The world is watching Colorado’s evolving AI laws 

Good morning, Colorado.

After mounting pressure from President Donald Trump and corporate owners, the executive producer of CBS News’ “60 Minutes” is retiring, citing encroachment on his journalistic independence.

I want to be clear: The Colorado Sun is beholden to the truth, not to corporate owners, hedge funds or partisan agendas. Our nonprofit model helps us provide free, fact-based and powerful journalism to Colorado. This model works when we have ongoing grassroots support from our readers.

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Danika Worthington

Presentation Editor

THE NEWS

TECHNOLOGY

Why Colorado’s artificial intelligence law is a big deal for the whole country

Colorado’s bill adding guardrails against both discrimination and the exploitation of personal data by companies using artificial intelligence hasn’t even gone into effect yet — that will happen Feb. 1 — but local tech leaders are already backing a “Pause SB-205” campaign. Tamara Chuang has a deep dive into what the law will do, what the industry wants to change and where consumer advocates want even stricter rules.

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• Veto showdown looms for bill regulating social media sites in Colorado. Backers want platforms to have to take action when users engage in illegal activity, but Gov. Jared Polis and privacy advocates are concerned that the policy could have a chilling effect on free speech.

IMMIGRATION

Denver judge blocks Trump deportations of Venezuelans accused of gang affiliation to prison in El Salvador

U.S. District Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney ruled the Trump administration cannot deport Venezuelans held in an Aurora immigration detention center to a prison in El Salvador without giving them adequate notice and a chance to fight the move in court, Jennifer Brown reports.

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ENVIRONMENT

Burrito, hold the gas: Food trucks are the latest thing getting electrified in Colorado

The Denver-based Regional Air Quality Council has already overseen the conversion of nearly 30 food trucks from propane and gasoline to 100% electric — and they have enough in their grant fund for 120 more, Michael Booth reports.

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MORE NEWS

• Colorado could become first state to require climate change warning for gasoline sales. House Bill 1277, which narrowly passed the state House earlier this month, would require retailers to place labels in English and Spanish (in no smaller than 16-point type) on fuel pumps to raise awareness that burning gas causes pollution and climate change-related consequences like wildfires.
• Douglas County residents sue commissioners for allegedly doing public business in secret. Three residents and former elected officials across the political spectrum filed a lawsuit Tuesday accusing the county’s three-person board of discussing public business and adopting resolutions — including the recent resolution calling for an election to establish a home rule charter for the county — out of the public eye.

Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE COLORADO REPORT

• An investor paid $23,000 for a Denver family’s foreclosed home. Now a judge has ordered him to give it up. If you’re wondering how someone bought a house for only $23,000 in Denver, start here with Jesse Paul’s story for The Sun. But at least one investor has now been ordered to give the family who previously owned the home a chance to buy it back after being forced into foreclosure by the Green Valley Ranch HOA over unpaid fines.
  — The Denver Post 🔑
• “Unintended consequences”: Study outlines impact of Pueblo’s 2024 needle exchange ban. According to a study by CU researchers, Pueblo’s three-week ban on needle exchanges resulted in about 900 fewer naloxone kits being distributed and nearly 1,200 fewer visits to Access Point Pueblo over the three months after the ban was lifted.
  — The Pueblo Chieftain
• Boeing to sell a Denver business in a deal worth billions. Boeing has reached a $10.6 billion deal selling some of its aviation technology, including a Denver business, to a software investment giant.
  — Denver Business Journal 🔑
• Douglas County school board votes to close 3 elementary schools, shift sixth grade to middle school. “This is one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever had to be part of, and I don’t take it lightly,” board member Tim Moore said. “I know there are families who will feel they got the raw end of the deal, and that’s never our intent. We’re trying to do what’s right for the right reasons — for the students, the families and the community.”
  — Highlands Ranch Herald
• Stitching together: A look into Denver’s thriving fiber arts scene. From hand-painted cross-stitch patterns to intricate knitted designs to textile complex quilts, artists and hobbyists alike are drawn to the array of fiber arts shops and organizations strewn across the Denver metro area.
  Owners and employees of these establishments say the Denver fiber arts scene is lively and inclusive.
  — Colorado Community Media

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE OPINION PAGE

COLUMNS

• Rep. Jason Crow says it’s time for Democrats to simply do the right thing. While Gavin Newsom called the Abrego Garcia case a “distraction,” Crow and others insisted Trump’s abuse of due process is much more.
  — Mike Littwin
  

COMMUNITY

• Colorado lawmakers have a chance to take a critical step forward for our students and educators. House Bill 1320 won’t solve our shortfall in education, but it’s a great way to keep the momentum going for fully funding Colorado schools.
  — Mark Sass, Retired Adams 12 high school teacher and executive director of Teach Plus Colorado

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.

SunLit

REVIEW

Explore Booksellers offers readers a cultural smorgasbord

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:

• “When the Clock Broke” by John Ganz, a look at societal convulsions at the end of the Reagan era
• “Lord Jim” by Joseph Conrad, the classic story of a young man and the sea
• “Perfection” by Vincenzo Latronico, an entertaining tale of millennial malaise

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

This has been your daily dose of independent Colorado media.

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— Danika & the whole staff of The Sun

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