Seth Klamann

Colorado Democrats blast Gov. Jared Polis as he again hints at intervening in Tina Peters’ prison sentence Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has again signaled that he thinks Tina Peters’ prison sentence was too harsh as he considers granting some form of clemency — though not a full pardon, his off…

New: Colorado Democrats blast Gov. Jared Polis as he again hints at intervening in Tina Peters' prison sentence. His office confirms it won't be a pardon, though. www.denverpost.com/2026/03/04/j... via @sethklamann.bsky.social @coltrain.bsky.social

Amid Trump election threats, Colorado House passes bill that would extend mail voting, drop-off periods “Coloradans deserve to cast their ballot without barriers, and this bill safeguards against federal interference in our elections and makes it easier to vote,” said Rep. Emily Sirota of Denve…

Colorado lawmakers advanced a bill Tuesday that would give voters more time to vote and drop off their ballots amid President Donald Trump’s threats to buck the Constitution by trying to nationalize elections // Story by @sethklamann.bsky.social

TL;DR - Some in/around state government had expected Polis to lessen Peters’ sentence weeks ago, well before SJL’s sentencing. His comments tonight scan, to me, like someone who’s reached a conclusion and is working backwards from there.

Gov. Jared Polis stops releasing prisoners who’ve spent decades behind bars for youthful crime Colorado’s governor has not approved any of the program’s graduates for early release since 2023 — an about-face from the prior three years.

As we’ve reported, there are 11 people who’ve completed a prison program and are eligible to be released *right now*. But Polis, personally, has to approve it, but he’s refused to because he doesn’t want the authority. So they’re languishing. www.denverpost.com/2026/01/16/c...

The state’s prisons are overflowing, but Polis has been so resistant to working with the legislature to release eligible inmates that lawmakers had to briefly hold prison funding hostage this year just to get Polis’ staff to the negotiating table.

All else aside, it’s hard to describe how disingenuous this comparison is. SJL faked letters of support to duck a state legislative ethics probe. Peters participated in a plot to undermine Colorado’s elections and has spent her brief time in prison getting in fights and earning write-ups.

This is not true.

There’s been a concerted effort to convince Polis not to do this, and legislators have warned that they won’t just let it slide, either. And yet.

Not a surprise at this point, but Polis seems intent on leapfrogging the Court of Appeals - which is already weighing the length of Peters’ sentence - & intervening himself.

It should perhaps be noted that same charges =/= same facts or intent. And Peters was also convicted of seven total charges.

Gov. Polis dropping some preemptive justification for his (very likely) intervention re: Tina Peters’ prison sentence:

The first of Colorado Democrat’s legislative affordability package dies at its first hurdle. HB 1012 would’ve prevented venues like airports, stadiums and concert venues from charging “unreasonably excessive prices.” Three Democrats join with the House Judiciary Committee’s 4 Republicans to kill it.

Israeli strikes hit hospital in Tehran, witnesses tell Reuters Israeli strikes hit a hospital in Tehran’s Gandhi Street area, two witnesses told Reuters on Sunday, saying the hospital was badly damaged and patients were being taken out.

www.reuters.com/world/middle...

Live: Khamenei's body has been found and he is confirmed dead, Israeli official says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there were many signs indicating Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei "is no longer", without explicitly confirming his death.

Israel says Khamenei has been killed.
www.reuters.com/world/iran-c...

Inhumanity and insanity. The sort of thing a dying empire does.

Same aggressor, same type of target.

Gov. Jared Polis moves to end his monthslong effort to comply with an ICE subpoena Attorneys representing Gov. Jared Polis informed a Denver judge that the governor wanted a ruling that would indefinitely block him from ordering the release of information — something he&#82…

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has moved to drop his 9-month effort to comply with a federal immigration subpoena, arguing that ICE officials apparently no longer need the employment records the governor had sought to turn over // Story by @sethklamann.bsky.social

Colorado slashes rape kit testing backlog, but lag time still tops 6 months — 3 times as long as standard The reduced backlog represents a significant improvement from last June’s testing lag of 450 days. Both auditors and CBI officials said the CBI should be able to hit 90 days before the end of…

