The Denver Post reports how a push to test “predator control” by slaughtering mountain lions and bears is getting pushback from state university scientists and conservation groups. “The latest to challenge Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s $4.5 million scheme are Colorado State University wildlife biologists who contend the proposed killing contradicts the agency’s own science. They accuse CPW officials of kowtowing to hunters who favor sacrificing lions and bears to increase deer-hunting opportunities.” Oh yeah, and the print headline for the piece: “Lions and Ires and Bears.”
“An injection well believed to be at the epicenter of Greeley’s three sizable earthquakes in the past two years is no longer operating, and state regulators have since placed volume limits on all such wells in Colorado,” reports The Greeley Tribune. “Regulators say protocols to require all commercial operators to monitor their own seismic activity — established after two quakes in 2014 rattled the area — are already working, and the Nov. 6 quake in northeast Greeley is proof of that.”
The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reports how the EPA is backing away from conclusions in a draft report that said the agency “found no evidence of widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water from fracking.” In a statement, the agency said, “The report, done at the request of Congress, provides scientific evidence that hydraulic fracturing activities can impact drinking water resources in the United States under some circumstances.” The paper notes how The EPA’s “earlier conclusion was questioned by its Science Advisory Board, and recently media reports suggested the conclusion had resulted from political meddling before the draft report was released.”
“Following a closed-door session on Longmont’s water supply, the City Council tabled some of the water rate increases that were slated to start on Jan. 1,” reported The Longmont Times-Call. “The water rates were slated to increase by 17 percent in both 2017 and 2018, 8 percent of which in both years would go toward financing Longmont’s 10,000 acre-feet participation level in the Windy Gap Firming Project. However, on Tuesday, council decided rates will rise 9 percent in both years.”
The Pueblo Chieftain ran with the print headline “For Trump, it’s Business As Usual” today with a national Associated Press story about the president-elect tapping Exxon head Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state.
“A steering committee that has spent several months studying housing shortages in Routt County and Steamboat Springs warned local elected officials Tuesday that if action isn’t taken soon, the area is in danger of growing older and richer and losing more of its young professionals and middle class,” reported Steamboat Today. “The group estimates the area is currently 179 beds short to meet the demand for seasonal workers and 153 units short for entry-level home buyers.”
The Glenwood Springs Post-Independent reports on growing local opposition to a housing development in that community where a developer is asking for more than double the units from a proposal shot down over the summer. “However, the latest barrage of letters to the editor and to City Council opposing the 71-unit Midland Lofts apartment project has also spawned some support for developer Craig Helm and his plans to try to address some of the city’s housing needs. Helm is before City Council on Thursday night seeking amendments to a 38-year-old annexation agreement with the city that would allow him the density necessary to build the four-story apartment building on the 6-acre site located about a third of a mile north of the 27th Street roundabout.”
“Loveland will grant its largest economic incentive for a mixed-use lifestyle center, one that will be built over the next five years on both sides of Interstate 25 north of Crossroads Boulevard, with City Council members saying the city needs to act now before another municipality does,” reports the Loveland Reporter-Herald. “The city board voted unanimously Tuesday in favor of a 30-year, $258 million package for The Brands at The Ranch and Brands West, 2.3 million square feet of retail, restaurants, entertainment, housing and more, a lifestyle center to be built by Eagle Crossing Developments.”
The Boulder Daily Camera has the JonBenet Ramsey case back on the front page after authorities say they plan new DNA testing in the decades-old mystery. “The move comes in the wake of a joint Camera/9NEWS investigation that uncovered serious flaws in the interpretation of previous DNA testing on the panties and long johns the girl was wearing when she was killed late on Christmas night in 1996, or early the next morning. Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett and Boulder police Chief Greg Testa both confirmed Tuesday that they and members of their staffs recently discussed the issue with Colorado Bureau of Investigation administrators, who are on the verge of unveiling new, more sophisticated DNA tests than their lab has ever used before.”
“Northern Colorado water systems have found a relatively reliable way to tackle elevated lead levels in their drinking water, but the solution can come at a steep price for small communities here and across the country,” reports The Coloradoan in Fort Collins. “After regulatory action triggered new controls across Larimer and Weld counties, two Northern Colorado water systems remain out of compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency’s standard for lead in water: Larimer County’s Carter Lake Filter Plant — which treats water for the Central Weld County and Little Thompson water districts that have struggled with high lead levels — and the Weld County town of Platteville, one of the communities that relies on the Carter Lake plant for water treatment.”
The Cañon City Daily Record reports the county’s planning commission “agreed to recommend to the Cañon City Council an ordinance that would allow community marijuana cultivation facilities as a use by special review.”
“Tempers flared, accusations were hurled, and months of debate over how to appeal Colorado Springs land-use decisions ended Tuesday night with a whimper,” reports The Gazette in Colorado Springs. “Faced with a hot-potato ordinance that was changed several times over the past year, the City Council voted 6-2 to ‘delay indefinitely,’ with the implication that ‘indefinitely’ might mean ‘permanently,’ for this council at least.'”
