FOX 31'S DAVE FRASER JOINS TO TALK ABOUT WEATHER And you guys have been sending in great questions lately so let's keep it up. He joins me at 12:30.
OUR REAL ESTATE MARKET IS HOT, HOT, HOT And I've got realtor Ed Prather on to talk about the current state of the market and a coat drive his team is doing. Find Ed for your home sale or buying needs here! Drop off your gently used coats at their coat drive this Saturday at Front Porch Coffee at 3101 S. Kipling Street from 2:30 to 4:30!
COLORADO SPRINGS IS GOING TOUGH LOVE ON HOMELESSNESS This is the approach I think is the right one, or at least the more right one if there is such a thing. This long story about Colorado Springs handing out tons of tickets enforcing their camping ban and for other related misdemeanors is interesting in that they give you the story from the homeless guy's perspective first before they lay out the reasoning behind the approach. That reasoning is simple: the City wants to force people living on the streets to take them up on their offers of shelter and help. From the story:
Colorado Springs is not just handing out tickets, Chaney said, but working to close what he called the “revolving door” — the folks who are ticketed for illegal camping, then don’t show up for court, then have a warrant out for their arrest, then end up in jail for a few days, then get out and set up an illegal campsite. The goal is to push them into shelters, drug and alcohol rehab centers or wherever they need to go to get off the streets.
“We take a stance because it’s the same people over and over again,” Chaney said. “They are the ones that let drug issues overtake them, which is sad in itself. We have the resources available to these folks who refuse to take the resources. Every time we contact these folks, the minute they say they are ready to go into rehab, or these services, we will drive them there. If somebody says, “I’m ready to go get help,’ I’m not even going to worry about tickets.”
There’s no reason people need to sleep outside — the city has plenty of shelter beds, he said. On average, about 200 shelter beds go unused every night in Colorado Springs, said Chaney, who receives a daily update from the Springs Rescue Mission. According to a 2023 count, 2,162 formerly homeless people were living in permanent housing.
So far it seems to be helping, as more people are voluntarily tapping into services offered by the City to get off the streets. Notice that folks in the homeless industry say there aren't hte "right kind of beds" available for every person on the streets. There will never be a perfect situation, but this one seems to be the most right so far.
BUSTANG GOES BUST But only on the dedicated route between the Springs and the Denver Tech Center. Riders will still be able to catch a ride, but they need to hop the bus that ends up at Union Station instead. It does stop at the Tech Center, however. Ridership has cratered since the pandemic with an average of THREE riders per day. THREE. But please keep telling us that mass transit is the way of the future. I bet we could buy each of those three riders a car for what we've spent on this thing.
DEMOCRATS PRIORITIZE CRIMINALS OVER SAFETY That's how I read this article about a bill that would have increased the penalties for stealing a gun. Read this quote from gun grabber Tom Sullivan:
“We’re not going to incarcerate ourselves out of this,” said state Sen. Tom Sullivan, a Centennial Democrat and one of the legislature’s fiercest gun safety voices. His son, Alex, was murdered in the 2012 Aurora theater shooting.
That is literally the dumbest thing I've seen in a long while. Sullivan wants the impossible and unconstitutional "solution" of removing all guns from society instead of punishing those who break the gun laws to be held responsible for their crimes in a way that might actually deter such crimes in the first place. He wasn't the only Democrat to block the bill which would have required prison time for stealing a gun. Leslie Herod was worried that this would disproportionately affect black and brown men. Isn't that racist? I think so. The failure of this bill means that the penalties for failing to properly store a gun are higher than the penalties for stealing a gun. This is how absurd Democrats are on guns. The logic touted by Herod for her vote against is there is no "proof" that this law would prevent gun thefts. This is comical considering how many anti-gun bills we have passed in Colorado that have done nothing to stop gun crime. She just cares more about criminals than potential victims. Here is the group that voted this bill down in committee:
Mabrey and Herod voted “no,” as did Denver Democratic Reps. Steven Woodrow and Jennifer Bacon, as well as Reps. Mike Weissman, D-Aurora, and Lorena Garcia, D-Adams County.
Remember them when a crime is committed with a stolen gun.
DEMOCRATS PRIORITIZE CHILD RAPISTS OVER CHILDREN As they killed a bill that would have upped the penalties for adults engaging in sex acts with child prostitutes. Why? Because after 50 or so people showed up to testify about their horrific experiences of being trafficked as children two public defenders asked them to kill the bill to protect perverts who rape children from jail. This editorial offers a scathing condemnation for the party of child rapists. Blame this bunch for killing the bill:
Blame committee members Steven Woodrow, Andrew Besenecker, Said Sharbini, David Ortiz, Elisabeth Epps, Jenny Willford, Kyle Brown, and Naquetta Ricks for dismissing the bill.
