Retail Marijuana

• Interior Department restarts oil & gas leasing on public lands while fighting lawsuit by industry
• Colorado proposes new transportation planning standards to reduce pollution
• Delta, Montrose among 16 recipients of CDOT funds to revitalize Main Streets
• Palisade faces criticism over regulation of retail pot shops
• Ruedi Reservoir so low Aspen could struggle to generate hydro power
• Water shortage declared for lower Colorado River Basin
• Kate Redmond reports on release of 2020 Census numbers

• COVID transmission in Delta County now 'substantial'
• Delta County Schools returning in-person with no mask mandate, despite CDC recommendations
• Cedaredge trustees select retail marijuana vendors
• USDA endorses Colorado proposal to grow hemp industry
• State investigation of Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters could lead to criminal charges
• Curecanti Rec Area designated dark sky park
• Kate Redmond catches up with Julia Kumari Drapkin who launched I See Change at KVNF

• Delta County Sheriff's Office seizes 1800 marijuana plants in Delta
• Black Coloradans arrested at twice the rate of whites on pot charges in Colorado
• Cedaredge making progress on retail ganja
• Governor announces new Cannabis Business Office
• Farmworkers' Bill of Rights goes further than federal law to protect guest workers
• Paonia administrator Corinne Ferguson says 1 million-gallon water tank is coming back online
• What does opioid epidemic settlement money mean for rural Colorado counties?

• Flash floods in Poudre Canyon north of Ft. Collins claim the life of at least one person
• I-70 through Glenwood Canyon shutdown briefly again
• Grand Junction City Council discusses details of marijuana retail shops
• Interior Department hold webinar on drought and resiliency infrastructure
• 80 U.S. Reps urge funding for Civilian Climate Corps
  

• Town of Paonia offering retail marijuana applications
• Family of Paige Schmidt Pierce intends to sue Delta County, undeterred by autopsy report
• DMEA announces new CEO Alyssa Clemsen Roberts
• Golden Girls program at Joseph Center in Grand Junction offers shelter to women age 65+
• Xcel Energy asks Colorado regulators to approve rate increases
• Kate Redmond speaks to Ewelina Bajda from Wild Cooperative in Crawford about water rights

• Hotchkiss Mayor: DCSO not charging for support
• Montrose code enforcement officer pepper sprays property owner
• Montrose county manager Ken Norris to be paid year of severance, benefits
• Grand Junction City Council leans toward buffering, zoning limits on retail pot shops
• Mesa County faces spread of Delta COVID variant, encourages vaccinations
• Telluride Bluegrass livestream available, KOTO only airing on FM
• Senator Michael Bennet on his Child Tax Credit bill
• Matt Cesario of Triple Play Records talks Record Store Day

• Journalist & former Telluride resident Dan Fenster detained by Burmese authorities 
• CPW transferring fish to Sweitzer Lake State Park
• Cedaredge trustees select Bruce Joss as new municipal judge
• Grand Junction hosts listening sessions on retail marijuana regulations
• Montrose Library returning to full open hours next week, seeking board candidates
• Gov. Polis announces Colorado Comeback Cash program to incentivize vaccination

This week on Local Motion, news director Gavin Dahl speaks with reporters Dennis Webb of the Grand Junction Sentinel and Lisa Young of the Delta County Independent. From Lisa we learn more about the Hotchkiss Marshal's office in hot water, the investigation into the killing of Paige Pierce by an unnamed Delta County sheriff's deputy, changes to recycling in Delta County, and Paonia's plan for pot shops.

• Town of Paonia approves new pot shop ordinance
• Colorado Sun & National Trust for Local News purchase chain of 24 Front Range newspapers
• Luke Runyon reports on preparations for first-ever water shortage declaration along Colorado River
• Kate Redmond speaks to Arlene Porteus, among critics of North Fork school consolidation, as well as asking Delta County School District superintendent Caryn Gibson for reaction to some complaints

This week's Local Motion is a 420 special featuring Kate Redmond's interview of attorney Brian Vicente and Gavin Dahl's interview of journalist Leland Rucker.

• Paonia trustees reduce limit on pot shops from six to three
• US House passes SAFE banking act, which would allow banks to work with cannabis companies
• Kate Redmond talks to Paonia locals who hold peaceful Black Lives Matter weekly vigil 
• Luke Runyon talks to ranchers about preparing for water shortages this summer
• Scott Franz speaks with Governor Jared Polis about what's next for pandemic response, and last month's mass shooting in Boulder

• Montrose broke ground on a new development at the Colorado Outdoors site & a new Public Safety Complex downtown
• Montrose City Council members nominated Doug Glaspell as new mayor
• Independent Congressional Redistricting Commission voted unanimously to remove chair
• Firefighters warn this year's conditions will be just as bad if not worse than last year
• Grand Junction blogger Anne Landman reflects on the city's changing politics, as voters this week repealed a ban on retail marijuana & rejected a slate of conservative candidates

• Grand Junction voters repeal retail marijuana ban, reject Republican-aligned council candidates
• Senators Michael Bennet & John Hickenlooper, Representative Lauren Boebert attend local meetings
• Delta County still under mask mandate due to uptick in COVID cases
• Colorado lawmakers introduce $34B budget 
• KVNF's Kate Redmond checks in with Delta County administrator Robbie LeValley as Commissioners take up privatization of recycling collection

• Governor Polis not publicly supporting assault weapon ban sought by Boulder Democrats
• East Portal Road will be closed for 2021
• Paonia and Cedaredge make progress on marijuana legalization
• Supply of affordable housing not keeping up with demand in Colorado
• Laura Palmisano speaks to project officials about Little Blue Creek Canyon Project road closures on Highway 50 between Gunnison and Montrose

