Colorado K-12 Election Roundup: Fiscal Restraint Beats Prop 103, Most Local Taxes; Reformers Win Key Races

by Ben DeGrow | 10:27 pm, November 1, 2011

Update, 11/2: One quick correction, as Englewood voters appear to have approved the construction bond / BEST grant, but turned down the mill levy override. Also, a great roundup of school board election results in El Paso County from the Gazette. From school board races to mill levy and bond measures, there are a number [...]

Colorado Prop 103: Weak Case for Tax Hike’s Job-Killing “Domino” Effect

by Ben DeGrow | 10:37 am, October 20, 2011

Update, 11/2: Welcome, Michelle Malkin readers… Thanks for the link! Colorado has one issue on the statewide ballot this year: Proposition 103, a large tax hike sold as a way to increase revenues for K-12 and higher education. Unfortunately, there are two major problems with this proposal that render it unworthy of support. First, it’s [...]

Colorado Child Stars Win Power Line 7th Place for Portraying Fiscal Abuse

by Ben DeGrow | 10:14 am, July 26, 2011

As the ominous debt ceiling deadline approaches, the release of the winners of the Power Line Prize contest (“$100,000 will be awarded to whoever can most effectively and creatively dramatize the significance of the federal debt crisis”) could not have been better timed. While prominent bloggers are helping the Power Line crew count down the [...]

Louisiana Seeks to Beat Colorado to Open Teacher Union Negotiations

by Ben DeGrow | 4:02 pm, May 27, 2011

A lot has happened in the month since I last posted here about the open negotiations controversy in Jeffco Public Schools. I was glad to see Mike Rosen bring attention to the issue on his show and in his May 12 Denver Post column, in which he concluded: A number of other states have laws [...]

Rachel Maddow Touts National Debt?

by Ben DeGrow | 10:30 pm, May 19, 2011

I don’t watch cable news, and I definitely don’t watch MSNBC. But I found this creative 30-second video of Rachel Maddow sends a pretty powerful message about the debt crisis our nation currently faces… take a moment and watch:

FOX 31 FAIR AND BALANCED ON EDUCATION? We Report, You Decide Part Three

by Ben DeGrow | 1:39 pm, May 6, 2011

Originally posted at Colorado Peak Politics. Re-posted here with permission. As author, I am solely responsible for the content. On FOX 31 last night, political reporter did a sit-down with Governor John Hickenlooper for one of the School Cuts 101 series segments. The result? Unremarkable. Hick has been focused on budget issues, rightly so, and [...]

FOX 31 FAIR AND BALANCED ON EDUCATION? We Report, You Decide Part Two

by Ben DeGrow | 5:14 pm, May 5, 2011

Originally posted at Colorado Peak Politics. Re-posted here with permission. As author, I am solely responsible for the content. I know the timing is impossible for it to be true, but you’d almost think my first School Cuts 101 response piece triggered some interest from the FOX 31 team with my cryptic closing: Anyway, looking [...]

FOX 31 FAIR AND BALANCED ON EDUCATION? We Report, You Decide

by Ben DeGrow | 9:37 pm, May 4, 2011

Originally posted at Colorado Peak Politics. Re-posted here with permission. As author, I am solely responsible for the content. Local FOX 31 Denver News and reporter Eli Stokols are to be commended for wanting to look at the effects of K-12 education spending cuts and innovative ideas for addressing the challenge. But the first edition [...]

Seeking Transparency in Jeffco Teachers Union Negotiations

by Ben DeGrow | 12:19 pm, April 25, 2011

Update IV, 5:15 PM: For the record and for the sake of full disclosure — yes, the information related to open negotiations that I have requested from Jeffco Public Schools has been done in my professional capacity as a senior policy analyst for the Independence Institute. My personal and professional opinions happen to be in [...]

Aurora Citizens Denied: Colorado Springs Not State’s Only Front in Push for Open Government Negotiations

by Ben DeGrow | 6:13 pm, April 17, 2011

In a time when a large fiscally conservative grassroots movement like the Tea Parties have developed a strong voice, we shouldn’t be surprised to see calls for greater transparency in government operations. Not only when it comes to the fiscal ledger (“if you can’t defend it, don’t spend it”), but also when it comes to [...]

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