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Douglas county challenges Colorado’s Sanctuary State law, and $50 million budget shortage in free school meal program Kennedy Pickering
Douglas County plans to challenge state law on immigrants
Douglas County officials are planning to file a lawsuit against the state of Colorado for its lack of cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE.
According to The Denver Post, the lawsuit challenges Colorado’s Sanctuary state law, which legislators passed in 2019, barring local law enforcement from working with ICE officials to detain undocumented immigrants.
The lawsuit would come on the heels of a vote from Douglas County Commissioners last week, supporting an ordinance that would prevent buses from bringing immigrants into the county unannounced.
If they approve that measure again on March 26th, it becomes law, which would mean any bus driver who drops off people unannounced could be cited, and the vehicle would be seized.
According to The Denver Post, Douglas County officials plan to file the lawsuit against Colorado within the next few weeks.
Budget for free school meals short of about $50 million
Colorado’s new Healthy School Meals for All Program is already lacking about $50 million in this year’s and the next year’s budget.
Voters approved Proposition FF, the ballot measure for the free meals, in November of 2022. According to The Denver Post, the plan was to pay for the project’s cost of $115 million dollars yearly with federal money and limiting tax write-offs for the wealthiest Coloradans.
The proposition also included wage increases for cafeteria workers, upgrades to school kitchens, and grants for schools to buy locally-grown foods.
Advocates say the monetary shortfall comes because about 10 percent more students ate in cafeterias than expected— also, the program didn’t get as much federal help as they had hoped.
To keep the meals going, schools may have to sacrifice cafeteria worker wage increases, school kitchen upgrades, and grants for local foods.
Colorado Senate President Steve Fenberg said, “We need to sort of right-size the program or figure out other sustainable revenue sources.”
Healthy School Meals for All Program
Boulder City Council selects residents to serve on boards
The Boulder City Council appointed residents to fill 37 available city board and commission seats across 19 separate boards last Thursday.
Out of the close to 90 eligible applications, most residents applied to serve on the Transportation Advisory Board and the Open Space Board of Trustees, according to The Daily Camera. The Downtown Management Commission did not receive any applications.
Other boards included the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, the Planning Board, the Human Relations Commission, and the Cannabis Licensing and Advisory Board.
The Council will extend the recruitment process for the Beverage Licensing Authority and the Design Advisory Board, according to The Daily Camera. This will add to at least 10 other boards with open seats. For more information, visit bouldercounty.gov
RTD wants to reduce crime in elevators with new pilot project
RTD is launching a new pilot project starting Sunday to reduce crime.
The project reprograms elevator doors to stay open with the goal of reducing drug use, urination, and other illegal activities in elevators of rail and bus stations.
So far, the program will take place at the Nine Mile station in Aurora, the Colorado station southeast of where Interstate 25 meets Colorado Boulevard, and the Southmoor station in southeast Denver.
If the problems decrease at those stations, RTD officials will consider expanding the project to their whole system.
New grants to fund programs for people with disabilities
The Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Advisory Council of Boulder is providing new funding for people with disabilities.
According to The Daily Camera, there are two types of grants – one for programs that help disabled people with services, and another for programs to help disabled people with social and community engagement. They’re coming from an intellectual and developmental disabilities mill levy tax approved in 2002.
Groups can submit proposal documents until April 1st on the IDDAC website.
World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Boulder
The 41st annual World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Parade took place again in Boulder this Sunday on the 1600 Block on Pearl Street.
The event, hosted by the fraternal Order of Independent Odd Fellows Boulder Lodge #9, attracted hundreds of people. According to long-time announcer Buz Dabkowski, the parade has been taking place for more than 40 years.
The Daily Camera reports that the parade featured traditional Irish entertainment like the McTeggart Irish Dancers, bagpipe music, and Irish wolfhounds this year.
Kurt Baumgartner, a member of the Odd Fellows group that hosts the parade, said all proceeds will go towards charities helping underprivileged teens to go to college.
In Colorado, more than two dozen people were arrested the night before St. Patrick’s Day. According to Fox News, Colorado State Police and dozens of agencies were cracking down on DUIs for the holiday weekend, particularly from March 14th-20th.
Police arrested 276 people for impaired driving during the same weekend last year.
