My real record on gun control
Re: “Two candidates have solid gun control record,” March 31 commentary
Let me be clear: As an individual and as a mother of two, I have always supported an assault weapons ban. As a mayoral candidate, I’ve been vocal about putting student resource officers back into school, and I have advocated for Denver to replicate successful efforts in other cities to reduce the number of weapons – particularly illegal guns – on the streets. These efforts include dedicating a division of the police department to track and recover weapons, employing more sophisticated use of technology to track guns, and holding city-sponsored gun buy-back programs.
I have proposed Denver partner with the Metro Mayors Caucus to impact our state policies and team up with the U.S. Conference of Mayors to push for federal policy change – especially a ban on high-capacity weapons.
Additionally, if elected mayor, I have publicly said I would partner with Denver Health, Denver Public Schools, WellPower, and private practice clinicians to ensure we have adequate health and mental health resources available through school-based health centers and community-based settings so that kids who experience trauma can access timely, quality supports needed to mitigate its impact.
I have never held elected office or voted on any gun legislation. My position on the issue, however, is clear if you take the time to go to kellybrough.com. Perhaps, before former state Sen. John Morse writes another inaccurate hit piece, he should do his homework and call me.
Kelly Brough, Denver
Child’s life-saving medicine should be affordable
Re: “Lawmakers want to make EpiPens cheaper,” Jan. 11 news story
In The Denver Post article, there was a line about epinephrine: “It has the effect of stimulating the heart and opening the airways, preventing a person from dying of low blood pressure or lack of oxygen during an allergic reaction.” That does not fully explain what this medicine means to those with life-threatening allergies.
My son, Lincoln, is 5 and he has severe food allergies that require an EpiPen to be with him at all times. At 5 months old we fed him peanut butter. Within a one-minute and twenty-second video we have of him eating it, he started to show distress.
Within 15 minutes he turned blue, was swollen beyond recognition, covered in hives, and projectile vomiting. He was struggling to breathe. He was dying in my hands. I held him as the NICU nurses, who couldn’t get an IV in his tiny arms or legs, put an IV in his head. I watched epinephrine save his life.
He has two sets of EpiPens, one for home and one for school. The name-brand EpiPen JR costs us $623.74, totaling $1,247.48 for both sets. The generics are $168.42, costing us $336.64, with insurance covering neither option. We are trapped, as a single company dictates price and supply, unchecked.
Capping the price of EpiPens will mean life-saving medication is accessible and that no one is faced with impossible choices.
Lindsey Lewis Smithson, Castle Rock
Too soon for former officer to get jail pass
Re: “Ex-Loveland officer who injured Karen Garner denied early release,” Feb. 16 news story
I just read The Denver Post article about former Loveland police officer Austin Hopp seeking release from prison again.
I am shocked that he has the right, after serving 10 months of a 5-year sentence for the second-degree assault of Karen Garner, a 73-year-old woman with dementia, to request release to a halfway house.
Fortunately, the Weld County Community Corrections board unanimously declined the request. But it is now being reported that he is allowed to request a halfway house release in Larimer County.
If his request is denied, “he will have to wait six months until he can apply again.”
Hopp needs to serve every day of his five-year sentence and not put Garner’s family through this every six months.
Wende Henley, Brighton
First things first: Clean up downtown
Re: “What next mayor can do to help revive downtown,” March 25 news story
My office is downtown. Pre-pandemic, I went to the office every day. Now I work hybrid. I take the light rail on in-office days and generally walk from Union Station to Broadway on the 16th Street Mall and back. Every week it seems another store or restaurant on the 16th Street Mall has closed.
If you want folks to go downtown, you have to make it appealing and the further you get from all the development near Union Station (where Little Finch opened), the sketchier it gets. The chronically homeless own the mall, especially during off hours. I’ve witnessed fighting, relieving themselves in alleys and doorways, vomiting on the sidewalk, and drug usage/paraphernalia, among other things. Not many people will want to go downtown if they have to step around the homeless and their detritus. Until the homeless mess is resolved, it is a fool’s errand to encourage folks to go downtown.
