“A Colorado Springs attorney is among those sounding alarms over how breath test machines were certified in Colorado, claiming a flawed roll out in 2013 could be responsible for wrongful DUI convictions across the state,” The Gazette reports. “Timothy Bussey said he is one of two attorneys who were approached last year by a whistle-blower claiming his signature was forged on certification papers by workers at a state agency for more than 100 machines that estimate blood alcohol content by measuring the amount of alcohol in one’s breath— raising questions about the reliability of the results.”
“A bill that has passed the Colorado House of Representatives would have a new state research facility in Rifle study the use of drones in firefighting and other public safety operations,” reported The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. “House Bill 17-1070 would provide for the research and a pilot drone program to be conducted by Colorado’s Center of Excellence for Advanced Technology Aerial Firefighting, which is based at the Rifle Garfield County Airport. Rifle was selected in 2015 as the home for the center, which focuses on aerial firefighting research. It was created as part of legislation carried by former Sen. Steve King, R-Grand Junction, which also required the state to acquire or contract for its own firefighting aircraft.”
When your biggest front-page local government problem is whether or not to open a gate, you might live in Carbondale, reports The Glenwood Springs Post-Independent. “Efforts to reduce traffic through Glenwood Springs by offering more buses during the upcoming Grand Avenue bridge detour, coupled with a forthcoming plan to build 105 apartments above the 27th Street transit station, are forcing the city’s hand when it comes to the question of whether to open the so-called Blake gate.”
The Greeley Tribune profiles a local entrepreneur and his company, Stow— it’s an app that lets people rent out their own space for temporary storage or long-term parking— that’s “in the final round of the University of Northern Colorado’s eighth annual Monfort College of Business Entrepreneurial Challenge.”
“Longmont’s City Council will hold a Tuesday night public hearing on an ordinance that would regulate and limit the growing of marijuana inside homes for residents’ medical or recreational use,” reports The Longmont Times-Call. “Also on Tuesday, the council is to decide whether to provide Longmont water and sewer service to a commercial indoor marijuana growing facility that’s been proposed for a building on a property northeast of the St. Vrain River and 119th Street, which is outside the city’s boundaries.”
The Durango Herald profiles a woman who teaches herd dog clinics at an Ag Expo.
Realtors are pumping mad cash into the city council race in Fort Collins, The Coloradoan reports. To the tune of nearly $80,000. “We’re not trying to blanket Fort Collins or quote-unquote buy the election,” Clint Skutchan, the CEO of the Fort Collins Board of Realtors, told the paper. “This is just us trying to raise awareness of housing affordability and the important role city council plays in those decisions.”
“A state energy program is helping the South Routt School District save energy and lower utility costs for district buildings,” reports The Steamboat Pilot & Today. “The district was able to complete an energy audit through the Colorado Energy Office’s Energy Savings for Schools program, identifying low-cost ways to save money and energy. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, as much as 30 percent of a school district’s total energy is used inefficiently or unnecessarily.”
The Loveland Reporter-Herald reports on the Sunshine fire west of Boulder that burned 106 acres and forced 1,000 evacuations so far. “The general area where the fire was reported — Sunshine Canyon and Timber Trail — is a very social trail network,” the paper quoted Boulder County sheriff’s Cmdr. Mike Wagner saying. He said he ruled out causes such as downed power lines.
Reopening local trails damaged by floods could prove tricky for Boulder Falls, reports The Daily Camera.
“Three bills introduced in the legislature this year attempting to amend the state’s construction defects law have failed or are likely to die, but supporters of a fix say there’s still time to reach compromise that has eluded them in recent years,” reports The Denver Post. “At least one of the rejected bills is being replaced with a new version, and movement on legislation is happening earlier in the session than in the past. Senate Bill 156, which calls for disputes over claims of shoddy workmanship in new condominiums to be settled in mediation rather than in a courtroom, was assigned this week by Democratic leaders to the State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee — often referred to as a “kill” committee because the measure has little chance of passage there.”
Denverite reports how Colorado is working to overcome coastal impressions. “East of the Mississippi, we still have the perception of being a cow town,” Liz Cahill, chief marketing officer of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, told the outlet. “Now what we’re seeing isn’t so much that. It’s we don’t work at a pace that New York is used to. ‘How can you be successful if you’re not working, 60-80 hours a week?’”
ColoradoPolitics.com offers the seven hottest Colorado political stories of the week.
