Backers of two anti-fracking measures get their signatures in under the wire
Initiatives 75 and 78 would put a lot of land off limits to fracking. Expect this election to pit jobs versus the environment.
Initiatives 75 and 78 were the target of a big “decline to sign” campaign and backers were still collecting signatures Monday morning. They showed up at the Colorado Secretary of State’s office in the final hour Monday afternoon, and they say they’ve cleared the hurdle of 98,492 to make it on the ballot.
Initiative 75 would authorize local governments to prohibit or limit oil and gas development or to impose moratoriums.
Initiative 78 would implement new restrictions on oil and gas wells to ensure a setback distance of 2,500 feet from inhabited structures. a
Together, they would put a lot of land off-limits for fracking, and the measures will face plenty of opposition from industry, elected officials and pro-fracking parts of the state. Oil and gas production accounts for about 25,000 jobs in Colorado.
Those interests have already raised more than $15 million to fight the initiatives. This is likely to be one of the most contested issues in Colorado this year.
The Secretary of State’s Office has 30 days to determine whether enough valid signatures have been collected to place the initiatives on the ballot.

The Museum of Nature and Science’s arachnid queen now has a trapdoor spider named after her

One of the oldest homes in Northeast Park Hill could be on the chopping block

Maps of toxic hazards show a wash of chemicals over the Denver metro’s north and west edges

Things to do in Denver this weekend, April 9-11

Black Denverites are more likely to be ticketed and arrested than white people in many categories

Denver has 29 public-access bodies of water. Which ones can you swim, kayak or fish in?

Where Denver can — but mostly can’t — add more marijuana dispensaries

DU study: White people and people of color are sometimes prosecuted differently by city attorneys

Denver Fringe Festival will take over part of RiNo this June

Broadway tours will return to the DCPA this year, starting with The Lion King

How Denver is chipping away at the Inverted L: housing and trees edition

Denver police investigate stabbing near Auraria Campus

DPS: Sexual assault claims against board member Tay Anderson will be investigated

Denver Public Library is reopening even more branches

Charges reduced against Elijah McClain protest leaders

We mapped Denver libraries to find out who has the most access to free books

How Denver’s neighborhoods got their shapes

That rule letting more unrelated adults live together now applies to all of Denver

Park Hill United Methodist Church will host Denver’s next sanctioned camp site for people experiencing homelessness