Mike Conkey, Thornton
Throwing money at “old” or new Broncos stadium unsportsmanlike
Re: “Stadium survey one step toward decision, but ‘it’s early in the process,’ Leech says,” March 29 sports story
The Broncos are considering a new stadium, spending millions on the research that goes with the idea, sending teams around the country to “study” other stadiums (apparently this can’t be done on the internet), and meanwhile spending $100 million on the “old” stadium including a scoreboard that’s 70% larger.
Why not a scoreboard as large as the stadium itself? Or bigger than the stadium? So that the 8 or 10 games that are played there every season can be watched by Broncos fans all over the Front Range and really give Colorado something to boast about?
I haven’t been in the old stadium. What is it? Twenty-two years old? My lawn mower is older than that.
Craig Marshall Smith, Highlands Ranch
In Colorado, we play in the great outdoors
Re: “Why build new Broncos stadium if we don’t put roof on it?” March 26 commentary
Football is an outside game, unlike hockey and basketball. To columnist Mark Kiszla, no roof, please, on the new Bronco stadium. We still are the Wild West with snow games. We are not like every other football town. Letʻs maintain our wildness.
Dea Coschignano, Wheat Ridge
Shouldn’t we be living a purplish reality?
Re: “From red bastion to blue bulwark,” March 26 commentary
Kevin Priola did not leave the “authoritarian” GOP to join an equally doctrinaire Democrat Party. He hoped to find there representatives who voted their conscience and the will of their constituents.
Should we be proud to have a “blue bulwark” representing us, when Barabak’s statistics show that registered Democrats (28%) only outnumber Republicans (25%) by 3 percentage points, and the majority (45%) are unaffiliated?
If Democratic strategist Craig Hughes is correct that Coloradans “tend to be very moderate,” and with a governor that “disdains hard-liners,” we should be seeking to live out our reality as a purplish state.
I don’t see that happening in our General Assembly, as both parties seem to be voting blocs following the money. That isn’t what Gov. Jared Polis wants. It’s not what the voters deserve.
Let’s push for a state in which there is genuine debate over issues such as gun control AND pregnancy resource centers, and let’s lose the ideological blinders.
Frances Rossi, Denver
How did Colorado go from red to blue? That is an easy question to answer. It is all the wealthy liberal Democrats from California and Oregon who have ruined their own states, coming to Colorado and bringing their failed politics with them.
Richard D VanOrsdale, Broomfield
High prices, not COVID, limit resort guests’ dining
Re: “Have guests been trained to not eat at its eateries?” March 17 news story
It is ludicrous that Vail Resorts officials believe their COVID protocols trained guests not to eat at their eateries. One look at the food prices at any of the on-mountain restaurants will stop you from eating there. Ski resort prices have always been high, but these days they are ludicrous. Possibly going back to just high prices would “train guests” to return to their restaurants.
James Alexander, Denver
It’s time to put hospital fees in check
“Lawmakers narrow bill to limit hospital facility fees,” March 22 news story
My husband and I have owned our small business in Denver for 22 years. Over the years, our business has endured many challenges that have tested our resiliency.
I am extremely disheartened over the state of the health-care industry in Colorado. Policymakers are discussing valid and comprehensive legislation that will rein in rampant hospital fees and cap costs. These policy solutions will make health care more affordable for Coloradans and for employees at small businesses like mine.
Hospital consolidations have gotten entirely out of hand in Colorado, costing Coloradans thousands of dollars and monopolizing the health-care industry with no concern for the impact on people. Many Coloradans still cannot afford health insurance. If they have insurance, meeting ever-increasing deductibles, copays and surprise fees is challenging.
Legislators have solutions on the table that will make health care more affordable by ensuring that large hospitals are not driving up costs through unnecessary fees. We need state policymakers to step in and act on behalf of Colorado’s residents. Our small businesses will be grateful.
Sandra Payne, Denver
Appreciate the DCPA’s creative offerings
Re: “Enjoy entertainment, but not lessons in wokeness,” March 25 letter to the editor
A previous letter concerning the DCPA’s production of “1776” dismissed this current production as “a lesson in wokeness” seemingly based primarily on the use of females as actors. Quite to the contrary, I believe that the females captured the personalities of our Founding Fathers in an accurate way; the acting, lyrics and vocals were outstanding, and Sherman Edwards’ production was, in fact, a perfect rendition of the democracy that we would all desire.
