From our Congressman https://www.durangoherald.com/section/columnists-from-our-congressman/feed/ Stay informed with the latest breaking news, local stories, sports, business, weather, and community events from Durango, Southwest Colorado, and the Four Corners region. Fri, 10 Jul 2026 11:03:06 -0600 en-us 30 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/i-need-your-feedback-to-perfect-our-lands-bill/ Towering mountains, vast forests, archaeological sites from hundreds of years ago, and North America’s tallest sand dunes are a quick drive or hike from many of our backyards. With unparalleled views and recreation opportunities in our district, we are incredibly... Mon, 29 Jul 2019 05:33:19 -0600 8EC3FA3A-4934-57BC-E053-0100007F958F https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/ive-been-quite-busy-in-congress-so-far-this-year/ As the representative of Colorado’s largest congressional district, there are no shortages of issues facing our communities, and here are a few that I have been focused on thus far. First and foremost, I have continued to work on behalf... Mon, 22 Jul 2019 11:33:14 -0600 8DF74B10-D3B2-689A-E053-0100007FC1EA https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/fighting-fire-with-law/ Rep. Scott Tiptondu1-i-syn While everybody acknowledges that the frequency and severity of wildfires have increased over the past decade, many in Washington still have been reluctant to make meaningful policy changes to how we maintain forests. Since first coming to... Mon, 13 Aug 2018 07:03:27 -0600 7341877C-4664-4F01-E053-0100007F688E https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/phillips-wolf-restoration-keeping-every-cog-and-wheel-2/ Keeping every cog and wheel Sat, 07 Apr 2018 05:05:02 -0600 6931C4D7-5DD6-1D8D-E053-0100007FB1A4 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/mcknight-honoring-bears-ears-and-our-public-lands-commitment-2/ Clint McKnight The deadline for comments is April 11, and comments can be submitted to: blm_ut_monticello_monuments@blm.gov. Late last month, I attended the Bears Ears public scoping meetings held in Monticello and Bluff, and wanted to offer a few personal observations... Sat, 07 Apr 2018 05:04:19 -0600 6931C4D7-5DD3-1D8D-E053-0100007FB1A4 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/williams-can-the-forest-service-reform-its-abusive-culture-2/ Lorena Williams For women like myself, a Forest Service employee and firefighter going on 14 seasons, the exposé told me nothing new: Female firefighters have been raped, assaulted and harassed in great numbers for many years, and for the most... Thu, 05 Apr 2018 05:03:19 -0600 690CA066-403F-2377-E053-0100007FC737 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/brooks-who-is-the-most-influential-human-being-on-earth-2/ David Brooks Putin has established himself as one pole in the great global debate of the era, the debate between authoritarianism and democracy. He has a coherent strategy to promote his authoritarian side of that debate. He’s able to humiliate... Wed, 04 Apr 2018 05:03:55 -0600 68F5F5D1-6293-66A7-E053-0100007F8954 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/tipton-caring-for-every-veteran-suffering-from-agent-orange-exposure/ Rep. Scott Tipton Throughout the course of the Vietnam War, the United States military sprayed 18-20 million gallons of herbicides. Agent Orange was the most common herbicide used, with 11-12 million gallons sprayed throughout the entirety of the war to... Tue, 03 Apr 2018 05:03:16 -0600 68E59078-75BA-3685-E053-0100007FC506 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/progress-site-team-committed-to-active-engagement/ Christina Progress The federal and state agencies at the site – Environmental Protection Agency, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management – will continue to solicit and value input... Sat, 31 Mar 2018 06:03:06 -0600 68A5A552-C50D-739E-E053-0100007F17C5 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/platt-methane-rule-protects-our-health-environment-economy-2/ Corinne Platt As the current mayor and longtime resident of Ophir, I have seen the benefits implementation of Colorado’s strong state-wide methane safeguards have had at the local and