Colorado forensic officials have slashed the turnaround time for sexual assault kit testing, but it still takes analysts more than six months to process and complete a test, a new state audit found // Story by @sethklamann.bsky.social

Flawed analysis caused Colorado Medicaid program’s costs to surge and made it ‘attractive’ to fraud “We literally alerted them, and they did nothing until about two years later,” said Kelly Milan, the founder of the Colorado Transportation Alliance, about HCPF’s high rates used …

“The root cause of the fraud was an overly generous rate that was so lucrative that people were willing to commit crimes to get that rate,” a Colorado medical transportation provider tells @sethklamann.bsky.social

Scoop: DNC officials working on secret report found Gaza stance cost Harris votes The DNC's research on what went wrong in 2024 has been under lock and key since party leaders decided to hide it from the public.

Top Democratic officials who worked on the party's still-secret autopsy of the 2024 election concluded that Kamala Harris lost significant support because of the Biden administration's approach to the war in Gaza, Axios has learned.

HCPF*.

The upshot is that Colorado and the federal government were paying far more than they should’ve been for three years, despite two providers flagging the issue to HCP. In that time, the program was besieged by fraud, and expenses exploded from $70 million, to $212 million, to more than $300 million.

It took 10 days to get something vaguely resembling a straight answer from Colorado’s Department of Health Care Policy and Financing for this story. And even then, they shifted blame to the providers — even though providers were following the agency’s own, multi-year instructions.

A state Medicaid program’s costs tripled in a year after officials recommended an underlying payment rate get a hefty bump.

But that recommendation was based on a flawed analysis that compared what other states paid for ambulances with what Colorado should pay for Subarus.

Colorado faith communities rally around state’s immigrants in face of ICE deportation push Coloradans of varied faith backgrounds described turning the Biblical command of “love thy neighbor” into action.

Neighbors showing up for each other.

This is how Colorado faith leaders and parishioners are organizing, leading the charge & quietly supporting their immigrant neighbors while loudly protesting ICE

www.denverpost.com/2026/02/22/c... via @denverpost.com

Owners of blighted Edge of Lowry apartments settle Aurora lawsuit, agree to sell One of the owners of Aurora’s blighted Edge of Lowry apartment complex, where multiple violent criminal incidents connected to Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua catapulted the city into the nati…

The owners of the Edge of Lowry, a troubled apartment complex where gang allegations drew Trump’s attention, have agreed to pay Aurora $300,000 to end a lawsuit the city brought to recoup costs of closing and maintaining the property, per @katielang.bsky.social www.denverpost.com/2026/02/19/e...

Colorado enters redistricting war, with group pitching new map that would give Democrats a 7-1 edge A plan that would give Democratic congressional candidates a strong edge in Colorado — and put a temporary hold on its independent redistricting process — could go to voters in November…

A plan that would give Democratic congressional candidates a strong edge in Colorado — and put a temporary hold on the state's independent redistricting process — could go to voters in November under proposals filed today // Story by @coltrain.bsky.social and @sethklamann.bsky.social

Journalists Arrested in Cameroon While Reporting on Trump’s Secretive Deportation Program

"An Associated Press reporter was beaten by the police and detained along with three other journalists on Tuesday in Cameroon while reporting on a secretive Trump administration program to deport migrants to the Central African country, according to two of the people detained." (gift link)

Gov. Jared Polis names Susan Blanco as new Colorado Supreme Court justice The appointment fills an empty spot on the seven-member court left by the departure of Justice Melissa Hart, who retired Jan. 5 after taking a months-long personal leave that began in late October.

New Colorado Supreme Court justice —>

Colorado sex workers have long pushed to decriminalize prostitution. Now lawmakers are proposing it. “Whatever your morals are, I don’t believe the government should be involved in the bedroom of consenting adults,” said Sen. Nick Hinrichsen, a Pueblo Democrat and one of the bill…

After years of advocacy from Colorado sex workers, lawmakers will debate a bill to decriminalize prostitution in the state. The bill faces steep odds, but Gov. Jared Polis has voiced some initial support: www.denverpost.com/2026/02/17/c...