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Colorado lawmakers gather for special session to respond to spiking property taxes, rising cost of living

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:32:02 GMT

Colorado lawmakers are set to gavel in Friday morning for a pre-Thanksgiving feast of tax policy as they try to tamp down the worst of spiking property taxes.Much more will be on the agenda during the special session, which begins at 9 a.m. and is expected to last at least three days. The Democratic-majority General Assembly has outlined proposals to reduce elements of the property tax formula to provide relief, to flatten tax refunds due under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights so that all taxpayers receive an equal amount, to increase tax credits for low-income households and to provide more money for the state’s emergency rental assistance program.This story will be updated throughout the day.Property tax bills due early next year will reflect increases driven by a median 40% rise in property values across the state. Gov. Jared Polis called the special session late last week in response to voters’ overwhelming rejection of Proposition HH in the Nov. 7 election, charg...

Want to eat – and drink – like Buffalo Bill? Find out how in new book.

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:32:02 GMT

“Galloping Gourmet: Eating and Drinking with Buffalo Bill,” by Steve Friesen (Bison Books)One of history buffs’ favorite tales concerns an aging Buffalo Bill, a prodigious drinker. It goes something like this: Told by his doctor to limit his liquor consumption to two shots a day or the result would be calamitous, the showman agreed and told a bartender to serve each shot in a tankard.The Library of CongressColonel William F. Cody (Buffalo Bill Cody) circa 1907.Not so, says Steve Friesen in “Galloping Gourmet.” Buffalo Bill loved his liquor, so much so that his business manager made him swear off drinking during show season. But in later life, the showman gave up drinking altogether. Who would know this better than Friesen, the retired director of the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave in Golden and author of the spectacular “Lakota Performers in Europe?” In “Galloping Gourmet” — “the title belongs to a man who graduated from meals on the Great Plains to dinners at the W...

Aurora progressives look for answers after election losses put them in “extreme minority” in city government

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:32:02 GMT

As each round of results came in at the conservatives’ election night watch part in Aurora, the volume of the crowd grew louder. Soon, City Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky took to the mic to call it: Mayor Mike Coffman had won reelection, emerging victorious with most of the other Aurora conservatives on the ballot.The celebration was a repeat of 2021, when conservatives took back effective control of the officially nonpartisan City Council from progressives in the left-leaning city — a development Councilman Juan Marcano had called a “gut punch.”But this time, Marcano was among the progressive losses, defeated in his mayoral challenge of Coffman.He and other candidates who had hoped to reassert Aurora’s progressive voice were left struggling to account for why conservatives widened their council margin in the Nov. 7 election. The council will have just three Democrats on the 11-member body, outnumbered by eight, including Coffman, who are either Republi...

Manufacturers showing strong interest in Colorado

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:32:02 GMT

Five companies considering Colorado for 2,148 new jobs received approval for $22.9 million in Job Growth Incentive Tax Credits on Thursday.The companies include manufacturers of rare-earth magnets, semiconductor production tools, large-scale batteries, and consumable goods, as well as a Greeley-based general contractor. While construction is not manufacturing, it does fall under the category of “goods” rather than services.The largest award, worth $7.6 million, went to Project Solitaire, the code name assigned to a maker of semiconductor fabrication tools that is looking to bring 631 jobs to metro Denver. The positions, which include managers, technicians, engineers, R&D professionals, and sales associates, have an average annual wage of $123,018.The company behind Project Solitaire received an award in July 2021 under the code name Project 14erfor a facility to improve battery storage for vehicles and mobile devices. However, the company had to forfeit the award whe...

Poll shows Newsom's weaknesses on key issues, strength vs. Trump in California

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:32:02 GMT

In a hypothetical matchup between California Gov. Gavin Newsom and former President Donald Trump, Newsom would carry the Golden State by a slightly wider margin than President Joe Biden, according to a new "Inside California Politics" poll conducted by Emerson College Polling.The poll, which consisted of 1,000 registered voters, was conducted Nov. 11-14 and has a 3% margin of error.It shows Biden with 50% support in California while 37% support Trump. However, when Newsom replaces Biden as the hypothetical Democratic nominee in a head-to-head matchup, Newsom leads Trump 53% to 35% - still within the margin of error.Emerson College Polling/Nexstar Media poll showing Gov. Newsom would beat former President Trump in California in 2024 in a hypothetical matchup. Nov. 17, 2023. Vice President Kamala Harris would also defeat Trump in California in a hypothetical race, 47% to 38%, the survey found. 47% of those surveyed were registered Democrats, 24% Republicans, and 29% were Independent/...