state level. In fact, since Colorado’s methane rule went into effect,... Sat, 31 Mar 2018 05:04:31 -0600 68A5A552-C50B-739E-E053-0100007F17C5 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/mallory-afp-deepens-engagement-educates-on-local-issues-2/ Jesse Mallory With offices in Fort Collins, the Denver Tech Center, Downtown Denver, Colorado Springs, and now Grand Junction and Durango, we are expanding our engagement with local communities to ensure that people’s rights are protected at all levels of... Sat, 31 Mar 2018 05:03:38 -0600 68A5A552-C4FF-739E-E053-0100007F17C5 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/higgs-homelessness-a-problem-that-belongs-to-all-of-us/ A problem that belongs to all of us Sat, 31 Mar 2018 05:03:27 -0600 68A5A552-C4FE-739E-E053-0100007F17C5 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/romanoff-making-it-harder-to-get-guns-and-easier-to-get-care-2/ Andrew Romanoff When it comes to improving mental health care, however, you can find common ground. Nine candidates shared a stage last week at Mental Health Colorado’s first-ever gubernatorial forum. The consensus: We ought to make it harder for people... Fri, 30 Mar 2018 05:03:29 -0600 68938291-A38B-372B-E053-0100007FC66C https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/saeger-coloradans-want-public-lands-protected/ Chris Saeger As the White House and Department of the Interior continue to shrink, modify or undermine protections for public lands and national monuments, Congressman Scott Tipton could be a deciding vote in whether Colorado’s Canyons of the Ancients stays... Tue, 27 Mar 2018 05:03:16 -0600 68598F68-FCBA-06BB-E053-0100007F02D9 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/jollon-gun-violence-a-public-health-issue/ A public health issue Sat, 24 Mar 2018 05:05:09 -0600 68191C88-0BFC-43A1-E053-0100007F70A4 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/chase-and-ruddell-independent-committee-helps-9-r-financial-transparency/ The FAC is an independent, external oversight body comprised of seven community members with diverse financial backgrounds. The FAC was established in June 1999 by the District’s Board of Education policy BC-04 based on recommendations made in past district financial... Sat, 24 Mar 2018 05:04:49 -0600 68191C88-0BF9-43A1-E053-0100007F70A4 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/armano-budget-riders-undermine-clean-water-healthy-rivers/ Kara Armanodu1-i-syn As an angler, I understand that rivers are all connected and part of a greater ecosystem, and keeping them that way is imperative for maintaining their health for future generations. Sadly, the omnibus budget bill coming to a... Thu, 22 Mar 2018 05:03:36 -0600 67F9B01C-D371-664C-E053-0100007FF917 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/duran-protecting-coloradans-from-discrimination/ Crisanta Durandu1-i-syn I’ll skip the name-calling and stick to the facts. Each year, the CCRD investigates hundreds of claims of discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations based on race, gender, disability, sexual orientation and other factors. It’s an important... Thu, 22 Mar 2018 05:03:06 -0600 67CDD08C-7550-5E41-E053-0100007F74AE https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/costello-and-moore-federal-budget-poison-pills-policy-riders-risk-clean-air-public-health/ Congress is working on a federal funding bill right now that endangers public health and the environment. The bill includes a host of harmful policy riders known as “poison pills,” the term for unrelated amendments attached to must-pass legislation. For... Sat, 17 Mar 2018 05:05:57 -0600 67954D36-F9F5-35D8-E053-0100007F6516 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/ornstein-this-major-challenge-to-local-news-has-gone-almost-unnoticed/ Norman J. Ornsteindu1-i-syn But one particular challenge, involving Sinclair Broadcast Group and local television ownership, has gone almost unnoticed. For many decades, the vigilance of the Federal Communications Commission has kept deep-pocketed players, including owners of newspapers and other important... Fri, 16 Mar 2018 05:03:39 -0600 6777326D-D256-5B54-E053-0100007FF23B