From our Congressman - The Durango Herald

Budget is done, but work isn’t over

The budget has passed the House and Senate and is awaiting the governor’s signature. I have previously outlined the controversial process for the funding of Fort Lewis College’s Berndt Hall ...

DATE: Apr 19, 2014 | CATEGORY: From our Congressman

Students, teachers paying for voters’ inattention

Bit by bit over the past few weeks, students at Durango High School have been hearing how budget cuts will affect us next year. After Amendment 66 failed significantly, which would have dram...

DATE: Apr 19, 2014 | CATEGORY: From our Congressman

Stick to the ‘Colorado way’

Gas and oil provide vital benefits to the people of this state

DATE: Apr 19, 2014 | CATEGORY: From our Congressman

Cuts have 9-R choosing between teachers and tests

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: What do you call a bus half-full of schoolteachers on the way to the unemployment line? A good start toward improved student growth and achievement! ...

DATE: Apr 19, 2014 | CATEGORY: From our Congressman

Budget, school finance still to be settled before session ends

Looking out the window in Denver, watching a snowstorm worthy of a freezing, wintry day, I wonder if Easter is really just around the corner, or maybe we’re back to Christmas? It’s especiall...

DATE: Apr 16, 2014 | CATEGORY: From our Congressman

Money, cooperation in home stretch

The legislative session is in the home stretch, and there are fewer than 30 days remaining. We are currently in the process of finalizing the state budget, known as the “long bill.” It passe...

DATE: Apr 12, 2014 | CATEGORY: From our Congressman

High-stakes conservation

Saving the sage grouse means saving the sagebrush

DATE: Apr 12, 2014 | CATEGORY: From our Congressman

‘Divine right’: Warnings on beer, but not on uranium?

It is widely known adage that the First Amendment provides constitutional protection of speech but does not protect someone who causes a riot by falsely yelling “fire!” in a crowded theater....

DATE: Apr 12, 2014 | CATEGORY: From our Congressman

Suffering, more than happiness, can connect people

During the past few weeks, I’ve found myself in a bunch of conversations in which the unspoken assumption was that the main goal of life is to maximize happiness. That’s normal. When people ...

DATE: Apr 8, 2014 | CATEGORY: From our Congressman

School finance will soon take center stage at Colorado’s Capitol

Last week, the Senate took up the budget bill and, as is often the case, stripped the amendments made on the bill in the House. This may explain why, midweek, the House chose to pass a resol...

DATE: Apr 8, 2014 | CATEGORY: From our Congressman

Session heats up as end approaches

With only a little more than a month left in the session, the legislative crunch is intensifying. After the Joint Budget Committee removed funding last month for renovating Berndt Hall at Fo...

DATE: Apr 6, 2014 | CATEGORY: From our Congressman

Durango backed silver champ, nation took Taft

William Howard Taft was now in the White House but not as popular as his friend and predecessor, Theodore Roosevelt. In the just concluded presidential campaign, Durangoans had o...

DATE: Apr 5, 2014 | CATEGORY: From our Congressman