COLORADO LAWMAKERS HOBBLE TO END SPECIAL SESSION – LITTLE TO SHOW. The Legislature convened its first special session since 2006 on Monday. Lawmakers were called back to Denver by Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper, who wanted them to reconsider a civil unions measure for same-sex couples. Colorado lawmakers wrapped up a special session Wednesday with little to show for returning to work. It was an extraordinary session, with quite ordinary results. http://www.denverpost.com/politics/ci_20634601/co-lawmakers-hobble-end-special-session COLORADO LAWMAKER AND HIS GAY SON SPLIT ON CIVIL UNION BILL. http://www.denverpost.com/legislature/ci_20632214/colorado-lawmaker-was-urged-by-gay-son-vote COLORADO SENATE DEFEATS DRIVING-WHILE-HIGH BILL A bill making it easier for prosecutors in Colorado to convict people of driving high on marijuana died in the state Senate special session Tuesday because one key supporter was absent. http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_20632194/colorado-senate-defeats-driving-while-high-bill-key WITH CAMPING BAN, DAYS MAY BE NUMBERED FOR OCCUPY DENVER Denver's City Council on Monday voted 9-4 to ban unauthorized camping in the city amid howls of resentment from mostly Occupy Denver protesters who chanted, "Shame!" after the decision. http://www.denverpost.com/politics/ci_20631980/camping-ban-days-may-be-numbered-occupy-denver MCNULTY AND REPUBLICAN CONTROLLED HOUSE GO AGAINST PUBLIC OPINION IN OPPOSING CIVIL UNIONS. http://www.denverpost.com/legislature/ci_20632112/colorado-house-speaker-set-trend-aside-opposing-civil POT DUI BILL FALLS 1 VOTE SHORT IN COLO. SENATE House Bill 12S-1005, sponsored by Sen. Steve King, R-Grand Junction, would have put in place a legal limit on the amount of THC -- the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana -- that drivers would be allowed to have in their system. After passing in the House on Tuesday morning, the bill failed 17-17 in the Senate. http://www.timescall.com/news/longmont-local-news/ci_20630686/pot-dui-bill-falls-1-vote-short-colo OIL-SHALE CUT FOR TRANSPORTATION BILL Two Republican congressmen from Colorado indicated Wednesday their party’s legislative attempts to foster more energy development, including of oil shale, appear doomed following U.S.… http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/articles/oil-shale-cut-from-transportation-bill COLORADO BLOOD LEVEL BILL DIES A THIRD DEATH A marijuana blood-level limit for drivers was rejected Tuesday for a third time in Colorado, as lawmakers from both parties argued about how to fairly gauge whether someone is too stoned to get behind the wheel. http://www.durangoherald.com/article/20120516/NEWS02/705169903/-1/News01/Colorado%E2%80%99s-marijuana-blood-level-bill-dies-a-third-death ‘FIGHT IS ON’ : CIVIL UNIONS BATTLE SURE TO RETURN BOTH SIDES SAY. One week after supporters of same-sex civil unions rained chants of “shame on you” on House Speaker Frank McNulty as he exited the chamber, opponents of the measure lauded him as a hero for strangling it. http://www.chieftain.com/news/local/fight-is-on-civil-unions-battle-sure-to-return-both/article_19f7997e-9f18-11e1-9952-001a4bcf887a.html SUSPICION OF CHEATING IN TWO DENVER ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS SPURS INVESTIGATION. Education News Colorado is reporting that two Denver elementary schools are being investigated by the state department of education for potential cheating on standardized tests. http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/ OP-ED NOREEN: BUDGET CUTS WON'T CURE ALL THE CITY'S ILLS Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach is not being alarmist when he says the city soon will face a “day of reckoning,” a point when looming expenses will overwhelm revenues. http://www.gazette.com/articles/city-138641-ills-steve.html#ixzz1v3PbxsXS FISTICUFFS AT MESA COUNTY REPUBLICAN MEETING I've been reading about fights breaking out at GOP conventions and thinking that the GOP needs to sign up for anger management therapy. coloradopols.com NATIONAL OBAMA RAISES $44 MILLION FOR CAMPAIGN, DEMS IN MAY President Barack Obama raised a combined $43.6 million in April for his campaign and the Democratic Party as he faces a unifying Republican effort around Mitt Romney for the White House. http://www.denverpost.com/politics/ci_20634822/obama-raises-44-million-campaign-dems-may BIDEN ATTACKS ROMNEY’S TENURE AT BAIN http://www.denverpost.com/politics/ci_20634795/biden-attacks-romney-tenure-venture-capitalist REPUBLICANS PLAN NEW STANDOFF ON DEBT LIMIT Speaker John A. Boehner set the stage for a bruising election-year showdown on fiscal policy while Mitt Romney hit President Obama hard on his fiscal stewardship in a speech in Des Moines. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/16/us/politics/gop-pledges-new-standoff-on-debt-limit.html?ref=us WHY WE’RE HEADED FOR MORE DEBT LIMIT BRINKSMANSHIP House Speaker John Boehner gave the political world a dose of deja vu on Tuesday when he said Republicans would again hold their ground when the debt limit again comes to a vote in 2013. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/why-were-headed-for-more-debt-limit-brinksmanship/2012/05/16/gIQArVPsTU_blog.html?hpid=z4 GAY PROSECUTOR IS DENIED JUDGESHIP IN VIRGINIA. Republicans in the House of Delegates rejected the nomination of Tracy Thorne-Begland, saying his activism on behalf of gay rights meant he would impose an activist agenda as a judge. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/16/us/politics/gay-prosecutor-is-denied-judgeship-in-virginia.html?_r=1&ref=us OP-ED – HOW MITT ROMNEY GETS AWAY WITH HIS LYING Yesterday, Mitt Romney gave a big speech in which he accused Obama of lighting a “prairie fire of debt.” It’s a good line, and it has received widespread media coverage. http://www.denverpost.com/politics/ci_20634822/obama-raises-44-million-campaign-dems-may SHAREHOLDER SUE JP MORGAN OVER $2B TRADING LOSS Shareholders of JPMorgan Chase & Co. have filed two lawsuits against the nation’s biggest bank, accusing it and its leaders of taking excessive risk and causing a monumental $2 billion trading loss. http://www.gazette.com/articles/sue-138679-trading-jpmorgan.html#ixzz1v3Q2vMlu