Charles Ashby
Source: Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors

By Don Knox, STATE BILL COLORADO
Who says there’s no future for journalists at Colorado’s Capitol?
Charles Ashby, a veteran reporter who was let go by The Pueblo Chieftain at the end of the 2009 General Assembly, soon will report full-time for the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.
Laurena Mayne Davis, the newspaper’s managing editor, confirmed Ashby’s hiring, effective Monday.
The capitol beat, in Colorado and elsewhere, has shed journalists in recent years as media budgets have ebbed with the economic downturn and competition from the Internet. The closure of the Rocky Mountain News and reporter cutbacks by the Chieftain, the Fort Collins Coloradoan and the Longmont Times-Call have been felt under the state’s distinctive golden dome.
The Daily Sentinel has lacked a Capitol presence since late February when former reporter Mike Saccone took a communications position with Colorado’s attorney general, John Suthers.
Until recently, Grand Junction had two Republican gubernatorial candidates, Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry and former congressman Scott McInnis. Penry recently bowed out of contention, leaving McInnis and Evergreen businessman Dan Maes to vie for the nomination.

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STATE BILL COLORADO
Rep. Joe Rice, an Army Reserve colonel, will meet with constituents for the first time in eight months at a town hall meeting Dec. 7.
Rice was in Baghdad between May and October, and he was stationed elsewhere until recently. The House Democratic office said the two-term Democratic representative from Littleton was awarded a second Bronze Star.

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STATE BILL COLORADO
A bond program that was created to help rebuild crumbling Colorado schools in the San Luis Valley, among other districts, has been named the southwest regional finalist for the “Deal of the Year” from The Bond Buyer, a bond industry trade publication.

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STATE BILL COLORADO
The legislative session is still more than a month away, but that hasn’t stopped 18 groups from planning legislative lunches, dinners and receptions beginning Jan. 13 and continuing through the end of March.
First up is the annual Colorado Restaurant Association “Blue Ribbon Reception,” which this year will be Wednesday, Jan. 13 (location to be determined).
The legislature’s social calendar is diminished somewhat since voter passage of Amendment 41, the ethics-in-government initiative that restricts most groups from giving more than $50 to a legislator per calendar year. The same thing happened last year.
Nevertheless, these groups say they are careful to ensure that these often catered events don’t amount to more money than Amendment 41 allows.

Jan. 13 – Wednesday –Colorado Restaurant Assocation Blue Ribbon Reception
5 PM – 7:30 PM
Contact : Pete Meersman 303-830-2972 meersman@coloradorestaurant.com

Jan. 20 — Wednesday – Lunch: Colorado Cattleman’s Association
12:00 p.m.
Scotish Rite Masonic Center
1370 Grant
Denver, CO
Contact : Jan Ammons 303-431-6422

Jan. 25 — Monday — Colorado Ag Council Legislative Reception
5:00pm – 7:30pm
The Denver Press Club
1330 Glenarm Place, Denver 80204
Contact : Brock Herzberg 303-945-1076 bherzberg@dfamilk.com Reception Tourism Industry Association of Colorado (TIAC)

Jan. 25 – Monday — TIAC Legislative Reception
5:30 – 7:30 pm
Denver Athletic Club
1325 Glenarm Pl
Denver, CO 80204
Contact : Elsie Lacy 303-618-1061 elacy@cohca.org

Jan 26 — Tuesday — Colorado Hospital Association Legislative Reception
5:30pm – 7:30pm
University Club, 1673 Sherman St Denver CO
Contact : Sylvia Delay 303-892-9100 ext 26 sylvia@publicpersuasion.com

Jan. 27 – Wednesday — Colorado Airport Operators Association Legislative Reception
5:30pm to 8:30pm
The Brown Palace Hotel
Contact : Laura Shewmaker 303-261-9100 lshewmaker@ftg-airport.com

Jan. 28 — Thursday — Colorado Ski Country USA, Visit Denver, Snowsports Industries America Snow Show Legislative Reception (light meal provided)
12:00pm – 1:30pm
Colorado Convention Center
Contact : Ari Stiller 303-837-0793

Feb. 05 — Friday — Mental Health America of Colorado “Legislative Education and Advocacy Day”
10:00am – 2:30pm
Boettcher Auditorium, Colorado History Museum
Contact : Amanda Callahan 720-208-2233 acallahan@mhacolorado.org

