Tag: Jeanne Labuda

Messages today multiply. One brings another and soon they pile up like grains of sand in the Sahara. Can we really expect officials to keep them all and to deliver them in digestible chunks in a timely way upon request?

Forty-one women were sworn into the state legislature in Denver this week, strengthening Colorado's long standing as the women-lawmaker capital of the nation. The state gained five women in the Senate and lost one in the House. There are 17 women in the 35-member Senate. There are 24 women serving in the 65-member House. That's the largest percentage of women serving at any state capitol across the country and it's also the largest number of women ever to serve at the Colorado capitol. The Colorado Legislative Women’s Caucus is proud of these facts. It's also not sure exactly what these facts mean on the ground for constituents.

COMMERCE CITY-- Democratic gubernatorial candidate John Hickenlooper presented his "road map" (Video part 1) (Video part 2) for Colorado job creation and economic growth last week. The road map puts him at odds with some Democratic members of the Colorado legislature who took pains this session to repeal the state's so-called "enterprise zones" where businesses are exempted from paying taxes. Hickenlooper told the Colorado Independent that he strongly supported enterprise zones as a way to spur new business activity and that as governor he would look to promote them as a first order of business.

DENVER-- A payday loan regulation bill that has been the subject of intense backroom battles for weeks made its way through the Colorado House today on a 32 to 30 vote. Opponents called the bill a "job killer." Supporters said constituents have been begging them to regulate the industry. Bill sponsor Rep. Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, says it will face a similarly tough battle in the Senate where it will be debated in the coming days.

DENVER-- Denver Democrat Mark Ferrandino's effort to rein in the payday loan industry came under heavy fire on the House floor Thursday by Democrats and Republicans who say they fear the regulations the bill would impose would destroy the payday loan industry and throw workers unto the unemployment rolls, a line of attack advanced defiantly by payday lobbyists here for weeks. On the floor today, more lawmakers thought the payday industry, which offers short-term loans characterized by high interest and fast-rising fees, should be regulated. Ferrandino's bloc prevailed by just one vote.

Click here for numbers on El Paso CountyA total of 12,277 votes have been cast in Denver through the close of business yesterday.  Another...