Kudos to the DCPA for having available to Denver audiences materials that stretch our brains both educationally and creatively.
Mary Ann Watson, Denver
Prepare now for ozone this summer
Re: “State goes after emissions,” March 17 news story
While Judith Kohler’s article briefly informs of the negative health impacts stemming from street-level ozone and steps Coloradans can take during ozone action alerts to lower their contributions, the Regional Air Quality Council’s “Simple Steps. Better Air.” awareness campaign suggests more actions to prepare for this summer’s anticipated air pollution.
Being outside from June to August, when ozone is at its highest, can cause breathing challenges and eye irritation for those who are active and exercise, as well as for children and older residents. Extensive exposure can worsen pre-existing conditions such as asthma and chronic bronchitis.
To lower one’s individual footprint, the Regional Air Quality Council recommends the following:
• Drive less. Take public transportation, bike, or walk instead.
• Bundle your errands in one trip earlier or later in the day if you must drive.
• Join friends, family, or co-workers to carpool.
• Use electric or battery power for tasks at home, such as mowing the lawn and trimming bushes.
Another helpful resource is the Environmental Protection Agency, which shares the science behind ozone and other tips to tackle one’s emissions.
Kipp Lanham, Denver
Not settled for Avalanche, Nuggets fans
Re: “Altitude TV, Comcast settle lawsuit, but RSN remains unavailable to cable provider’s subscribers,” March 18 news story
Wow. Altitude and Comcast settled their dispute, and yet the customers remain in limbo. Kroenke Sports continues to disenfranchise long-time sports fans as well as relatively new fans who would enjoy watching good teams. What a joke.
Midge Miller, Aurora
The gaming industry works hard to be responsible
Re: “Deal with PointsBet shows the insidious reach,” March 12 commentary
In his opinion piece, author Jim Martin overlooks legal gaming’s work to protect bettors and fails to acknowledge the dangers of illegal sportsbooks. He recommends numerous solutions for problem gambling, all of which the legal industry is already spearheading with success.
For instance, we agree on the need for public education. Due to initiatives like the American Gaming Association’s Have a Game Plan campaign, a recent American Gaming Association survey found 92% of bettors saw or heard responsible gaming messaging in the past year.
We agree on implementing responsible gaming measures. New technology allows online sportsbooks to implement tools to help bettors set limits on deposits and time spent gambling and provide self-exclusion capabilities.
We agree on funding problem gambling solutions. Problem gambling research, resources, and treatment have never been better supported. This funding comes from investments by gaming operators and from state taxes generated from legal gaming.
And we agree on the need for a marketing code of conduct for sports betting — so in 2019 we created the Responsible Marketing Code for Sports Wagering, followed by all AGA members. The Code ensures marketing is targeted to adults of legal gambling age while mandating responsible gaming inclusion.
Before legal sports betting in Colorado, residents still wagered on games — only through bookies and offshore websites, which make no efforts to protect consumers or communities. A legal alternative to these bad actors is clearly a benefit to the state, while also providing Coloradans with a fun, regulated entertainment option for adults.
Casey Clark, Washington, D.C.
Editor’s note: Clark is the Senior Vice President of the American Gaming Association.
Was the Revolution a “territorial dispute”?
Some Republicans say we should stay out of the “territorial dispute” between Ukraine and Russia. They say it’s none of our business. Of course, they are parroting Vladimir Putin’s claims and giving his false narrative a platform to spread his lies.
What does history tell us? Where would America be without France helping us during the Revolutionary war? I dare say that we would have been in dire straits without their aid. Ukraine is in a similar situation against a foreign aggressor. Does this mean we should turn our back on Ukraine?
Again, history shows that caving into someone like Putin will only embolden him to continue his agenda. Just look at “Peace in our time” when British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was played a fool by Adolph Hitler.
Putin already recognized Ukraine as a country when it gave up its nuclear arms to be recognized as a sovereign nation. Of course, he went back on the treaty and is destroying the country with his attacks. A territorial dispute does not destroy a country. Maybe Ukraine is a modern version of America’s Revolutionary war.
Ed Moore, Highlands Ranch
