Yesterday, Governor Hickenlooper signed a bill into law that could pave the way for a passenger rail service along Colorado’s Front Range and expanding the Southwest Chief Route currently operated by Amtrak in the south western part of the state.
11 stakeholders will now be appointed to the Southwest Chief and Front Range Passenger Rail Commission which will present the state legislature with a plan and a draft bill for New Mexico-to-Wyoming service before the end of the year.
The Governor himself will appoint 5 members to the commission and 5 metropolitan planning organizations and the Regional Transportation District will each appoint a member.
The Walmart in North Boulder announced today that it will close next month. The branch has been subject to regular protests since it opened less than 4 years ago by members of the Coalition for Social and Environmental Responsibility in Boulder.
They accuse the giant retailer of socially and environmentally destructive ways of doing business worldwide.
A spokesperson for Walmart told the Daily Camera that the decision to close the Boulder location was motivated by the changing nature of retail, including the shift to online shopping.
The store is set to close June 16.
The University of Colorado in Boulder has been granted a temporary year long exemption from the city’s new soda tax. The voter approved tax imposes a 2cent per ounce levy on distributors of drinks with at least five grams of added sugar per 12 ounces.
Without the exemption, University officials estimate CU could pay about $1 million more per year to serve sugary drinks.
At last Tuesday evening’s city council meeting, college officials requested an exemption from the city council. During the next school year, students will be surveyed about dining hall options so university officials know what drinks are most popular.
