Colorado’s Oil and Gas Conservation Commission failed to collect thousands of monthly production reports from operators across the state over a two-year period — information that impacts the accuracy of the state’s severance tax collection, according to a recently released state audit. Of the 420 oil and gas operators in Colorado, 316 were out of […]
Moe K. Clark
Moe Clark is a former Colorado Sun writer. She left the publication in June 2020.
Email: moe@coloradosun.com Twitter: @moe_clark15
Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government
Colorado could soon expand protections for student journalists by shielding their advisers from retaliation
Colorado lawmakers this year hope to broaden First Amendment protections for the state’s student journalists by passing legislation shielding public school employees who work with them from administrative retaliation. The bill would also broaden explicit free speech protections for student journalists to include audio and visual storytelling platforms. “This bill will update our law in […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Politics and Government
With Jared Polis’ blessing, Colorado lawmakers will try again to let state employees collectively bargain
Colorado lawmakers will try again to pass legislation to allow the state’s roughly 30,000 employees to collectively bargain after years of falling short. The big difference in 2020? The effort has Gov. Jared Polis’ blessing. Polis and Democratic lawmakers rolled out their plans at a news conference on Friday at the Capitol, flanked by state […]
Posted inAnnotated, News, Politics and Government
Gov. Jared Polis wants to go even bigger in 2020. Here’s his State of the State address, annotated.
Gov. Jared Polis celebrated his first-year wins during his second State of the State address Thursday, imploring the General Assembly to go even further by expanding preschool education and reducing Colorado’s prison population. He also urged lawmakers to cut prescription drug costs and create a government-managed public option health care system. The Democratic chief executive’s […]
Posted inAnnotated, News, Politics and Government
In Colorado House, Democrats celebrate achievements and promise more. Here’s the agenda, annotated.
In remarks to open the 2020 legislative session, House Speaker KC Becker outlined the Democratic majority’s lengthy agenda — which touched on everything from criminal justice reform to tackling the burgeoning cost of health care. The Boulder lawmaker made clear Democrats plan to continue their far-reaching effort to reshape the state that began a year […]
Posted inPolitics and Government, Transportation
Before Colorado’s legislative session starts, transportation spending sits at impasse and frustration is mounting
The Colorado General Assembly convenes Wednesday at a familiar impasse about how to improve the state’s roads and reduce traffic congestion – one that appears headed for more political theatrics this session. The Democratic majority is reiterating their position that new revenue through taxes or fees is required to meet the state’s roughly $9 billion […]
Posted inColoradans, News, Politics and Government
Asylum-seekers find compassion, resources at “House of Peace” once released from Aurora immigration center
Gurwinder Singh Aujla was unsure of what to do after winning his asylum case and being released from the privately owned Federal ICE Processing Center in Aurora. The 19-year-old from India was legally allowed to reside in the U.S., but he knew no one in Colorado, had little money, no phone and nowhere to go. […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, Politics and Government
10 states use bottle deposits to boost recycling rates. Could it work for Colorado?
Colorado has a bad recycling reputation. The state generated nearly 2 million more tons of trash in 2018 compared to 2017. And out of all that trash, only approximately 17% was recycled or composted, way below the national average of 35%. Colorado lawmakers spent recent months deliberating over ways to boost the state’s dismal recycling […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, Environment, Politics and Government
Agriculture is part of the climate change problem. Colorado wants farmers’ soil to be part of the solution.
When Daniel Fullmer founded Tierra Vida Farm in 2015, he had two main priorities for his two-acre plot nestled at the base of the rugged San Juan Mountains: soil health and profitability. “Within the current paradigm of input-based agriculture, where nationally we rely on a tremendous amount of fertilizers and pesticides, we use the soil […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News, Politics and Government
Andrew Romanoff’s record on immigration complicates his progressive bid for U.S. Senate
Andrew Romanoff pitches himself to Democratic voters as the proven progressive option in Colorado’s 2020 primary race for U.S. Senate. But his record on immigration complicates that narrative. As Colorado’s House speaker from 2005 to 2009, he oversaw the passage of what at the time were considered among the most restrictive policies in the nation […]