Economy
Unemployment fraudsters have cost Colorado at least $19.37 million
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment has been able to prevent another $437.16 million in fraudulent claims from being paid out, officials said Friday
A Denver community forms around murals to find hope in art, friendship and “mutual aid”
New window murals on retailer Hope Tank’s storefront bring attention to social issues while benefiting the artist, female entrepreneurs and local merchants.
February storm eats up much of Cripple Creek schools’ energy budget for an entire year
A five-figure shocker has the tiny mountain district asking if anybody can help while they try to figure out where to cut.
Closing all of Xcel’s coal-fired power plants will cost Colorado consumers $1.4 billion
Shuttering plants to meet the state’s greenhouse gas emissions goals carries a hefty price tag, including costs of bonds to finance the wind down
What’s Working: Gig companies want workers back and are paying bonuses in Colorado
Plus: Where to find a job in Colorado, how the unemployed are getting IDme’s attention, and why small businesses shouldn’t wait to apply for another Paycheck Protection loan.
Thousands of new openings post to Colorado’s official job board each week. Here’s where they come from.
Not all jobs end up on Connecting Colorado. But finding a job or hiring for one in Colorado will always require a multi-search strategy to suss out who’s qualified and what jobs are legit.
Colorado mountain, resort communities are rebounding — and then some — from coronavirus-scarred 2020
Despite grim projections last spring, many of Colorado’s high-country resort communities saw waves of in-state visitors in the fall and early winter fill local coffers.
Rural Colorado is footing the bill for February’s deep freeze — even if rural Colorado never got very cold
Angry utility customers in places like Grand Valley and Grand Mesa pen poison letters: “It’s a monopoly! Reduce obscene CEO pay!”
What’s Working: Colorado’s big BYE week for unemployment, the $10,200 tax question and our ongoing economic recovery
It’s been nearly a year since the state saw a record 104,217 Coloradans file for unemployment in a single week. Here’s a look at the where we are now.
Colorado finalizes decision to ease mask mandate as Biden administration begs states to stay the course
Gov. Jared Polis's new mask order allows people in about half of the state’s 64 counties — but only representing a fraction of Colorado’s population — to ditch their face coverings in the vast majority of public indoor places
Colorado’s Sierra Nevada plans to develop commercial space station and serve space tourists
Based on inflatable modules, Sierra Nevada's facility could open up scientific research, tourism and even agriculture in low-Earth orbit
Coloradans face hours-long delays as unemployment ID verification system is required for everyone receiving benefits
As fraud runs rampant, the state is now requiring those who haven’t been verified by the IDme tool to go ahead and do so in order to continue receiving jobless benefits.
Joe Biden’s plan would spend $16B to clean up old mines and oil wells and support jobs to do it
Colorado Sen. Bennet also has introduced legislation to to clean up federal well and mine sites and strengthen bond requirements for drilling on public lands.
Colorado’s unemployment fund is nearly $1 billion in debt. Small businesses are worried about paying the tab.
State lawmakers have taken steps to reduce the shock among employers who must pay back the massive federal loan, but other states are pursuing alternative strategies.
This Erie neighborhood is ground zero for Colorado’s collision of fracking and housing
Families who bought in Colliers Hill thought they were moving to an outdoor paradise. But the fine print in Colorado’s oil and gas regulations has rattled their lives.
Colorado faces a 20,000-applicant backlog in requests for rent help as federal eviction ban is extended
The national eviction ban was extended to June 30, and that could calm some worries of Coloradans who have been waiting months for state rental assistance.
What’s Working: Colorado sees more jobs return as some federal coronavirus aid programs are set to end
Small businesses get more time to apply for forgivable Paycheck Protection Program loans, while those with reduced incomes face the March 31 end of an eviction moratorium.
Colorado’s mortgage relief program will pause after funds are used up
The state has started a separate rent-assistance program to utilize new federal relief, which provided no assistance for homeowners.
Millions more for Colorado K-12 schools? Lawmakers seek court opinion first.
Current Colorado lawmakers want to slowly increase local school district property taxes without a vote. They say it doesn't violate the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights because a generation ago voters agreed to higher rates and state officials improperly lowered them.
Animal cruelty initiative aggravates Colorado ranchers fresh off MeatOut Day controversy
The proposed ballot measure would make ranchers wait to slaughter animals until they are older, which ranchers say would devastate Colorado’s agriculture economy.
