Good morning. Tons of interesting stuff happening from the elections last night, including the possibility that builders in Denver will have to install green roofs. Let's get to it.
Elections:
Real estate and development interests put a lot of money into defeating the green roof initiative, which would require rooftop vegetation on larger buildings. But the environmentalists might have pulled it off. (Denverite)
Mayor Michael Hancock pumped his fist in the air, and Council President Albus Brooks did the cabbage patch when the results came in. Denver voters overwhelmingly approved a nearly $1 billion bond program for roads, sidewalks, parks, libraries and more. (Denverite)
Colorado Springs voters are famously (or infamously) anti-tax, but something changed this election. Voters approved critical stormwater fees that will let the city repair aging infrastructure and free up $17 million in the city budget, money Mayor John Suthers says will be used to hire police officers. The school district won a $42 million property tax increase after 17 years of trying, and in El Paso County, voters authorized $10 million to be spent on widening I-25, as Billie Stanton Anleu reports. (Gazette)
Boulder has faced repeated setbacks in its effort to create its own city-run electric company that it believes could be much greener than Xcel Energy. Voters may have had enough, with a tax extension to keep funding the effort running behind all night. As of the most recent returns, just 117 voters separated the two sides, and the race was too close to call, as Alex Burness reports. (Daily Camera)
Oil and gas interests pumped money into a Broomfield election, but voters there approved by a large margin a charter amendment that gives the city much more authority to regulate the industry, as Jennifer Rios reports. (Enterprise)
Cigarettes are going to get a lot more expensive in Aspen. Voters there approved a $3 a pack tax that will go into effect in January, and that tax will increase 10 cents every year until it reaches $4. So ... either quit or stock up before you head for the mountains. (Aspen Times)
An anti-voucher slate scored a resounding victory in the school board elections in conservative Douglas County, union-backed candidates were ahead in Aurora's wide open board race and two union-endorsed challengers appeared likely to defeat incumbents on the Denver Public Schools board. This was a change election for Denver area schools. (Chalkbeat)
Hotel owners approved the creation of a special taxing district to tax tourists and pay for a convention center expansion. (Denverite)
Politics
Attorney General Cynthia Coffman is jumping into the already crowded race for governor. (DP)
Marijuana
New Jersey may be poised to legalize recreational weed, as pro-cannabis Democrat Phil Murphy just won the election for governor. (Marijuana Business Daily)
Guns
One Denver councilman wants the city to ban bump stocks, the alteration used by the Las Vegas shooter, if the feds or the state won't. (Denverite)
Culture
Before North Denver became the Highlands, and even before it was Latino, it was Italian and the Smaldone family ran the show. They also ran Gaetano's, the restaurant that's sat at 38th and Tejon for seven decades. (Denverite)
Coming soon(ish) to South Broadway: Denver Distillery, expected to be one of the first businesses in Colorado to get a distillery pub license allowing it to serve food, beer and other alcoholic beverages. (Denverite)
In nine months, the team behind Historian's Ale House has completely transformed the space at 38th and Walnut formerly home to Jake's Sports & Spirits. Now it's RiNo Beer Garden. (Denverite)
The artist who created the "big blue bear" died after liposuction, according to an autopsy. (The Know)
Business
Liz Cahill, Colorado’s chief marketing officer, stepped down last month. As of right now, the state does not know who wants to take on the task of branding the state to attract companies. (Denverite)
Galvanize hauled in $7 million in investment, the largest amount for a Denver startup in October, John Siegel reports. (BuiltIn)
Topgolf is giving up on its proposed Thornton location after neighborhood opposition, Kate Tracy reports. (BusinessDen)
Law
A Colorado Springs woman with a newborn kid was jailed for 27 days because she couldn't pay a $55 pre-trial fee, Kirk Mitchell reports. (DP)
Transportation
LED traffic lights may be harder to see in snowstorms because they don't emit much heat, Brian Maass reports. (CBS4)
