Colorado Follows National #RedforEd Trend With Protests. Now What?

Thousands of Colorado educators followed the lead of states like West Virginia, Oklahoma and Arizona in demanding that state legislatures stop carving up public education and start putting money back into its public schools. Colorado legislators have cut $6.67 billion out of the state education budget since the Great Recession. And although the economy has bounced back, the practice of cutting education dollars continues. So what can protesters actually do to keep the #RedforEd momentum going?

Judge Orders State to Delay Primary Ballot Certification Over Levin’s Signature Debacle

Brad Levin thought he had the ballot petition in the bag. He collected 16,000 signatures, far more than the 10,500 signature requirement to get on the statewide ballot. He was wrong. The state threw out 7,000 of his signatures. Some were thrown out over technicalities. Others were thrown out because the signatures were of unaffiliated voters, who are not legally locked out of the candidate petition process. Now, the Democratic candidate for attorney general is suing to get his signatures back.

Student Protester Sued by Oil Company Asks Judge to Drop Suit

What do a CSU journalism student, a documentary filmmaker and a lawyer all have in common? They’ve been sued by Denver-based Extraction Oil and Gas over an anti-fracking protest in Greeley next door to Bella Romero Academy, a school that serves a predominantly low-income and minority community.

Albus Brooks’s Cancer Is Back

Denver City Council president Albus Brooks, who had surgery for cancer in 2016, has revealed the recurrence of the disease. Surgery to remove a newly discovered tumor has been scheduled for the first week of May.

Colorado Legislature May Once Again Lead Country in the Fight for Gender Equity

In the wake of #MeToo and Time’s Up, statehouses around the country are grappling with how to hold legislators accountable for sexual harassment in an environment where there isn’t a traditional boss. The most severe form of punishment is expulsion, the equivalent of being fired, but that is rarely ever wielded. This year, Colorado expelled a House Democrat, the first time a state legislator was expelled in more than 100 years. Other statehouses have also been aggressive in the fight to eradicate sexual harassment. But in true Colorado fashion, the Centennial State is leading the country in creating a safe, harassment-free environment at the Capitol. That’s if legislators can agree on the fix.

New Model for Eliminating Pit Bull Ban in Denver and Beyond

Seven Colorado cities currently prohibit pit bulls, with such regulations resulting in thousands of dogs being euthanized in Denver alone. But the number of bans could be reduced by one within weeks. Tonight, Castle Rock’s town council will hear the first reading of a new animal ordinance that repeals breed-specific legislation, and if it moves to the next stage, as expected, it could become law as soon as next month. Advocate Jen Dudley hopes the new rules serve as a template for repealing and replacing the bans in Denver and beyond.

How One Speech Turned the Colorado Governor’s Race Upside Down

No one was surprised when former state treasurer Cary Kennedy and Representative Jared Polis landed spots on the ballot as gubernatorial candidates via April 14’s Colorado Democratic Party state assembly, the complete results of which are on view below. But the Colorado Republican Party state assembly, held on the same day, contained a stunner. Former Parker mayor Greg Lopez, who few political observers took seriously, knocked state attorney general Cynthia Coffman out of the guv sweepstakes based largely on the power of a single speech.