The Home Front: Frederick’s mayor and four town board members ‘survived efforts to recall them from office’

“Frederick’s mayor and four of its town board’s trustees have survived efforts to recall them from office, according to unofficial election results announced by town officials at about midnight Tuesday,” reports The Longmont Times-Call. “Majorities of people casting ballots in the special recall election have voted to keep Mayor Tony Carey and Trustees Salvatore “Sam” DeSantis, Rocky Figurilli, Donna Hudziak and Fred Skates in office. “Since everybody got to maintain their seats, we now need to move forward as a board and be focused on the best direction for the town of Frederick,” Figurilli said on Wednesday.”

“Coloradans who buy their health insurance on their own will see an average premium increase next year of nearly 27 percent, before taking federal tax credits into account,” reports The Denver Post. “The Colorado Division of Insurance announced Wednesday that it has given final approval to rates proposed by nine different insurers expecting to offer plans both on and off of the state’s insurance exchange in 2018. In some cases, regulators knocked back the originally proposed rates — such as with Cigna, where regulators and the company negotiated to drop the proposed increase from above 40 percent down to about 31 percent. In other instances, regulators urged carriers to raise their rates higher, fearing that the low-ball proposals weren’t sustainable. The final statewide average increase — 26.7 percent — is identical to the average proposed statewide increase when insurers first filed their plans earlier this summer. Breakdowns of rate increases by county are expected to come later this month.”

“One year and 150 pages. Those are the general limits a new Interior Department order places on the time for its agencies to complete environmental impact statements on projects, and how long those documents should be,” reports The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. “The order, issued last week by Interior Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt, a Rifle native, is intended in part to comply with the executive order President Trump issued in August mandating that federal agencies issue more timely decisions on infrastructure projects. But it applies to all Interior environmental impact statements. Conservation groups say the limits are arbitrary and will inappropriately limit environmental review, while an oil and gas industry representative is praising the more streamlined approach.”

“The signatures are checked, the candidates confirmed, it’s official: There are 11 candidates for Greeley City Council positions on this fall’s ballot,” reports The Greeley Tribune. “Of those, there are two candidates for mayor, three for the council’s at-large seat, two for Ward 2 and four for Ward 3.”

“The funding of a proposed new jail and detox treatment center is in the hands of the Pueblo County electorate,” reports The Pueblo Chieftain. “The Board of Pueblo County Commissioners voted Wednesday to add a question on the November ballot asking for a 9/20 percent of 1 cent per dollar countywide sales and use tax increase to pay for a new detention center and treatment center.”

“Routt County residents continued to feel the impacts of wildfire season Wednesday as dozens of firefighters tried to get a handle on a more active Deep Creek Fire burning near Hayden,” reports The Steamboat Pilot. “Smoke coming into the Yampa Valley from several fires prompted the cancellation of softball tournament games in Steamboat Springs.”

“A Fort Collins resident has died after contracting West Nile virus, Larimer County officials announced Tuesday,” reports The Coloradoan in Fort Collins. “The death is the first West Nile virus death of the season in Colorado. The person began showing symptoms of the rare and severe neuroinvasive form of the virus, which can lead to meningitis, encephalitis and paralysis, in mid-August, county health department spokeswoman Katie O’Donnell said.”

“The Thompson School District will seek proposals from companies to conduct a national search for a new superintendent to replace Stan Scheer next school year,” reports The Loveland Reporter-Herald. “Scheer has announced that he will retire at the end of the year when his contract is up, so the district is starting the process of hiring a new top administrator for the school district.”

“The woman whose accusation that a University of Colorado football coach extensively abused her led to an investigation of officials’ failure to report the allegation sued CU President Bruce Benson, head coach Mike MacIntyre and two others campus leaders on Wednesday,” reports The Boulder Daily Camera. “Pamela Fine, in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Denver, is alleging assault, battery, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress against former assistant coach Joe Tumpkin.”

“A city council-appointed committee will be formed to evaluate a proposed ordinance that addresses safety concerns regarding the use of self-propelled vehicles in parks and on public trails and sidewalks,” reports The Cañon City Daily Record. “Members of the Cañon City General Government Committee on Wednesday were unable to reach a consensus on the issue and agreed to form a committee consisting of downtown business owners, representatives from segway industries, council members, citizens and a member of Fremont Adventure Recreation to look into the proposal.”

“A bipartisan group filed paperwork on ballot initiatives Wednesday to redraw the rules on how legislative and congressional districts are drawn in Colorado, a process that now ensures lots of safe districts for parties to control and feeds partisan gridlock in the state Capitol,” reports The Gazette in Colorado Springs. “The paperwork to get on the November 2018 ballot was submitted by the League of Women Voters of Colorado and former state Rep. Kathleen Curry of Gunnison, who left the Democratic Party in 2009 to become unaffiliated. They are part of a bipartisan coalition called Fair Districts Colorado.”