Posted inCOVID, Health, News

As demand for mental health care spikes in the West, budget ax is set to strike

By Matt Volz, Kaiser Health News HELENA, Mont. — When the pandemic hit, health officials in Montana’s Beaverhead County had barely begun to fill a hole left by the 2017 closure of the local public assistance office, mental health clinic, chemical dependency center and job placement office after the state’s last budget shortfall. Now, those […]

Posted inBusiness, Election 2020, Politics and Government

Proposition 116 explained: Colorado must decide whether an income tax cut is worth a hit to state budget

A measure on the 2020 ballot in Colorado proposes a permanent cut to the state’s income tax rate that would give the average taxpayer a $37 break annually. The limited-government conservatives and Republican lawmakers backing Proposition 116 say the tax relief comes at a crucial moment amid the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus. The […]

Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns

Opinion: We can heal the coronavirus’ economic wounds with Initiative 271

The COVID-19 global pandemic has spread across the country, and Colorado has not been spared. Over 38,000 coronavirus cases have been reported in our state, with over 1,700 deaths, and no end in sight. We aren’t just facing an unprecedented health crisis – for many, especially families with low incomes, the economic impact has been just […]

Posted inBusiness, Politics and Government

To balance budget, Colorado lawmakers add to PERA’s long-term debt and backtrack from landmark deal

Just two years after Colorado approved sweeping pension reforms aimed at wiping out what was then an unfunded $32 billion debt to public sector retirees, state budget writers — facing a financial catastrophe of their own — have temporarily undone a portion of the landmark rescue package. The Joint Budget Committee tentatively decided to eliminate […]

Posted inColoradans, COVID, Environment, News, Outdoors, Politics and Government

Colorado now owns Fishers Peak, but funds to build the newest state park are in coronavirus limbo

The deal went down on a picnic table in Broomfield on April 1.   “The quietest acquisition of a $25 million property no one ever heard of,” GOCO boss Chris Castilian said.  With a notary public standing 6 feet away, a flurry of signatures transferred southern Colorado’s 30 square-mile Fishers Peak to the state of Colorado. […]