Colorado: Boulder

A bill that gives some workers unpaid time off to attend their child's parent-teacher conferences got a passing grade in the Senate on Monday, despite protests from Republican lawmakers.

Sen. Bob Bacon, D-Fort Collins, urged support of House Bill 1057, saying students perform better when their parents are involved.

Republicans agreed but said the bill isn't the answer and sends the wrong message to businesses.

"You can't legislate parental involvement anymore than you can legislate parental love or anything else," said Sen. Nancy Spence, R-Centennial.

Sen. Mark Scheffel, a Parker Republican, said he was concerned because there was little testimony in the Senate Education Committee about businesses refusing to allow their

(Photo/Airventure 2008, Flickr)

Thornton wants more than $300,000 for a police-dog program. Boulder wants $6 million to upgrade its fleet of hybrid cars into “super hybrids.” Englewood wants $300,000 for a “self-contained breathing apparatus” and $100,000 for a mobile data terminal to replace obsolete equipment.

(Photo/Airventure 2008, Flickr)

In the weeks before President Barack Obama signed the $900 billion federal stimulus package into law in Denver, town and city administrators across the country began compiling lists of local projects they hoped would win a share of the money. But many of the projects proposed by Colorado’s cities and municipalities had little to do with job creation or generating revenue and weren’t tailored to meet any special federal criteria.

Fellow Democrat Rep. John Salazar won't be hosting a retreat this year, nor will Republican Congressmen Mike Coffman and Doug Lamborn. Similarly, U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and Mark Udall have no plans for retreats this year.

“We’re too busy to schedule one right now,” said Tyler Houlton, Coffman’s press secretary.

The remaining three Democrat members of Colorado's House delegation, including Diana DeGette, Ed Perlmutter, and Betsy Markey, say they don’t plan to have their retreats until August when Congress is out of session.

“We are still hiring all of our staff,” said Markey’s district director Ken Bennett, who added that the last time Markey was in town she did bring three staffers with her.

State law bans smoking within 15 feet of the main entrance of a building. Boulder's proposition would ban it within 15 feet of any entrance to a building.

The proposal would also tighten regulations on smoking in enclosed porches or balconies.

It's currently legal to smoke on porches or balconies enclosed in canvas or plastic. The new rules would ban smoking in any enclosed space, regardless of the material used.

City officials say most restaurants and bars with enclosed patios already ban smoking in these areas voluntarily.

The Council takes up the proposals Tuesday.

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Information from: Daily Camera, http://www.dailycamera.com/