Good morning, Sunrisers! As I’m sure you’re aware by now, the legislative session started Wednesday, and our politics reporters have been working hard to make sure we know what’s going on inside the Capitol. They’re reading the bills, sitting in on the sessions and teasing out the most important storylines for us to follow.
Yesterday afternoon, as part of this political slate, Gov. Polis gave his annual State of the State address. If you, like me, find politician-speak to be either incredibly jargon-heavy or deliberately vague with no in-between, then you’ll appreciate our annotated version of the governor’s speech. In it, our reporters provided context, fact-checks and commentary to help everyone outside of the Capitol decipher what he’s actually saying. Oh, and they called the governor a nerd. Twice. You could call it our state of the State of the State.
On to the news.
Reporter
THE NEWS
OUTDOORS
Avalanche danger spikes across Colorado as new snow piles deep for MLK weekend
It’s the storm we’ve all been waiting for — the one that will blanket our mountains with several feet of new snow and finally make our ski turns a little more “swoosh, swoosh” and a little less “scrape, scrape.” But forecasters at the Colorado Avalanche Information Center aren’t exactly looking forward to the snowfall, as weeks of dry weather have primed the mountains for dangerous avalanche conditions. Coupled with a holiday weekend that has seen four fatal avalanches over the past 12 seasons, they’re urging backcountry skiers to stick to the frontside this weekend. Jason Blevins lays it out in a conversation with CAIC.
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WATER
Two Nederland residents appointed as “guardians” of Boulder Creek, giving it a voice in town policy
Establishing the “rights of nature” is a growing international movement that assigns natural resources, like rivers, representatives in political decision-making. The former mining town of Nederland is taking this movement “to a new level,” one water advocate said, by naming two official guardians of Boulder Creek. Michael Booth has more on what the guardians can and can’t do for the creek.
POLITICS
Jared Polis delivered his sixth State of the State address. We explain what he said.
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Moments in the hourlong speech for which our reporters added clarity, context or commentary
On Thursday, Gov. Jared Polis gave his sixth State of the State address at the Capitol to a chamber full of legislators and pre-approved guests. If you weren’t on the list, you can read through our annotated transcript. In it, politics reporters Jesse Paul, Brian Eason and Sandra Fish, along with other Sun reporters, hold the speech up to his administration’s record, and point out which legislation he’s referencing, when he’s stretching the truth, and how many pop culture references he can fit into a 57-minute address.
BUSINESS
Owners of Granby Ranch ban elected officials, homeowners from accessing amenities, restaurants and “sidewalks, patios and lawns”
Bob and David Glarner, the brothers who own Granby Ranch and have appeared in The Colorado Sun before, sent letters to elected members of the Granby Ranch Metro District banning them from the resort’s property, including the ski area, golf course, trails, fishing areas and restaurants. As Jason Blevins reports, the brothers have a history of clashing with homeowners in their development projects.
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THE OPINION PAGE
COMMUNITY
CARTOONS
In “What’d I Miss?” Ossie and Myra commiserate on the decline of kind and affordable airline experiences in the wake of two discount carriers’ merger.
Drew Litton illustrates that, as the football world turns, there always seems to be some new dramatic twist to the tale of Denver’s effort to remake the Broncos.
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.
Podcast Playlist
CONVERSATION
Each weekday The Daily Sun-Up podcast brings you a bit of Colorado history, headlines and a thoughtful conversation. We keep it tight so you can quickly listen, or stack up a few and tune in at your leisure. You can download the Sun-Up for free in your favorite podcasting app, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or RSS to plug into your app. This week, we roam from the state Capitol to Colorado county roads.
🗣️ Remember, you can ask Siri, Alexa or Google to “play the Daily Sun-Up podcast” and we’ll play right on your smart speaker. As always we appreciate your feedback and comments at podcast@coloradosun.com.
Live long and prosper.
— Parker & 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.
