Colorado

Bureau of Land Management Issues Record of Decision

11/07/2011 -- WASHINGTON –The Department of the Interior today announced that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Royal Gorge Field Office has released the Record of Decision (ROD) approving the Over The River™ (OTR) temporary art installation. The project, proposed by the artist Christo, will include suspending eight fabric panel segments totaling 5.9 miles within a 42-mile stretch of the Arkansas River in Colorado.

November 7, 2011 -- Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and Mark Udall, along with Senators Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Kent Conrad (D-ND) are urging Senate committee leaders to consider western states and rural communities when exploring potential reforms to the U.S. Postal Service.

“We think a long-term viable postal service must be placed on a secure financial trajectory while protecting the important role that USPS plays in rural America,” the Senators wrote in the letter to the leaders of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the subcommittee dealing with the Postal Service.

October 17, 2011 -- DENVER – "Fourteen new solar carports that if the panels were laid end to end would span nearly 5.5 miles are now installed and will produce approximately 1.6 megawatt-hours per year at four Denver Federal Center buildings." This final phase completes GSA’s largest single solar installation in the United States. Nearly 7 megawatts of additional renewable power will be online by the end of the year, saving approximately $500,000 in electricity costs annually for the campus. This project, combined with two other solar projects, will provide more than 15 percent of campus electrical needs, enough to power 1,064 residential homes for one year.

In Speech, Udall Details what Health Reform Bill Means for Coloradans: Freedom and Security, Reduced Costs, Better Health for Millions

March 26, 2010 -- Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Mark Udall delivered a speech on the Senate floor, describing how the historic health insurance bill, completed by Congress this week, will improve health for millions of Coloradans.

Reform ensures that insurance companies will have to keep their promises to consumers and never drop them from coverage because of a pre-existing condition. It expands coverage to hundreds of thousands of Coloradans, and it means everyone will have the freedom to change jobs, start a business, or start a family knowing that health coverage will be there for them when they need it.

Historic Investment in Childhood Nutrition Will Reduce Childhood Hunger and Give Colorado Kids Access to Healthy Meals at School

March 24, 2010 -- Washington, DC - Michael Bennet, U.S. Senator for Colorado and member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today applauded the committee's bipartisan passage of a $4.5 billion investment in child nutrition over 10 years.

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 will reduce childhood hunger, promote health through improved nutritional quality, reduce childhood obesity and improve program efficiency. This fiscally responsible legislation is entirely paid for.

March 4, 2010 -- Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien and Colorado Education Commissioner Dwight D. Jones announced today that the U.S. Department of Education has named Colorado as one of 16 finalists for the first round of Race to the Top education reform grants. Colorado and the other finalists were selected from 40 states and the District of Columbia.

Proposal seeks to cut air pollution and create jobs in homegrown energy sector

March 5, 2010 -- Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, Xcel Energy and a coalition of lawmakers, energy companies and environmentalists announced agreement today on legislation that will lead the nation in cutting air pollution, creating jobs and increasing the use of cleaner energy sources.

The proposed Colorado Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act would require Xcel Energy to sharply reduce pollutants by retiring, retrofitting or repowering Front Range coal-fired power plants by the end of 2017 and replacing them with facilities fueled by natural gas and other lower- or non-emitting energy sources.

Udall: Colorado Helping ‘Chart a New Course for Education’

March 4, 2010 -- Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Mark Udall welcomed news that Colorado has made the list of finalists in the first round of the competition for a Race to the Top education grant. The U.S. Department of Education this morning announced that it has selected Colorado and 14 other states and the District of Columbia from a pool of 41 applicants to compete to receive $377 million over four years to pay for school reforms.

Later this month, a team led by Lt. Gov. Barbara O'Brien and Colorado Education Commissioner Dwight D. Jones will present their proposal to a panel of reviewers in Washington, D.C. The first round Race to the Top recipients will be announced in April.

Jan. 29, 2010 -- Colorado Governor Bill Ritter today announced that state agencies intensified their distribution of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to communities across Colorado. The funds paid for more than 7,200 full-time equivalent jobs during the last three months of 2009, including teaching jobs in higher education, highway construction, science research, weatherization programs and special education and other professional services at K-12 schools across the state.

Jan. 24, 2010 -- Colorado Governor Bill Ritter welcomed 32 Haitian orphans to Colorado today, capping a 10-day effort to reunite children from earthquake-ravaged Port-au-Prince with their adoptive families here in Colorado.

"Thanks to the patience, perseverance and determination of many people and organizations, today we were able to bring all of these children together with their new families," Gov. Ritter said at Denver International Airport. "While getting these kids to Colorado was a major milestone, there are still more Haitian children waiting to come to Colorado, and many more Colorado families living on pins and needles waiting for them to arrive. We are going to keep up the pressure until all of these children are together with their new families."