In US, states struggle to replace fossil fuel tax revenue
Government budgets are booming in New Mexico: Teacher salaries are up, residents can go to an in-state college tuition-free, moms will get medical care for a year after childbirth, and criminal justice initiatives are being funded to reduce urban violence. New Mexico is the No. 2 crude oil producer among U.S. states and the top recipient of U.S. disbursements for fossil fuel production on federal land. State governments in the nation’s top regions for producing oil, natural gas and coal have by far the highest per-capita reliance on fossil fuels — led by Wyoming, North Dakota, Alaska and New Mexico.
news.yahoo.comAmerican gunmakers help Ukrainians fight back against Putin
Adrian Kellgren’s family-owned gun company in Florida was left holding a $200,000 shipment of semi-automatic rifles after a longtime customer in Ukraine suddenly went silent during Vladimir Putin’s invasion of the country. Fearing the worst, Kellgren and his company KelTec decided to put those stranded 400 guns to use, sending them to Ukraine's nascent resistance movement to help civilians fight back against a Russian military that has been repeatedly shelling their apartment buildings, schools, hospitals and hiding places. “The American people want to do something,” said Kellgren, a former U.S. Navy pilot.
news.yahoo.comProsecutors slam Colorado trucker’s reduced prison sentence
The reduction of a 110-year prison sentence to 10 years by Colorado's governor for a trucker convicted of killing four people in a fiery interstate crash is hurting prosecutors’ efforts to negotiate sentences in other cases, according to two district attorneys. The Dec. 30 commutation by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis for the trucker was “unprecedented, premature and unwarranted” because Rogel Aguilera-Mederos’ case was still active, with a judge scheduled to review a prosecutor's request to reduce the sentence, said Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty and Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubinstein. Dougherty is a Democrat and Rubinstein is a Republican and both told Polis in a Jan. 20 letter that his decision “is having a substantial ripple effect” on other cases, The Denver Post reported on Wednesday.
news.yahoo.comColorado to 'aggressively assert' water rights with Nebraska
Colorado's governor is warning he will “protect and aggressively assert” his state's water rights after Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts announced a plan to spend $500 million on a canal and reservoir project that includes claiming access to land in Colorado under a 99-year-old compact between the states. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said he will work with Nebraska but wants more details about what the state has planned. “We will continue to protect and aggressively assert Colorado’s rights under all existing water compacts," Polis said in a statement Wednesday evening.
news.yahoo.comA truck driver was found guilty in deadly crash after brake failure. The prosecutor was gifted a brake shoe trophy.
A prosecutor apparently turned a brake shoe into a "memento" following the conviction of a truck driver who argued that a brake malfunction caused a deadly 2019 collision in Colorado.
washingtonpost.comDem governor declares COVID-19 emergency ‘over,’ says it’s ‘their own darn fault’ if unvaccinated get sick
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, told Colorado Public Radio on Friday that he won’t be implementing another statewide mask mandate in response to the spread of the COVID-19 omicron variant.
news.yahoo.comRadio Host Rattled by Near-Death COVID Bout Is Now Spurting Vax Nonsense
YouTube/Stephen Tubbs ShowA conservative radio host in Denver, who was hospitalized with COVID-19 earlier this year, is now saturating the airwaves with misinformation about coronavirus vaccines.During a Friday afternoon segment of his eponymous KNUS radio show, Steffan Tubbs stood idly by and appeared to even offer approval to a caller who floated a conspiracy theory that government officials and health experts are concealing how many people have died from the vaccines.“We’ve had hundreds, mayb
news.yahoo.comBombshell report reveals how Colorado's Democratic governor avoided paying taxes
Colorado's Democratic Gov. Jared Polis is under fire after a new trove of documents revealed he used loopholes to avoid paying federal income taxes for years.Driving the news: A ProPublica report published Thursday found Polis, a tech entrepreneur and former congressman, used donations and financial arrangements to get out of paying federal income taxes in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for freeOf note: His wealth
news.yahoo.comBiden signs off on Colorado’s expansion of transgender-related health coverage
Under a groundbreaking decision by state and federal officials, many private health plans sold in Colorado will soon be required to cover hormone therapy, genital reconstructive services and other procedures sought by transgender patients.
washingtonpost.comProbe started after Elijah McClain's death finds pattern of racially biased policing, Colorado attorney general says
Colorado's attorney general said a civil rights investigation begun amid outrage over the death of Elijah McClain found that the Aurora Police Department has a pattern of racially biased policing.
cbsnews.comColorado Gov. Jared Polis rescinds 1864 policy encouraging murder of Native Americans
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order Tuesday rescinding centuries-old proclamations calling on non-Native residents to "go in pursuit, kill and destroy Indians on the plains."Why it matters: The policy, issued by Territorial Gov. John Evans in 1864, "shamefully targeted and endangered the lives" of Indigenous people, the Democratic governor said at the signing ceremony.Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for freeNative Americ
news.yahoo.comThe Latest: Washington offers prizes for getting vaccinated
Washington is the latest state to offer prizes to encourage people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, with Gov. Jay Inslee announcing a series of giveaways during the month of June that include lottery drawings totaling $2 million, college tuition assistance, airline tickets and game systems.