Colorado Matters

Marijuana taxes pay for about half of DeBeque, Colorado’s budget. So the small West Slope city is preparing for what could happen if the Trump administration comes down harder on recreational pot. Then, Grand Junction has no international flights, but local leaders think a customs office could transform the city. Also, virtual reality makes it possible to experience an opera rehearsal from the inside.

Many wonder if a federal marijuana crackdown is coming after an about-face by the Justice Department. The former U.S. attorney shares some perspective about how prosecution could change in Colorado. Then, funeral services today for the Douglas County Sheriff’s deputy who was gunned down at an apartment complex. We learn when cops are most in danger.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is rolling back a policy that let legal marijuana flourish in Colorado. The state’s top lawmakers react, and they describe how the Capitol’s changing after sexual harassment scandals. Then, the opioid epidemic hits home for a retired four-star admiral. And, a new memoir about entering the world of for-profit eldercare.

As lawmakers head back to the state Capitol, CPR’s Sam Brasch has a preview of the major issues before them in 2018, including financial problems with Colorado’s pension fund, the state’s opioid crisis, and a lack of transportation funding. Also, what new findings, that show Down Syndrome is more of an immune disorder than a brain condition, could mean for treatment.

Age discrimination is getting pretty sneaky in the Internet era, including job ads that are placed specifically not to reach older workers and online applications that don’t allow you to enter certain birth dates. A 49-year old IT professional in Denver did a little experiment to land a job. Then, to fight the opioid epidemic, Vancouver is trying some unusual things, and Denver’s intrigued. Plus, what’s next for the Denver Broncos after their 5-11 season.

Forty percent of American workers surveyed earlier this year said a political discussion at the office had left them stressed and less productive. In our series Breaking Bread, CPR’s search for common ground, we meet two colleagues who worked it out and even became closer because of it. Then, what can businesses do when it’s not so harmonious? And, remembering a Pueblo funeral director, whose hearses stood out.

Colorado’s minimum wage goes up again Jan. 1. Two perspectives on how it helps and hurts. Also, maybe you had some awkward political conversations with family over the holidays…but what about at work? More this week from our series Breaking Bread. Then, remembering a Colorado man who became a Disney imagineer.

Sixty years ago, black students integrated a high school in Little Rock, Arkansas. We speak with a member of that group, Carlotta Walls Lanier, who lives in Denver, about her views on racial discrimination then and now. Also, our colleagues at Open Air remember musicians who’ve died in 2017 by having local bands play their music.