Colorado

SCOTUS rules against Navajo Nation in drought-plagued Colorado River case

Published

1 year ago

June 22, 2023

SCOTUS rules against Navajo Nation in drought-plagued Colorado River case

The Supreme Court rejected a Navajo Nation lawsuit Thursday over access to the drought-plagued Colorado River.

The high court determined by a 5-4 vote that a treaty signed more than 150 years ago did not require the federal government develop a plan to ensure the tribe had adequate water supplies.

“In short, the 1868 treaty did not impose a duty on the United States to take affirmative steps to secure water for the Tribe — including the steps requested by the Navajos here, such as determining the water needs of the Tribe, providing an accounting, or developing a plan to secure the needed water,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in his majority opinion, which was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Amy Coney Barrett.

Justice Neil Gorsuch joined liberal justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson in dissenting.

United States Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland speaks at the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Southwest Regional Office.

Raynelle Hoskie attaches a hose to a water pump to fill tanks in her truck outside a tribal office on the Navajo reservation in Tuba City, Arizona.

In the Navajo Treaty of 1868, the US government agreed to “‘set apart’ a reservation for the ‘use and occupation of the Navajo tribe.’”

Lawyers for the Navajo Nation argued this language amounted to assurances they would be provided with an ample water supply.

“The promise of a permanent home necessarily implies certain benefits for the Tribe (and certain responsibilities for the United States). One set of those benefits and responsibilities concerns water. This Court long ago recognized as much,” Gorsuch wrote in his dissent.

The Colorado River in the upper River Basin is pictured in Lees Ferry, Arizona. — Roughly a third of residents in the Navajo reservation, the largest in the US, do not have running water.

In the 1908 Winters v. United States case that Gorsuch referenced, the high court concluded that the establishment of a reservation implied tribes had certain water rights.

Lawyers for the tribe further contended that they simply wanted the government to evaluate the Navajo’s water needs and draft a plan to remedy it.

Attorney Shay Dvoretzky argued the tribe merely sought its “fair share” of water through a ”fair process.”

Meanwhile, the Biden administration and allied states countered that a ruling in favor of the Navajo Nation could open a Pandora’s box leading to a bevy of lawsuits from other tribes with similar demands, or upend existing water agreements between states.

Phillip Yazzie waits for a water drum in the back of his pickup truck to be filled in Teesto, Arizona, on the Navajo Nation.

Further complicating the matter is the already low water levels of the Colorado River, with has led to disputes between multiple Western states over access.

“If there is any silver lining here it may be this,” Gorsuch added, “the Court does not pass on other potential pleadings the Tribe might offer, such as those alleging direct interference with their water rights. Importantly, too, the Court recognizes that the Navajo ‘may be able to assert the interests they claim in water rights litigation, including by seeking to intervene in cases that affect their claimed interests.’”

Before the case made its way to the Supreme Court, it was dismissed in a federal trial court.

An appeals court gave it the green light to continue, but now the high court’s decision has reversed that.

The U.S. Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C. — The Supreme Court determined by a 5-4 vote that a 1868 treaty did not require the federal government develop a plan to ensure the tribe had adequate water supplies.

The Colorado River flows near the northwestern edge of the Navajo Nation, whose massive reservation covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.

Roughly a third of residents in the reservation, the largest in the US, do not have running water, according to the tribe.

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Colorado

These 16 new Colorado laws go into effect in July

Published

5 hours ago

June 30, 2024

Press Room

These 16 new Colorado laws go into effect in July

DENVER (KDVR) — Hundreds of bills were passed and signed into law during the 2024 Colorado legislative session, and over a dozen of these will go into effect on July 1.

The new laws range from a ban on residential occupancy limits to a ban on carrying guns in certain areas.

FOX31 has compiled a list of all the new laws going into effect soon.

Occupancy limits

House Bill 24-1007, “Prohibit Residential Occupancy Limits,” stops local governments from enforcing occupancy limits in most situations.

This removes a decades-old law limiting how many members of different families can live together under one roof.

Gender-related crimes

Senate Bill 24-189, “Gender-Related Bias-Motivated Crimes,” adds gender identity and gender expression to the definition of what qualifies for a bias-motivated crime.

It also redefines sexual orientation when it comes to bias-motivated crimes.

Guns in sensitive spaces

Senate Bill 24-131, “Prohibiting Carrying Firearms in Sensitive Spaces,” bans people from carrying firearms in certain places.

Specifically, it prohibits people from knowingly carrying firearms in state legislative buildings, local government buildings and courthouses. The ban also extends to the parking lots of these spaces.

Deepfakes of candidates for office

House Bill 24-1147, “Candidate Election Deepfake Disclosures,” requires the disclosure of the use of deepfakes, or fake images of other people created using artificial intelligence, in ads and other communications related to elections.

