Buckle up, it’s time for a special session

Good morning and happy Monday!

We’ve got a long holiday weekend beckoning in the distance and we don’t have much time to dawdle because today is the start of the special session of the Colorado legislature. And of course, our award-winning politics team will be there to give you the twists and turns of a session that — as they report below — could get a little bumpy.

If you’re the type who looks to the attendants when your flight hits a patch of turbulence, then you’re also the type that should be subscribed to The Unaffiliated, our weekly politics and policy newsletter. Our team doesn’t just collect the most interesting Colorado politics news into an easy-to-digest narrative, they break news there, meaning your inbox could be the first to know big news as we head into the heart of election season.

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OK, but really, the session will be starting any minute now, so let’s bang this gavel already, shall we?

Eric Lubbers

CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

P.S. — I need to quickly congratulate my colleagues for their 18-award night at the Colorado Press Association journalism contest, where The Colorado Sun took home nine first place awards, including best politics and social justice reporting. Photographer Hugh Carey got the nod for best news photograph and best photography portfolio and our dearly departed (retired, that is) reporter Sandra Fish was honored with CPA’s First Amendment Award. Read all about the awards here.

THE NEWS

STATE LEGISLATURE

Colorado’s special session on property taxes may be a bumpy ride

The special late-summer session of the legislature that kicks off this morning is the result of a high-stakes deal struck by Gov. Jared Polis to cut taxes and head off a pair of ballot measures some say would upend the state budget. But as Jesse Paul and Brian Eason explain, the lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who must return to the Capitol to make the deal happen could throw a wrench in the process.

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POLITICS

Republican opponents of Colorado GOP Chairman Dave Williams vote to remove him, setting up showdown

The vote to remove Dave Williams took place among members of the Colorado GOP central committee, and Eli Bremer was elected to serve the remainder of Williams’ term. While the National Republican Congressional Committee said it would recognize the new leadership, Williams and the party have said they will not recognize the vote. Jesse Paul has more from the vote Saturday in Brighton and what’s next for the party as they head into the November election.

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• Colorado, U.S. Department of Justice sue RealPage over alleged price-fixing scheme to drive up rent. The federal lawsuit says RealPage controls as much as 80% of the national market for landlord management software, which gives it power to distort the free market to the detriment of renters.
• Fact Brief ☀️Did all-mail ballot elections in Colorado start while Jared Polis was governor? Today’s fact brief by Justin George and Gigafact is a great look at recent history, including the 2013 Voter Access and Modernized Elections Act that changed the way that Coloradans vote.
• Should Colorado’s constitution protect school choice? Voters will decide in November. Initiative 138 — put forth by the conservative political nonprofit Advance Colorado Action — expands the protections of parents’ right to school choice beyond existing state law. Erica Breunlin has more, including why some policy experts say it could set the stage for a voucher program.

FOOD

Colorado program reimburses SNAP recipients up to $60 per month for fruits and vegetables

With the help of a nearly $8 million grant from the USDA, Colorado on Aug. 1 launched the SNAP Produce Bonus Program, which gives customers up to $60 more each month for fresh fruits and vegetables and other healthy foods on top of their normal assistance. Tatiana Flowers breaks down how the program works and how farmers markets are helping educate customers.

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MORE NEWS

• Colorado incentives are helping rural firms transition to employee ownership. The Colorado Employee Ownership Office inside the state’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade has been working to make Colorado an easy place for a business to convert to employee ownership. And in this week’s “What’s Working” column, Tracy Ross explores how recent incentives are helping places like Rocky Mountain Steel Inc. in Olathe make the switch.

COLORADO SUNDAY

Drag show of defiance: How one Colorado community proudly stands up to anti-LGBTQ threats

When an irate man threatened to shoot up a bar in downtown Steamboat Springs because it hosts a monthly drag show, canceling the show wasn’t an option for the cast. Instead, with added security, the Fresh Drag Show hosted its largest performance ever in a rallying cry in support of the local LGBTQ community, Kari Dequine Harden writes.

READ MORE

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Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE COLORADO REPORT

• Climber rescued from Colorado 14er after scary night lost on the mountain. The hiker was on a work retreat, hiking up Mount Shavano with colleagues, when he got separated from the group and lost on the mountain.
  — KKTV
• Farming and ranching statistics in southwest Colorado trend opposite to national numbers. Increasing costs serve as barriers to new or young farmers, but in La Plata County, farms and ranches are expanding and the average age of local agricultural producers is dropping.
  — The Durango Herald
• How can Denver address extreme heat? City officials, nonprofit leaders and community advocates are brainstorming ideas on how to best address temperatures in the 90s and 100s that experts say will be the norm for the foreseeable future.
  — Colorado Public Radio

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

Section by Olivia Prentzel | Reporter

THE OPINION PAGE

COLUMNS

• Colorado has a money problem. We need more tax dollars for schools.  Disparities in per-pupil funding are on the rise, but TABOR and historically low tax rates still thwart efforts to fix it.
  — Trish Zornio
• It’s the weirdest thing, but Kamala Harris has Donald Trump totally flummoxed.  The Democratic convention was a huge success, and Harris left it a rock star. But the question remains, with the race still a toss-up: What comes next?
  — Mike Littwin
• Gus Walz inspired me to crash a nonprofit website.  The NVLD Project helps people with conditions similar to Gus Walz and last week we so flooded their website with donations and visitors that it momentarily froze up.
  — Mario Nicolais   

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.

Look at that! Our photographer Hugh Carey captured some of the first snow of the season up in Ridgway. Sure it’s still August, but I’m excited for fall to get here already.

Thanks for kicking off this pre-holiday week with us. Don’t worry, we’ll be here all week keeping tabs on the special session, so we’ll see you right back here tomorrow. Have a great day!

— Eric and the whole staff of The Sun

The Colorado Sun is part of The Trust Project. Read our policies.

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.