Colorado congressman looks to put 1,000 feet between frackers and schools

BOULDER — There are a lot of opinions on how far hydraulic fracturing should be from schools. One resident near a drilling operation a few hundred yards from Red Hawk Elementary School in Erie said he was probably the only one on his block who didn’t mind the noise or environmental and health risks Encana Corp.’s project brought with it. Still, in a perfect world, he said he’d prefer it were a mile away.

VIDEO: Udall not giving up push for wind tax credit

U.S. Sen. Mark Udall has a new routine. He wakes up every morning, puts on a suit and tie and then implores his colleagues on Capitol Hill to pass the wind production tax credit.

Students, Polis agree pizza not a vegetable; Congress not so sure

U.S. Rep. Jared Polis is trying to convince Congress that pizza is not a vegetable.

Obama personalizes student loan message for cheery CU Boulder students

BOULDER — President Barack Obama dropped into town Tuesday, swung by the Sink to pick up a pizza, and he tested out a young entrepreneur’s smart phone-controlled ball on University Hill before imparting a few words of wisdom to 11,000 screaming students at the nearby Coors Event Center.

Pace out-raises incumbent Tipton in vital CD-3 race

Colorado Republican Congressman Scott Tipton is having trouble keeping up with the pace, or with Sal Pace, in the Third District fundraising race.

Dispatch from inside the silo: RedState chides GOP lawmakers for ‘cycle of capitulation’

Americans have endured with disgust a year of historic partisan gridlock in Washington, where the Republican-controlled House clashed with President Obama and the Democratic-controlled Senate on matters of economic policy, debt reduction, taxes, abortion and the environment. Poll after poll reports that citizens hate the ideological bickering and posturing which, in addition to failing to address their concerns, saw the U.S. lose its elite 70-year-old AAA credit rating. The only solution, according to National TeaParty blog RedState, is to demand Republican members of the House become even more intransigent and ideologically driven.

National Ski Areas Association sues U.S. Forest Service over contested water rights

The National Ski Areas Association filed a lawsuit (pdf) in federal court late Monday, arguing that a new clause the U.S. Forest Service is inserting into ski area permits is an illegal taking of property.

The litigation is the…

Year of the Bat: Colorado researchers not sleeping on white-nose syndrome

Fifteen months ago, the United Nations declared 2011 and 2012 as the International Year of the Bat to promote awareness about the under-appreciated insect gobbler, pollinator and seed disperser. The bat, you see, has fallen on hard times. There’s no easy way to explain this, so we hope you’re sitting down. Or upside down. Here it goes: Statistics show more than half of bat species in the United States are either suffering steep population declines or they are already listed as endangered. A major reason why is white-nose syndrome — a mysterious disease that is wiping out bats by the millions.

The show may not go on: Congress takes on exotic and wild animals in traveling circuses

Elephants dancing in skirts, bears riding tricycles and lions leaping through flaming hoops could become distant memories if a bill U.S. Rep. Jared Polis is co-sponsoring gains traction in Washington.

Congress goes batty: Omnibus bill commits $4 million to combat white-nose syndrome

Congress last week allotted $4 million to study and combat the outbreak of white-nose syndrome — a mysterious and menacing disease that is killing off North American bats by the millions.