Feds give Oregon cities, environmentalists $1.8 million to tackle toxic waste in Columbia River
The federal government is giving $1.8 million to Oregon to tackle toxic waste that is sickening fish in the Columbia River.
Out West
Liz Cheney, unrepentant underdog in Wyoming primary
A Caspar Star Tribune poll from early July put Cheney about 20 points behind, an unusual spot for an incumbent who’s served three terms and is the third-ranking leader in the House.
Governor hires special advisor on homelessness as number of unhoused Colorado residents grows
Zoe Schacht/Colorado Newsline
In June, Gov. Jared Polis hired Andrew Phelps as his special advisor on homelessness and housing. A job like it has not existed since John Hickenlooper was governor several years ago. And, with little knowledge of Phelps’ previous work, some homelessness and housing advocates worry about what he will do.
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Conservationists push feds to up protections for gray wolves in Rockies
The latest in the saga to bolster federal protections for the gray wolf comes after the Biden administration missed a deadline to determine if the species should be relisted under the Endangered Species Act.
Lawmakers debate clean energy substitutes to remove fossil fuels from strained California power grid
California soon will not have enough energy to meet future demand and prevent outages on an increasingly strained power grid, in part due to climate change.
North Las Vegas went way out of its way to slam the door on rent stabilization, critics say
The City North Las Vegas sided with its city clerk’s interpretation of the law used to reject the Culinary Union’s rent stabilization ballot initiative, but some experts think the union has a legal case and city officials reached their decision through a “bad faith” reading of state law.
Over 10K new businesses register in Colorado in July with reduced filing fee
Nearly 11,000 new businesses filed with the Colorado Secretary of State’s office in July, the first wave that took advantage of a temporary filing fee reduction passed during the previous legislative session.
Bringing sea otters back to Oregon faces ideological challenges
Prior to joining a growing list of near-extinct species by 1911, the same year of the International Fur Trade Treaty, sea otters thrived along the entire Pacific Rim from Hokkaido, Japan, all the way to Mexico.
New Mexico abortion clinics strained over capacity with out-of-state patients
Since the fall of Roe v. Wade, an influx of out-of-state patients to New Mexico has sent wait times skyrocketing for abortion and reproductive care services in a state already struggling with a health care worker shortage.
Colorado Democrats, environmental groups cheer Senate passage of ‘historic’ climate bill
The Senate’s weekend passage of a $369 billion package of spending to fight climate change is drawing cheers from environmental advocates and calls for the bill’s swift adoption in the House of Representatives.