OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY SUING FEDS OVER SAGE GROUSE RULES
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) – Representatives of the oil and gas industry say they are suing the Obama administration over drilling restrictions meant to protect a struggling bird that ranges across 11 Western states. The Western Energy Alliance and North Dakota Petroleum Council said Thursday that local and state efforts to prop up populations of greater sage grouse are working. They say changes to federal land use policies across the region are not needed.
MEW LT. GOV SWORN IN
DENVER (AP) – A new Colorado lieutenant governor taking the oath of office Thursday says that efficiency will be her top job. Democrat Donna Lynne is replacing former Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia, who left office to run a higher-education group. Lynne is a former health care executive who was tapped by Gov. John Hickenlooper. Her plans for the next couple years are to make state government more efficient.
STATE LAWMAKERS WRAP UP SESSION ON TIME
DENVER (AP) – A divided legislature in an election year was a recipe for Colorado lawmakers to fall short on the state’s most urgent priorities: a scarcity of affordable housing and near-stagnant funding for underfunded K-12 schools, roads and higher education. This year’s 120-day legislative session that ended Wednesday turned out almost as expected.
