Final budget proposal may be a chimera By Leigh E. Rich In a desperate attempt to put Humpty Dumpty back together again, it seems all the state’s lawmakers have weighed in recently about how to fix Colorado’s cracked budget. They have no choice. Colorado’s Constitution requires a balanced budget every year. And this fiscal year, […]
01.21.2005
01.21.2005
Categories: Elections, Politics, Utrinque Paratus | Comments Off on President Bush pledges to let freedom ring
Inauguration focuses on foreign policy By Leigh E. Rich There’s a 2,080-pound gorilla in the world and it’s called freedom, President George W. Bush intimated in his second inaugural address to the nation Thursday, explaining that the first time “the Liberty Bell was sounded in celebration, a witness said, ‘It rang as if it meant […]
01.14.2005
Categories: Feminism, Politics, Utrinque Paratus | Comments Off on After 128 years, there’s a woman in charge
Colorado’s Senate swearing-in ceremonies, however, don’t go as planned By Leigh E. Rich History was made Wednesday, as Colorado’s first female Senate president was sworn in on opening day of the General Assembly’s 65th session. But not everyone voted for her. In what was otherwise expected to be a scripted, routine and—compared to the reputedly […]
01.14.2005
Categories: Politics, Utrinque Paratus | Comments Off on Not a case of potato-potahto when it comes to Colorado’s laborers
AFL-CIO asks Statehouse to save jobs and benefits By Leigh E. Rich “We are protecting potatoes from being farmed out, but we’re not protecting jobs,” Sen. Deanna Hanna, D-Lakewood, said, at an AFL-CIO rally held just moments after Colorado’s Statehouse swearing-in ceremonies concluded. “I support the potato,” she emphasized, nodding to Colorado’s agricultural sector, “but […]
01.14.2005
Categories: Editorials, Humor, Media, Politics, Utrinque Paratus | Comments Off on The inside scoop on the scoopers
Legislators, don’t hate us because we’re critical By Leigh E. Rich Word to the wise: If you’re not a public official, the middle aisle in the House and Senate chambers is politics’ version of the third rail. I’m not sure what happens when a regular Joe off the street or, if they dare, any one […]
01.14.2005
Colorado government in need of extreme makeover, both parties say By Leigh E. Rich Presenting far more challenges than any number of television reality shows, the 65th General Assembly is gearing up for an extreme session, complete with a budget and a state that are in crisis. According to statistics compiled by the state’s Senate […]
12.24.2004
It ain’t Santa … it’s the Republicans By Leigh E. Rich Nope, it wasn’t Santa Claus but State Reps. Joe Stengel, R-Littleton, and Debbie Stafford, R-Aurora, who donned new caps—stocking caps, that is—this holiday season. Last weekend, incoming Minority Leader Stengel joined with other House Republicans for a Christmas party at the Interfaith Task Force, […]
12.24.2004
Categories: Politics, Utrinque Paratus | Comments Off on Lawmakers get fiscal time bombs as stocking stuffers
Legislators must tackle economic issues in new year By Leigh E. Rich While many Coloradans have just settled down for a holiday-laden wintry nap, the state’s top officials already have a bundle of political “time bombs” on their hands. This week, Colorado’s governor, treasurer, and returning and incoming legislators unveiled their plans to bring stability […]
12.24.2004
Grandma RaRa brings blankies to children everywhere By Leigh E. Rich President Bush and countless children of all ages around the world are linked by a common thread. Grandma Ra Ra. This might not mean much to those who have never heard of this youthful Arvada resident originally from West Virginia, but Grandma Ra Ra […]
12.17.2004
Statesmanship, not partisanship, essential to budget fix By Leigh E. Rich Despite some Republican wound-licking and Democratic bravado over the recent red-to-blue switchover in the Statehouse, there could be more statesmanship than partisanship in the upcoming session of the 65th General Assembly—if what leaders at the sixth annual Colorado Press Association Legislative Forum said ring […]
12.17.2004
Jobs, education, health care top Dems’ list By Leigh E. Rich Even after wandering the legislative desert for 40-plus years, “the truth is we don’t have the luxury of picking an agenda. It picked us,” House Speaker-elect Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver, told reporters on Wednesday at the Colorado Press Association’s annual Legislative Forum. Romanoff was joined […]
12.10.2004
Owens nominates Colorado’s U.S. attorney as next AG By Leigh E. Rich Despite saying the day after the Nov. 2 election that “I’ve got a lot of discussion to do before I start to narrow the possible field down to a few names,” Gov. Bill Owens admitted in a press conference this Thursday that, even […]
