State budget crisis could break union contract

Good morning, Colorado.

If one thing is for certain, it’s that it’s cold today. Wherever you are, I hope you’re bundling up.

Now, let’s get to the news, ideally while you have a warm beverage on hand.

Danika Worthington

Presentation Editor

P.S.❤️ Roses are red, violets are blue. What does Colorado mean to you? Send a valentine to our state by telling us what you love about Colorado. We’ll share some of our favorite reader responses. TELL US

THE NEWS

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Colorado budget crisis imperils state worker raises, threatening to break union contract

“Literally everything is on the table,” Joint Budget Committee Chair Jeff Bridges, D-Greenwood Village, told The Colorado Sun about the state’s budget shortfall. And as Brian Eason reports, to close that gap the JBC could consider not approving the raises agreed to during last year’s contract negotiations and send the union and the governor back to the bargaining table.

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• Colorado may add extra layer of ban protection for books in school libraries. After a three-hour debate, members of the Senate Education Committee approved the bill that would require schools to have a policy on school library book challenges.

BUSINESS

The King Soopers strike could cost Colorado Girl Scouts hundreds of thousands of dollars in cookie sales

Colorado’s Girl Scout troops along the Front Range are getting an early experience with labor negotiations as King Soopers canceled cookie-selling booths in front of stores being picketed by striking workers. Tracy Ross reports on how troops are adjusting sales tactics as negotiations continue.

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• Opinion: Readers take sides on the union worker strike at King Soopers. And there are more than two sides. As the supermarket labor strike enters second week, 450 Colorado Sun readers shared how they’re supporting or avoiding the work stoppage.

WILDFIRE

Colorado wants to force insurance companies to help homeowners understand, mitigate wildfire risk

House Bill 1182 is the legislature’s first crack at helping homeowners with the increasingly expensive cost of property insurance, requiring insurance companies to not only tell homeowners of ways they could reduce wildfire risk, but directly lower premiums when that mitigation is complete. Jesse Paul reports.

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• Colorado Supreme Court to decide whether Boulder’s landmark climate change lawsuit can proceed. In 2018, Boulder sued ExxonMobil and Suncor for damages wrought by climate change. The court will now decide whether that is a state or federal issue.

Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE COLORADO REPORT

• Police say camouflaged camera found pointed at Lone Tree home. “It looks clearly like somebody placed it there, camouflaged it for the purpose of doing surveillance on the house that it was pointed at,” Lone Tree Police Chief Kirk Wilson told FOX31.
  — FOX31 Denver
• Want to legally drive a Japanese mini-truck in Colorado? You may soon be able to. Do you want a pickup that has the same size of usable truck bed as an F250 but can park in a compact spot? A bill at the statehouse would allow mini Japanese “kei” trucks on Colorado roads for the first time in decades.
  — CPR News
• Lakewood’s controversial parkland measure grinds residential projects — even small ones — to a halt. One couple says their plan to scrape their house and rebuild it on their 1.3-acre plot of land would require them to set aside a 1,372-square-foot slice of land for a tiny park.
  — The Denver Post 🔑

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE OPINION PAGE

COLUMNS

• Lawsuits against Trump et al are flying fast and furious. Colorado AG Phil Weiser is among those on the case. But Colorado AG Phil Weiser’s greatest concerns are that Trump might defy the Supreme Court — and the constitutional crisis that would ensue.
  — Mike Littwin
  

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.

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SunLit

REVIEW

Explore Booksellers tips us to books on motherhood, mushrooms and Rome

Each week as part of SunLit — The Sun’s literature section — we feature staff recommendations from bookstores across Colorado. This week, the staff from Explore Booksellers in Aspen recommends:

• “The Motherload” by Sarah Hoover, a candid, comic memoir of motherhood
• “The Mushroom at the End of the World” by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, a mushroom-based look at capitalism
• “Last Summer in the City” by Gianfranco Calligarich, about alienation in Rome, the Eternal City

Read what the bookstore staff had to say about each. Pick up a copy and support your local bookstores at the same time.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Section by Kevin Simpson | Writer

Stay warm.

— Danika & the whole staff of The Sun

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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.