For example, if one candidate wanted to use a deepfake image or video of another candidate, they would have to disclose that.

False slates of presidential electors

House Bill 24-1150, “False Slates of Electors,” makes it an explicit crime to falsely create a slate of presidential electors or serve in a false slate of electors.

This would apply to five existing crimes, each of which is punishable by a maximum fine of $10,000.

Protecting victims of sexual offenses

House Bill 24-1072, “Protection of Victims of Sexual Offenses,” changes what evidence is allowed about alleged victims of sexual assault during criminal proceedings.

Specifically, it prohibits any evidence of the victim’s manner of dress or hairstyle, among other things.

Other laws

Ten other laws are going into effect:

House Bill 24-1443, “Public Trustee Fees”
House Bill 24-1449, “Environmental Sustainability Circular Economy”
House Bill 24-1417, “Fee Changes Health-Care Cash Funds”
House Bill 24-1407, “Community Food Assistance Provider Grant Program”
House Bill 24-1411, “Increase in Property Tax Exemption Filing Fees”
House Bill 24-1360, “Colorado Disability Opportunity Office”
House Bill 24-1081, “Regulate Sale Transfer Sodium Nitrite”
House Bill 24-1056, “Issuance of Treasurer’s Deeds”
House Bill 24-1044, “Additional PERA Service Retirees for Schools”
House Bill 24-1030, “Railroad Safety Requirements”

The next group of laws passed during this year’s legislative session will go into effect on Aug. 7.

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Colorado

Tatiana Bailey: Has Colorado Springs overbuilt apartments?

Published

12 hours ago

June 30, 2024

Press Room

Tatiana Bailey: Has Colorado Springs overbuilt apartments?

Many people have asked me about the plethora of new apartments in our region and if we’ve overbuilt. Most people have heard about the national and regional housing shortage, but they still wonder if we’ve overbuilt apartments and whether vacancy rates are going up.

The answer is nuanced. It is true that our region has a shortage of roughly 8,500 housing units, which includes both multifamily apartments and single-family homes. It is also true that we had an absolute boom in multifamily construction during the pandemic. A high number of permits were pulled, initiating an unprecedented number of new apartment projects.

Most projects take a minimum of two to three years to complete, so we are now facing an absorption problem with many of those apartment buildings finished, creating a glut of new product.

The other major problem, which is the bigger challenge, is that much of the new product is for high-end renters. What we have is a shortage of affordable apartments. Local rents average about $1,500 a month, and the vacancy rate is at 7.2%.

Builders and investors in multifamily projects face higher material and labor costs compared to pre-pandemic levels, higher financing costs due to higher interest rates and increasingly expensive lots. If it’s expensive to build a unit, it will be expensive to rent a unit.

The multifamily market is now adjusting with actual declines now in permits pulled and projects started. Multifamily starts in the U.S. are running nearly 50% below their year-ago pace. This is also true regionally for both single and multifamily permits.

But the conundrum is that less supply isn’t necessarily good, because we do have a structural shortage of housing. Lower supply also means more upward pressure on prices.

The U.S. median price of a new condo has increased from $450,000 in 2018 to $550,000 in 2023. But building mostly high-end housing isn’t the solution. The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates the U.S. is short 7.3 million housing units for low-income renters. Many cities have mandates for builders to construct a certain percentage of affordable units, but that’s not enough, and waiting lists are long for prospective tenants.

Montana is experiencing an influx of homebuyers from more expensive regions. To get ahead of the affordability issue, they’ve legalized several meaningful measures like allowing accessory dwelling units on any lot with a detached home. They’ve legalized dense housing and mixed-use buildings within all commercial zones.

Montana’s new laws also allow duplexes on any residential lot. New residential construction only allows one parking space per home. They’ve accelerated the permit review process.

These may seem like radical ideas, but I’d rather get ahead of the problem before middle-class workers and their families decide not to live here.

Other Gazette articles, TV segments and DDES monthly economic dashboards can be found at ddestrategies.org.

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Colorado

Officer injured, suspect treated for ingesting glass after police respond to disturbance in Old Colorado City

Published

20 hours ago

June 30, 2024

Press Room

Officer injured, suspect treated for ingesting glass after police respond to disturbance in Old Colorado City

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – An officer was injured while responding to a disturbance call in Old Colorado City on Saturday.

Colorado Springs police said they responded to W. Colorado Ave. around 4 p.m. for a report of a disturbance.

When they arrived, they said they found that a woman had thrown a rock through a building’s window before unlawfully following a victim into that building while holding a rock. They said they found the woman, who they said was Ravynn Walker, and disarmed her.

As they worked to arrest Walker, police said she injured an officer by kicking him. He was treated for minor injuries and released.

Police also said it was later found that Walker had possibly ingested glass and narcotics, so she was also treated at the hospital.

Walker is being accused of burglary and assault.

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