It's been a week of remarkable people across Colorado.

TSA workers at Dia kept travelers moving despite working without pay during the partial government shutdown.

There was the fantastic news that Denis Coyle, the Pueblo based linguist, was released after more than a year in detention in Afghanistan and a major leadership change.

James Gorka is the new Catholic archbishop for northern Colorado, following the retirement of Archbishop Samuel Aquila.

And speaking of retirement, one of our own here at the table had made headlines this week, and we'll get to that along with much more right here on Colorado inside out.

Hi, everyone, I'm Kyle Dyer.

Let's get right to introducing you to this week's insider panel.

We start with Patty Calhoun, founder and editor of Westword.

Alton Dillard, consultant with the dealer group Rockford Gray and political analyst at Denver seven and a former election spokesperson for the City and County of Denver.

Then we have and Thomas Tafoya, community and environmental advocate and former candidate for the mayor of Denver.

And Kali West, executive director of the Colorado branch of the American Petroleum Institute.

Amid the rush to make the November ballot, new showdown is emerging, one that could impact Colorado oil and gas industry or affect and undermine the state's climate goals.

We'll see what happens with this.

On one side, Advanced Colorado is proposing a ballot measure for a constitutional amendment that would guarantee consumers the right to use natural gas for home heating or cooking.

That's a move that some environmentalists have questioned as the state pushes towards cleaner energy.

Now, on the other side, Conservation Colorado is now backing several different measures to protect renewable energy policies, hold oil and gas companies accountable for environmental damage, So, Patty, there was a brief truce that lasted a couple of years, but now it seems as though this fight is back on.

There was a truce.

And let's think about the backdrop we have now, which is soaring gas prices, soaring energy prices.

You've got the PUC looking into exactly how much it would cost to bring more centers here.

So the question is also going to be how much are people willing to give up in order to have any kind of affordable energy?

So that's the backdrop for these bills.

I love the citizen initiative process, but we're not really talking so much about citizens here.

We're talking about brinksmanship.

So the four new ballot proposals are going up to just really challenge what Michael Fields has done with the gas availability ballot.

And it's going to be a fight to the finish to see which ones that actually make it onto the ballot.

Among the other thousands that will be proposed by next week.

And will there be a compromise along the way?

And I don't see it happening.

Now, Advance Colorado's measure is the one that's in the gathering signature phase.

But like the other four, they're not even there yet.

No, you just have to get it to the Secretary of State's office by next week.

And then you have to go get the rest of the signatures.

But that's what the time right now, it's prime time for gathering signatures.

And it's not so easy.

It's not so easy.

And one of the things that I, you know, like to go back and forth with Patty about is the citizen initiative process.

Colorado's one of only 24 states that even allows that.

And so to use your word, it does create brinksmanship because people say, well, governmental entity, if you don't come to the table, we're just going to go to the citizens.

I've seen it happen at the local level.

I've seen it happen at the state level.

And so I'm going to shout out the folks at the Secretary of State's office and the company that they use down in southern Colorado, that's got to go through all those signatures.

And then the other thing that's interesting, just on ballot access, is the challenges that the parties are finding.

Finding partizans to sign their petitions.

There is a reason the bulk of Colorado voters are unaffiliated.

And so that is one of the side effects of that, Well, I spent many years locked in battle, both at the ballot and at the legislature.

Related to this.

And the compromise that was reached a few years ago has had some good impacts.

I think, for the community resources of and developed environmental justice has been entered into several of the divisions at the state, and we actually created a permit system that could take bad actors licenses away who were acting inappropriately in violating the law in Colorado.

And there have been some of those to happen, which is something that my community has said for a long time wasn't happening all the way back to Colorado, rising with setbacks and all these other things.

It comes back to air pollution and protecting communities.

Seven out of ten Coloradans say that they want industry to be regulated in a way that protects air and safety.

I have a lot of concerns about locking natural gas into the constitution of the state of Colorado.

What you need to be thinking about is somebody could still use a gas like a propane at their house.

