I appreciated the opportunity to attend the May 27 town hall meeting hosted by Sen. Michael Bennet and Rep. Jason Crow and to learn of their concern for the growing threat to democracy posed by the Trump White House.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to ask Sen. Bennet why he is joining forces with the Republican administration in bolstering charter schools.<\/p>\n
The president\u2019s \u201cbig, beautiful bill\u201d includes an estimated $6 billion in cuts for K-12 schools<\/a>. It will devastate programs serving the most vulnerable students. But one of the few areas slated for an increase in Trump\u2019s education budget is the charter school sector, in line for $60 million in new annual funding<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sen. Bennet last month teamed up with Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy to reintroduce the Equitable Access to School Facilities Act<\/a>, which will make it easier for charter schools to acquire public property and provide federal grants to states for charter school facilities. \u201cEquitable\u201d is an ironic choice of words, given that charter schools are exempt from dozens of requirements placed on neighborhood public schools.<\/p>\n I am having trouble squaring Bennet\u2019s criticism of the Trump administration with his enthusiastic support for this MAGA priority, particularly as he splits time between his Senate responsibilities and his campaign for governor.<\/p>\n Wouldn\u2019t it make more sense for Bennet to devote his energy to fighting for all Colorado students, not just the 15% enrolled in charter schools? Should we expect the same if he’s elected governor?<\/p>\n Karen Francisco,\u00a0Littleton<\/em><\/p>\n Re: “Let Biden live out his days in peace<\/a>,” June 1 letter to the editor<\/p>\n The letter writer misses the point in her reply to the commentary, \u201cDemocratic leaders must reckon with the Biden coverup<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 Unveiling the cover-up of former President Joe Biden\u2019s failing mental capacities and the fact that decisions and policies during the last administration were being made by unelected officials close to the president, close enough to witness his deterioration but seemingly dedicated to covering it up, was worthy of a reveal.<\/p>\n Jack Tapper\u2019s book is explosive in that it finally says out loud what should have been obvious to anyone observing Biden\u2019s public appearances toward the latter part of his term. The book\u2019s purpose, in my opinion, was not to \u201cpile on\u201d Biden but rather was, in part, an attempt to exonerate the people in the media and in the administration who were willing to look the other way on what was happening.<\/p>\n I sympathize with Biden and with what he must have been experiencing during the latter part of his administration. I, too, feel that the man deserves to live out his days in peace. However, the lessons in what transpired are important and worthy of everyone\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n Karen Libby, Denver<\/em><\/p>\n Re: “Polis signs much-amended restaurant wages bill<\/a>,” June 5 news story<\/p>\n It is no secret that eating out is too expensive for most folks these days. As an example, three of us went to The Cheesecake Factory on Tuesday night. Not exactly high-end. We paid $95 without tip for a quesadilla, lettuce wrap, meatloaf, one mixed drink and my non-alcoholic beer.<\/p>\n We all understand workers need to earn a living, but there are no earnings if there are no customers. Restaurants are definitely in a tough spot.<\/p>\n Jack Inderwish, Aurora<\/p>\n Republican efforts to undermine the installation of residential solar panels couldn’t come at a worse time for a population facing public safety power shutoffs due to high winds and attendant wildfire danger. Electricity is critical to everything from life-saving medical devices to something as simple as recharging the cell phone needed to receive evacuation notices. There’s trouble ahead for us all.<\/p>\n John Walker, Coaldale<\/em><\/p>\n Editor’s note: Walker is the fire chief of the Western Fremont Fire Protection District.<\/em><\/p>\n ” ]<\/em><\/p>\n Sign up for Sound Off to get a weekly roundup of our columns, editorials and more. <\/a><\/em><\/p>\n To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit online<\/a> or check out our guidelines<\/a> for how to submit by email or mail.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Bennet’s support of charter schools is a mistake I appreciated the opportunity to attend the May 27 town hall meeting hosted by Sen. Michael Bennet and Rep. Jason Crow and<\/p>\nIt’s not about Biden; it’s about those around him<\/h4>\n
Restaurants ‘in a tough spot’<\/h4>\n