Author: Gazette editorial board
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EDITORIAL: Swift justice displeases a Colorado federal judge
The Trump administration ordered payroll cuts to the bloated federal bureaucracy, and Colorado sued. The administration tried to rein in a runaway budget by paring funding for public broadcasters — which Congress ultimately carried out — and Colorado sued again. And just this week, a prominent, left-leaning Colorado federal judge lashed out at President Trump’s…
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ENDORSEMENTS: YES to 2G, YES to 310 on Denver’s ballot
First, an easy YES to Referred Question 2G on Denver’s municipal ballot. The case for 2G is in fact self-evident. At-large Denver City Council members aren’t elected the same way as other council members or, for that matter, any other city officials. Unlike in the races for those other elected posts, candidates for the council’s…
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EDITORIAL: When our highways are paved with pot
Society once vilified marijuana. Later generations of hipsters laughed off the stigma. Now, mounting evidence has brought things full circle — vindicating the psychoactive drug’s original critics after all. Today’s high-potency pot — legalized for recreational use in Colorado in 2012 and in over two dozen other states since then — is leaving a trail…
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ENDORSEMENTS: Blanke, Del Hierro, Jackson, Magaňa for Denver school board
Denver Public Schools, once a national pacesetter for education reform and innovation, has been struggling for years in more ways than one. Colorado’s largest school district has become one of the state’s most troubled. While some of DPS’ decline arguably is beyond the district’s control — its ebbing enrollment is part of a statewide pattern…
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EDITORIAL: Don’t herd Coloradans into density zoning
Colorado’s governor and legislature are leading us all down a primrose path to density zoning. It’s a wonky term for cramming more housing into less space. There’s even an attempt at an elegant variation — the more marketable “gentle density” — meaning, wedge more expensive multiplexes between single-family homes. It’s the hobby horse of the…
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EDITORIAL: Crow misses the mark again on U.S. airstrikes
Last June, Colorado’s 6th Congressional District U.S. Rep. Jason Crow sharply denounced the Trump administration for carrying out surprise airstrikes against Iran’s nuclear weapons development facilities. We expressed disappointment at Crow’s response. Now, Crow is at it again, criticizing the Trump White House this week for launching air strikes against narcotraffickers in the Caribbean off…
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EDITORIAL: A normal summer after all at Colorado’s national parks
Panicked cries of “crisis” and imminent doom were wide ranging when the Trump administration began its quest to trim federal fat last January. Among the dire forewarnings was one that our national parks would collapse if forced to reduce staff. Yet, having observed another Labor Day — the traditional end of summer and summertime travel…
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EDITORIAL: Set Colorado’s bar high for hallucinogens
It was only fitting that the campaign behind a statewide ballot issue recklessly legalizing hallucinogenic drugs would itself be illusory. Not only did its shadowy backers refuse to show up at public forums to defend their proposal’s obvious dangers, but their entire, multimillion-dollar bid, funded by the national legalization lobby, was deceptive to begin with.…
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EDITORIAL: Denver ballot’s #305 will raise your rent; vote NO
Rent has never been higher in Denver. That’s alongside soaring overall inflation, the likes of which our state and country haven’t seen in decades. So, the last thing anyone needs is a proposal on Denver’s local ballot this November that will drive rent even higher — ironically, in the name of helping renters. What’s more,…
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EDITORIAL: The true cost of Colorado’s soaring car theft
Colorado’s dubious distinction as the No. 1 state in the nation for auto theft is far worse than just an embarrassment. It is “devastating.” That’s how former Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey puts it in today’s Perspective section in The Gazette. Morrissey, a career-long prosecutor who’s now a criminal justice fellow at Colorado’s Common Sense…