But if you lock this in and don't allow the building codes to change, what does that mean?

That means they're going to have to continue to build this infrastructure.

And it's shared across all ratepayers, regardless if you're using natural gas or not.

Okay.

Carley organization came out this week against these four proposals from Conservation Colorado, saying that they're going to drive up energy costs.

Yes, Kyle.

So it is hard to overstate how critical access to energy, affordable, reliable energy continues to be.

And oil and Colorado's oil and gas industry plays a major role in ensuring that Colorado families and businesses have access to the energy that they need.

Policies that increased costs that drive up uncertainty and energy production.

Those policies don't stay isolated.

They can show up in increased cost and an increased cost of goods, increased utility bills and energy bills across the board, and really broader cost of living pressures.

Colorado already has one of the most comprehensive regulatory frameworks for development of energy sources in the country, and that the effect of that has shown up in an EDF study recently released that showed 70% reduction in methane emissions from industry from just 2010 to 2017.

And that was even as industry production increased.

So we have seen Colorado's regulatory framework achieve great success in terms of Colorado's goals.

That said, these initiatives would not reduce emissions, and they wouldn't improve resilience.

What they could do is make it harder for Colorado families and businesses to have access to reliable, affordable energy.

And there's no guarantee that any of these, either the four from Conservation Colorado or the one from Advanced Colorado will even make the ballot.

There's still a process that has to keep continuing.

Like you were saying, it takes a while.

Yes.

But also to echo what Ian said.

We cannot embed things in the Constitution.

Look at what happened with Tabor.

And I'll just say that wind and solar have quickly become the cheapest forms of energy that we can build, and we can watch what's happening with oil and gas and how it's spiking and up and down.

And it's not just because of our policies.

There are layoffs that were happening before environmental policies passed as well.

Okay.

And I want to bring up just the brown cloud which we are seeing is returning in certain cities because of the rollback with the EPA in standards.

So it's there's so many different facets of this in our quality of life.

All right.

Good conversation everybody.

You know a startling headline caught my attention this week.

Coloradans are losing one affordable housing unit for every two that is built in our state.

And rather than as the Colorado Sun puts it, stop the bleeding.

The governor continues to prioritize new construction over preserving the affordable rentals that already exists.

Now, at the state Capitol, lawmakers just passed the House ID, a bill that would let property owners split their lots in half to allow for more housing.

And then in Denver, City Council is throwing around the idea to limit new single unit homes and dense neighborhoods like Capitol Hill in favor of.

You could have a duplex or an apartment building on that block rather than a big home.

So we'll see what happens with that.

And I'll start with you.

one of the things that I find fascinating about the affordable housing discussion is it's always been a need, and people need to be honest with themselves when they first hear the term affordable housing.

I'm sure they get a certain image, a certain ethnic demographic in mind.

But now that you've got medical professionals and first responders who can't afford to live where they work now, what's an issue?

My concern with this current effort is the sort of push out to where 1308 kicks in at the end of 2027.

The need is now, so it's just a matter of throwing bodies at it.

When I lived in Green Valley Ranch, one of the home builders out there literally was able to put up five model homes, light and plumbed them in a little over a week.

that we're at a crux.

We're getting ready to really run the risk of turning into California.

And Denver is going to run the risk of turning into a boutique boutique city like San Francisco, where no one can afford to live.

If we don't get a handle on this quickly.

Okay.

And well, I find the this conversation about the ability to develop on public land really interesting because it's coming up in the federal context, too, with public land sale sell offs.

Right.

And so do people want to make trades in the mountains for housing on BLM land.

But I do think an example of RTD, where they have empty parking lots from fast tracks that they built all these years ago, that seems to be a place that makes a lot of sense to me.

The land splitting part is really interesting that the Republicans would say that it would be a takings of their rights, where you would think that they would be property rights.

Let me do what I want to do on my land and think about people who are trying to age in place, or you have something that's coming up for your family.

