Headlines – April 03, 2023

Headlines for April 03, 2023

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Several Denver High Schools Will Have Police Officers After Break

Denver high school students returning from spring break this week may see at least one police officer on duty.

According to Chalkbeat Colorado, thirteen area schools opted to add police – also called school resource officers – following the March 22 shooting at East High School. The Denver school board suspended a 2020 policy banning police from city schools the day after a student at East High shot and injured two deans.

A school board memorandum directed Superintendent Alex Marrero to coordinate with Mayor Michael Hancock to add up to two armed police officers and up to two additional mental health professionals at all Denver high schools through the end of the school year. Thirteen schools will have resource officers on site Tuesday. That includes East High, the district’s largest school, which will have two officers present.

Three Reproductive Healthcare Access Bills Clear In Colorado Senate

Three Bills passed by the Colorado House of Representatives are protecting those seeking abortion. The Colorado House of Representatives passed three bills created to protect reproductive health care and abortion access in the state. Colorado Senators cleared the bills last week.

Senate Bill 190 would ban false advertising for anti-abortion centers; Bill 188 would protect providers and patients traveling to Colorado for reproductive health care; and Bill 189, passed Saturday by the House, would require insurance carriers to cover abortions. Democrats introduced the package in Colorado after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer.

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives re-introduced a bill last week that would restore the right to abortion care access.

Surrounding states have banned or limited abortion procedures since the ruling, making Colorado a destination for patients seeking reproductive care.

Denver Election Ballots Are Due Tuesday

Election Day for Denver is tomorrow, April 4. Denver residents have run out of time for mailing in ballots, but can still drop them off or vote in person at centers across the city until 7 pm on Tuesday.

City residents are electing their first new mayor in 12 years. The ballot includes races for Denver City Council, which is responsible for legislating city laws, approving the mayor’s budget plan, and deciding how land is zoned.

As of Saturday, only about 13 percent of registered voters had submitted their ballots.

First Lady Visiting Colorado to Highlight Career Training for Fed-Funded Jobs

First Lady Jill Biden arrived Sunday as part of a national tour to support the president’s economic policies. The First Lady is meeting with Governor Jared Polis at the state capitol today to highlight how Colorado officials are investing in workforce training programs at high schools and community colleges.

The administration introduced the American Rescue Plan and other bills to create jobs that bolster the economy, address climate change, and rebuild infrastructure. A White House handout says since the president took office in Colorado, private companies have invested over $4.5 billion in Colorado.

Woman Rescued From Flagstaff Mountain After Fall

A 20-year-old University of Colorado student was rescued Saturday after she fell about 25 feet from the top of a rock outcropping on Flagstaff Mountain. Boulder County Sheriff’s Office says they received a call about the accident near the Lost Gulch Trailhead at around 4 pm.

Fire and emergency staff arrived on the scene to provide the young woman medical treatment. They transported her from the rocky ledge to an ambulance, which took her to a Boulder-area hospital. The rescue took two hours. Police say the woman’s injuries were not life-threatening.

Huge Increases for Property Tax Valuations

County assessors in Colorado will begin sending valuation notices to property owners starting May 1. Forecasters are predicting large property tax increases as county assessors set home appraisal values to the period ending June 30, 2022, when market conditions peaked. 2023 is a reappraisal year for property taxes in Colorado, with state property values established every two years in odd-numbered years.

Boulder County Assessor Cynthia Braddock told The Longmont Leader that her office is required to use sales data from the period of July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2022, for this year’s valuation notices. After county assessors determine the market values of properties for the established period, taxes are then established by an assessment rate of a home’s value and through mill levies from local governments and districts, such as schools and libraries.

According to the Colorado Association of Realtors, the median single-family home price in Boulder County was $940,000 in June 2022, with the February 2023 median price dropping below $843,000

Water Officials Monitoring Effect Of Above-Average Snowpack On Colorado Drought Conditions

Colorado’s snowpack was well over average last week at 140 percent, and several resorts have extended their ski and ride seasons for a couple of weeks or more.

While the surplus snowpack is good news in the mountains, water officials are monitoring to see whether spring and summer snowmelts fill up reservoirs.

Parts of Colorado might no longer be considered in a drought, but recent red flag warnings and dry winds have emergency crews ushering in fire season early. Over the weekend, firefighters in Golden and Colorado Springs had wildfires mostly contained.

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