Feb. 10 — Wednesday – Lunch: Colorado Association of Wheat Growers
Colorado Association of Wheat Growers
12:00 p.m.–1:30 p.m.
Scottish Rite Masonic Center–1370 Grant St.–Denver
Contact : Darrell Hanavan 303-721-3300 dhanavan@coloradowheat.org

Feb. 18 – Thursday – Colorado Nonprofit and Junior League of Denver Legislative Reception
5:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.
Denver Art Museum, 100 West 14th Avenue Parkway, Denver
Contact : Gerry Rasel 303-832-5710 x202 grasel@coloradononprofits.org

Feb. 24 — Wednesday – Reception: The Colorado Municipal League
4:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.
1144 Sherman Street, Denver
Contact : Kevin Bommer 303-831-6411 www.cml.org

Feb. 25 – Thursday – Colorado Nurses Association, District 16, Legislative Connection Dinner
5:00pm Wine Reception, 5:30 Dinner
Scottish Rite Masonic Center, 1370 Grant St Denver 80203
Contact : Mary Kershner 303 204 2414 tllskr@comcast.net

March 01 — Monday — Colorado Rural Electric Association Legislative Reception
5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Grand Hyatt Hotel, Denver
Contact : Liz Fiddes 303-455-2700 ext. 103

March 03 – Wednesday — Colorado Bankers Association Legislative Luncheon
12:00pm Noon
Grand Hyatt Hotel, 1750 Welton St
Contact : Lexie Kennedy 303-825-1575 lexie@coloradobankers.org

March 17 – Wednesday — Colorado Health Care Association (CHCA) Legislative Reception
5:00pm – 7:00pm
Warwick Randolph’s Restaurant
1776 Grant (SE corner 18th & Grant)
Denver, CO 80203
Contact : Elsie Lacy 303-861-8228 elacy@cohca.org

March 24 – Wednesday — Colorado Community Health Network Legislator Reception and Awards Ceremony
5:00 – 7:00pm
Warwick Hotel, 1776 Grant Street
Contact : Suzanne Smith 303-861-5165 ext 234 suzanne@cchn.org

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STATE BILL COLORADO
The Joint Budget Committee has a slew of briefings this week.
On Monday, it’s the environmental division of the Colorado Department of Health and Environment, the Department of Military Affairs and the Department of Regulatory Agencies. On Tuesday, it’s an all-day briefing for the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing. On Wednesday, it’s the Department of Personnel and the Department of Human Services. Then Thursday, it’s more units of the Department of Human Services and the Department of Public Health. Finally, Friday is a morning hearing for the Department of Education.
The full calendar is posted here.

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By Gene Davis, DENVER DAILY NEWS
Starting Tuesday, it becomes a crime in Colorado for drivers under the age of 18 to use any cell phone — handheld or not — while driving. It also becomes illegal for any driver to text while behind the wheel.
“It is inherently dangerous to multitask while you drive,” said a statement from Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder. “This bill is aimed at the most dangerous distraction commonly engaged in: text messaging and e-mailing while driving.”
The Denver Police Department (DPD) has issued a training bulletin to its officers about the law going into effect on Tuesday, according to spokesman Sonny Jackson. He said that identifying drivers who are texting or minors who are talking on their cell phones would present challenges for officers.
“We have to look at this and see how it’s going to play out,” he said. “But we are charged with enforcing it, so we will have to do that.”
A series of serious car-related accidents led lawmakers to consider placing more restrictions on drivers and cell phones. Patrick Sims, a Colorado high school senior, killed a 63-year-old man because he was sending a text message while driving. Nine-year-old Erica Forney in Fort Collins was killed by a cell phone-using driver.
“The convenience of having a cell phone in a car is not worth my daughter’s life,” said Shelley Forney, Erica’s mom, during a February committee hearing on possible legislation that would restrict Colorado drivers from using cell phones. But the version of House Bill 1094 that passed and will become law on Tuesday is much less strict than the measure several lawmakers originally wanted to pass. At first, Levy was looking to implement a sweeping ban on talking on a hand-held cell phone for all drivers.
Motorists on cell phones exhibit the reaction speed and coordination of drivers that have had four alcoholic drinks, and are four times more likely to be in an accident than a person who isn’t on their cell phone, according to the Colorado Democrat office.
However, a complete ban on drivers using cell phones was bound to face steep opposition in the Senate and possibly not pass at all. Rep. Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch, for one, argued in February that there are too many potential driving distractions for lawmakers to attack them individually. He added that the focus should be on teaching drivers to be responsible on the road.
“It seems we’re picking out one distraction because it’s politically expedient to do so,” he said.
While Levy said in June that she would have preferred a sweeping ban on cell phones for drivers, she believes the watered down version of her bill is a step in the right direction.
“It is definitely better to have something than nothing,” she said in June. “It helps to raise the awareness of drivers that using their cell phone for any purpose is a hazard, and even though all we could get through was a ban on text messaging, I think that the debate has raised a lot of awareness about the safety issues associated with using your cell phone while driving.”

