"Happy to come back to Michigan, but I miss the mountains!"
As the dreaded April 15 filing deadline approaches, Coloradans have to work an extra five days this year to pay all their taxes. Residents of only 12 other states have to work longer to cover their combined tax bill. …Read the rest of my article at Watchdog Wire Colorado…. … [Read more...]
Transparency still comes with a hefty price tag in Thompson School District. Loveland resident and Liberty Watch co-founder Nancy Rumfelt filed a March 19 Colorado Open Records Act request for a little more than three months of school district emails including the names of school board members or the terms “reform” or “new school board majority.” She didn’t expect the request would bring a charge of $3,490. …Read the rest of my article at Complete Colorado Page Two…. … [Read more...]
A local government’s website often is the front line of communication, giving residents both a first impression and a deeper basis to determine whether elected officials have effectively established confidence and trust. The City of Arvada has sought to put its best foot forward in some aspects of customer service and transparency. But a number of opportunities exist to improve the Arvada website and its usefulness to concerned taxpayers and other community residents. Analysis and suggestions are based on an informal site audit I performed on March 6-8. …Read the rest of my article at Watchdog Wire Colorado…. … [Read more...]
From the Independence Institute Ed Is Watching Blog More Time to Study the K-12 Testing Issue Would Be Greatly Beneficial School Choice Legislative Debates Spread Across Map; Time for Colorado Kids to Win Two Michigan Teachers Set Free of Union; Thousands More in Limbo Top Facebook Links of the Week That's Just WRONG: This Doughnut Shop Won't Sell Dougnuts Because They Are Too Unhealthy (Delish.com) Further Proving Colorado Senators Are Rubber Stamps: John Fund - A Radical Rejected (National Review) Playing Favorites with Tax Credits Equals Bad Policy: Gorman: One Man's Tax Preference is Another Man's Tax Burden (Greeley Tribune) Next Up... Math Optional?: SAT College-Entrance Exam's Essay Portion to Become Optional in 2016 … [Read more...]
Raising concerns among many independent Internet entrepreneurs, a legislative bill to impose sales tax collection on many online retailers was sent back to the drawing board Wednesday. …Read the rest of my article at Watchdog Wire Colorado…. … [Read more...]
I offered recorded commentary for an American Family Radio News syndicated report on the Colorado Education Association's legal and legislative challenge of the state's 2010 tenure reform. More from the Independence Institute Amy Oliver Show: Task Force Looks at Policy Answers for Online Learning (Podcast) Will President Obama Set Record Straight on How School Choice Has Helped Kids? (Ed Is Watching) Open Negotiations in Jeffco Schools? That Old Momentum Looks Like It’s Back (Ed Is Watching) Finished One Good(read) Book This Week Means of Ascent (The Years of Lyndon Johnson #2) by Robert A. Caro: If you have a sensitive moral conscience, you also will need a hard stomach. But this second installment in Caro's intensely … [Read more...]
The federal treasury is picking up bigger shares of Colorado state spending, though a new analysis shows the state is less dependent on Washington funds than most of its neighbors. …Read the rest of my article at Watchdog Wire Colorado…. … [Read more...]
Local watchdogs say revelations made at the Lewis-Palmer District 38 school board’s January 16 meeting not only confirm some of the past warnings they shared but also should heighten concerns about fiscal mismanagement. Board members seem unable to come to terms with their 2010 decision to borrow money that’s costing taxpayers extra dollars for financing with no return for classrooms or students. …Read the rest of my article at Watchdog Wire Colorado…. … [Read more...]
I wrote an op-ed for the Greeley Tribune titled "Education Spending Transparency Doesn't Require Massive Tax Hike":Giving Coloradans open government should be more than an applause line. Whatever reassurance skeptical voters may need, it’s not because officials have withheld financial information from online disclosure. The question is whether they have done enough. More from the Independence Institute I’ll Stick My Toe into the Fordham-Cato School Choice Argument… for Five Minutes (Ed Is Watching) Denver State’s New Largest School District; Falcon 49 Open Enrollment Soars (Ed Is Watching) School Funding at Forefront of K-12 Legislative Business (Podcast) Twitter Verse of the Week Joel 2:13 Return to the Lord your God, for he … [Read more...]
Colorado trails most of its neighbors in the state’s ability to pay current and future bills. So says a new analysis from George Mason University’s Mercatus Center. “State Fiscal Condition: Ranking the 50 States” by economist Sarah Arnett compares the states’ respective abilities to cover short-term and long-term financial obligations. ...Read the rest of my article at Watchdog Wire Colorado.... … [Read more...]