Featured
Colorado starting to decide which kids, mothers at ‘greatest risk’ should CHIP funding expire
DENVER – Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper said Tuesday the state was in the process of creating a list of children and pregnant mothers who are at the “greatest risk” should Congress not fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) before Colorado’s funding runs out at the end of January.
“This is probably one of the very few issues the majority of Republicans and Democrats all agree should be a priority for funding in this country,” the governor said Tuesday. Continue reading
Senate, House will now hash out GOP tax reform differences in conference committee
DENVER – After Senate Republicans passed their version of the tax reform bill in the early hours of Saturday morning—just hours after the bill was released—members of Congress will now work to settle major differences between the versions passed by the Senate and House.
Both versions cut more than $1.4 trillion in taxes while adding billions to the federal deficit, but exactly how those cuts are made differ between the two bills. Continue reading
Criminal case against ousted Lake Co. undersheriff turned over to grand jury
LAKE COUNTY, Colo. – The criminal investigation involving former Lake County undersheriff Fernando Mendoza has been turned over to a grand jury, which will determine if he will face any criminal charges.
Mendoza was fired from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office two weeks ago because several women in the office levied sexual harassment allegations against him in reports to the office, the district attorney, and Denver7.
Fifth Judicial District Attorney Bruce Brown has had an active investigation into allegations against Mendoza for several weeks, and he confirmed to Denver7 Monday his case had been sent to a grand jury. Continue reading
Man, 64, dies while in ICE custody in Colorado
DENVER – A 64-year-old man in custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement died Saturday at an Aurora hospital, the agency said Monday.
Kamyar Samimi, 64, originally of Iran, was arrested by ICE agents in Denver on Nov. 17—more than 12 years after he was convicted of cocaine possession in Arapahoe County. Continue reading
Colorado health insurance enrollment stays steady, now up 29% over 2016
DENVER – Despite a slowdown last week in national Affordable Care Act enrollments, people in Colorado continue to sign up for health insurance at a clip higher than last year.
Nearly 44,000 people in Colorado signed up for health insurance through the state marketplace in November, an increase of 29 percent over the same time period the year before, when just over 34,000 people signed up in November.
And enrollments in Colorado stayed relatively stable over the second half of the month when compared to the first. Continue reading
Donthe Lucas charged with first-degree murder in Kelsie Schelling disappearance
PUEBLO, Colo. – Donthe Lucas, the boyfriend of Kelsie Schelling, who disappeared in 2013 while in Pueblo, has been charged with first-degree murder in Schelling’s disappearance, which officials are now calling a homicide.
The Pueblo Police Department and Colorado Bureau of Investigation announced the charges against Lucas Friday.
Lucas, 25, was already in custody in Pueblo on separate charges after he was arrested last month at Denver International Airport in a robbery and assault case when he was served with the new charges. Continue reading
Study: Colorado family planning program greatly reduced pregnancies, abortions among young women
DENVER – A state family planning program has significantly reduced the state’s teen birth rate and abortion rate among teens and young women, according to analysis from the University of Colorado.
The study found Colorado’s Title X Family Planning Program helped provide IUDs or birth control implants to nearly 44,000 people between 2009 and 2016.
It also found that for women aged 15 to 19, the state’s birth rate fell by 54 percent over the same time period. The birth rate fell by 30 percent for women aged 20 to 24, the study found. Over that time period, the average age of a woman’s first birth in Colorado increased by more than a year among all women. Continue reading
JCT dynamic score of Senate tax reform bill shows it falls short of most GOP growth estimates
DENVER – The official nonpartisan committee of Congress tasked with reviewing the economic effects of legislation said Thursday, in a new dynamic score, that the bill Senate Republicans brought out of the finance committee will increase revenues and the nation’s GDP far less than was originally estimated by the Trump administration and some other Republicans.
The Joint Committee on Taxation’s much-anticipated dynamic score of the Senate Finance Committee’s version of the tax reform bill estimates that the nation’s gross domestic product would increase by about 0.8 percent over the next 10 years, which would generate a relative revenue gain of $458 billion over the same time period, but which would also tack on an additional $1 trillion to the national deficit. Continue reading
Sessions: Marijuana use is ‘detrimental,’ Justice Dept. still reviewing enforcement policies
DENVER – There are ongoing discussions within the Justice Department about making changes to marijuana enforcement at the federal level, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Wednesday.
At a press conference announcing new efforts to fight the opioid abuse crisis across the country, Sessions said he still has large concerns about the legitimacy of legal marijuana programs, and that his Justice Department met Tuesday to review possible changes. Continue reading
Colorado’s Hickenlooper urges bipartisan tax reform changes: ‘Trickle down economics is a fairytale’
DENVER – Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper on Wednesday urged the state’s congressional delegation not to support the Republican tax bill the Senate could vote on later this week, saying the bill, as is, would hurt Colorado’s economic progress.
“Congress should not pass on almost $1.5 trillion in additional debt to future generations, and hand out tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans who don’t need them—and in many cases, don’t even want them—at the expense of the middle class and the poor,” Hickenlooper said in a statement. Continue reading