GLENWOOD SPRINGS CONFLUENCE PLANS TAKING SHAPE
Glenwood Springs—Last night, the Glenwood Springs City Council approved an ordinance to ask voters for the okay to sell a piece of property near Glenwood Springs Elementary School for future development. The council supported the concept and urged the community to get behind the project that will eventually become part of the confluence development. The special election regarding the sale of the land at 941 and 1015 School Street will be held September 8th.
GARCO BOARD APPROVES FRACKING TEXT AMENDMENT
Glenwood Springs—Garfield County Commissioners went against the Planning Commission’s recommendations and approved a text amendment to the land use code dealing with hydraulic fracturing and remote locations. Last fall, the county received a request from WPX Energy to clarify the definition of fracking /remote surface facility. The company wanted clarification on whether water could be stored in open air pits as well as tanks. County commissioners sided with WPX and approved the text amendment.
LEGISLATIVE SESSION RECAP
DENVER (AP) – Colorado legislators passed a half-dozen bills this session to increase oversight on law enforcement in response to public outcry over allegations of police misconduct in the state and nationally. The legislation includes measures to encourage the use of officer-worn body cameras, revamping training, and strengthening the public’s right to record police activity. The measures await action by Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper. Changing police practices was one of the dominant themes of the 2015 legislative session that concluded Wednesday. Lawmakers also passed legislation to collect demographic data on officer-involved shootings, and making it harder for police officers accused of misconduct to jump departments without the hiring agencies knowing about their disciplinary record. Lawmakers didn’t get everything they wanted and some of their bills failed, including limiting the use of officer chokeholds.
FORMER COLORADO SENATOR APOLOGIZES FOR HARSH REMARKS ABOUT GARDNER
DENVER (AP) – Former U.S. Sen. Gary Hart regrets having disparaged Cory Gardner in his endorsement of Mark Udall, and is saying so publicly. In a letter to the editor published in The Denver Post Friday, Hart says he endorsed Udall in last November’s election because he believes his fellow Democrat had performed well for Colorado. Hart says he still thinks Udall should have been re-elected, but is sorry for going after Gardner in a way he says contributed to bitterness and partisanship in government. In a 2014 letter in which he said he was dumbfounded by the Post’s endorsement of Gardner, Hart had said the man who is now the state’s junior senator was far from the standards of statesmanship Hart had seen in serious lawmakers of both parties.
