Colorado
Colorado could have a $1 billion-plus film industry with better incentives
Colorado’s movie business may surpass $1 billion in annual gross sales and develop right into a nationally engaging scene for filmmakers if legislators can decide to providing extra financial incentives, in response to a research launched by the state this week.
Whereas Wyoming, New Mexico and Utah supply wholesome incentives and manufacturing rebates which have made them standard filming places for TV and flicks, Colorado’s program has languished for years with little funding. That might change if the Colorado Workplace of Movie, Tv and Media had a much bigger funds to supply potential purchasers, in response to the research.
“For greater than a decade, Denver and Colorado’s filmmaking artists and professionals have been constructing development and delivering an enormous return to the town and state, regardless of appreciable challenges,” mentioned John Van Wyck, Cine Fe government director and the research’s researcher. “This research exhibits what’s going to change into potential once we begin investing time, consideration and assets to assist them develop.”
The state’s movie incentive program at present affords a performance-based rebate for as much as 20% of certified bills, in response to the Workplace of Financial Growth (COED). To obtain a rebate, Colorado-based initiatives must spend at the very least $100,000, whereas out-of-state initiatives are required to spend $1 million or extra. Initiatives should make use of a majority of Colorado residents of their crew and the spending have to be audited.
“The inducement creates jobs for Coloradans and supplies on common an 18-to-1 return on funding for the economic system,” officers write on COED’s web site. “The movies additionally promote Colorado as a tourism vacation spot.”
This system has come below hearth from legislators prior to now as a consequence of misallocation of funds and what some lawmakers argue is an ineffective and unaccountable system, The Denver Put up has reported. Earlier than the pandemic, the legislature was granting as little as $750,000 a 12 months to the state’s movie incentive fund, forcing the COED to shift cash from different applications to maintain the fund from utterly collapsing and manufacturing crews disbanding due to a scarcity of labor.
It was revived in late 2021, nevertheless, with a report $6 million enhance. However that also makes it lower than aggressive with states that provide as much as 30% in rebates or extra, and which have budgets upwards of $100 million, reminiscent of New Mexico’s program.
“We needed to listen to straight from the filmmaking artists and professionals what their aspirations had been and what challenges stood in the way in which, after which define a path ahead,” mentioned former director of Colorado Artistic Industries, Margaret Hunt, in an announcement. “We discovered that this business represents an unbelievable alternative, each economically and culturally, and the business’s success would profit all Coloradans.”
The research discovered that between 2011 and 2019, employment in Colorado’s movie business grew at a charge of 43% — sooner than the nationwide movie business’s 30% development, and sooner than all Colorado employment development (21%) throughout that point interval.
Nevertheless, “a scarcity of funding in infrastructure, help applications and incentives has made it tough for members of Colorado’s movie business to develop their initiatives, corporations and careers,” the research reported. “These challenges had been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in additional job losses in Colorado’s movie business than within the business nationally, underscoring each the necessity and alternative for Denver and Colorado’s leaders to put money into Colorado filmmaking.”
Highlights embrace:
- Business video manufacturing is a brilliant spot, accounting for almost all of development in Colorado’s movie business.
- Colorado’s movie business generated greater than $1 billion in gross sales of products and providers, with Denver’s movie business accounting for about 79%, or $727.4 million, of that.
- As of 2019, greater than 15,000 Coloradans labored within the movie business. Of these, greater than 8,700 (or 55%) labored within the Denver metro space.
Regaining these is a problem, the research mentioned. The COVID-19 pandemic led to extreme job and income losses in Colorado’s movie business at a higher proportion than each the nationwide movie business and the state’s complete job market, the authors wrote.
Between 2019 and 2021, Colorado’s movie business misplaced 4,092 jobs, and Denver’s movie business misplaced 2,200 jobs. That was the next proportion than each the nationwide movie business and the state’s complete job market. Between 2019 and 2021, the Colorado movie business’s gross sales of products and providers fell 8.4%, from $1.04 billion to $960 million.
“A majority of interviewees instructed us how few jobs there have been and the way onerous it was for them to develop their corporations and careers,” mentioned Michael Seman, assistant professor of arts administration at Colorado State College and one of many research’s researchers. “On the similar time, the financial knowledge confirmed that regardless of these obstacles, Denver and Colorado filmmakers have nonetheless pushed important development in employment and gross sales by their very own ingenuity and creativity,” together with freelancing or beginning their very own small corporations.
