The Legislative session is over! We will be unpacking the bills over the next few issues. There is some real bad stuff in there. Polis has not signed everything, so there is still some hope. Grab some coffee and start clicking.
Colorado on Fire — Mothers, Legislators, and a State Running Out of Road
This week at the High Country Advocate: Chaffee County pushes an “Electric Preferred” building code with no Chaffee-specific data and a Colorado winter on the way. Jeany Rush unloads on roads, TABOR, and a state she says is spending itself into a banana republic. Two mothers remembered — one still missing justice, one behind bars for asking questions. And Lauren Boebert heads to Kentucky.
Five Stories You Won’t Read Anywhere Else
From Bataan’s last survivor to a furious lump of coal, Minnesota’s quarter-billion-dollar fraud to the Marine who dared men to die — plus the enzymes your doctor never mentioned. This week’s HCA is worth your time.
Drought Alarms, Housing Advances, and the Fight Over What Comes Next
Drought emergencies, housing wins, and an airport overhaul led a packed week of local government action across Colorado’s mountain corridor. Aspen declared a water emergency. Eagle approved 89 homes — 40 affordable. Pitkin County overrode its planning board on a major airport project. Buena Vista moved to block data centers. All inside.
Peters Free, Right-to-Know Dead, and a Virus in the Headlines
Polis cuts Tina Peters loose. A constitutional transparency amendment dies without a court fight. Federal meat processing grants paper over rules Washington won’t change. And hantavirus is back in the news — here’s what Colorado residents actually need to know.
Subject: Colorado’s Maps, Race, and a Candidate Who Says “Fix It and Go Home”
Gerrymandering, racial redistricting, and a veteran outsider shaking up Colorado’s AG race. Three stories you need to read.
Power, Secrets, and the People Caught in Between
Six new HCA columns expose the hidden machinery behind two very different crises — a Colorado city’s buried legal memo and a 47-year theocracy — and why ordinary people on both fronts remain trapped by institutions built to outlast them.
Deals in Beijing, servers on your wall, impeachments erased, and Utah residents fighting a 40,000-acre data center. It’s all connected
Britain banned elected lawmakers. China rewrote Rubio’s name. Trump made Taiwan a bargaining chip. Latvia fell. One dispatch covers it all.
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