Colorado
Campaign launched to protect TABOR caps in Jefferson County
Cities and counties across the metro area are going to voters asking to remove revenue limits set by the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR).
In Jefferson County there is now a push to save TABOR that is gaining momentum as well.
“I think these are like the third use of them,” county resident Jessica Fenske said.
The yard signs she’s helping to paint this year are sending the same message they did in 2019 and again in 2022 — to protect tax caps put in place by TABOR.
“It’s the same fight every time; it’s not a left or right fight going on,” Fenske said. “It’s just the people trying to keep some of their money.”
Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners approved a November ballot question to let voters decide if the county can retain additional revenue to address budget shortfalls and a growing backlog in infrastructure needs.
It’s a decision the county says was made after extensive community outreach and research. County Commissioner Andy Kerr says it reflects the spirit of TABOR.
“TABOR demands and necessitates action for the people from the people, and the only way to meet those demands is by having this conversation that lets have the community decide,” Kerr said during the July hearing.
Natalie Menten organized the sign “remaking” party after voters twice said no to simialr measures
She is a longstanding TABOR advocate
“They are very driven to do it. Why? I don’t know. Because tabor allows reasonable growth with governments. It allows the inflation rate plus local growth, “Menten said. “We don’t just have money growing in the backyard,” she said of the community.
Menten plans to lead once again the “No on 1A” fight that she sees gaining support.
“We had a big group in 2019 and 2022,” Menten said. “I think this is going to be even bigger this time. We have so much to lose.”
The research done to determine whether to go back to voters — Menten says and CBS Colorado has previously reported on — was done by a company hired by the county using taxpayer dollars.
Menten herself is now running for county commissioner.
Colorado
Kids escape unscathed after van slips off Colorado mountain road and down Blue River embankment
A van carrying campers from a hike near Blue River rolled down an embankment Thursday afternoon, but everyone inside escaped without major injuries. According to the Keystone Science School, the 15-passenger van was transporting 13 campers and two adults back from Mohawk Lakes when it slid off a wet road and rolled over.
Emergency crews responded to Spruce Creek Road after receiving reports of a single-vehicle rollover.
“We’re fortunate that it was low speed, and there was no intrusion into the passenger cabin,” Matt Benedict, division chief of wildfire and community preparedness for Red, White and Blue Fire said.
Investigators believe muddy conditions created by recent rainfall contributed to the crash. The van rolled down a steep embankment before coming to rest against a tree. Two people suffered minor injuries, but neither required transportation to a hospital, according to fire officials.
Keystone Science School confirmed emergency responders arrived quickly and that no major injuries were reported.
“The safety and well-being of our campers and staff is our highest priority,” Executive Director Eric Rightor said in a statement. “We are grateful that there were no major injuries, and we are committed to fully supporting all those involved and their families.”
Fire officials also credited seatbelt use for helping protect those inside the vehicle. “We always encourage everyone to wear their seatbelts… and they did. And everybody left,” Benedict said.
The Keystone Science School is located in Summit County.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Two weeks have passed since officials closed four blocks of Uintah Street to repair damage under a bridge over Shooks Run Creek, and we’re now learning specifics about the response.
Officials said that the city was the lead entity in the repair response, with Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) providing a supporting role.
The closure began late in the afternoon of June 10 for what officials described as emergency bridge and utility repairs between Prospect and Institute streets, east of the Colorado College campus.
Officials said that on the previous day, a routine bridge inspection by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) discovered a large “void,” or sinkhole, under the bridge that compromised a utility line.
But officials didn’t explain how the void developed or how they repaired it until earlier this week, when Richard Mulledy, the city’s public works director, elaborated on the situation.
“It was about a six-foot by eight-foot void,” he explained. “That void was really caused by an abandoned storm sewer line and then a leaking manhole. It’s something that we see from time to time, but really doesn’t happen often.”
Crews approached the problem from under and above the bridge, with workers excavating into the street to access the utility lines.
“The utility line being compromised was an active storm sewer line,” Mulledy said. “It was sort of hanging out in the open and was unsecured. The old storm sewer line had been abandoned for decades and was starting to fail.”
Crews removed the old stormwater pipe, repaired the manhole, and backfilled the void with a material called “flow.”
“Flow fills almost like a kind of liquid concrete,” Mulledy detailed. “And that’s a really great structural solution. So, we filled that entire thing up, made sure the void is closed, and made sure it’s structurally sound.”
He added that the bridge is around a century old, the same age as most bridges across the creek.
“This was identified and got fixed in 48 hours, rather than let something structural fail, and then we’d be in a big, giant construction project,” Mulledy said. “The structure itself, I don’t think, was ever really threatened.”
The closure ended on Saturday, June 13.
A Colorado man died on Tuesday when a boulder fell on him and crushed him. That’s according to the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office, who identified the man as 59-year-old Paul Frasch.
Frasch is a resident of Silverthorne. The sheriff’s office says he was walking in an area along the Arkansas River in Buena Vista in the middle of the day with his coworker when rocks fell and hit him.
According to investigators, the boulder that landed on Frasch weighed at least 1,000 pounds.
The coworker received injuries to his arms after trying to help Frasch.
When first responders got to the scene, the boulder was still on top of Frasch. He was declared dead at the scene.
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