April 26, 2019 11:04 AM UTC

Get More Smarter on Friday (April 26)

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• by: Colorado Pols

The Denver Nuggets can advance to the second round of the NBA playoffs by winning Game 7 on Saturday; this would mark the first time that both the Nuggets and the Colorado Avalanche advanced to the second round of the playoffs in the same season. It’s time “Get More Smarter.” If you think we missed something important, please include the link in the comments below (here’s a good example). If you are more of a visual learner, check out The Get More Smarter Show.

TOP OF MIND TODAY…

► As the Washington Post reports, President Trump’s border war is getting some new soldiers:

The Pentagon is preparing to approve a loosening of rules that bar troops from interacting with migrants entering the United States, expanding the military’s involvement in President Trump’s operation along the southern border.

Senior Defense Department officials have recommended that acting defense secretary Patrick Shanahan approve a new request from the Department of Homeland Security to provide military lawyers, cooks and drivers to assist with handling a surge of migrants along the southern border.

The move would require authorizing waivers for more than 300 troops to a long-standing policy prohibiting military personnel from coming into contact with migrants.

The Pentagon has approved only one previous request to waive the policy since the beginning of Trump’s recent border buildup, in order to provide migrants with emergency medical care if required. There are about 2,900 active-duty and 2,000 National Guard troops along the border.

► President Trump will speak at the Air Force Academy graduation ceremony on May 30. This will mark Trump’s first visit to Colorado since being elected President in 2016.

► Legislation to create a full-day Kindergarten program in Colorado — one of Gov. Jared Polis’ top priorities — is now just a signature away from becoming official.

► President Trump is reversing himself on the importance of childhood vaccinations, as CNN reports:

President Donald Trump weighed in on the recent measles outbreak in the United States, appearing to do an about-face on his previous claims linking child vaccinations to autism.

“They have to get the shots. The vaccinations are so important. This is really going around now. They have to get their shots,” Trump told CNN’s Joe Johns on Friday when asked what his message is for parents.

Measles cases in the United States have surpassed the highest number on record since the disease was declared eliminated nationwide in 2000.

Even Donald Trump can see the light sometimes.

Governor Jared Polis, meanwhile, is voicing concerns about legislation in Colorado that seeks to increase vaccination rates.

Get even more smarter after the jump…

IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► The Associated Press reports on revamped efforts to pass a hospital reinsurance bill in Colorado:

Two state senators whose rural constituents pay some of the nation’s highest health insurance rates pleaded Thursday for support for a bill to cut those premiums by having the state help insurers cover their highest-risk clients.

But the reinsurance bill sponsored by Republican Sen. Bob Rankin of Carbondale and Democratic Sen. Kerry Donovan of Vail was drastically changed after supporters determined that an earlier plan to pay for the state fund ignored existing hospital obligations to the state that could cost the state dearly under federal regulations.

The senators offered last-minute amendments that would take reduced fees from hospitals, fees on insurance premiums, and funds destined for housing in another pending bill, to create a two-year reinsurance program starting in 2020. The original bill sought a five-year program.

The hope, the sponsors said, is to launch a program desperately needed in rural Colorado that lawmakers can revisit and find long-term funding.

 

► As the Denver Business Journal reports, Xcel Energy has received approval to build a massive cancer mill wind farm in Eastern Colorado:

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission on Wednesday authorized Xcel taking over construction of the 500-megawatt Cheyenne Ridge Wind Project and associated transmission lines, projects estimated to cost $743 million.

The 1.5 million-customer power company, the Colorado’s largest utility, sought to take over for the company originally planning to build it in order to keep construction on track…

…Cheyenne Ridge is key to Xcel’s ability to hit energy production cost-savings laid out in its Colorado Energy Plan, which shifts a majority of the company’s power generation to wind and solar projects by 2025.

Xcel Energy oversaw construction of its 600-megawatt Rush Creek wind farm in eastern Colorado, a project completed last year ahead of schedule and under budget. The project used 300 wind turbines manufactured in Colorado by Vestas.

This new Xcel Energy wind farm will also use turbines manufactured in Colorado.

► The editorial board of the Denver Post weighs in on what it sees as priorities for the final weeks of the Colorado legislative session.

► He’s not wrong:

Dear Colorado: This is shameful, embarrassing and unacceptable. #copolitics #coleg https://t.co/Orc3w3uwzI pic.twitter.com/vHpnEKRaCg

— David Sirota (@davidsirota) April 26, 2019

► President Trump called into Sean Hannity’s Fox News show on Thursday night. As CNN’s Chris Cillizza explains, it was very strange. This line from Cillizza sums up the entire episode:

I’d say this was deeply irresponsible for the President of the United States to repeatedly insist there was a coup against him with absolutely no actual evidence but, well, you already knew that.

► As the Washington Post reports, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is working to rebrand itself as something other than merely a political tool for Republicans:

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, navigating dramatic cultural change that’s transforming the worlds of politics and business, plans to become less aligned with the Republican Party than it has been for decades.

The largest and most powerful corporate lobbying group in Washington is changing the way it evaluates lawmakers for the first time in 40 years, launching a $250 million capital campaign to remodel its headquarters and even rethinking its approach to regulation.

Several dues-paying companies have balked as the Chamber endorsed fewer and fewer Democrats over the past several election cycles. The GOP’s drift toward protectionism, nativism and isolationism since Donald Trump took over the party in 2016 is also at odds with the Chamber’s longtime support for expanding free trade, growing legal immigration and investing in infrastructure…

…To be sure, the Chamber still has many areas of common ground with Trump and congressional Republicans. They’re very happy with the president’s judicial nominees and the tax cuts, and officials have good relationships with many people inside the administration. [Pols emphasis]

We won’t hold our breath waiting for the Chamber of Commerce to become something more than a GOP campaign vehicle, but it’s nice to see that they are at least acknowledging the problem.

► CDOT is still assessing damage from a massive, fiery wreck that will keep I-70 in Lakewood closed for at least another day today.

► As Justin Wingerter writes for the Denver Post, Colorado Congressmen Ken Buck (R-Greeley) and Joe Neguse (D-Lafayette) have forged an unlikely friendship.

► Some of Colorado’s largest employers are voicing support for legislative efforts to create a state climate action plan.

► In a speech at the annual gathering of the National Rifle Association, President Trump promised to support 2nd Amendment rights while calling on the NRA to make sure to help his re-election campaign.

► A former speechwriter for President George W. Bush believes he has the answer for how Democrats can defeat President Trump in 2020.

Your Daily Dose Of ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

► President Trump believes that his now-infamous answer following white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, VA was “perfectly” done.

► “Avengers: Endgame” had the biggest opening night in the history of movies.

ICYMI

► It turns out that SB-181 won’t actually destroy the oil & gas industry in Colorado.

► Senator Cory Gardner (R-Yuma) is the single most unpopular incumbent Republican Senator in the entire country — with his own base.

Check out the latest episode of The Get More Smarter Show, featuring an in-depth interview with Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser. You can also Get More Smarter by liking Colorado Pols on Facebook!