What’s in the $40.6B state budget?

Good morning, Colorado.

It’s that time of year in Denver when you have to more closely monitor the temperature levels in your house, depending on the time of day. Personally, I can’t sleep if it’s too hot or too cold, and have found myself having to alternate heat with AC. I woke up a couple of times overnight either sweating or shivering and having to adjust the temperature one way or another.

Or maybe I’m just getting sick again. But while I continue to play Goldilocks to get my apartment feeling just right, let’s dive into a full day of news from The Colorado Sun.

Kevin Jeffers

Product Team

THE NEWS

POLITICS & GOVERNMENT

Colorado’s $40.6B budget is nearing final passage. Here’s what’s in it.

The state is close to finalizing how its budget will be allocated for the 2024-25 fiscal year, Brian Eason reports. Among the highlights: increased spending on state workers, health care services, K-12 and higher education. But the spending plan leaves a number of unanswered questions, including how Gov. Jared Polis’ priority plan of paying for property tax cuts will be handled.

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TRANSPORTATION

Yes, you’ll have to pay twice, and other passenger train news for Colorado

If you followed along with our discussion last week with Front Range Passenger Rail general manager Andy Karsian and RTD general manager Debra Johnson, you know there are many questions on the minds of Coloradans when it comes to the future of passenger rail here. With momentum building to use once-in-a-lifetime federal aid to expand train transit, Michael Booth summarizes that discussion and tackles some of the many still-unanswered questions on the topic.

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  WATCH:   The future of trains in Colorado.

EQUITY

Immigrant rights groups allege abuse, harassment of transgender detainees at Aurora ICE facility

A civil rights complaint filed with the Department of Homeland Security describes a culture of discrimination and abuse targeting transgender and nonbinary people being held in an Aurora immigration detention center, Tatiana Flowers reports. “Women at the Aurora facility are being abused, and it’s clear ICE is not able to keep them safe or ensure their well-being — and so, for that reason, they should be released,” said Ann Garcia, a staff attorney at the National Immigration Project.

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MORE NEWS

• Skier dies while attempting to jump highway over Berthoud Pass near Winter Park. The Grand County Sheriff’s Office said the 21-year-old man was killed in the crash just west of the Berthoud Pass summit. Jesse Paul and Jason Blevins have more details.
• Denver restores public services, creates asylum-seeker job program as part of expected $90 million in migrant aid. Denver is creating an “asylum-seeker program” that includes six months of rent and food assistance as well as job training and English classes to help migrants who continue to arrive daily by the busload. Jennifer Brown has more on Mayor Mike Johnston’s latest plan.
• Boulder County terminates Cemex’s right to run major cement plant near Lyons. County planning officials said a major increase in truck traffic at the plant is a hazard to county residents and violates terms of the Cemex nonconforming use permit, which allows the industrial plant to operate in an agricultural zone, Michael Booth reports.
• Denver inflation drops to 2.8%, opposite the national trend of rising prices. The Denver region typically has higher inflation than the rest of the nation. Prices still rose, but lower gasoline costs in March are credited for the slowdown. Tamara Chuang has more.

THE COLORADO REPORT

• How the Wild’s Marc-Andre Fleury pulled off his latest prank masterpiece.  What happens when you prank the NHL’s all-time leading prankster? If you’re Avalanche winger Brandon Duhaime, you find your Jeep sitting on blocks, covered in mulch and flowers, with all four tires chained to the fence of the secure parking lot.
  — The Athletic 🔑
• Denver workers had more than $2 million in stolen wages last year. Denver workers could get more protection from wage theft as a bill that would allow the city’s auditors to issue subpoenas to investigate payroll records makes its way through City Council.
  — Denverite
• Denver-area Trader Joe’s fined over $200,000 for worker safety issues. The Greenwood Village location of the grocery chain was cited for not providing adequate safety training to forklift operators and a number of other safety hazards.
  — The Denver Post
• The Spanish Peaks in southern Colorado are a piece of the geological puzzle of why the High Plains are so high. Did you know that the summits that make up the Spanish Peaks are not crust that was forced upwards like the Rocky Mountains, but instead are hard, volcano-formed material that stood tall as more than a kilometer of rock around them was rapidly eroded? This is a great science explainer that will have you looking at peaks a little differently.
  — KRCC

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE OPINION PAGE

COMMUNITY

• Bill moving through Colorado legislature is needed to help close down illicit drug market on social media.  We can’t trust social media companies to self-regulate. It’s time lawmakers step in to protect our kids.
  — Chelsea Congdon Brundige, who lives on the Western Slope and works in environmental media and communication

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

Steel City Music Showcase. Pueblo is getting a head start on summer festival season this weekend with the inaugural Steel City Music Showcase, a two-day affair with over 30 Colorado musicians (and one artist, raised in Pueblo, flying in from Portland, Oregon).

The festival is modeled after Denver’s Underground Music Showcase, a three-day festival with stages set up in a dozen businesses around the Baker neighborhood. Pueblo’s version will take place at Fuel & Iron Food Hall, The Gold Dust Saloon, The Sacred Bean and La Bella Union Plaza, all four stages contained in a two-block radius.

It’s a chance to highlight the local talent — half of the acts come from Pueblo, the rest are from Colorado Springs and Denver — and to attract new visitors to the downtown area, said Dynelle Abeyta-Maestas, events director for Fuel & Iron.

With clear skies and high temps in the 80s forecasted this weekend, the showcase will be a great way to kick off warmer times ahead.

$35 weekend pass; April 12-13; Union Avenue, Pueblo

• Cabaret on the Rocks. An evening of “Broadway, drag and dancing” to benefit Out Boulder County, featuring performances by Broadway performer Hugh Panero; three-time contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race, Latrice Royale; and music director John McDaniel. $50-250; 8 p.m, April 12; Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St., Boulder
• Rebellious at Heart. Opening night of “Rebellious at Heart,” an exhibition by local Loveland artist Jacquelynn Perkins. The reception will feature a performance by Perkins’ sister, Andrea Dratch, and music by Alysia Kraft. Free; 6-9 p.m., April 12; Artworks Center for Contemporary Art, 310 N. Railroad Ave., Loveland
• Khmer Cookout. Celebrate the Cambodian Khmer New Year in RiNo with Horse + Tiger, the Cambodian kitchen that serves up Asian American bar bites. A performance by the Spirit of Cambodia dance troupe will greet and bless guests, with DJs starting at 7 p.m. and playing until 1 a.m. Free; 6 p.m.-1 a.m., April 13; 321 E. 45th Ave., Denver

Section by Parker Yamasaki | Reporter

See you back here tomorrow!

— 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.