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Colorado
Can Colorado State’s Nique Clifford Improve His Stock Ahead of 2025 NBA Draft?
In the Colorado State Rams’ first NCAA Tournament game last season, wing Nique Clifford shined, scoring 17 points on 7-for-12 shooting as well as recording 10 rebounds and six assists in a win against the Virginia Cavaliers. The multitalented perimeter player showed a knack for impacting the game in a myriad of ways on both ends of the floor, as he is a very high-level defender on top of his skills on the boards and in the passing game.
In his fourth season of collegiate basketball, Clifford averaged 12.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game as well as contributing through his aforementioned defensive prowess. The Colorado Springs native is one of the better prospects in the Mountain West Conference, and will attempt to replicate last year’s success in order to stay abuzz on draft boards.
What stood out about his 2023-24 season was his vast improvement shooting the ball from beyond the arc, as he finished at 37.6% from deep on 3.0 attempts per game, as compared to 28.8% on 2.1 attempts the year prior. He shot 52.2% for the season overall, and was Colorado State’s leading rebounder.
His return to Colorado State was puzzling to some who thought he would have been taken in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft, but clearly, Clifford is betting on himself. His role for the Rams this year will likely be to lead the team in scoring, as last year’s leading bucket getter, Isaiah Stevens, graduated this past offseason. Considering Stevens averaged 16.0 points and 6.8 assists per game, Clifford will have to shoulder a much heavier offensive load for the Rams this upcoming season.
While this draft class is stacked with young talent, it’s still possible that Clifford is able to make a name for himself if the shooting stays consistent and he can once again be tops on the team in rebounding. If his playmaking can take a leap, Clifford may end up going much higher on boards than previously expected.
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Colorado
Gov. Jared Polis reveals proposed $46 billion Colorado budget
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Colorado
Ongoing debate surrounds Colorado's election security after password updates
Colorado Gov. Jarid Polis and Secretary of State Jena Griswold say the state has completed updating all the passwords on election machines. This comes after a set of passwords for the state’s voting system were leaked online on Wednesday.
To complete the effort, eight staff members from the Department of State along with 22 state cybersecurity personnel were directed to make efforts to protect the integrity of voting. Each member of the team was background-checked and underwent the proper training. Additionally, they worked in teams and were observed by county election officials.
Griswold announced the leak on Tuesday, saying a spreadsheet posted on her office’s website had a tab with partial passwords for Colorado voting machines.
Following the leak, the governor’s office says they responded quickly to safeguard the election. Secretary Griswold says she appreciates the action as protecting Colorado’s elections is a top priority.
“Colorado has countless layers of security to ensure our elections are free and fair, and every eligible voter should know their ballot will be counted as cast,” said Secretary of State Jena Griswold in a press release.
On Friday, the state’s Bipartisan Election Advisory Commission met at the Denver Elections Division, where the recent issue was a topic of conversation.
“One password leak is not going to compromise the whole enchilada. It’s just not right,” said Denver County Clerk Paul Lopez. “You literally have to be Jason Bourne. You’ve got to be Mission Impossible, coming down in here with badge access, physical access, to tamper with anything.”
Lopez attended the event where dozens of volunteers worked to verify signatures by eye. Between each step of the process, they weigh the ballot on a sensitive scale to make sure it all matches up. Despite an occasional irregularity with a ballot, they have not seen any major issues or problems related to the password leak.
“Rest assured that your vote is safe and will be counted and it is transparent,” said Lopez. “If you have any questions whatsoever, don’t go to Facebook. Don’t go to Twitter. Don’t believe the hype. That is a lot of misinformation. Hit up your county clerk’s office.”
Despite efforts to calm concerns, the incident has sparked controversy about voting in Colorado. Unsurprisingly, it has also led to political backlash, with various members of the Republican Party, including presidential candidate Donald Trump, questioning the integrity of the elections in the state. Trump’s campaign is now suggesting that voting should be paused.
“The Secretary of State must immediately identify the counties affected by the security breach, notify them, direct them to halt processing of mail ballots, and prepare to re-scan all ballots,” said a letter from the Trump campaign. This process is laid out under Colorado law and would not disrupt the voting process, as counties are not permitted to disclose results until 7:00 p.m. on Election Day.”
Colorado officials say there are multiple layers of security. For instance, the passwords shared were one of two passwords needed to make changes to the voting system. On top of that, these machines can only be accessed by someone in person. The machines are stored in a secure area that needs an ID badge to access and is under around-the-clock video camera recording.
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