Colorado zoning squeezes out affordable housing

Good morning and hello from the passenger seat of a rental car barreling across west Texas!

I like to get ahead of the game, so, I managed to take care of all my July Fourth holiday travel a full week ahead of time. Efficiency!

But before you follow in my tire tracks and hit the open road for the weekend, make sure to drop by our Colorado’s Best reader’s choice survey and cast a vote for your favorite local businesses. Every vote helps get them the attention they deserve.

I could lose my phone signal at any minute, so let’s reach into the backseat cooler and crack open a can of refreshing news, whaddya say?

Eric Lubbers

CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE NEWS

HOUSING

Nearly 70% of Colorado land zoned for housing prohibits the most affordable types of homes, study finds

Local zoning codes across Colorado prohibit building duplexes, townhouses, condominiums, apartment units and single-family homes on small lots — the most affordable kinds of housing, according to a zoning report published last month by the National Zoning Atlas. Brian Eason reports on how strict local zoning codes are contributing to the state’s affordable housing crisis.

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POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

John Hickenlooper is up for reelection. Colorado Republicans don’t really have a candidate to challenge him.

Colorado Republicans have yet to laser in on a candidate to run against Democratic U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper next year, largely because most potential challengers don’t believe they have a real shot at winning. It’s the latest signal of a major political shift in Colorado, Jesse Paul reports.

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REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

Nation’s first female third-trimester abortion doctor wants to build compassion by telling patients’ stories

Dr. Shelley Sella, one of few physicians to offer third-trimester abortion care, chronicled the experiences of some of her patients and has written a book about the difficult life experiences that brought them to her. Jennifer Brown interviewed Sella about why she devoted her career to abortion care and the kinds of patients she cared for, from women facing domestic violence to others whose babies would not survive birth.

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PUBLIC HEALTH

Supporters of Medicaid cuts say they won’t impact children. Some Colorado parents don’t believe it.

Supporters of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the major tax and spending bill in front of Congress, say the bill and its plan for Medicaid cuts won’t impact kids covered by Medicaid. Others, including parents of some of those children, have serious doubts, particularly since recent proposals would decrease funding for hospitals in Colorado. John Ingold talked to parents and kids who rely on Medicaid about why their coverage has been a lifesaver and their anxiety while waiting for Congress to act.

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BOULDER ATTACK

Boulder woman, 82, dies from injuries sustained in firebombing attack on Pearl Street Mall

Karen Diamond, 82, who was one of 29 victims in a June 1 attack on a group of people in Boulder gathered in support of Israeli hostages, died of severe injuries. She is remembered as “someone whose warmth and generosity left a lasting impact on all who knew her.” Olivia Prentzel has more.

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Section by Erica Breunlin | Education Reporter

THE COLORADO REPORT

• Jeffco library staff say dress code proposal silences support for marginalized group. A proposed dress code that would ban Pride pins and DEI apparel is an affront to the library’s public celebration of inclusion, Jefferson County Public Library staff say.
  — Golden Transcript
• RTD director stripped of committee chair position, membership over complaints about conduct. RTD Director JoyAnn Ruscha ran committee meetings in a “disorderly and ineffective” manner, demeaned others in the workplace and violated Colorado’s open meetings law, the board chair found. Ruscha fired back, calling the move retaliatory and antidemocratic.
  — The Denver Post 🔑
• “The Phone Dropped, And Then Screaming”: Saving Two Hikers, One Struck by Lightning, in a Record-Setting Rescue. A blow-by-blow account of how more than 40 people came together to save two stranded hikers on Torreys Peak, as told by an alpine rescue team member who participated in the extensive rescue.
  — 5280
• Exec says she was fired from vacation rental firm Cuvee for exposing kickbacks. Pollyanna Forster calls herself a whistleblower. Her former employer says she’s lying “to avoid the repercussions of her actions” and make herself “into some sort of victim.”
  — BusinessDen 🔑
• Former lawyer buys The Bookies, half-century-old Denver bookstore. Kristin Gulling, the third owner of the beloved book shop, has a straightforward business plan. “My main goal is to have it go for another 50 years.”
  — BusinessDen 🔑

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

Section by Lance Benzel | Team Editor

SunLit

BOOKS

“Prairie Oasis” bends an ear to local creatures’ lives and conversations

During Anita Mumm’s week in a writing residency on the Eastern Plains, she took long walks and focused on the nonhuman life around her. The result was her entry in the Colorado Book Award anthology finalist “The Alma Journal.” With keen imagination and humor, she shares the thoughts and conversations among seven lives she encountered on her strolls. A variety of other artists and writers also contributed their thoughts and observations of the rural landscape.

READ AN EXCERPT

• Interview with the writer. Mumm describes her connection to the Eastern Plains growing up in western Kansas, as well as the advantages of having a lot of quiet time during the residency to reflect on an underappreciated region.
• Listen to a Daily Sun-Up podcast with Anita Mumm.

Section by Kevin Simpson | Writer

Great, finished this newsletter just in time to grab a savory breakfast kolache (which all good Tex-Czech cuisine experts know is actually a klobasnek).

Have a great day and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!

— Eric & the whole staff of The Sun

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