Is there a more high-maintenance public figure in Colorado than Douglas Bruce? Doubt it. Yesterday, Bruce went to court over a trespassing charge leveled against him in August, when he was collecting signatures for a ballot measure outside a Costco store. According to the Colorado Springs Gazette, the judge tossed…
Governor Bill Ritter may be trying to establish his fiscal conservatism amid the necessity to make even deeper budget cuts — a strategy that closely echoes the one being used right now by Josh Penry, who seems to be emerging as Ritter’s likely Republican opponent in the 2010 election. The…
At yesterday’s press conference discussing the need to make up for an additional $240 million shortfall in 2009-2010 state revenue, Governor Bill Ritter immediately emphasized fiscal caution. “As is our practice,” he said, “we will be balancing our budget with the more conservative of the forecasts.” That’s a shot across…
“John Hickenlooper’s Budget-Cut Pitch,” a blog published last Wednesday, pointed out that Denver’s mayor had cannily put the onus on unions representing police officers when it came to trimming costs. The key line in a letter to Denver residents read: “There will be no wage increase for police, fire and…
Our daily swing through the local blogosphere. Is that a fat lady I hear singing? And is that fat lady wearing a Rockies jersey? (Purple Row) The Family Research Council wants to oust Betsy Markey, which means the Family Research Council is much more evil than its name infers. (Colorado…
Andrew Romanoff’s got more than an uphill battle when it comes to winning the 2010 Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate. His angle of ascent’s as vertical as it can be, what with the White House throwing its support behind Bill Ritter nominee Michael Bennet. With that in mind, he’s…
Right now, Democrat Jared Polis is the Colorado congressional leader when it comes to using new media, sometimes to excess; note that last week, Polis’ staff uploaded more than twenty healthcare stories about his constituents to YouTube. But Republican Mike Coffman seems ready to give JP a run for his…
Our own Joe Tone thinks the Newsweek cover headline “The Case for Killing Granny” is evidence that the folks at the mag have lost it, and maybe they have. After all, author Evan Thomas makes a Colorado reference in illustrating the healthcare disparities (according to him, the average cost of…
We read local blogs so you don’t have to, although you should, ’cause many of them don’t suck. Turning trash into electricity: Yet another way that life imitates Back to the Future. (Colorado Independent) Malcom Glenn doesn’t think you should be surprised by Obama’s endorsement of Michael Bennet. (Which you…
No denying that Internet multi-millionaire turned Congressman Jared Polis is a believer in new technology. During the past day or so, his office has posted videos on YouTube in which he can be seen talking on the floor of the U.S. House about the personal healthcare stories of real Coloradans…
Senator Dave Schultheis doesn’t do anything by half measures — which is why he’s a multiple-time Shmuck of the Week, as opposed to being a single termer. (Watch out, Brandon Marshall.) Still, he’s a sharp enough operator to understand that national stories can still be used to damage local politicians…
The local media is making a big deal out of President Barack Obama endorsing Bill Ritter appointee Michael Bennet in the 2010 U.S. Senate race, even though the timing of his supportive statement — one day after Andrew Romanoff formally announced a challenge to MFB — was as predictable as…
Our daily cruise through the blogosphere. More reasons to punch Brandon Marshall in the face (as if you needed more). (Mile High Report) The Rockies are gonna have to try hard to fuck this up. (Purple Row) Where’s all the money going? (HuffPo Denver)…
One of Ken Salazar’s first moves as Secretary of the Interior was to visit the Lakewood office of the Minerals Management Service, an obscure agency responsible for collecting billions in oil and gas royalties from companies drilling on federal lands, and vow to clean up the place. As detailed in…
Representative Jared Polis has staged as many if not more healthcare town halls in recent weeks than any of his Colorado congressional colleagues. But the conservative CompleteColorado.com site questions his private investment in another healthcare-related enterprise: BridgeHealth International. The company’s approach is typically shorthanded as “medical tourism,” a term defined…
As Andrew Romanoff was announcing his candidacy for the U.S. Senate yesterday, Michael Bennet, the Bill Ritter appointee he’s challenging for the position, was in Washington, D.C., doing his best to talk about other things. Here, Bennet appears at a small rally organized by PICO National Network, an assemblage of…
During U.S. senatorial hopeful Andrew Romanoff’s first official campaign event in Denver yesterday afternoon, he told a story related by Ken Gordon, the man he succeeded in the Colorado House. One of Gordon’s constituents thought he was retiring from politics instead of moving to the Senate — and when he…
Yesterday, Representative Jared Polis joined colleagues Jerrold Nadler and Tammy Baldwin, Dems from New York and Wisconsin, respectively, at a press conference boosting the Respect for Marriage Act. During his microphone time, viewable above, Plis referred derisively to the “thirteen-year-old, so-called Defense of Marriage Act,” which would be wiped off…
“Andrew Romanoff in the Starting Blocks,” published yesterday, pointed out that his long dormant personal website sported a one-line addition: “New Website Coming Soon.” Make that now. Even before the start of his scheduled 10 a.m. senatorial campaign announcement in Pueblo, the updated AndrewRomanoff.com was live. The picture on its…
The first specific cut listed by Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper in a letter to the citizens of the city about his budget-cut proposal involves reducing the programming on Denver’s Channel 8 to “public-meeting coverage and select programming.” The latter apparently includes a newly posted video of Hickenlooper himself trying to…
The “send” key: It’s so easy to push — and so dangerous when it’s pressed prematurely. Witness the chain of events that followed an unwise forward inadvertently shared with assorted reporters by a member of Senator Michael Bennet’s staff as information about a Colorado connection to terrorism-related raids in Queens,…
How do you know that Jane Norton, who announced her candidacy for the U.S. Senate yesterday, is the first Republican in the race feared by Democrats? Because she’s already under attack by ProgressNow Colorado, the most effective and aggressive liberal-oriented media strike force in these parts. This week, multiple mailings…
