Here is a summary of CD-3 House Rep. Jeff Hurd (R)’s town hall meeting held on 3/11/2025, with thanks to author Jim Marshall, who compiled the notes. First, some observations by me: Hurd pulled last minute switches to both the time and the instructions for participating in the meeting, which made it difficult for constituents…
The Trump administration has started reviewing the boundaries of protected public lands with the intent of increasing mining for minerals and drilling for fossil fuels, actions that could drastically change existing national monuments, a category that includes the Colorado National Monument. Trump’s newly-appointed Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, issued a 7-page directive (pdf) on…
[Propositions placed on the ballot by the legislature that amend state statutes or refer a tax question to the voters are identified by double letters.] Proposition JJ would let the state keep additional revenue it collects from the sports betting tax above the amount voters approved when they first legalized sports betting in 2019. Proposition…
What caused the dense haze in the Grand Valley air a couple of days ago that obstructed scenic views of the Grand Mesa and Colorado National Monument? Now you can easily find out.
On January 9, Mesa County Commissioners Janet Rowland, Cody Davis and Bobbie Daniel voted to put a moratorium on large-scale solar development in the County supposedly to take time to address the community’s growing concerns over these developments. Citizens are worried that the current county Land Development Code (LDC) contains no provisions protecting agricultural and…
Colorado Senate Bill SB24-085, “Sales & Use Tax Rebate for Digital Asset Purchases” introduced on January 24th, would give substantial tax savings incentives to stimulate construction of new data centers in Colorado. John C. Gavan of Paonia, who has a 25 year career in tech and sat on the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, argues this…
The watch for eggs to begin hatching starts on 2/29. We have our share of bald eagles visiting the Grand Valley this time of year and they’re always majestic and beautiful to watch, but no one here has done anything like this. This Bald Eagle Cam is a 24/7 live feed from a high-resolution, solar-powered…
Former two-term Mesa County Commissioner Rose Pugliese, who moved to Colorado Springs in 2020 to run for the state House District 14 seat (and won the seat), has been elected Republican House Minority Leader in the Colorado Legislature. She replaces Rep. Mike Lynch (R), who resigned as Minority Leader on Wednesday, 1/24/24 after it was…
Redlands area residents are concerned that the City of Grand Junction and Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) have give preliminary approval to build a huge sewage lift station on private land in a geographically unstable area, and they are warning of its potential for failure and environmental catastrophe. The proposed lift station…
Former Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce President Diane Schwenke, who has a consulting business now called “Schwenke Solutions,” is working as a consultant for the Grand Junction Area Realtors and Homebuilders Associations, helping them oppose the City’s new proposed Transportation Engineering Design Standards (TEDS) that are designed to make streets safer for pedestrians, bicyclists and people…
Michael Kosnett, M.D., M.P.H., at CU Anschutz School of Public Health in Aurora, CO, an expert in medical toxicology, occupational and environmental health who specializes in occupational and environmental toxicology of heavy metals, including lead, weighed in about the type of post-remediation lead testing that should be used at the Ascent Classical Academy building (swipe…
Three dead foxes have been reported in the Grand Valley within the last 6 weeks, all looking like they just dropped dead in their tracks, without overt injuries or bleeding. Two have been reported to the Colorado Department of Wildlife. The first one was spotted August 1 on the south side of the Grand Valley…
Thinking of shopping for a new residential trash service? There may be good reason. Republic Services recently bought Monument Waste and Rocky Mountain Sanitation, but the consolidation of the companies reduced competition and did NOT result in lower prices for customers. The following prices are for one 96 gallon can, picked up once a week…
 The former Rocky Mountain Gun Club building at 545 31 Road, where Ascent Classical Academy plans to open a new charter school this August. The sale of the building closed recently. It was listed for $7 million. Ascent Classical Academy, a new charter school, plans to open in Grand Junction in August, 2023, in…
It’s a beautiful spring day in Mesa County, and once again the time of year when palls of thick smoke from open burning envelope entire neighborhoods, turning beautiful, fragrant, warm spring days into days of physical illness, suffering and despair for Grand Valley residents. With the biggest medical center between Denver and Salt Lake and…
CD-3 House Representative Lauren Boebert was busy making a video of herself at the Rifle Demolition Derby August 2 while at the same time Colorado Governor Jared Polis was declaring a state of emergency and requesting a federal disaster designation in her district due to the shut down of I-70, the major east-west artery that…
A CBS News helicopter flying over I-70 through Glenwood Canyon to film the mud and debris slides yesterday posted a devastating photo of Hanging Lake on Twitter that shows the once amazingly pristine, crystal-clear lake now full of muddy water. The the amazement of many, Hanging Lake survived the massive Grizzly Creek fire unscathed last…
Upwards of ten separate debris slides occurred last night in I-70 in Glenwood Canyon between No Name and Dostero as a result of thunderstorms, the Colorado Department of Transportation reported in a live video update on Facebook at 3:30 p.m. this afternoon.