Colorado proposes slashing higher ed budget by half
DENVER-- Lawmakers here are proposing that half of the money allotted to education will be cut in the 2011-2012 state budget. The new reality will force tuition increases and program eliminations in what the Senate Majority and Minority leaders characterize as a last-ditch effort to save Colorado higher education.
Bill to educate un-convicted imprisoned youth moves forward
DENVER-- Colorado is one step closer to providing education to youth awaiting trial as adults in jails across the state. The current status quo sees un-convicted teenagers languishing for months and years in adult prisons ill-equipped to provide even constitutionally mandated services such as education.
CU Boulder kicks off annual wide-ranging Conference on World Affairs
The 62nd annual Conference on World Affairs-- a sort of public celebrity-thinker gab fest on arts, media, politics, health, diplomacy, technology, etc-- kicked off...
Hard Case: Ritter unlikely to support new rules on trying youth as adults
Gov. Bill Ritter doesn't think it's a good idea to limit district attorney authority to determine whether to try suspects in juvenile or criminal...
Colorado loses first-round Race to the Top education stimulus cash
Colorado failed to win millions of first-round federal Race to the Top dollars, which may not be a bad thing in the long run,...
Schultheis proposal to count state’s illegal-immigrant students rejected
Senate Democrats Monday quashed a proposal that would have required Colorado schools to count undocumented immigrant students and report the number to the government....
Benefield looking to ask voters to approve tax hike for schools
DENVER-- An official snow day at the capitol Wednesday didn't stop education advocates from filing into the West Foyer where lawmakers unveiled a desperate plan to raise taxes to shore up the state's struggling education system. The upbeat note struck by the speakers, though, mostly succeeded at conjuring images of the wide stormy seas they are setting out to sail. Captained by state Rep. Debbie Benefield, D-Arvada, the group is asking voters in a recession to amend the constitution to lift tax limits set by Colorado's revered Taxpayers Bill of Rights.
Conservatives squeeze $250 million abstinence-only extension into health reform bill
Reverend Dr. Carlton W. Veazey, head of the national Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, is drawing attention to the fact that social-conservative lawmakers have...
Hudak seeks way to pay for youth prisoner education
DENVER-- Colorado state Senator Evie Hudak, D-Westminster, is weighing strategies to secure passage of a bill she's sponsoring that seeks to ensure youth prisoners charged as adults receive education. Lawmakers have signaled that any bill that requires new spending will likely fail this session. There are currently more than 130 young prisoners in Colorado awaiting trial whose constitutional rights to an education are not being met.
Bennet dismisses Romanoff campaign finance challenge
DENVER-- U.S. Senator Michael Bennet and his Democratic primary rival Andrew Romanoff met for a debate in Denver last night. There wasn't much debate. The main area of disagreement came when Romanoff challenged Bennet to decline to accept Political Action Committee, or special interest, campaign money. The challenge was expected. Romanoff, who has lagged seriously behind Bennet in fundraising for half a year, announced in January that he was eschewing PAC money. The campaign had returned PAC money it received in the fall. Bennet dismissed the challenge on stage and he dismissed it more fully in comments he made to the Colorado Independent after the debate ended. He characterized the challenge as not fully considered and opportunistic. He also said it was unrealistic, given the price tag of a political race where Republican rivals were unlikely to voluntarily limit their fundraising abilities.