Colorado
A view of the Book Cliffs near Palisade, Colorado in Mesa County. A view of the Book Cliffs near Palisade, Colorado in Mesa County.

More Counties Join PILT Class-Action Lawsuit Against the Feds

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Fact-checking Trump’s claims on Calif. wildfires … a big N.M. groundwater ruling … and Detroit’s dismal rental inspection compliance.

  • By Michael Grass

More Counties Join PILT Class-Action Lawsuit Against the Feds

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Fact-checking Trump’s claims on Calif. wildfires … a big N.M. groundwater ruling … and Detroit’s dismal rental inspection compliance.

  • By Michael Grass
A view of the Book Cliffs near Palisade, Colorado in Mesa County.
AP Photo/David Zalubowski AP Photo/David Zalubowski

A New Look at Trends in Colorado’s Marijuana Market

The state provided a detailed update on the industry, which is clearing $1 billion in sales annually.

  • By Bill Lucia
In this file photo, National Governors Association (NGA) Chair, Gov. Brian Sandoval of Nevada speaks during the National Governor Association 2018 winter meeting, on Feb. 24, 2018, in Washington, D.C. In this file photo, National Governors Association (NGA) Chair, Gov. Brian Sandoval of Nevada speaks during the National Governor Association 2018 winter meeting, on Feb. 24, 2018, in Washington, D.C.

Five States To Get A Smart Tech Boot Camp

The states will be the first in the multi-year "Smarter States, Smarter Communities" learning lab, which grows out of National Governor Association Chair Brian Sandoval's 'Ahead of the Curve' Initiative.

  • By Mitch Herckis

Federal Drone Committee Faces ‘Kitty Hawk Moment’

The body’s lone local government representative discusses filling the late San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee’s shoes and keeping pace with technology.

  • By Dave Nyczepir
The airport improvement grants are designed to “strengthen the safety and efficiency” of the country’s airports, according to the FAA. The airport improvement grants are designed to “strengthen the safety and efficiency” of the country’s airports, according to the FAA.

FAA Awards $677 Million in Airport Improvement Grants

The 241 grants will fund 346 infrastructure projects, including runways, taxiways, aprons and terminals.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram
Human Rights Campaign Flag being waved at the Supreme Court of the United States on December 5, 2017 in support of gay rights during the Cake Shop Religious Liberties/Gay Rights case. Human Rights Campaign Flag being waved at the Supreme Court of the United States on December 5, 2017 in support of gay rights during the Cake Shop Religious Liberties/Gay Rights case.

Ruling Against Colorado, Supreme Court Sidesteps Civil and Religious Rights

Instead, Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission provided state and local governments a lecture on fair governance.

  • By Mitch Herckis
FILE - In this Dec. 29, 2011 file photo, a car approaches a sobriety checkpoint set up along a busy street in Albuquerque, N.M. FILE - In this Dec. 29, 2011 file photo, a car approaches a sobriety checkpoint set up along a busy street in Albuquerque, N.M.

Drugged Driving Deaths Spike With Spread of Legal Marijuana, Opioid Abuse

Forty-four percent of fatally injured drivers tested for drugs had positive results in 2016, the Governors Highway Safety Association found, up more than 50 percent compared with a decade ago.

  • By The Pew Charitable Trusts
The Pivot to Colorado promotional campaign was deployed to the Bay Area Rapid Transit rail system. The Pivot to Colorado promotional campaign was deployed to the Bay Area Rapid Transit rail system.

Tech-Minded Colorado Has a Bay Area ‘Poaching Strategy’

Those scraping by on six-figure salaries in Silicon Valley may be enticed by this ad campaign.

  • By Michael Grass
Lake Mead along the Colorado River sits behind Hoover Dam. Lake Mead along the Colorado River sits behind Hoover Dam.

New Signs of Trouble Ahead for Colorado River Basin Water Managers

A warm winter and weak snowpack suggests that this “is the kind of drought we will have to deal with in the future.”

  • By Allen Best, Special to Route Fifty

Despite Popular Support, State and Local Officials Heavily Divided on Marijuana Legalization

Route Fifty's new survey shows local government officials are particularly skeptical.

  • By Mitch Herckis
A school crossing guard in Tulsa, Oklahoma A school crossing guard in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Why More School Districts Are Holding Class Just Four Days a Week

Today school districts in parts of 22 states use a four-day week, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

  • By The Pew Charitable Trusts
Boulder, Colorado Boulder, Colorado

Colorado Localities Challenge Energy Giants With New Lawsuit

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Curbing Atlanta City Hall’s “culture of political interference” … N.Y.C. officials look to boost Airbnb enforcement … more GOP leaders want Mo. governor to resign … and Pa. Turnpike to get “delicious vegan cookies.”

  • By John Tomasic, Special to Route Fifty
U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado

Cautious Optimism From Marijuana States Following Senator’s Trump Assurance

But “this president has demonstrated a willingness to go back on his word,” according to Washington state’s attorney general.

  • By John Tomasic, Special to Route Fifty

Colorado Uses Laser Measurement to Safely Inventory Road Signs

Keeping track of a state transportation department’s infrastructure, including where it’s located, has never been easier.

  • By Dave Nyczepir
The Rotunda of the Colorado State Capitol The Rotunda of the Colorado State Capitol

Colorado Lawmakers Poised to Oust 1st of Several Accused Harassers

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Statehouses grapple with clunky harassment policies; calls to lock up Mayor “Lawless Libby” in Oakland, Calif.; a dramatic end to the Allentown corruption trial; and an expensive affair for Nashville’s mayor.

  • By John Tomasic, Special to Route Fifty
Ohio Gov. John Kasich, right, and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper introduce the first version of their bipartisan health blueprint in the summer of 2017. Ohio Gov. John Kasich, right, and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper introduce the first version of their bipartisan health blueprint in the summer of 2017.

Governors Want Room to Shape Health Care Innovation

Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper are making a second, bipartisan attempt at improving Obamacare and affordability.

  • By Dave Nyczepir
Steamboat Springs, Colorado Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Why ‘Cloud Seeding’ Is Increasingly Attractive to the Thirsty West

A National Science Foundation-funded study, conducted in Idaho, was the first to show real-world observations of silver iodide forming ice crystals inside clouds and falling out as precipitation.

  • By The Pew Charitable Trusts
The Denver Regional Transit District's A Line connects Union Station with Denver International Airport. The Denver Regional Transit District's A Line connects Union Station with Denver International Airport.

Transit Agency Seeks to End Its Use of an Especially Lonely Job Post

Since Denver’s airport commuter rail line opened two years ago, problems with wireless technology prompted the use of human backups.

  • By Michael Grass

Another Gigabit City Takes Shape in Colorado

But some local officials remain apprehensive about how to proceed on a municipal solution.

  • By John Tomasic, Special to Route Fifty
A crowd of onlookers watches as a makeshift armored bulldozer is loaded onto a tractor-trailer after being extracated from the rubble of a warehouse in Granby, Colo., Saturday afternoon, June 5, 2004. A crowd of onlookers watches as a makeshift armored bulldozer is loaded onto a tractor-trailer after being extracated from the rubble of a warehouse in Granby, Colo., Saturday afternoon, June 5, 2004.

Lessons From a Small-Town Bulldozer Rampage in Colorado

Marvin Heemeyer told four people that he was “just going to bulldoze the town.” They dismissed his threats as pure bluster.

  • By David O. Williams, Special to Route Fifty