Local

State Senator Bob Gardner (R-Colorado Springs) says he proposed a short-term rental tax-increase at the General Assembly in order to “start a conversation.” And on that score he succeeded, by creating one of the most heated early debates of the 2020 legislative session.

The Maverick Observer is doing a two-part series on bike lanes. This video is the first part of our series. Reporter Anna Brown digs into the statistics surrounding bike lanes in Colorado Springs. As the city continues to expand bike lanes and remove traffic lanes our research shows ridership remains at an all-time low of just 0.6%. Below is our Community Report Card from the League of American Bicyclists, gathered from the 2017 American Community Survey. The information is a 5-year estimate of our data found in the B08006 Table-Means of Transportation to Work by Sex provided by the Census Bureau.

Highlights from Monday’s City Council Work Session, February 24, 2020:

HomeCOS: Housing our future, a comprehensive affordable and attainable housing plan for the city of Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Highlights from Monday’s City Council Work Session, February 10, 2020:

-Garden of the Gods Commercial Use Permit: Matt Mayberry reiterated that the new permit requirements at city parks DID NOT apply to commercial photographers taking wedding photos unless they were going to close part of the park for their activities.

As a concerned citizen of Colorado Springs, I’m fascinated by city politics and the goings-on of Colorado Springs City Council and the Mayor. Every two weeks the city council has two meetings – Monday: City Council Work Session and Tuesday: City Council meeting.

One downside to a hip and happening downtown  -- and there’s no denying that ours has shaken off its former slumbers -- is that more people...

It’s become clear to me, after careful study, that we face a day of reckoning over the unchecked proliferation of special taxing districts across Colorado.

ALEXANDRIA, VA–A new report from the Crime Prevention Research Center analyzes the spread of legal concealed carrying of firearms nationwide. There has been a 304% increase in concealed carry permitting since 2007. In 2018 alone more than 1.8 million new permits were issued nationwide. The September report says that Colorado, with more than half a million permits issued, is eleventh on the list of all states by percentage of people with concealed carry permits at at 11.29%.

A Colorado Springs tax watchdog group obtained communications between city employees that show discussion of using sales tax revenue for traffic reduction and bike lane infrastructure while other city officials have denied that’s where funds would be directed.

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO — The Colorado Springs City Council heard the first of six presentations by city staff about special districts and how they operate at their work session Monday morning.