Distributed by Colorado Capitol Reporters

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By Peter Marcus, DENVER DAILY NEWS
As the immigration debate heats up again in Washington, one local group is approaching the topic from a different angle — understanding and integration.
The Denver Coalition for Integration, formed in 2008, is working to bridge gaps between immigrants and the communities they move to in order to reach a level of understanding through education.
“The intent of the group today is to really bridge the receiving and immigrant communities in Denver and to promote integration as a two-way street within Denver,” said Amber Tafoya, project director of the Coalition for Integration.
The group hosts neighborhood dialogues within individual Denver communities, where individuals are encouraged to broach subjects that might not only be controversial, but also unfamiliar territory to some.
The meetings might include movie nights, in which documentaries on immigration or domestic violence are shown, or just simple dialogue nights between members of the community, in which residents might discuss how immigration law works and whether it is effective.
The meetings are held in local coffee shops and restaurants.
An arm of the Coalition for Integration focuses on workshops that encourage civic engagement opportunities for immigrants and refugees so that they can become more involved with the city’s civic dialogue, said Tafoya. After all, the intent is integration.
Tafoya said the dialogues rarely become debates, with the focus being mostly on the experiences of both immigrant and non-immigrant Denver residents living in the city.
“The hope is that through people sharing their experiences, people will understand each other a little bit better,” she said. “The idea is to promote communication, to promote understanding and to promote people to really develop their relationships within the groups.”
Kevin Mohatt, a Denver resident who has attended several of the Coalition for Integration’s meetings, said he hopes meetings like these will help facilitate an honest and open debate as Congress discusses comprehensive immigration reform.
The White House is calling for immigration reform efforts to begin as early as the beginning of next year. Obama administration officials are calling for a “three-legged stool” approach that includes tougher enforcement of immigration laws, including a crackdown on employers who hire undocumented workers; a streamlined system for legal immigration; and a pathway to citizenship for an estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants.
Mohatt believes a lack of education and understanding is what makes the debate so heated.
“One of the problems is that a lot of the people who are against comprehensive reform don’t know enough about the other side of the issue,” he said. “They think immigrants are coming to steal jobs and to be getting Medicaid, but when you see that people are coming here, risking their lives to get here, they’re obviously doing it for a much bigger reason. They want a better life, which is such a bigger issue than people coming to take your jobs.”
“If there’s some integration and people from both sides of the fence are actually hearing each others stories and there’s better understanding, then that’s better for everyone,” continued Mohatt.
The Denver Coalition for Integration will be hosting an Intercultural Winter Holiday Party on Dec. 10 at 5:30 p.m. at 1029 Santa Fe Drive.

Distributed by Colorado Capitol Reporters

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A year after a carbon monoxide leak killed a family of four vacationing in Aspen, spawning a new state law, the tragedy’s legal implications remain unclear. The 9th Judicial District Attorney’s Office convened a grand jury this summer to determine whether any person or entity would be held criminally liable for the deaths, the Aspen Daily News reports. But so far the grand jury has issued two indictments in completely unrelated cases.

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Efforts by Colorado Republicans to avoid contentious primaries are continuing in the state’s 3rd Congressional District, Steamboat Today reports. State Rep. Scott Tipton, of Cortez, and Army veteran Bob McConnell, of Steamboat Springs, are running to replace U.S. Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo., in Congress. Republican District Attorney Martin Beeson, of Garfield County, also is in the race.

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In an extended interview with The Denver Post shortly after a rally last week, one-time gubernatorial candidate Josh Penry made clear that he would have preferred to see GOP rival Scott McInnis drop out instead and that he did so only reluctantly. “At some point somebody’s got to be the adult and say, ‘I’m going to step back and do what’s right for the cause,’ ” Penry said. “Ironically, it was the 33-year-old who made the decision.”

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