Some local leaders in Arapahoe County worry that a decision of whether to break away from Tri-County Health Department on the heels of neighboring Douglas County’s move to exit the agency would be influenced by the “politicization of public health.” “There was this question about what is the message to our residents about the politicization […]
Arapahoe County
Posted inHealth, News
Arapahoe, Adams may leave Tri-County Health Department after Douglas split
After Douglas County announced that it plans to form its own health department, Arapahoe County confirmed that it and Adams County have also been contemplating splitting away from Tri-County Health Department. The split is being driven by Douglas County’s intention to leave the three-county health agency. By October, both the Arapahoe and the Adams county […]
Posted inColoradans, Education, News
One of Colorado’s poorest school districts gave its superintendent a 17% raise after losing $1M-plus in state funding
A superintendent over one of Colorado’s poorest school districts collected a nearly 20% raise this year, igniting a debate over spending even as enrollment is in freefall. Supporters of Pat Sandos’ raise — which increased his base salary 17% to $202,000 — call it a crook to keep him in Sheridan School District No. 2, […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News
Former Arapahoe County Sheriff Patrick Sullivan dies
Patrick Sullivan, former five-term sheriff in Arapahoe County, has died. He was 78. The coroner’s offices for Adams and Broomfield counties confirmed Monday he died May 1, The Denver Post reported. His cause of death was not immediately available. Sullivan served as sheriff between 1984 and 2002 and was considered a local legend until he was […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Colorado’s county commissions will have guardrails on how they draw commissioner districts under new law
A new state law sets new rules for how powerful Colorado county commissions redraw their political boundaries. It currently applies only to three counties, but would apply to counties with growing populations that opt to expand the number of representatives on their commissions. Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday signed House Bill 1047 into law. The […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Education, News
Universal free lunch will help Colorado districts keep feeding kids. But could it also rob some schools of state funding?
When Paula Buser heard that the U.S. Department of Agriculture would fund universal free lunch for schools throughout the country next year, she hit a crossroads of emotions, falling somewhere between contented and concerned. Food insecurity has plagued families in Fremont County during the pandemic, said Buser, who directs support services for Cañon City School […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Rep. Chris Kennedy: Let’s extend redistricting reform to Colorado’s county commissioners
In November 2018, Colorado voters passed two constitutional amendments to reform the redistricting process and ensure that neither political party could gerrymander districts in their favor. Amendments Y and Z were the product of years of conversations between party leaders who came to the table because they knew that a fair set of rules was […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, News
Coloradans have been giving generously during coronavirus. But some nonprofits worry it won’t be enough.
Darci Lynch and her family didn’t expect to have much to celebrate the holidays with this year. But on Tuesday, they got a bit of a break. After schools closed in March, at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Lynch had to leave her job as an Amazon driver to take care of her three […]
Posted inElection 2020, Politics and Government
More Coloradans than ever voted this year, and the state’s turnout ranks in the top 5 nationwide
Empowered by mail ballots and energized by the nation’s polarized political climate, more Coloradans voted this year than ever before in the state’s history. More than 3.3 million ballots had been processed by state election officials through Thursday and the tally is expected to grow as remaining ballots are processed and counted. That represents 78% […]
Posted inElection 2020, News, Politics and Government
Colorado voters take on coronavirus, power outages to contribute to record turnout
Colorado hit record voter turnout numbers Tuesday, but this November’s election has not gone off without a hitch. Of course there’s the difficulty of running an election during a pandemic. The seven-day average of coronavirus cases statewide as of Monday — 2,141 cases — was the highest it’s been recorded since the start of the […]