You might have the ability to split your land, still, keep some of your asset and sell the other part for whatever needs that you might have in the Denver side.

You know, whether Capitol Hill, disallows single family zoning or the competing initiative, which would say there's no single family zoning anywhere.

I think there's a lot to play out.

It's interesting to me because my councilman kind of Flynn Flynn, is moving on, the one that you talked about in the beginning, but he's also sending a newsletter to all of his constituents, myself included, to oppose the other.

Okay.

All right.

Cali.

So Colorado continues to focus on solutions that really don't fully address the root cause of the problem.

Until Colorado is willing to tackle construction defects and make meaningful progress around that, we are not going to see what we need in this area, which is entry level for, purchase homes in the form of condominiums.

And until we can solve for that, we don't meaningfully address this problem.

We saw legislation passed last year that was aimed at doing that.

It just didn't go far enough to actually move the needle on this issue.

A lot of well intentioned policies at the state Capitol, are trying to get to this.

But until we address the underlying barrier to the construction of condominiums for folks in Colorado, this issue just doesn't meaningfully change for Colorado.

and of course, it's it wasn't just last year.

There were efforts.

There have been efforts many, many times.

And they never seemed to fix everything.

So it's not just the construction defects.

It's also permitting.

How long does it take when you can build something in a week?

But how long?

How many years is it going to take to get the permitting right?

And Denver, the planning department is now thinking about extending the time it takes to build.

If you're still waiting on financing after you've had your plans approved.

It might not have to be built as quickly because financing right now is an issue.

I agree with you should be able to split your lot if you want to.

I think that's great.

The Adu was a great movement.

Split your lot if you can, but if you have a lot, you should be able to build a single family home if you want to.

I mean, prohibiting that in Capitol Hill, I don't know who would do it, but prohibiting it is crazy.

So we have a lot of issues just dealing with density.

Are you putting in the infrastructure you need?

Hate to bring up the word, but parking it is almost impossible in certain parts of town that are getting denser and denser and making people crankier and crankier.

So push for density, but also push to let people have some property rights.

Informational signs are coming down at national parks and historic sites following an executive order that claim some of the content promotes divisive narratives and corrosive ideology.

Some signs have already been removed, others are under review.

And even here in Colorado, we do have exhibits at national parks that have been flagged.

Yeah, I actually had a chance to talk with the media about this earlier because this pertains to my regular work.

But this is personal.

I mean, Mesa Verde, those are my ancestors.

I'm okay.

We can get and Pueblo.

Why did our people likely move?

Because they had a megadrought that required people to move 2000 years ago.

The signs they're talking about are saying there are conditions around climate change that make it harder for native plants to restore themselves.

That's wild.

Similarly, Dinosaur Monument, another place with people who live there up to 10,000 years ago, are still leaving their mark on the land.

Why in the world we go back on that and the Sand Creek Massacre and some of these books that they're trying to ban, I mean, literally trying to ban books because they said, guess what?

White people and indigenous people have had problems for several hundred years as we conquered over the West and across the United States.

To try to hide that from society won't work.

This is going to reverse when Trump is gone.

It's just really sad that this is all happening and we're wasting resources because we built these damn signs.

If we're going to restore, we're gonna have to build them again.

But I think what's gonna end up happening is I've seen already people are going out trying to document everything they can now.

Okay.

All right.

Carly.

Thoughts?

So certainly signage and information play an important role in helping people understand history and context.

And how that is presented really matters a lot because it can either inform people or end up presenting a one sided or incomplete picture.

And really, people don't have the ability then to make informed choices or make just generally understand what has happened.

I know we're talking about this here on the national scale, but it happens here in Colorado too.

Last session we saw legislation introduced that would have required at every gasoline pump there be a disclosure about emissions and health impacts, and it was presented really simply, but it didn't show a full picture of, policy.

It didn't show a full picture of all of the things that go into the importance of energy for people in their day to day lives.

It created a very simplistic idea of what a complex situation we truly have.

