From In-N-Out to downtown hotels; Colorado Springs commercial construction not slowing down
Colorado Springs’ commercial building boom, which barreled through the COVID-19 pandemic with relatively few disruptions, shows no signs of a slowdown. Read full article here.
Colorado House passes transportation funding bill that enjoys local support
In addition to bipartisan legislative support, the proposal has garnered endorsements from local leaders and organizations across the state, including: Governor Polis, Mayor Hancock of Denver, Mayor Arnt of Fort Collins, Chair of the Metro Mayors Caucus Mayor Jackie Millet, Mayor Suthers of Colorado Springs, Mayor Weaver of Boulder, President and CEO of the Boulder […]
Insights: One-and-done credentials are on short time in the Colorado workplace
… Apprenticeships and employer-provided skills training is the next big thing, the folks who know about these things said. Like everything else, the education landscape has been roiled by the pandemic. Online learning is the new norm, which makes the cost of a bed on fraternity row even harder to justify. Read full article here.
What’s Working: Colorado’s construction industry is short on workers as housing prices skyrocket
Residential construction is going gangbusters (who hasn’t noticed the escalating housing prices, or even rising lumber prices). But the industry has struggled to fill jobs for years. Even when the U.S. unemployment rate was 3.6% in July 2019, there were 350,000 openings in the construction sector, which was not much higher than a year later, when there were 325,000 openings even as […]
Local high school students constructing house as part of new class
One local high school is giving students a new opportunity, not only to give back to their community, but to start a career before they even graduate. Read full article here.
Public Option undermines workers group plans
The recently proposed Colorado Health Insurance Option (HB21-1232) poses a real threat to our economy and our job creators. For consumers, the proposed state government-run health insurance system comes down to less choice, longer waits and higher costs. Read full article here.
Business groups say Colorado economic recovery won’t match 2008
There are bills ahead that worry business leaders, according to Dave Davia of Rocky Mountain Mechanical Contractors. He pointed to the POWR Act, Senate Bill 176, an anti-discrimination bill; House Bill 1071 on ranked choice voting, because it uses business filing fees paid to the Secretary of State’s office; and the ban on plastics contained […]
Bill proposes major change to Colorado workers’ compensation law
Dave Davia, CEO of the Rocky Mountain Mechanical Contractors Association, said he worries that the practice would encourage “doctor-shopping, particularly if some physicians gain a reputation for being slower to certify that a patient is ready to return to work. He compared it to the early days of legalized medical marijuana, when some doctors set […]
New report adds up cost of new fees, taxes to Colorado businesses
Ahead of a Colorado Chamber of Commerce announcement on the impact of new taxes, the Denver-based Common Sense Institute added up the costs in an analysis obtained by Colorado Politics Monday morning. Whether they are fees, which the legislature can authorize, or taxes that must be approved by voters, current proposals would ring up $1.8 […]
Blue-collar jobs may help millions of unemployed Americans get back to work
“One of the benefits in the construction industry, right now, is it there is a shortage,” said Ware. “So, supply and demand dictate that all the trades are paying as much as possible to attract the talent.” Read full article here.