DENVER IS MAD NO OTHER CITIES WANT TO HELP WITH THE MESS DENVER CREATED Denver voted in ordinances that made them a Sanctuary City. They refuse to coordinate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement by law. Now they are crying about no other cities wanting to help them with the mess THEY INVITED. Elections have consequences and this is what Denver gets. Don't expect other communities to step up when you rolled out the welcome mat to illegal immigrants who jumped over the southern border to avoid our cumbersome legal immigration process. Even Mesa County weighed in when Mayor Johnston implied that Mesa County wanted to be a Sanctuary County and made it clear they DO NOT and WILL NOT do such a dumb thing. Denver is unreasonable in thinking that anywhere else should help them manage this. They invited the guests, they can pay the bill.
BIDEN ANNOUNCES HE'S BUYING MORE VOTES By "forgiving" more student loans, of course. As his support among young people craters it's time to bust out the taxpayer checkbook to buy their loyalty once again.
WE MAY BE WASTING FEDERAL MONEY ON RAIL LINES TO BOULDER Any rational person knows that light rail is a ginormous bust in Denver. It doesn't carry remotely the number of passengers we were told it would and ridership has not recovered at all from the pandemic. Randal O'Toole writes a great story on that here. But instead of recognizing the failure of this left wing pipe dream, we are going to double down on a new line to Boulder that no one will ride. And we're going to rob taxpayers around the country to do it. Read it here.
MORE FAKE LOCAL CONTROL FROM THE LEGISLATURE Democrats under the Gold Dome love to say they respect local control but have you noticed it's only when local control means restricting something, never making things more free? We have another one, this time about flavored tobacco products. Oddly, the Democrat sponsoring it isn't asking for evidence that banning flavored tobacco products does a single thing. That's only for bills that protect criminals, I guess.
DOES MARIJUANA AFFECT SLEEP? The answer is a pretty clear yes, and not in a good way.
CHAT GPT HAD A MELTDOWN And this is kind of weird and a wee bit concerning. ChatGPT had a bit of a breakdown publicly but it seems to have righted itself. For now.
KC SHOOTER SAYS HE WAS "JUST BEING STUPID" And I'm sure he will have plenty of time to think about how stupid he was while he sits in prison. Read more here.
TWO MINUTE DRILL!
COLORADO'S MOST CHARMING SMALL TOWN As named by Reader's Digest is Telluride. This is one place I have not made it to yet, but I think this summer will be the summer. Read about it here.
WHEN WILL YOU GET YOUR COLORADO TAX REFUND? Short answer is about three or four weeks from when you file assuming you put the right information onto your tax forms.
STARBUCKS HAS GONE MAD WITH THIS ONE Starbucks in China is selling pork flavored coffee and I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.
A NEURAL IMPLANT MAY BE THE CURE FOR CHRONIC DEPRESSION This is a fascinating story about a new neural implant that has shown great promise for people suffering from chronic and debilitating depression that has been resistant to other treatments. It really goes to show how strong the physical component of this kind of depression is. Read it here.
WANT TO BUY A TINY HOME? AMAZON HAS THEM This is reminiscent of the homes sold by Sears Roebuck back in day, but with a high tech edge. Now Amazon has a slew of tiny homes you can buy and have delivered. You do have to put them together yourself. And let's be real, these are sheds. You have to finish the interior yourself.
YOU'RE GONNA PAY MORE TO CHECK BAGS ON AMERICAN As they raised their checked bags fees for upcoming flights. Read more here.
WHO IS ON TRUMP'S VP SHORT LIST? You can see who he mentioned here, but I have to believe it's going to be a woman as he needs suburban women back. But then again, has he ever been predictable or done things the traditional political way?
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ATTACK POLICE OFFICERS Who were in immigrant housing center trying to arrest a criminal. Everyone involved should be put on a plane back to their home country today but of course that won't happen.
AN AIRLESS BASKETBALL IS NOW A THING But with a huge price tag don't expect this to take hold anytime soon. Watch below or click here.
RED ROCKS CONCERT GOERS ARE DISGUSTING As Red Rocks removed 50 POUNDS of your disgusting ABC gum from under the seats. Watch below or click here.
WE'VE RUINED KIDS TODAY Just watch them try to answer the question of how many genders there are. Watch below or click here.
MILLENIALS MAKING MUSIC FOR THEIR KIDS IS DIFFERENT But wildly entertaining. Watch below or click here.
MAKE THE DECISION RIGHT This clip is essentially about changing your perspective and it's spot on. Watch below or click here.