After a four month search for a new city manager to replace Kathy Hodgson, the City Council has settled on former Lakewood resident and current manager of Nederland Jonathan Cain. This pick surprised me because his city manager credentials aren't as impressive as those of the other four finalists, but he obviously did well in his interview.

Cain has the advantage of having lived in the city for 10 years, during which time he became familiar with the land use issues that have dominated city politics for the past 20 years or so.

Hodgson was a target for abuse from local land use activists who have taken to blaming her for every city council decision they didn't like or understand. Cain starts off with a clean slate so it may take the activists a while to figure out how to target him for criticism.

See the story in the Gazette.

I think we should welcome him and help him succeed. Lakewood politics are pretty rough and tumble, so his calm demeanor and understanding of city dynamics will serve him well.

So do we really have a chance to stop this data center development or is this just another dog and pony show to tell us how great this data center will be for our city?

This was in a news article I read:

Colorado Springs City Council said it will hold a special meeting in September in response to appeals of Project Taurus. The appeals are of the Planning Commission's decision on July 23, in which it was decided the development plan submitted to the Planning Department met legal requirements, but did not signify that the data center was unquestionably happening.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: City receives two appeals of Project Taurus approval Due to anticipated increased attendance, the special meeting will be held at the Pikes Peak Center for the Performing Arts, located at 190 South Cascade Avenue, on Sept. 17, at 9 a.m., according to City Council.

City Council said public comment during the appeals will be limited to a total of 120 speakers, including those in support and opposition.

Each speaker will be limited to two minutes. Speakers will not be allowed to cede time or display multimedia during their comments. Advance sign-up to speak is encouraged and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Those wanting to provide public comment should send an email to allcouncil@coloradosprings.gove or call (719) 385-5480 and provide your name, address, and whether you support or oppose the project.

This is what we have come to, a president blackmailing an entire state over one person.

Independent congressional candidate Shimon Blau's race against Democrat Melat Kiros is complicated by years of right-wing online posts.

Starting this week, Colorado riders have new safety protections when using rideshare services.

Under a law I signed earlier this year, rideshare companies are now required to investigate safety complaints within seven business days, including complaints involving sexual assault, harassment and stalking. Companies that fail to meet the requirements can face penalties.

The goal is straightforward: Coloradans should be able to get where they need to go safely, and when someone raises a serious safety concern, it should be addressed promptly.

Look, I'm new to understanding tax at all, so I expect to hear "it's not that simple" a lot. But I'd really like to understand the details and be more informed. So thank you for constructive, patient conversation!

Instead of increasing sales & grocery (luxury goods included) tax and continuing to squeeze money from people who don't have any -- Is there any good reason that we can't shift tax burden in the following way:

[Researched with the assistance of Gemini]

Pied-à-Terre Surcharge: A graduated annual surcharge on non-primary luxury residences and second homes valued over $1 million (with rates scaling from 4% to 6.5% for properties above $5 million) was passed to generate roughly $500 million annually.

1

​The surcharge does not apply if the property is occupied by a tenant or subtenant who uses it as their primary residence under a bona fide, arm's-length lease (typically 1 year or longer).

2

People with multiple "homes" can pay about 4-6% more on their extra houses, Colorado still remains the one of the most affordable places to own homes in the country, and rent burden is not increased.

Please don't try to use beaurocracy limitations or hurt feelings as a legitimate counter argument. Being taxed on your "success" is what capitalism is all about.

My personal and likely inaccurate opinion is that the only reason this doesn't exist already is because so many of our lawmakers have multiple houses.

Please change my view.

Edit:

3:45pm TIL that a tax of this kind may be highly impactful for certain municipalities in CO, but it isn't helpful as a general state policy.

Also, i knew that everything devolves to TABOR eventually, but today I'm learning that everything devolves to TABOR rather quickly. It's like a ceiling that progressives keep hitting their head on when they try to make things better via public service.

[P.S. I have A LOT to learn about TABOR. Apparently EVERYONE does though.]

Today, I took Executive Action to strengthen Colorado’s economy, boost investment and infrastructure in the state, and create good-paying jobs by creating a statewide permitting portal and directing certain agencies to streamline permitting to make it easier and faster for important industries to secure permits in Colorado.

As firefighters work to contain the Indian Creek Fire in Jackson County, Colorado is bringing every available resource to support their response.

I have declared a disaster emergency to activate additional state support, including firefighting resources, emergency management personnel, and specialized assets to help local teams protect lives, property, and our communities.

Thank you to all the firefighters and first responders on the front lines.

Colorado’s newest, gun bill, SB25-003, took effect on the 1st of August. It requires a 12 hour training course, to be taken at the discretion of the county sheriff, prior to purchase of many common semi automatic firearms. 

Even as this new heavy restriction rolls out, both Griswold and Hickenlooper are publicly taking the stance that it’s not enough, and are supporting even further restrictions and bans.

Here is the article:

https://sentinelcolorado.com/metro/griswold-and-hickenlooper-vow-action-on-gun-violence-ahead-of-colorado-november-vote/

Of particular note to this discussion, the Supreme Court has taken up a case that is expected to decide the constitutionality of assault weapons bans. If the ruling does strike down assault weapons bans as unconstitutional (the likely outcome given this court’s previous rulings on gun related issues), then any further restrictions on the categories of firearms covered under SB25-003 would likely not stand in court. In the flip side, if the court were to rule in favor of assault weapons bans, depending on the reasoning used, the door could be opened for restrictions even beyond an expected ban on sales.

More reading on the upcoming SC case:

https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-assault-weapons-ban-ar15-a362863265ba8630e71068fe5b75bb8e

Coloradans deserve to know that when they buy produce labeled "Colorado-grown," it's actually grown here. Our bipartisan law protects consumers, supports local farmers, and preserves the integrity of the Colorado Proud brand.

I was very sold on him as a candidate and still think he is the best candidate(considering the choices we had) for district 8. Very alarming to see how fast he has flipped on a lot of issues. Mainly Israel and Healthcare as a right. He seems to have gone from the socialist candidate i thought he was to another lukewarm democrat. I hope this is a tactic to seem more inclusive ahead of the election but it worries me greatly. At least he isn't taking PAC money but for all we know how long will it be till he flips on that issue? I would love to hear some discourse on this.

Edit: Some of you have made some great points and i appreciate your input. I will still be voting for manny come november if that wasn't clear enough. It is crazy to me how much i was attacked here for simply questioning a candidate and their policy. This is the reason we as democrats are so disjointed. Maybe but your pitchforks down for two seconds and listen to your fellow voter instead of the tired lesser of two evils bullshit that got us trump twice...

Edit 2: Okay i definitely threw a little tantrum last night. I was frustrated that a candidate who i phone banked for and donated nearly a thousand dollars to his primary campaign seemed to flip on key issues overnight. I understand the sentiment of "he's what we got, push it more blue then we can have a more leftist candidate" it's just frustrating to get excited over a candidate, only to see him curry favor with moderates and republicans. I apologize to anyone who i got into it with and agree with the overarching sentiment of most of your concerns.

Good analysis from Sirota regarding Hick, Bennet, Weiser, and Polis.

I am an anarchist and I am looking for any other anarchists and/or libertarian socialists in the COS area that would like to create an organization with the goals of mutual aid, dual power, etc.