Spotlight

President Biden's and Democrat's Legislative Accomplishments

In his Philadelphia speech on August 31, 2022, President Biden highlighted the Democrats’ significant legislative accomplishments in 2021 and so far in 2022. He emphasized the major items in his speech:

“. . . we passed the biggest infrastructure investment since President Eisenhower . . . we passed the most significant gun safety law since President Clinton . . . we passed the most significant health care reform since President Obama signed the ACA . . . and . . . we passed the most important climate initiative ever, ever, ever.”

Those are just the highlights. This article lists all the amazing accomplishments in legislation and some of the most important Executive Orders issues.

President Biden Announces Student Loan Relief for Those Who Need it Most

President Biden believes that a post-high-school education should be a ticket to a middle-class life. However, for too many individuals, the cost of borrowing for college is a lifelong burden depriving them of that opportunity.  

During President Biden's campaign, he promised to provide student debt relief for those who need it most.  The Executive Order signed by the President on August 24, 2022, delivers on that promise with debt relief targeted to low income individuals.

This summarizes information from a Fact Sheet from the "White House Briefing Room" explaining President Biden's plan.  Also provided is a link to the full documents with charts supporting the details.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, Democrat, Supports Women’s Reproductive Rights

Our current Attorney General, Phil Weiser, is running for re-election on our 2022 Colorado Democratic ticket. He is a strong supporter of women’s reproductive rights -- especially important after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in its Dobbs decision.

Referring to his work at the U.S. Supreme Court in the mid-1990’s, AG Weiser has stated:

“I was trained by Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the concept of equal protection of the laws and reproductive health care … is something that is deeply in my commitment.”

In contrast, his Republican opponent in the 2022 Attorney General’s race feels that the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs (overturning Roe v Wade) was rightly decided.

A recent opinion published in the Colorado Sun (July 29), asks very important questions that voters need to know about the positions of our 2022 Attorney General candidates.

SHORT TERM RENTALS IN ESTES VALLEY - VOICE YOUR OPINION

One of the hot-button issues in Estes Valley (and the rest of Larimer County) is the proliferation of Short Term Rentals (“STRs”) in our residential neighborhoods. Areas zoned residential are especially subject to being significantly impacted by STRs popping up in our neighborhoods.

When persons are staying in a neighborhood and have no long-term responsibility to respect the character and safety of the neighborhood, they can cause major issues for residents -- traffic, parking, noise, impacts to our property values, and wildfire risk, among other concerns.  In fact, over the past 5 years STRs have caused 60% of our fire department calls.  

STR regulations in Estes Valley (and Larimer County) are currently under review.  This article has links to voice your opinion.  Even after the original deadline for response (August 28, 2022), use these links to keep track of what is happening in YOUR neighborhood.

Irresponsible Attacks by Republicans Endangering the Lives of Law Enforcement

Trump posted an irresponsible and inflammatory press release about the August 8 search warrant to recover sensitive government records.  Immediately, many Republicans lined up to blindly smear Attorney General Merrick Garland, the DOJ, the FBI, and anyone connected with law enforcement -- before knowing any of the facts.

Very soon after Trump's press release, an armed man attacked an FBI field office in Cincinnati.  The man had a nail gun and an AR-15 type weapon.  Unsuccessful at forcing his way into the FBI office, the man fled, ultimately ending up dead in an Ohio corn field.  

On Thursday, August 11, AG Merrick Garland made a rare appearance on national television to counter disinformation about the warrant and to strongly support law enforcement.

Recovering National Security Documents - U.S. Code Citations - The Trump Warrant

Significant Criminal Code citations supported the search warrant served on Trump's property in Florida on August 8.  This included a citation for the Espionage Act covering national defense documents.  The warrant was released to the public on August 12.

The search warrant was seeking Presidential records illegally taken from the White House when Trump left office.  More than 20 boxes of documents were recovered for the National Archives under the Presidential Records Act, including 11 sets of documents that were Classified -- at least one set at the highest national security classification of Top Secret/SCI, requiring secured compartmentalized review only.