August 10, 2015 11:32 AM UTC

Get More Smarter on Monday (Aug. 10)

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• by: Colorado Pols

Ready for another Trumpalicious week? It’s time to Get More Smarter with Colorado Pols! If you think we missed something important, please include the link in the comments below (here’s a good example).

TOP OF MIND TODAY…

► Friday afternoon’s decision by the Aurora theater shooting jury to not impose the death penalty remains the top discussion item in Colorado today. The Denver Post ran a story specifically on the reactions of Colorado politicos:

“Our thoughts remain with the victims and families who have suffered unspeakable tragedy. No verdict can bring back what they have lost but we hope they begin to find peace and healing in the coming weeks.”

— [Gov. John] Hickenlooper, after the verdict

“Today’s verdict proves again that the Death Penalty is arbitrary. Only people on Death row in CO are Black. It has no place in CO.”

— Rep. Jovan Melton, D-Aurora, on Twitter

“First and foremost our hearts go out to the victims and their families, who will never have their lives back and whom we must always keep in our prayers. My hope is that this sentence brings them some measure of closure and solace. I’m not going to second guess the jury’s verdict because this is the way our system works, but I continue to believe that the death penalty should be retained in Colorado as an option for circumstances and crimes that call for the ultimate punishment. Just because this jury, in this case, didn’t believe it was appropriate, doesn’t mean future juries should be denied that option.”

— Colorado Senate President Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs

► Another big story from the weekend, a huge accidental spill of mine wastewater from an abandoned mine above Silverton that was being worked by the Environmental Protection Agency, is showing signs of improvement, at least for the immediate future as long-term consequences are assessed. Durango Herald today:

Like a comet, the 3 million gallons of toxic water accidentally released from the Gold King Mine in Silverton brought intense but hopefully passing effects.

The fact that the river has not seen any widespread fish or insect dieoffs five days after the initial release is a good reason to be optimistic, he said.

Political fallout from both of these stories is certain to dominate local headlines for at least the next few days. We’ll have more on each in separate posts later today.

Get even more smarter after the jump…

IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► Just in time for school to start up again, Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is rolling out a $350 billion plan to tackle the problem of college affordability and student loan debt.

► Meanwhile, Sen. Bernie Sanders continues to be dogged by Black Lives Matter protesters disrupting his events while Sanders looks on annoyedly. We get that it’s not convenient to have your event co-opted, but the protesters have a point that dying at the hands of a trigger-happy cop isn’t terribly convenient either. Are anti-police brutality protesters burning bridges, or are white progressives not getting it?

► More hearings today over the troubled VA replacement medical center project in Aurora. At a Disabled American veterans conference in Denver this weekend, VA Secretary Robert McDonald defended the agency’s record, and implored Congress to help him get the damn hospital built:

While the VA and Congress have yet to agree on a financing plan, McDonald expressed confidence that they will.

“I don’t know of a single member of Congress who wants to punish a veteran,” he said.

Timed for this weekend’s event, make sure to read the Denver Post’s in-depth story on how the Aurora VA project went off the rails. There’s plenty of blame to go around, including for the chairman of the VA’s Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee, Rep. Mike Coffman.

► Sen. Michael Bennet is sponsoring new legislation to help restore Voting Rights Act protections after the Supreme Court gutted them in 2013.

► The National Conference of State Legislatures passed a statement at their annual convention this weekend in Seattle telling the federal government to butt out of state marijuana policies.

► Joyce Rankin, former educator wife of GOP state Rep. Bob Rankin of Carbondale, was appointed Saturday to replace outgoing Marcia Neal of Grand Junction on the State Board of Education–a move that ties the state board’s fractious politics even more tightly to similar fights playing out in the state legislature.

OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK

► The Interfaith Alliance is just one of a growing number of civic interest groups standing up to defend Planned Parenthood as usual-suspect attacks on the organization continue.

► The Boulder County GOP’s “knock Obama out” beanbag toss game isn’t offensive. Got it, crybabies?

ICYMI

► There’s still no credible threat to military members from supposed “Middle Eastern men” accosting Colorado military families. We await Sen. Cory Gardner’s apologetic press release talking constituents down off the proverbial ledge, but sadly we’re not holding our breath.

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