And so when we look at that, it really matters that complex information and sensitive information is framed in a way that lets people get a deeper understanding.

We talk about history and policy.

It's really important that people have full context so that they can understand an issue and engage in it in a meaningful way.

It's really unfortunate right now because you look at history, Colorado, which has spent the last decade really working on expanding the stories, telling the full stories, telling the stories of all the people that were here.

And you look at the Sand Creek story, the massacre exhibit, which replaced a really bad one that was like Disney goes to Sand Creek, and this one includes the voices of The descendants.

And not just one group, but other groups and their new exhibit, Moments That Matter.

For Colorado's hundred and 50, it does the same thing.

It shows objects, but gives you points from a full context of different people.

So Colorado has really been working to tell full stories about everyone who's lived here.

Now all of a sudden we're seeing things like old sport get beaten up.

We see, four corners, that when you have places where we are finally learning the real story and now it's going to go away, and all the science and climate change issues up at Rocky Mountain National Park, and that they want to wipe that away as though if they take the signs down, the pollution won't be there.

It's, You're right.

As soon as Trump's gone, presumably the signs will go back up.

But in the meantime, it's a huge step backwards.

this is pure whitewashing.

There is no way to talk about it in any of their context.

And so this current administration has a mission that they have three years to turn America back to the white Christian nationalist nation that it was founded at.

And so to me, this also sort of harkens back to the old CRT controversy, the whole critical race theory discussion.

And it's like, okay, so we're now we're going to say that systems don't play any role in racism.

And to Patty's point, the work in history, Colorado not letting the state forget about Sand Creek, not letting the state forget about a camp of moxie.

these are a part of our history and there is no reason.

And none of this stuff is to make any particular group feel bad or anything like that.

But there is a white fragility that is starting to really show itself, and this current administration is the embodiment of it, where anything there uplifts your people is seen as being anti-white.

I just want to add that I agree 100% with what you're saying about everything that has to do with the historical context about genocide, oppression, internment camps.

But this is about ecology.

This is scientists who are literally studying every year trying to reintroduce species or take care of species.

And less precipitation and hotter temperatures are leading to more bugs or less plant growth.

That's just a fact.

What other side is there to talk about there?

The scientists who we pay and hire to do this for us.

And we're sitting here as we speak, Mount blue Sky is brown.

It's not even April yet.

To your point.

Okay, let's turn to climate concerns.

We've seen record breaking temperatures again this week.

So what is this summer going to bring?

That is something that Representative Jonah Goose has thought it has brought up.

And he actually asked the head of the U.S.

Forest Service about its plan to protect public lands and communities as we head into, what could be a severe wildfire season this summer and spring.

At the same time, there are growing concerns about resources after the recent fires and floods of last year.

We've seen Colorado can't rely on federal support.

Yet we are seeing federal efforts really focused on managing wild horse population in an already very dry, stressed out landscape here in Colorado.

So how prepared are we and what is the best approach in these months ahead?

Huge question.

I'm going to start with Carly.

You're right Kyle, preparedness is the question right now.

And it really comes down to are our systems ready for what is ahead of us?

that's where our energy reliability really matters.

And oil and natural gas continue to play a critical role in making sure that Colorado's energy systems are consistent and delivering what we need here in Colorado.

Planning ahead and making sure that systems are really ready is critical, because when timelines shift or things are unexpected, that's really when it matters.

That's when the rubber hits the road in terms of making sure that people are safe and systems are safe, affordability and reliability also really go hand in hand, especially when we're talking about extreme weather.

And we've had in the last couple of weeks some power turned off because it's gotten so windy and the fear of wildfires again, you know, so we may have a lot of that in these next many months ahead.

Patty.

Yes, let's not get too excited because today we had winter, which is because it was below 60 as opposed to it at 90.

Yeah.

On Wednesday we went into drought rules in Denver.

First time since 2013 that we've done it earlier than ever.

People are not.

And people better obey this year because we are going to be so short of water.

