Fiscal Policy
Denver Post: Denver business officials not happy with Mayor Hancock's tax proposal
Mayor Michael Hancock's plan to ask voters if the city can keep property taxes that should be paid back under the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights comes with a sales-tax break for businesses. But some business owners say that's not enough of a carrot to justify supporting the ballot proposal that would allow Denver to keep about $68 million in revenue each year.
Transparency and Accountability
Colorado Springs Gazette: Mowle reapplies to keep job as county trustee
Thomas Mowle has reapplied for the job of El Paso County trustee, a position he resigned from on July 10. Mowle, who has been county trustee since early 2008, was one of 10 governor-appointed trustees in Colorado to resign last week. Several trustees were under scrutiny for questionable spending practices, though Mowle was not one of those.
Jobs and the Economy
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits rose by 34,000 last week, a figure that may have been skewed higher by seasonal factors. Applications for benefits increased to a seasonally adjusted 386,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The gain followed a drop of 24,000 the previous week and was the biggest jump since April 2011.
Americans bought fewer homes in June than May, indicating the weak economy could make a modest housing recovery choppy. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that sales of previously occupied homes fell 5.4 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.37 million homes. That's the fewest since October.
Denver Post: Study: 2,100 skilled foreign workers got visas in Denver area
When Denver area employers looked for highly skilled workers in the past two years, they turned their search to temporary foreign workers more than 2,100 times. Employers sought special visas called H-1Bs to bring in foreign workers for jobs that included computer experts, engineers, financial specialists, scientists and business operations specialists. By far, the biggest demand for the visa requests was for 1,261computer experts.
Health Care
The New York Times: Postal Service Set to Default on Billions in Health Fund Payments
The Postal Service, faced with continuing financial losses because of a drop in mail volume, expects to default for the first time on its annual payment for future retiree health benefits.
