a resident of Telluride’s Ah Haa School for the Arts. During her residency, Regan will teach eight cooking classes and host six pop-up dinners. Next up is a lesson on sourdough, featuring a 20-year-old yeast starter that Regan has been “tending like a pet” for two decades, as one New York Times reporter observed a few years ago.

Classes are pricey — $150 a pop — but then again, so is a dinner at a Michelin-starred restaurant. At least with this price of admission you can personally ask the chef how she did it.

$150; Jan. 14-Feb. 3; Ah Haa School for the Arts, 155 W. Pacific Ave., Telluride

• First Peoples Festival. Hosted by the city of Estes Park and Nico Strange Owl, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Montana and owner of Eagle Plume’s Trading Post in Allenspark, the First Peoples Festival features two days of music, dance, workshops and an artist’s market. Free; Jan. 13-14; Estes Park Events Complex, 1125 Rooftop Way, Estes Park
• Dr. King Jr. & the Radical Roots at the Heart of Justice. Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and in honor of his legacy, the Motus Theater is hosting an arts-filled and educational event featuring music, monologues and a critical discussion focused on Dr. King. Donation-based; 2:30-4:30 p.m., Jan. 15; Gordon Gamm Theater, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder
• “Spoiled Echoes” exhibition. ArtLab, an arts education internship in the 40West Arts District, offers high school teens a place to learn and create, while exploring relevant social issues, like mental health, climate change and housing justice. From now through Jan. 21, Edge Gallery is exhibiting the teen interns’ work. Free; Jan. 5-21; Edge Gallery, 6501 W. Colfax, Lakewood

Section by Parker Yamasaki | Reporter

Don’t forget to RSVP for our next free event, where we continue our coverage on the High Cost of Colorado. Join us at 6 p.m. Tuesday as we bring that series to the virtual stage to talk with panelists about the high cost of housing, food, personal entertainment, the strain on Coloradans’ budgets and what’s bothering our readers.

— Kevin & 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 corrections@coloradosun.com.