So you're going to be short of water everywhere.

You're also going to be short of the number of people who really can get out there and fight fires, or deal with the problems that might come up and see that it's already really working hard to get rid of, foliage and other problems by the side of the road.

You've got a lot of counties really coming down on houses that have not fire proofed if they're in the mountains.

So that's good.

People are prepared.

I think Colorado's doing the best it can right now to be prepared for those short resources.

And that's not just water, but it's people.

But we can't count on the feds really at all right now.

We just don't know what's going to happen there.

I know, I know and remember it's going to be warm again tomorrow.

Yeah, yeah, The part that's really jumping out at me is the fact that CDot and the local firefighting agencies are on people to maintain their vehicles.

You have a blowout, and next thing you know, those sparks may start a fire off the side of the road.

How many times have you seen someone pulling a trailer and the chain is dragging on the pavement, and it's throwing up sparks and losing those is a couple of examples.

Or if you let your brakes get down too low and those starts throwing off sparks.

I remember driving the steamboat one time and I got caught behind, bands tour bus.

This bus was of a vintage where I expected the freedom Riders to step off of it.

They were belching black smoke all the way up.

Rabbit ears pass, and I was even thinking of that back then.

It's like, well, it's a good thing the things are green or these guys might spark some kind of fire.

So take the advice of CDot, take the advice of your local fire department.

Make sure, especially with what's going on, that you're staying on top of your vehicle maintenance to the best you can.

It's good to bring up.

Okay.

All right.

Well, I think most first and foremost we need people to start getting educated on conservation, conserving your energy, conserving your water.

I think these are all going to be really important.

As a person who cared for my grandma, who was on the oxygen machine when it got hot and her bills were soaring for both her air conditioning and for her air that she needed to breathe.

That was even more important when the forest fires were happening, when the air quality was getting bad, because as the temperature goes up, the air quality gets worse.

It's a fact that we have here, especially on the Front Range.

And so I'm very concerned about that.

And I want people to be aware of the kind of programs that exist for energy assistance programs.

Again, back to water conservation as well.

They just had a climate disaster week at the Capitol, where they walked through a series of these.

And I think the long term goal of this Trump administration is to destroy our laboratory system, which is absolutely moronic.

These are the people who help can predict where things are moving, where the wind is blowing, what temperatures are, where precipitation is.

I mean, we are really setting ourselves backwards.

And I think the thing that scares me the most, I have three cousins or a wildland firefighters in New Mexico.

These are families and the federal, programs that are pushing into fixing our forests is about logging.

It's not about supporting firefighting.

And so those monies aren't reaching us.

And then, of course, there's economics that are at play.

Look at just what happened to the entire Roaring Fork Valley when the Glen Canyon Dam, Glen Canyon Road went down on I-70 because of a fire?

You're right.

Okay.

All right, let's go around the table now and talk about some of the highs and the lows that we have witnessed this week.

We'll start on a low point.

And with Patty speaking of fire, on Thursday, the city park pavilion, the gazebo there went up in flames.

Probably arson, but just a sad loss of an old space.

Okay, mine is this on going partial government shutdown?

As I mentioned earlier, unaffiliated voters have the plurality for reasons so many people are tired of the infighting, the gridlock, and the inability to work together to get to some kind of a common sense agreement.

when I'm disappointed.

As for the third year in a row, we're arguing over who's leading RTD, and they want to make changes to the executive leadership in 1980.

Petitioners move forward.

Neighborhood groups, the disability community, that kind of rights community create the elected RTD board were being taxed for it.

It needs more resources compared to other states.

We're not funding it in any way like a state government would.

That would have so much control.

And so this is going to play out over the next few weeks.

And if you can't tell, I think we need to send it to the voters.

If you're going to change how people are voting for their elected leaders okay.

All right.

And Carly, so at the state legislature, there is a package of tax bills moving through that would generate $624 million in new taxes on Colorado businesses.

And given the one point, however many billion dollars, hole that our legislature has to fill this year, you would assume that those dollars would be going to addressing that deficit.