https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/mazur-bayfield-basketball-gets-its-day/ Melanie Brubaker Mazur, Editor, Pine River Timesdu1-i-syn This small school has won plenty of other state athletic titles before, notably in football, track, cheer and cross country, buy not on the basketball court. They had played hard for three days,... Fri, 16 Mar 2018 05:03:06 -0600 6777326D-D252-5B54-E053-0100007FF23B https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/davidson-sunshine-week-is-turbid-under-trump/ Joe Davidsondu1-i-syn He and his administration have a gloomy record when it comes to transparency, a particularly lamentable situation during Sunshine Week, which ends Saturday. Started by the American Society of News Editors (ASNE), the observance began in 2005 to... Thu, 15 Mar 2018 05:03:39 -0600 676D2615-B8B9-3C35-E053-0100007F5BDC https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/brooks-with-a-rising-populist-wave-what-comes-after-trump/ David Brooksdu1-i-syn The best indicator we have so far is the example of Italy since the reign of Silvio Berlusconi. And the main lesson there is that once the norms of acceptable behavior are violated and once the institutions of... Wed, 14 Mar 2018 05:03:49 -0600 67525069-5697-63A1-E053-0100007FD2F6 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/thompson-resistance-to-chaco-drilling-grows-on-the-navajo-nation/ Jonathan Thompsondu1-i-syn When someone texted Kendra Pinto, who lives several miles away, she raced to join the frightened spectators and watched, stunned, as the conflagration engulfed all of WPX Energy’s equipment, setting off a series of explosions that shook the... Tue, 13 Mar 2018 05:03:13 -0600 6740F59D-5D8A-2E9D-E053-0100007FE2F6 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/the-utah-headliners-foia-is-the-speedometer-not-the-cop-writing-tickets/ du1-i-syn Sunshine Week is here, and we who value government transparency are again celebrating the laws that allow us to know what our local, state and federal governments are doing. But laws aren’t as popular as they used to be.... Mon, 12 Mar 2018 05:04:15 -0600 67278941-F85D-623B-E053-0100007F83B5 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/thorn-politics-worthy-of-the-landscape-we-inhabit/ Emily Thorndu1-i-syn I have come to believe this demeanor is shaped by the particular places we inhabit: mountains, valleys, rivers, mesas and deserts. So it is both fitting and paradoxical that our county’s recent fissure line is over a land-use... Sat, 10 Mar 2018 05:05:18 -0700 6700529C-0D31-6881-E053-0100007FCDFB https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/pearson-society-and-the-role-of-government/ Mark Pearsondu1-i-syn Do you consider government as a beneficial contributor to society in a way that attempts to look out for everyone’s collective interest? Or do you think of government as an impediment that erects unnecessary obstacles, or sticks its... Sat, 10 Mar 2018 05:05:04 -0700 6700529C-0D2F-6881-E053-0100007FCDFB https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/fossel-getting-it-right-la-plata-liberty-coalition-takes-on-the-land-use-code/ One, by the executive director of the San Juan Citizens Alliance (Herald, Jan. 21), states: “The gist of the public debate about the land use code is whether it limits what people can do with their property.” Well, it certainly... Sat, 10 Mar 2018 05:04:54 -0700 6700529C-0D2D-6881-E053-0100007FCDFB https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/brooks-how-the-left-wins-the-culture-war/ David Brooksdu1-i-syn I started this latest round of the debate with the presumption that supporters of moderate gun restrictions are popularly strong but legislatively weak. Since Sandy Hook in 2012, more than two dozen states have passed gun laws and... Fri, 09 Mar 2018 05:03:37 -0700 66EB589D-B232-2BDA-E053-0100007F2B20 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/douthat-power-to-the-parents/ Ross Douthatdu1-i-syn My support peaked when I was that age myself; I thought that lowering the voting age was literally the least that adults could do to acknowledge that their teenage kids were citizens, too, rather than a disenfranchised class... Thu, 08 Mar 2018 05:04:19 -0700 66DFBDFF-CB5A-0A1A-E053-0100007FE1FB