June 05, 2015 11:00 AM UTC

Get More Smarter on Friday (June 5)

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• by: Colorado Pols

As far as we can tell, there will not be another candidate entering the race for President (today). 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…

► The Colorado Republican Party is in a state of chaos after chairman Steve House appointed an apparently inexperienced Tea Party activist as his Chief of Staff.

► Colorado Senators Michael Bennet and Cory Gardner successfully added an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act to open another investigation into construction problems and the Veterans Administration. The VA, meanwhile, has announced a new plan for funding completion of the Aurora VA Hospital, as Mark Matthews reports for the Denver Post:

With a funding deadline fast approaching, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on Friday proposed a two-tier plan to cover the cost of a troubled, $1.73 billion hospital project in Aurora. Under the first part of the deal, the VA would re-route about $150 million from its 2015 budget, which is about $163.5 billion, and use that money to keep construction going until the end of the federal fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

The short-term funding is critical because the VA and its prime contractor, Kiewit-Turner, nearly have exhausted all available money for the project. Without a new cash infusion, the project would shut down in a matter of weeks — if not days.

“Now it is time for Congress to act,” wrote VA Secretary Robert McDonald in a letter to lawmakers. “Inaction by Congress will result in a shutdown of the Denver Replacement Medical Center and punish Colorado Veterans today for past VA errors.”

A suspension of work nearly happened last month because of funding problems, but Congress kept the project afloat — temporarily — with a small bump of about $20 million.

Annnddd…back to you, Mike Coffman. Ten bucks says the Aurora Congressman just starts pointing fingers again, even though he is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations for the House Veteran’s Affairs Committee.

► Governor John Hickenlooper vetoed legislation that would have allowed predatory lenders to drastically increase interest rates on loans. 

Get even more smarter after the jump…

IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► Colorado will have a one-day holiday on marijuana taxation in September, as John Frank
reports for the Denver Post:

Colorado will repeal sales taxes on marijuana Sept. 16, thanks to a quirk in its constitution.

The one-time-only holiday from the 10 percent state sales tax on recreational pot is likely to generate buzz in the first state in the nation to legalize marijuana.

The little-noticed provision is part of a larger bill that Gov. John Hickenlooper signed into law Thursday that includes a ballot initiative in November and a permanent tax cut on recreational pot sales in 2017.

“This fiscal glitch that we have with the constitution … that’s part of the magic of living in Colorado,” the Democratic governor said.

This might be the first time that anybody has ever used the word “magic” in a conversation about TABOR.

► Please, someone, stop Ellen Roberts from talking for awhile. It’s for her own good.

► Cathy Proctor of the Denver Business Journal reports on last night’s “Rebel With a Cause” fundraising dinner hosted by Colorado Conservation. Billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer was honored as this year’s recipient of the annual award. “A clean environment, a good job, a healthy life — these are the building blocks of the America Dream, and this is what we want our leaders to go for, not only in their policies but actions,” said Steyer to a packed house in Denver.

► The Denver Post is looking to cut 20 positions from its newsroom staff. The end goal is to find out if the newspaper will just print itself if nobody is watching.

► The Jefferson County School Board has approved $15 million for construction of a new school in northwest Arvada. But as Austin Briggs reports for the Denver Post, the right-wing majority on the board thinks the school can be financed with fairy dust:

District Chief Operating Officer Steve Bell has repeatedly recommended the district use Certificates of Participation to fund new construction; the district’s Capital Asset Advisory Committee has supported Bell’s recommendation. Board members John Newkirk, Julie Williams and Ken Witt, however, have been reluctant, stating that they do not want to incur debt.

Look, nobody wants to incur debt, but that’s sort of how it works; if people had to pay full cash price for a home or a car, the entire economy would collapse. There’s nothing noble about saying you don’t want to incur debt when you don’t really have another option.

► The Colorado Statesman breaks down Tuesday’s election results in the Denver Municipal Elections runoff.

OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK

► The Republican Party continues to move away from the center, as Catherine Rampell writes for the Washington Post.

► Beau Biden was laid to rest in Delaware on Thursday. The state’s Attorney General and the son of Vice-President Joe Biden died last week after battling brain cancer.

►  Ultra-conservative radio host Sean Hannity is playing a major role in the race for the Republican Presidential nomination.

ICYMI

► Last month the Nebraska legislature overrode a veto by Gov. Pete Ricketts to abolish the death penalty in the land of corn. According to The Atlantic, Ricketts may try to speed up the execution of several death row inmates before the law can take effect.

► Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal will likely enter the Republican Presidential race later this month, and he’s not a fan of the metric system, apparently. A spokesperson says Jindal “would rather make the world more American.”

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