The Colorado Sun

2 days ago | coloradosun.com | Brian Eason

Two months before the news broke that the Trump administration might try to end federal support for the Head Start preschool program, Boulder County got a letter denying its annual request for federal funding. Like many counties across the state, Boulder was already struggling to pay for early childhood programs like preschool and child care. And the state of Colorado — facing a budget crunch of its own — was in no position to come to the rescue.

2 days ago | coloradosun.com | Brian Eason

Colorado lawmakers on Monday gave final approval to a $43.9 billion spending plan that cuts funding for transportation projects, local governments and dozens of social programs in order to keep up with the rising costs of health care and education. But as difficult as this year’s budget was, there was widespread acknowledgement that — one way or another — the state’s financial picture is only expected to get worse from here. “Next year is going to be very bad,” said Sen.

4 days ago | coloradosun.com | Parker Yamasaki

Story first appeared in:It was Prince who gave Mayra Alejandra the idea she could one day become the queen of Tejano music. Or, rather, it was a guy named Phillip, performing as the artist formerly known as Prince. A lifelong singer who’d lost her way with music, Alejandra decided in 2022 to make her way back to the stage. She was cast as a backup singer for the Paizley Park Band, a traveling Prince tribute act with weekly gigs all over Colorado. “That’s when it all started,” Alejandra said.

4 days ago | coloradosun.com | Diane Carman

Just because our country is reversing its efforts to address climate change doesn’t mean the problem is going away. Quite the contrary, as everybody is consumed with worry about a tariff war wrecking the world economy and neighbors being abducted and deported without due process to hellholes in El Salvador, the rise in the Earth’s temperatures is accelerating, hitting historic highs while glaciers are rapidly receding. Mother Nature bats last, after all, regardless of your political affiliation.

6 days ago | coloradosun.com | Brian Eason |Jesse Paul

This time two years ago, state lawmakers went out of their way to make sure local governments wouldn’t suffer financially from legislative and ballot efforts to deliver property tax relief. How times have changed. As the property tax cuts grew and the state’s own budget picture deteriorated, the state steadily scaled back its promises to cover the costs to local governments.