But actually, they are setting up a new tax credit.

So as we look at the real challenges our state legislature has in balancing a Colorado budget, many are just left wondering if we are really trying to get to the root cause of that, as opposed to moving things around.

Okay.

All right.

Let's go to something positive.

Patty Denver International Airport, how many times have I said positive things about that?

Almost never.

But their security when the rest of the country is falling apart, are most of the rest of the country seven minutes, ten minutes.

So good work by Dia.

Good work putting in those no new screening systems.

And thank you to all those workers who are going out there and working right now keeping us moving.

Yes.

Thank you.

And that's also my positive is a shout out to the TSA who is working without pay right now.

You know I'm kind of baby face so I have to use a very expensive, weird European razor.

Okay, I did not know that it was because this citizens injectable.

I did not know it was considered a safety razor, and instead of making me chuck the thing, the agent took the thing apart and showed me why I couldn't bring the razor blade part on board as opposed to just saying, well, that's illegal.

You got to get rid of it like nail clippers or something.

So they took the extra time to work with me, and that way I didn't have to toss a 60 buck razor.

60 bucks.

Yeah, it's hard work being good looking.

See?

See it go.

Well, I want to say thanks to you, Patty, for a, lifetime's worth of work.

I always enjoyed sending you op eds and you giving me feedback on good titles.

I think the best one was there.

Actually.

I wrote an op ed about the walls, and you said why everybody was howling at Donald Trump winning this other thing past.

And so I always loved the way that you encouraged me to think more creatively about the things I was submitting.

And though your coverage of history as a former chair of the historic Denver Board is really inspiring to me.

Thank you.

Yes, this week it was announced that you are stepping down from your job as editor, Westword.

But in July.

In July, I'm not dead.

I'm going to be the editor emeritus, and I'm going to be writing, which means I will have more time to cause trouble.

Yes.

Excellent.

Well, we want.

Yes.

Carly, I am so glad to hear that.

On a positive note, at the legislature, we're seeing momentum for a bipartisan piece of legislation, Senate Bill 137, that would take a look at Colorado's regulatory framework.

You may know, Colorado is the sixth most regulated state in the nation.

Just in the last six years, my organization alone has been involved in more than 50 rulemaking.

So this is a piece of legislation that would have state agencies take a look at all of the regulations on their books and think thoughtfully about what's important.

And what's doing the work we mean to, and what is redundant or duplicative or not, bringing benefit to the people of Colorado.

It's a bipartisan bill.

It's a great piece of legislation and excited to see it.

Okay.

All right.

Thank you.

Of course, my high this week is Patty Calhoun.

I am so glad that she will still be here, right here at the table in Colorado.

Inside out.

Despite you stepping down from being editor at Westword in July, since the announcement, we have heard so many well-deserved tributes to you, not only as a journalist, but as a leader in our community, as a friend.

They're also appropriate.

But it's the instincts that you follow that I think really shows who Patty is.

The news broke, the same day that westwards biggest issue of the year, the Best of Denver, came out and Patty was inundated with people who wanted to interview about her change in her chapter.

But she won the spotlight to stay on her team, on her product and on the city that you care so much about.

So, Patty, your generous business, you're so grounded, you're deeply committed, and we all love you.

And I'm just so thrilled that you're still here.

Not going anywhere.

Well, thanks.

And, mom, she's assured me I can stay on the show.

That's all that matters to you, I know, so you're watching now?

Yes.

Excellent.

Thanks, mom, for watching.

And everyone else, thank you all.

Insiders, especially Patty.

This week you had a big week.

Thank you again.

We appreciate all of you who watch us here on PBS, 12 or on YouTube or listen to our podcast.

I'm Kyle Dyer.

I will see you next year, next week with Patty Calhoun here on PBS 12.

PBS's 12 believes in the power of original local programing.

Help us bring more shows like the one you just watched by donating at PBS's 12 Dawgs program Support today.