🗣️ Just how big of a deal is Gov. Polis' censure?

🗣️ Gov. Jared Polis Has Been Censured. What Does That Mean?

On Wednesday evening, 90% of the Democratic Party’s State Central Committee voted to censure Gov. Jared Polis for commuting Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters’ prison sentence last week. Though mostly a symbolic gesture of strong disapproval, the censure does bar the governor from participating in state functions as a special guest for the time being. More than 700 democrats signed a formal complaint against Polis, condemning him for what many viewed as the governor interfering with the judicial process. Polis isn’t the first governor to be censured by his own party, though this type of political rebuke is rare. Legislators, state judges, and members of specific governing bodies can also be censured. [Denver Post]

• To censure a state legislator, a formal complaint must be filed with the House or Senate ethics committee. If an investigation finds a rules violation, the full chamber can vote to censure the member, which only requires a majority vote. [Colorado Government]
• Who else has been censured in Colorado? At least 33 elected officials have been censured by state legislative chambers across the country, only one of whom was a Colorado lawmaker. Rep. Douglas Bruce – the father of TABOR – was censured by the Colorado House in 2008 for kicking a newspaper photographer. [Ballotpedia, Denver Post, CPR]
• More recently: Earlier this week, University of Colorado Regent Wanda James filed a lawsuit challenging a censure issued by the Board of Regents last year. Democratic state Sen. Faith Winter was found to have violated the Colorado Senate ethics policy by appearing to be intoxicated at a community meeting in 2024, but the ethics committee chose not to censure her. Republican State Rep. Ryan Armagost also avoided censure, abruptly resigning last August ahead of a censure vote by House Democrats. [CBS News, Colorado Sun]

💰 $1.2 Million in Speeding Tickets Voided in Weld County

Hudson Town Council will void or refund all tickets from a controversial temporary camera deployed without the agreed-upon 30-day warning period. The placement was also questionable, since it was located 400 feet from a 55 mph sign but posted in a 40 mph zone. This is the second instance of a Weld County town voiding tickets after reporting from Steve Staeger drew attention to ticketing issues. [9News]

• Do automated traffic cameras make cities safer? City Cast DC host Bridget Todd and CEO David Plotz dive into the data. [City Cast 🎧]

🖥️ Extremist Website Linked to Evergreen Shooting

Months before the shooting at Evergreen High School last year, the teenage perpetrator joined a gore website that featured graphic videos of people dying. Five other attacks have also been linked to this website over the last two years. Researchers from the Anti-Defamation League have found that Internet company Cloudflare could withdraw its services and cripple the website but chooses not to. Cloudflare has not returned requests for comment, though the company has long faced criticism for enabling online extremist websites. [Denver Post]

✈️ Frontier Was Most Delayed Airline Last Year

2025 was not a good year for on-time flight arrivals, and Frontier Airlines was an especially poor performer. The Denver-based carrier had the highest percentage of flights arriving more than an hour late, and was also one of the worst airlines for cancellations, according to an analysis by the Colorado Public Interest Research Group. [Denver7]

• A Frontier Airlines jet was also involved in a deadly pedestrian collision at DIA earlier this month. [City Cast Denver 🎧]

🚩 Do Matt and Trey Regret Buying Casa Bonita?

South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker were guests on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" this week, and the late-night talk show host asked the pair about their net worth (which is estimated at around $1.2 billion each). But the conversation quickly turned to the duo's purchase of Casa Bonita, and what a costly endeavor the renovation of the beloved eatertainment space turned out to be. Today on the podcast, we speculate about Matt and Trey’s grumblings, and if they were really upset about the $50 million spent rehabbing the pink palace or if staff unionizing efforts and the reality of running a restaurant were the true sore spot. [City Cast Denver 🎧]