Extending unemployment benefits would help economy, Post says

Good morning. Here's a look at news reports from around the state on issues of interest to the Colorado Center on Law and Policy for Tuesday, July 6, 2010. Listing does not imply endorsement of the content.

ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY
The Denver Post: Colorado summer lunch program pushing to feed more needy kids
The summer food program has long flown under the radar nationally. But while other states have been increasing the number of needy kids they feed, Colorado's rate of participation has dropped.


FISCAL POLICY
Denver Post editorial: Extend benefits for unemployed
The consequences of cutting off aid to Americans who are out of work could hurt the U.S. economy more than help it.

YourHub.com via The Denver Post: City's stimulus loan gives birth to SarahCare at DTC
Nearly a year and a half after the Obama administration enacted the stimulus plan, the first business in Denver has reaped the benefits of city stimulus funding. SarahCare at DTC — a franchise facility that provides health-related care and other day services for seniors — opened last week in southeast Denver at 8000 E. Quincy Ave.

The Denver Post: Colorado Springs experimenting with loss of local services
The buses stop running at 6:15 p.m. now, and most streetlights stay dark throughout the night. Three city pools have shut down, and turf is withering in more than 100 parks. What's a city to do when its museums are struggling to stay open and there aren't enough police officers to investigate crimes? Colorado Springs residents have met their city's attempts to get by with less on their own terms. For some, there is anger and lost jobs. For others, there are weary shrugs and mild complaints.

Denver Daily News: New tax on tanning
Some Denver salons are feeling burned over a new tax on tanning that went into effect Thursday.

Pueblo Chieftain editorial: Cripplers
What if Colorado voters were to override the will of Puebloans who have approved the creation of our Urban Renewal Authority? Two ballot initiatives on November’s ballot could cripple the authority’s ability to bring new projects to the city’s blighted areas.

Colorado Independent: Hickenlooper would defy state Dems and reinstate tax-free ‘enterprise zones’
Democratic gubernatorial candidate John Hickenlooper presented his “road map” for Colorado job creation and economic growth last week. The road map puts him at odds with some Democratic members of the Colorado legislature who took pains this session to repeal the state’s so-called “enterprise zones” where businesses are exempted from paying taxes. Hickenlooper told the Colorado Independent that he strongly supported enterprise zones as a way to spur new business activity and that as governor he would look to promote them as a first order of business.

Face the State commentary: Online retailers will sue Colorado
The Direct Marketing Association says it plans to sue Colorado in federal court over a new law that requires online retailers from out of state to collect sales tax information from customers and forward it to the Revenue Department.

Associated Press via Glenwood Springs Post-Independent: McInnis vows to roll back Ritter's programs
“Car fees should go to a vote of the people. Elimination of tax exemptions, I'd roll back every one of them. Freezing the mill levy — that's a tax increase that should have gone to the voters,” McInnis said in an interview with The Associated Press.


HEALTH CARE POLICY
Denver Post commentary: Colorado in a good position for health care reform
Many nonprofit and non-partisan organizations already have stepped up with innovative health care solutions that hold much promise. By many indicators, we are well positioned to respond to the 2010 National Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.