Gov. John Hickenlooper

When Gov. John Hickenlooper and TBD Colorado issued a call for comments and ideas on education and transportation, state residents stepped up.  

TBD Colorado asked, and you answered – and are still answering. That's prompted TBD to add some more questions to consider.

In just a few days, more than 2,000 residents have visited www.etbdcolorado.org. Respondents from 70 towns, cities and rural areas across the state have offered more than 100 ideas and 2,200 comments.

When Gov. John Hickenlooper announced the TBD Colorado effort last year, he said he wanted Coloradans to "share their vision and priorities for our state."

Thousands of residents – including many of you – did just that by attending meetings across the state to identify important issues facing our state. The governor's goal was to spur conversation and gather opinions, and Coloradans delivered.

Today, we take the next step in the process. TBD Colorado wants to get your thoughts and opinions on education and transportation.

By Mike Booth
The Denver Post

The state's share of costs for expanding Medicaid rolls under federal health-care reform could be $858 million over 10 years, according to new estimates from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Colorado's fiscal situation forces many hard choices, and there is no better example than our continuing struggle to pay for higher education – and to make college affordable for students and families.

We will see two illustrations of that this week. Tomorrow, the Colorado Commission on Higher Education will continue discussions of possible changes to the state's need-based financial aid program, and the governor will submit his budget request for the 2013-14 fiscal year.

Gov. John Hickenlooper last week signed into law a piece of legislation that will place limits and safeguards on the ability to directly file charges against youthful offenders in adult court. We are pleased with his decision to sign House Bill 12-1271, because this legislation recognizes the large body of research showing that prosecuting teens as adults makes it less likely that they will be rehabilitated and become productive members of society.