The Home Front: Why did Mike Coffman vote for the Trump tax bill?

“U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman thinks the tax bill approved by Congress this week will spur growth in the economy, pay for itself over time and provide the necessary impetus to pass changes in health care laws,” reports Denverite. “That’s why the Aurora Republican was not just comfortable but proud to vote for a tax bill that the Congressional Budget Office said would increase the federal deficit by $1.4 trillion over 10 years. ‘Doubling the standard deduction is going to have a really positively impact,’ he said. ‘It will mean the vast majority of Americans will no longer have to itemize. Doubling the child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000 is going to be a big plus for families. We’re lowering rates across the board. And it does something that’s never been done before, which is lower the tax rate for small businesses which are not corporations.'”

“Colorado’s economy should continue to grow at a moderate pace over the next two years, but the full impact on individual state income taxpayers because of the federal tax reform bill passed by Congress this week isn’t completely known,” reports The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. “State economists told legislators Wednesday that regardless of the federal tax changes, Colorado already was on track to see a $179 million increase in revenues through the rest of the 2017-18 fiscal year, which ends June 30. In their quarterly revenue forecast presented to the Legislature’s Joint Budget Committee, economists said the next fiscal year is expected to increase by about $106 million as well, an estimate that was made before Congress approved its $1.5 trillion tax cut. But because the state ties its income tax returns to federal filings, that federal reform measure is expected to raise Coloradans’ tax burden, increasing state revenues as a result.”

“State regulators last week denied a request by Boulder County governments that an operator hold a public forum on two new applications to develop 4,000 acres for oil and gas extraction,” reports The Longmont Times-Call. “Members of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission agreed that Extraction Oil & Gas would not have to engage in public outreach before a state hearing scheduled for Jan. 29 and 30. The public will be able to speak then. The grounds for which the commission denied the request is Rule 508, which applies to applications that would result in one wellsite or multi wellsites per 40-acre nominal governmental quarter-quarter section. Extraction, under its subsidiary 8 North, has applied for a state drilling and spacing order on a 1,280-acre area between Arapahoe and Baseline roads in the Lafayette-Erie area.”

“Colorado’s lightning-fast growth is lining up the state for an epic political battle in two short years,” reports The Gazette in Colorado Springs. “Census figures released Wednesday show the state has the seventh-fastest growth rate in the nation, with a burgeoning population of more than 5.6 million. That’s enough babies and newcomers to net the state an eighth congressional district in 2020, prompting a fight over where the lines will be drawn for the new district. That means the Democrats and the GOP will go to war to protect their incumbents and set boundaries that will swing the new seat into their camp.”

“On Wednesday, Congress passed the most sweeping overhaul of the U.S. tax code in a generation,” reports Summit Daily. “The law — which did not receive a single Democrat vote — has been fraught with controversy since its inception. One particular change is worrying nonprofits and charities both locally and nationally: an increase in the standard deduction for individuals and couples that may reduce a major incentive for charitable giving.”

“The source of the smoke that hung in the air over downtown Greeley early Wednesday afternoon remains a bit of a mystery,” reports The Greeley Tribune. “Fire chiefs from across Weld County say they do not believe smoke from any of the three groundcover fires they handled that afternoon would have reached downtown. There were no fires reported in Greeley.”

“The city of Steamboat Springs’ decision to add more off-leash areas for dogs has not come without consequences for some residents and one innocent goat who was recently out for a stroll on the Butcherknife Canyon Trail,” reports The Steamboat Pilot. “Steamboat Police Commander Annette Dopplick said an off-leash dog utilizing the new off-leash area on the Butcherknife trail recently attacked a goat that was being walked from one property to another on a leash.”

“It’s hard to shock Kristin Powell and Dave Irwin. The two lead rangers for Fort Collins Natural Areas have seen it all: Eager hikers hopping fences to access mud-logged trails,” reports The Coloradoan in Fort Collins. “A llama on the lam in Bobcat Ridge Natural Area. “A lot of naked people,” Irwin said, laughing during a recent walk around the reservoir at Fort Collins’ Pineridge Natural Area. The Natural Areas ranger program celebrated its 20th anniversary this fall. Powell, the senior lead ranger, has led the program since its birth. Irwin joined it back in 2000, when just three rangers patrolled thousands of acres of open space.”

“Loveland will spend nearly $100,000 from tax increment finances to fund infrastructure improvements downtown, including sidewalk repair and electrical infrastructure to accommodate community events,” reports The Loveland Reporter-Herald. “The money to fund the improvements comes from a supplemental appropriation of $98,016 to the 2018 budget that the Loveland City Council authorized on second reading Tuesday for projects in the downtown Loveland Urban Renewal Authority area.”

“The Boulder City Council has begrudgingly agreed to extend a contract with JP Morgan Chase for the city’s banking services,” reports The Boulder Daily Camera. “But council members were intrigued by the idea of Boulder leaving Chase and forming its own public bank — something initially proposed a few weeks ago by local environmentalists who showed up in force for a public hearing on the matter Tuesday night. The reason Boulder decided to re-evaluate its relationship with Chase in the first place is that the City Council passed an ordinance in support of Dakota Access Pipeline protestors last year, which presented an obvious conflict because Chase has helped to fund the pipeline. But, beyond that, Chase is the top funder of tar sands oil, the production of which is energy- and water-intensive, and creates toxic waste and air pollution. Chase is also a financier in Colorado of fracking activity.”

“The isolation cell at the Delta County jail is stark. Its bright-white walls are padded with a dense rubber so people can’t thrash against a cinder-block wall and harm themselves,” reports The Denver Post. “There’s a floor drain that serves as a pit toilet, and there’s a bench built into the wall for sitting or sleeping. A fluorescent light shines down, and a video camera records every move. Deputies peek inside every 15 minutes, and inhabitants are stripped of their clothes and given a thick blanket, called a suicide smock, to wear over their bodies. It is not the ideal place for a someone in the throes of a psychotic episode. In Colorado, however, cells like the one on the second floor of the Delta County Detention Center are where people suffering a mental health crisis often end up.”

“The former organizer of Denver’s 420 rally is taking his grievances against the city to court, alleging officials mounted a public relations campaign to remove him as host of the event,” reports ColoradoPolitics. “The city banned Miguel Lopez from organizing the marijuana event after Denver’s Civic Center Park was left littered with trash following an April rally. Denver said Lopez violated “city requirements,” including noise complaints, untimely trash removal, limited security staff, unlicensed food vendors and street closures at the spring event, the Cannabist reported. Lopez was fined more than $12,000, as a result.”