Good morning and happy(?) Tax Day.
That Tax Day falls on a Monday feels particularly cruel in a cosmic sense, so rather than think too hard about where exactly your tax dollars are being spent, let’s dive into a pile of news that stretches from bat country to the backcountry with all sorts of stops in between.
Let’s file this return, shall we?
CTO & Newsletter Wrangler
THE NEWS
OUTDOORS
It’s been a “lucky” season for Colorado backcountry avalanches. So far.
More than 100 people — including a Colorado Avalanche Information Center forecaster — have been caught in avalanches in the state’s backcountry this year, with only two recorded deaths. Jason Blevins digs into the stats and why forecasters are warning that luck doesn’t always hold out.
STATE LEGISLATURE
Colorado House passes bill banning sale of so-called assault weapons. It now faces an uncertain fate in the Senate.
House Bill 1292, which would ban the purchase, sale and transfer of a broad swath of semiautomatic firearms, passed the chamber 35-27, mostly on party lines. Jesse Paul reports on the bill’s expected path through the Senate and why some Democrats are voting with Republicans against the bill.
ENVIRONMENT
Colorado bats are in trouble. That’s bad news for the state’s crops and forests.
Bats — the unsung heroes of pest control that can eat thousands of insects a night — are being threatened by an emerging disease detected in Colorado last month. It’s unclear how quickly white nose syndrome will spread among Colorado’s bat population, but the fungal disease is blamed for the death of more than 6.7 million bats across North America since it was first detected. Wildlife biologists say the impact could be huge for Colorado’s agriculture and forests, where bats play crucial roles.
MORE NEWS
COLORADO SUNDAY
The Colorado River could get a big boost from a tiny hydro plant. Here’s how that impacts everyone.
Every day about 19,000 vehicles zip past the Shoshone Power Plant tucked into the Glenwood Canyon by Interstate 70. But few travelers know of its monumental water rights that command the Colorado River. This year, Western Slope leaders struck a $99 million deal to buy the tiny hydro plant’s water rights from Xcel Energy and lease the water back to Xcel to generate electricity. Shannon Mullane has more on the deal that would protect fish and habitat, beef up water security on the Western Slope and make Shoshone’s rights the largest, most influential environmental water right in state history.
Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler
THE COLORADO REPORT
🔑 = source has article meter or paywall
Section by Olivia Prentzel | Reporter
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.
No matter what your tax bill/refund looks like this year, at least it’s over until next year, right?
— Eric and 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.
