The Colorado Independent

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Help wanted: Supporters for coal lobby

By | 05.25.12 | 1:23 pm

DENVER — The coal industry is resorting to online classifieds to bolster its ranks.

“We hear stories of people paying folks $50 through Craigslist to come and wear shirts supporting ‘Coal for America,’” Lisa Jackson, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s administrator and surprise guest at the “Rebel With A Cause” gala, told a ballroom of activists on Thursday night.

Bigfooting, boozing, tweeting: A progressive Colorado legislative scorecard

By | 05.24.12 | 8:34 am

DENVER — Colorado’s 2012 Legislature may not have achieved greatness. It may not have risen above partisan divide to solve complex problems and unify a state. It may not have addressed the state’s economic malaise or found a way to reliably fund education for the long term.

Session notes: Colorado moved ahead or stayed even on education, gay rights, abortion

By | 05.22.12 | 3:53 pm

Colorado legislative debate this year on education, gay rights and women’s health policies reflected larger well-worn national political back-and-forths, where showy speeches on immigration “illegals,” “traditional marriage” and religious freedom often sidetrack efforts to serve the public good.

Obama calls in to Colorado-based Spanish-language radio show

By | 05.22.12 | 3:35 pm

DENVER — When KBNO radio host Fernando Sergio launched his weekday Spanish-language talk show in 2004, you’d have been completely crazy to predict that the President of the United States would call in for a chat about seven years later.

Wisconsin’s Walker echoes Colorado’s Gessler on voter fraud

By | 05.21.12 | 12:27 pm

In the last two years, Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler has made voter fraud prevention a top priority. His efforts have included working to stop county clerks from sending absentee ballots to inactive voters, lobbying for a controversial voter ID law and leading an unprecedented effort to determine whether non-citizens are voting in the state.

Obama-backed restoration projects putting more than 20,000 low-income youth to work

By | 05.21.12 | 11:34 am

Four new conservation projects in Colorado will add to the more than 20,000 work opportunities for low-income youth on public lands this summer.

Colorado conservationists hail strides made in 2012 state legislative session

By | 05.18.12 | 8:57 am

Colorado’s conservation community deemed the 2012 state legislative session a success this week after it saw a half dozen bills it supported pass and 15 efforts to undermine the environment thwarted.

Controversial Colorado Open Records bill draws calls for veto

By | 05.17.12 | 1:30 pm

The bill was never really debated in the Senate where it was introduced, then it was tacked on to a House bill amid the blizzard of activity that marked the last days of the Colorado legislative session. Government watchdog and elections groups on the right and left are now asking Gov. John Hickenlooper to veto it, arguing the bill would deny citizens the right to inspect voter ballots and “gut” the state’s Open Records Act.

Colorado River Agreement signed by major players

By | 05.16.12 | 1:45 pm

In the American West, the battle for control of water never really ends, but on Tuesday a major agreement among key Colorado players promised greater future cooperation to get more water to more people more consistently. The Colorado River Cooperative Agreement was signed by Denver Water and representatives from Grand County, Summit County, the Colorado River District and the Clinton Ditch & Reservoir Company.

Obama administration challenges oil, gas companies to drill already leased lands

By | 05.16.12 | 10:46 am

Oil and gas companies are tapping only about 28 percent of federal offshore sea floor they have leased and 56 percent of the onshore land they’ve leased is also sitting idle, the Interior Department said Tuesday.