Editorials - The Durango Herald

Our view: Re-seat Wheeler for another term

The deadline to vote in the La Plata Electric Association election is quickly approaching on Tuesday and is worthy of your attention. One seat in each of LPEA’s four districts is up for elec...

DATE: Sep 13, 2024 | CATEGORY: Editorials

Our view: Mental health services will benefit from gun, ammunition purchases

Colorado’s Legislature has referred to the voters the question of applying a 6.5% excise tax to the purchase of firearms and ammunition to fund multiple mental health prevention and treatmen...

DATE: Sep 11, 2024 | CATEGORY: Editorials

Our view: ‘Yes’ to funding water projects with gambling taxes

In 2019, Colorado voters approved a tax on sports betting for the benefit of water conservation and protection projects, with the ballot language as Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights requires estima...

DATE: Sep 11, 2024 | CATEGORY: Editorials

Our view: ‘Yes’ to allocating lodgers tax to child care, housing

The La Plata County Commissioners are proposing to allocate 70% of the lodgers tax collected annually to support tourism related workforce housing and child care, something that is permitted...

DATE: Sep 7, 2024 | CATEGORY: Editorials

Ellen Stein signs on as Opinion Contributor for election

Ellen Stein, The Durango Herald’s and The Journal’s opinion page writer and editor between 2016 and 2018, is serving as the two newspapers’ Opinion Contributor for the November 2024 election...

DATE: Sep 7, 2024 | CATEGORY: Editorials

Our view: Are four-day weeks shortchanging students?

How much time should students spend in the classroom each week? And each day? We are among those who believe that the four-day week creates a larger teacher and administrator hiring pool and...

DATE: Sep 3, 2024 | CATEGORY: Editorials

Our view: Next Step debate continues; youth weighs in

This week’s gathering of about 100 that included numerous downtown business owners, almost all in person, to hear advocates for one side and the other and to question city staff members, cha...

DATE: Aug 31, 2024 | CATEGORY: Editorials

Our view: Legislature, governor provide compromise on tax increase reduction

Voters will see two fewer questions on November’s ballot as a result of the Legislature’s special session this week. The two were extreme reactions to the higher property taxes property owne...

DATE: Aug 29, 2024 | CATEGORY: Editorials

Our view: Labor Day: Wages up, options many

Thoughts about Labor Day, now 130 years since its naming. Workers in 1894 had a need for a day that proclaimed their contribution to the increasingly industrialized American economy where th...

DATE: Aug 27, 2024 | CATEGORY: Editorials

Our view: City buys time by postponing sales tax ballot question

Wise taxing officials give themselves room when they plan to go to the voters to approve continuing a tax. That’s the case with the city of Durango, which now will postpone likely until Apri...

DATE: Aug 24, 2024 | CATEGORY: Editorials

Our view: Special session could end too-blunt 50 and 108

In Colorado, 2,000 voters approved Amendment 23, which set annual public school funding increases at the amount of inflation. For the first 10 years, it was inflation plus 1%. Fine in concep...

DATE: Aug 20, 2024 | CATEGORY: Editorials

Our view: Porter-Norton should step back, let Matt Salka run his own race

Marsha Porter-Norton is doing a fine job as county commissioner as she approaches the completion of her first four-year term, so good that she’s without a challenger this November. The Monte...

DATE: Aug 17, 2024 | CATEGORY: Editorials