skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Amendment 68 Promises Money for Colorado Schools; Opponents Ask at What Cost

play audio
Play

Thursday, October 9, 2014   

AURORA, Colo. - Budgets are tight for Colorado schools, and Amendment 68 promises to raise up to $100 million through a K-12 Education Fund.

On the ballot in next month's midterm election, Amendment 68 would raise the funds by expanding gambling in Arapahoe, Mesa and Pueblo counties, but many in those counties and around the state are not in in favor of the Amendment.

Michele Ames, spokesperson for the No on 68 campaign, says it's important to pay attention to the language regarding the money the Amendment would raise for education.

"This $100 million number is only an estimate, not a guarantee," she says. "That's less than one percent of the total amount of money it costs to fund our public school system here in Colorado on an annual basis."

The political action committee behind the initiative, "Coloradans For Better Schools," is registered as the issue committee in favor of the Amendment. Public finance data indicates the PAC is primarily funded by Mile High USA, a subsidiary of a Rhode Island-based casino.

Supporters of the amendment argue the money is needed to help reduce class sizes and improve public education in Colorado. The No on 68 campaign is backed by the PAC "Don't Turn Racetracks into Casinos," which is largely funded by Colorado's existing casino operators.

Because of language in Amendment 68, the Arapahoe Park gaming horse track would initially be the only track that could qualify for a gambling expansion. Ames says a larger casino on the edge of Denver could hurt existing casinos at Central City, Cripple Creek and Black Hawk.

"If someone were to put a casino where they're talking about now, with Amendment 68, right in Arapahoe County, just on the edge of the Denver metro area, those three towns would die," says Ames.

Public revenue from existing casinos is being used to pay off bonds used to build the History Colorado Center and Museum. If those revenues decrease, Ames warns taxpayers may have to pick up the remaining loan payments.

If the Arapahoe Park gaming horse track was allowed to expand, the city of Aurora estimates it would cost $63 million in road improvements to accommodate the larger facility.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
Iowa families can apply for up to $7,600 a year for private school costs. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

An ethics committee in the Republican-led Iowa House has dismissed a complaint filed by a group of community activists against a state lawmaker for hi…


play sound

Each spring, hundreds of thousands of California high school seniors have to figure out if they can afford to go to college in the fall - and two new …

Health and Wellness

play sound

A health care workforce shortage in New Hampshire is leaving Alzheimer's patients and their families with few options for treatment. Patients facing …


South Dakota ranks 49th in the country for its contribution to indigent legal defense costs, according to a 2023 report from the Indigent Legal Services Task Force. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

South Dakota is creating an Office of Indigent Legal Services after House Bill 1057 passed the Legislature with nearly unanimous support this month…

Environment

play sound

A Knoxville-based environmental group is voicing concerns over what it sees as an increasing financial strain imposed on taxpayers by nuclear weapons …

Environment

play sound

A bipartisan law set to take effect this summer prohibits foreign adversaries from buying Hoosier farmland. The signature of Gov. Eric Holcomb was …

Environment

play sound

Traffic deaths are trending higher in Minnesota this year after a decline the previous year. Groups pushing for safer roads are convinced a small …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021