• Delta, Ouray, Hinsdale, Gunnison County are now Green on the state's COVID dial, while Montrose, Mesa, San Miguel County are still Blue
• Cedaredge pot shop application process opens April 2nd
• Governor orders flags to half-staff on Saturday in honor of Chester Riley
• New study finds listening to nature could have significant health benefits
• Lawmakers begin debating controversial health care plan aimed at lowering costs for those who buy insurance on the individual market because they can't get it through an employer

• As reportedly drunk Delta Sheriff's Deputy Kent Eddy was removed from a plane at Montrose Airport, he allegedly grabbed the security door and struck a flight attendant
• Cedaredge completes marijuana ordinance, licenses will be $4-5k
• Colorado Sun finds many nursing homes with high COVID death totals were cited for infection-control problems pre-pandemic
• Plaindealer co-publisher Erin McIntyre comments on newspaper's motives in seeking personnel records from Ouray County
• Long-awaited software upgrade will make state's online checkbook more accessible

• Hotchkiss accepts Baker Ranches bid for Fire Mountain Canal shares, puts Overland Ditch shares out for new bids
• Paonia in Motion virtual input gathering events scheduled for Monday - Wednesday next week
• Grand Junction City Council marijuana task force solidifies recommendations on land use codes
• KVNF's Kate Redmond gets an update from Paradise Theater manager Sunshine Knight
• Laura Palmisano hears about changes to the COVID dial from CDPHE official Mara Brosy-Wiwchar 

• Cedaredge Trustees refine application process for marijuana shops
• CDOT unveils new Bustang route from Telluride to Grand Junction
• Avalanche claims 3 lives of backcountry skiers near Ophir Pass
• Center for Western Priorities policy director Jesse Prentice-Dunn says the sky is not falling for the oil & gas industry
• KVNF's Kate Redmond hears from Hotchkiss Trustee Mary Hockenberry about revitalization plans including a vision for the Public Works building

Paonia Trustees working group is closing in on a draft ordinance to regulate marijuana shops. KVNF's Kate Redmond speaks with town trustee Michelle Pattison to get an update.

• Paonia's working group is closing in on a draft ordinance to regulate marijuana shops. KVNF's Kate Redmond speaks with Paonia Town Trustee Michelle Pattison to get an update.
• A Bureau of Land Management field office on the Western Slope decided to open 95% of lands under its watch to oil and gas leasing. But the State of Colorado and Western Slope conservation groups are suing to try to stop the lease sales. For the Rocky Mountain Community Radio fossil fuel reporting collaboration, Chad Reich reports.

• Governor Polis signs 5 bills 
• President Biden beings process to restore Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante boundaries
• Retail marijuana will be on April ballot in Grand Junction
• Ridgway switching water filtration from chlorine dioxide to carbon
• Drought plan activated for upper Colorado River
• Delta County Health director shares COVID-19 update
• Ian Silverii of Progress Now says Western Slope residents should share comments on redistricting

• Cedaredge trustees leaning toward cap of 2 recreational, 1 medical marijuana retailers
• Delta County Health Department not ready to vaccinate individuals younger than 70
• Colorado's largest union of educators calling on lawmakers to increase funding, make classrooms safer
• KSJD's Austin Cope: As Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association shifts focus to more renewable energy, undoing years of fossil fuel influence won't be easy

• Grand Junction City Council working on marijuana ballot measures for April election
• CDOT will spend some of $150M relief funds to improve Hwy 50 between Delta & Grand Junction
• Teachers not expected to start receiving vaccines until March, state providing rapid testing kits
• Governor says residents age 70+ will soon have easier time scheduling COVID vaccinations
• KOTO's Matt Hoisch explores what it means for local governments and public services when oil and gas revenues become more uncertain

• Governor Polis moving counties from red to orange on COVID dial
• Uranium mill tailings disposal site near Grand Junction can remain open
• Supreme Court to review case on tribal law enforcement
• New vertical farming system in Utah
• Colorado families with kids struggling to meet basic needs
• Kate Redmond interviews Paonia Town Trustee Mick Johnson on plans for retail marijuana

• Cedaredge Town Trustees begin discussing where marijuana shops can open
• Pitkin County requiring a traveler's affidavit from all visitors
• Grand Junction artist Linda McBride opens memorial for COVID dead at Art Center
• KZMU Moab's Justin Higginbottom reports on residents' opposition to a new 35-mile highway proposed for southeast Utah

• Tighter COVID-19 restrictions start Friday in Mesa County
• CDPHE tweaks exposure app to alert users more quickly
• Cedaredge begins discussing retail marijuana plan
• Fox Theater reopening Friday in Montrose
• Ridgway Town Council accepting applications
• Delta Hospital pulmonologist Dr. Sara Knutson discusses coronavirus response

• Open Enrollment is now available through Connect for Health Colorado
• Ouray Silver Mines a COVID outbreak site
• Rocky Mountain National Park mostly reopen though East Troublesome Fire only half contained
• New job training opportunities emerge in Colorado as a result of the pandemic
• An entire county health department staff resigned in Montana last week
• Chad Reich reports on the Capitol Christmas tree cutting ceremony near Montrose

Ten months into legalization, marijuana continues to be a divisive issue at the state and local level.  

“I think any governor that looks at doing this before we see what the consequences are I would view it as reckless," Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper says during Monday's debate. 

Politico's Manu Raju, the moderator, asks Hickenlooper if it was reckless to legalize marijuana in the state.