CARBON

companies doing business in Colorado with more than $100 million of activity must participate in and complete a national “Insurer Climate Risk Disclosure Survey.” went along with as recommended by Tripp and Public Works & Utilities Director Max Kirschbaum. e current city council had the political fortitude to overturn the previous decision and take the needed time to thoroughly study other options. Special recognition and kudos should go to Deputy City Manager Jody Andrews who served as Interim City Manager and guided the yearlong process to reach a sound, viable conclusion.

• Creates a 30% tax credit for qualifying clean electric lawn and garden equipment like mowers, trimmers, and leaf or snow blowers. e retailer would be able to claim the credit and take the amount o the price at the point of sale.

With Colorado “o the track” of its greenhouse gas reduction goals, the bill could help in “clarifying the scope and pace the state must achieve,” said Michael Hiatt, deputy managing attorney for Earthjustice’s Rocky Mountain o ce.

National debt limit once again is a political football e current debt limit was reached recently which provided the newly elected Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy to re the rst salvo. He is leveraging the House Republicans’ support to raise the debt by demanding budget cuts. On the other hand, President Biden says his party won’t entertain any budget cuts. Technically, the government can continue to operate until early this summer, but the impasse will have to be resolved. With our nation currently $31.4 trillion in debt, someone needs to put the brakes on spending. e Republicans know how sensitive it is with the current administration on providing military aid to Ukraine. is issue alone will be a “barnburner” of a debate as a part of any budget cut discussions. So, the next few months will have a lot of rhetoric and maneuvering to keep the press busy and us entertained.

So many things involving politics and political issues are predictable (well, except classi ed documents being stashed here and there). When the federal government approaches the existing national debt limit, both political parties gear up for the debate and especially try to leverage their position on whether to raise the debt.

Regardless of who is proposing spending cuts, I think the idea has many merits. e mentality of “spend more now; pay later” has been overused by the White House and Congress for too many years.

Thornton Mayor and council seats are up this year ornton Mayor Jan Kulmann and four council seats will be up for grabs on this November’s ballot. e Colorado Supreme Court’s decision on the issue of the mayor’s term limits cleared up the question of how to calculate term limits which retained the existing approach.

Mayor Kulmann may run for another four-year term. Council member Eric Garcia (Ward 1) who was appointed to replace Jacque Phillips, will be up for election. Incumbents Julia Marvin in Ward 2 and David Acunto in Ward 3 are both up for

re-election.

Adam Matkowsky from Ward 4 is term-limited so there will de nitely be a new person who will represent this ward. As I mentioned last week, usually candidates start registering to run in January so that they are eligible to receive campaign contributions. I was told this past week that ve candidates have already led with the ornton City Clerk. So, we are o to the races in ornton. Whose elected seats are up in Federal Heights this November?

You may recall that the Federal Heights City Council has the unique status of all being women. I think that is pretty special and re ects the growing trend of women attracted to local, state and national governance. Looking ahead to the November election, the terms of incumbent Mayor Linda S. Montoya and Council members Celeste Arner (Ward I), Bonnie Sellers (Ward II) and Shari DeVries (Ward III) will be up. None of the incumbents are term-limited. ings are quite steady in Federal Heights.

Bill Christopher is a former Westminster city manager and RTD board member. His opinions are not necessarily those of Colorado Community Media. You can contact him at bcjayhawk68@gmail.com.

the PFA/PFOA family of chemicals. ese can pose a health risk. Currently Westminster water is far below the threshold for concern. While some advocates lobby for lowering the current standard of 70 parts per trillion to 4 parts per quadrillion, the practical limitations make this highly unlikely. It is very much like the fear about Plutonium in Standley Lake. Yes it is there, yes it is highly dangerous, but it does not get into our water.

How can so many water providers along the Colorado Front range build safe, reliable, enduring water plants for reasonable costs but Westminster cannot? I am coming to believe our engineers do not want the people to have reasonable water rates.

Council can reverse this situation if we can quickly nd the courage to do so.

Bruce Baker, Westminster

“But to actually achieve these goals, Colorado must accelerate its actions on climate and fully utilize the new federal funding that will make it even more a ordable for Coloradans to drive electric vehicles, install rooftop solar and energy e ciency measures, and stop burning fossil gas in their homes,” he said.

Jeremy Nichols, director of the climate and energy program for WildEarth Guardians, said “It’s encouraging to see legislative interest in reinforcing the need for major greenhouse gas reductions over the coming decades.”

This story is from The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support The Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. The Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

CUTAIAR

Richard Wayne Cutaiar

May 11, 1933 - August 27, 2022

Richard Wayne Cutaiar (Skip) passed on 8/27/2022, He was 89 years old. Skip was a loving father, grandfather and brother. Richard was a Vice President of Mushroom

Transportation in Bu alo, New York. He was retired and living his best life in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Skip had many friends and family. He will be missed.