Tow truck driver plows through parked vehicles in downtown Los Angeles: Video

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:32:02 GMT

A tow truck driver was arrested after crashing into several parked vehicles and one moving car in downtown Los Angeles early Friday morning. The crash was reported around 3 a.m. in the 1800 block of Griffith Avenue. Video showed the truck overturning and landing on the parked vehicles as it barreled down the street. The driver of the vehicle involved in the initial collision was transported from the scene in unknown condition, according to stringer news provider OnScene.TV. The driver was treated and arrested on suspicion of DUI, the stringer service stated. A resident who came out of her home after hearing the crash counted about five vehicles involved in the incident. She described hearing “A hard crash. It was kind of like an explosion … It was just so scary,” she said. The Los Angeles Police Department was at the scene to investigate the incident.

How 49ers QB Brock Purdy rates through the first 17 starts of his career

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:32:02 GMT

SANTA CLARA –Trent Williams said getting Brock Purdy with the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft was like winning the $2 billion Powerball jackpot.Extreme?Maybe so. But Purdy has now started 17 games for the 49ers including the playoffs — the equivalent of a full season — and what he’s done in that span ranks with some of the best who have ever played quarterback in the NFL.It was last Dec. 11 when Purdy made his first start against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tom Brady after coming off the bench the previous week against Miami following a foot injury to Jimmy Garoppolo. The 49ers won 35-7. The Bucs are back in town Sunday. Baker Mayfield, a former No. 1 overall pick, is the Tampa Bay quarterback now.Purdy looks back at that game fondly but with an eye toward the future.“I watched the film, there’s some stuff, honestly, where I was like, ‘Dude, that’s a little sloppy,’ ” Purdy said Thursday. “The operation, how I run t...

Five observations from the Warriors’ five-game losing streak

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:32:02 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — Home hasn’t been kind to the Warriors yet. With a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday, they move to a 1-5 record at Chase Center that includes a 0-4 start to their six-game home stand.The bad time at home has plenty of caveats: Steph Curry missed the last two losses nursing a sore knee. Draymond Green was ejected from Tuesday’s game and suspended for the rest of the homestand for choking Rudy Gobert. Klay Thompson was ejected from Tuesday’s loss and now Gary Payton II is dealing with an ankle sprain.There’s plenty to pull from the losses, though. Here are five takeaways from a bad time out at Chase Center.Are they mediocre?The Warriors are 6-7 now 13 games into the season with a five-game win streak and a five-game losing streak under their belt. Through both highs and lows, Golden State has turned in pretty mediocre results outside of Steph Curry’s 30.7 point per game average driving the scoring almost entirely.Let’...

Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week: Evan Vernon, Christopher football

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:32:02 GMT

Christopher football player Evan Vernon is the Bay Area News Group’s boys athlete of the week for Nov. 6-11 after he received 40.52% of the vote by the deadline Wednesday.California football player Jayden Macedo finished second.Congratulations to all the candidates for this week’s recognition.Related ArticlesHigh School Sports | Polls closed: Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week High School Sports | Polls closed: Bay Area News Group girls athlete of the week High School Sports | Bay Area News Group girls athlete of the week: Michelle Ho, Dougherty Valley golf High School Sports | Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week: Aaron Knapp, St. Francis football High School Sports | Poll closed: Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week Vernon caught five passes for 67 yards and had 14 tackles and a fumble recovery to help lead Christopher to a dramatic 32-28 victory over top-seeded Archbishop Mi...

What’s behind E. coli in Point Reyes National Seashore? Beef grows between ranchers and environmentalists

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:32:02 GMT

The National Park Service has found E. coli bacteria levels well above health standards in several water bodies around the Point Reyes National Seashore, reigniting the contentious debate over the future of cattle grazing at the beloved Northern California landscape.Even as the park has taken major steps to make ranching less harmful to watersheds, contaminated water was detected at several sites, including a lagoon that flows into popular Kehoe Beach, indicating runoff from cattle manure at upstream ranches.“There certainly are improvements. But it’s not perfect. Substantial water-quality issues remain in the park,” said California Coastal Commission Deputy Director Cassidy Teufel in a Thursday presentation of park data from a year-long collection and testing effort at 24 different sites.But, surprisingly, cattle aren’t the only culprits: Tainted water was also found in two other popular sites, McClures and Abbott Beaches, which have few or no cattle — suggesting that wildlif...