The Home Front: Electoral College votes today, state gas production could be ‘enormous,’ Russian hack ‘nothing special’

“Monday will either be one for the history books or — more likely — the last gasp of the so-called ‘Never Trump’ movement,”writes the Denver Post this morning. The Electoral College votes today, and though the vote is usually nothing more than a formality, the so-called Hamilton Electors could make things interesting this year. Potential revolt by electors who want to keep Donald Trump from the White House has dominated front pages across the country for weeks. But the small group of rebels has so far been unable to rally the numbers they need — 37 GOP electors would have to vote for someone other than Trump to keep him from getting the required 270 electoral votes — and “The odds of success seem vanishingly small,” the Post reports.

Colorado Springs experts say the suspected Russian hack was “nothing special,” The Gazette writes today. “In a world where enemies can destroy a power grid with a key stroke…the hack of Democratic National Committee emails was far less damaging than what experts say could be in the offing.” But things could be worse in the future: “”That’s just a drop in the bucket compared to the real problem,” said Ed Rios, who heads the National Cybersecurity Center in Colorado Springs.”

The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reports this morning that Robert Downey, a vice president of Gunnison Energy, expects “enormous” natural gas production from Colorado’s Mancos shale formation, in the northwest part of the state. Downey expects up to “13,000 wells drilled at a cost of $130 billion,” which “would yield about 130 trillion cubic feet of gas production, generating nearly $400 billion in sales revenue.” That’s triple current national demand: “The United States consumes some 27 trillion cubic feet of gas a year.”

The Glenwood Springs Post Independent reports that Colorado Parks and Wildlife will move forward with its controversial predator control program in an attempt to control the state’s mule deer population. “The plan is to kill five to 10 mountain lions and 10 to 20 black bears.”

LaSalle’s Heartland Biogas dominates the front page of the Greeley Tribune this morning, with residents preparing to speak to county commissioners today about a stench they say wakes them up in the middle of the night. The biogas operation, which turns waste into fuel, was initially accepted by the community, but now the smells “burn their eyes and noses and give them headaches.”

Steamboat Today reports that skiers at the Steamboat Ski Area could soon face fines of up to $500 for backcountry rescues. “The ski area hopes it will deter inexperienced skiers from going places they do not belong.”

The Coloradoan out of Fort Collins fronts a profile of the New Belgium brewmaster who “turned America sour.”

Longmont City Council will hear an appeal Tuesday evening for an airport storage facility near Vance Brand Municipal Airport, the Longmont Times-Call reports today.

Durango drivers will face increased parking fines in the new year, reports the Durango Herald, to help fund the city’s public transportation system.

The Boulder Daily Camera fronts a story that mental health services at CU Boulder have seen a spike in walk-in appointments in 2016. The uptick mirrors a trend in colleges across the country.

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