The Home Front: Healthcare, methane and town hall meetings

U.S. Rep. Jared Polis’s town hall meeting in Broomfield on Sunday drew a crowd of over a thousand, writes the Boulder Daily Camera. Residents “asked questions on topics that ranged from education and health care to the environment, as well as general fears and disdain about the Donald Trump administration.”

And Polis remains optimistic about the future of healthcare in the United States, reports the Fort Collins Coloradoan. “I remain hopeful that we will protect the Affordable Care Act, because they don’t have a clear path forward,” he told attendees at the town hall.

The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel writes that Sen. Cory Gardner could cast a crucial vote on a proposal to repeal a federal methane rule. Under pressure from both environmental and industry advocates, Gardner told the Sentinel, “I think it’s just a matter of looking into it and making sure I’m hearing all sides of this,” he said. “… I’m hearing a lot of passionate voices on both sides.”

A bill going through the Colorado General Assembly would allow victims of stalking and sexual assault to break their leases without penalty, the Denver Post reports. Currently, only victims of domestic violence within their home are given the possibility to break their leases.

The Colorado Springs Gazette writes that a population boom in North El Paso has put pressure on area schools. New residential development “will bring up to 1,650 additional students to Lewis-Palmer School District 38, which this school year had record high enrollment of 6,577 students, and already is experiencing school crowding.”

Dozens of people are expected to testify at a Boulder County commissioner’s hearing Tuesday about the latest set of potential oil and gas regulations, writes the Longmont Times-Call. The county hopes to have regulations in place by May 1, the day that the temporary drilling moratorium is set to expire.

Denver Health could see revenue losses between $50 million and $85 million by 2020 under the GOP health plan, reports the Greeley Tribune, which amounts to between 5 and 9 percent of its annual revenue. According to the story, “the hospital system, like others around the country, now is facing enormous uncertainty.”

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