Anne Landman

Don’t leave money on the table. Get an $800 TABOR refund, even if you don’t have enough taxable income to file a state tax return!

People who lack enough taxable income to file a state tax return may still be able to get an $800 TABOR refund this year, but if you want to get it, you have to tell the state Department of Revenue (DOR) where to find you. You do that by filing a state tax return.

Most poor or retired people don’t file tax returns because they don’t have enough taxable income (like wages or tips), but many people who could really use that $800 may not get it because they didn’t file.

Don’t leave money on the table!

The Colorado Department of Revenue says,

Full-year residents who were 18 or older as of Jan. 1, 2023 may file a Colorado Individual Income Tax return to claim the TABOR refund.  If they are not claiming a refund of wage withholding, and do not have a Colorado tax liability to report, they must file the return by April 15, 2024 to claim the TABOR refund. We often encourage those who are not legally required to file a return to file one anyway to ensure they are refunded any wage withholding and receive any refundable credits to which they are entitled. Those who are filing solely to claim the TABOR refund may want to use form DR 0104EZ, which is a short-form version of the Colorado Individual Income Tax Return.

The deadline to fill out the DR 0104EZ form and file it is coming up quickly. The form is here, in a fillable PDF format. Skip right to Page 6 and start filling in the blanks. If you check the box near the top of Page 7, the DOR will also check to see if you qualify for free or reduced cost health coverage if you or someone in your household doesn’t have any health coverage.

But wait! There’s even more financial help available from the state

The DOR also says,

Coloradans who do not plan to file a state income tax return can still receive the refund if they apply for a Property Tax, Rent, Heat (PTC) Rebate by April 15. The PTC Rebate is available to Colorado residents to help with their property tax, rent, and/or heat expenses. The rebate is based on income, and includes people with disabilities and older adults.

The PTC Rebate is a state tax reimbursement that helps defray the cost of housing for Colorado seniors and people with disabilities. The amount of the rebate can be up to $1,044 a year. You may qualify for the PTC Rebate if you are a full-year Colorado resident 65 years of age or older, a surviving spouse 58 years of age or older, or if you are disabled, regardless of your age. The amount of the rebate is based on your income and expenses.

You may qualify for the 2023 PTC rebate if you:

      • Paid property tax, rent and/or heat expenses in 2023;
      • Lived in Colorado for the entire year during 2023;
      • Are single with a total income of less than $18,026 ORAre married with a total combined income of less than $24,345;

    AND you are

  • Are at least 65 years old; OR
  • Are a surviving spouse at least 58 years old; OR
  • Are disabled for all of 2023, regardless of age and have received benefits for the full year.

To be eligible for the Colorado TABOR refund, you have to be at least 18 years of age on or before January 1, 2023, be a Colorado resident for the entire 2023 income tax year, and either file a Colorado state income tax return for the 2023 income tax year, or apply for the above-mentioned PTC Rebate

You don’t need a Social Security or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) number to apply for the PTC Rebate, but you will need to get an Alternate Identification Number.

PTC Rebate applications are now available in Spanish.

Help to navigate the PTC Rebate application is here.

 

 

Former CMU Professor Tom Acker to run against Cody Davis for County Commissioner

Retired CMU Spanish Professor Tom Acker

A Democrat has joined the race against Cody Davis for Mesa County Commissioner. Tom Acker is currently the only Democrat running for local office in Mesa County.

Acker was a professor of Spanish language at CMU for two decades. He is now a retired professor emeritus, an honorary title conferred upon him for his distinguished service to the academic community. He is a founding member of the award-winning Hispanic Affairs Project.

Originally from the east coast, in the 1980s Acker worked with refugees from the Mariel Boatlift, after over 125,000 Cubans piled into boats and headed for Florida after the Cuban government announced that anyone who wanted to leave the country was free to do so.

While he lived in Pennsylvania, Acker worked with a federally-funded agency to help farmers interact with agriculture workers.

News anchor Bernie Lange leaves KKCO, moves to KREX

Welcome to KREX, Bernie Lange

Award-winning, long time local news anchor Bernie Lange has left KKCO and will start working at KREX-TV Channel 5 on Monday, March 25 as the station’s main anchor for their 5:00, 6:00 and 10:00 p.m. newscasts. He has more than 20 years experience in broadcast journalism.

Bernie grew up in Lakewood, graduated from the University of Colorado, started his career in Rapid City, South Dakota and came to Grand Junction in 1998.

Bernie is a familiar face in the area, having worked in broadcast news in Grand Junction on and off since around 2006. He has been a news anchor, executive producer, and reporter at KJCT News 8 and KKCO NBC 11 News. He left Grand Junction for two years be a news anchor in Burlington, Vermont for WVNY/WFFF-TV. He returned in 2018.

Baby RMHP denied health insurance coverage to in 2009

Some of us remember back in 2009 when Bernie and his family became emblems of America’s broken health care system after Rocky Mountain Health Plans (PMHP) denied health insurance coverage to Bernie’s then four month-old baby, Alex, saying it was because the baby was too fat, and the pre-existing condition of obesity made him too high of a risk. Alex was still breastfeeding at the time. Bernie said, “I could understand if we could control what he’s eating, but he’s 4 months old. He’s breast-feeding. We can’t put him on the Atkins diet or on a treadmill. There is just something absurd about denying an infant.” When the baby was ready for solid food, Bernie joked, they would put him on Slim Fast.

Bernie, an expert in communications, public relations, advertising and public policy, launched a national campaign citing the absurdity of the incident and promoting the need for children’s health care. The campaign got media coverage from The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, MSNBC, CNN, The Daily Show, Fox News, KUSA-9 News and Fox31 News and resulted in RMHP changing its policy and insuring the infant.

KREX News Director, Terri Chappell, said “I had the chance to work with Bernie many years ago, and we feel very fortunate to be able to hire someone with his integrity, experience, journalist ethics, and track record of community involvement.”

KREX was the first TV station on the western slope and aired its first newscast on May 22, 1954.

KREX TV News has won acclaim from the public recently for fearlessly covering news stories that were important to the community but other local news outlets were reticent to cover, like the questionable business practices occurring at Red Rock Auto Group and concerns about lead contamination and the potential for lead poisoning at the new home of the Ascent Classical Academy charter school, which purchased the old Rocky Mountain Gun Club as its new school building. Lead contamination in indoor shooting ranges is a known public health threat, and children are particularly susceptible to lead poisoning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Help keep Colorado a free state

Get up, get out and sign the petition to preserve reproductive freedom in Colorado! If you can’t get out, petition circulators will come to you. Get trained as a circulator at the office of Mesa County Democrats and get your friends, family and neighbors to sign! Do it soon. The deadline for signature gathering is the middle of next month.

Coloradans for Protecting Reproductive Freedom (CPRF) made an appearance last weekend in Grand Junction to boost the signature-gathering effort to get Initiative 89 on the ballot, the measure that would amend the state constitution to protect abortion from government interference.

Restore the Balance is bringing Cassidy Hutchinson to Grand Junction

The promotional poster for Cassidy Hutchinson’s appearance in Grand Junction. RTB will have more details on this event as the time draws closer.

Cassidy Hutchinson is a former White House aide who served as assistant to Chief of Staff Mark Meadows during the Trump administration.

Hutchinson testified at the June 28, 2022 public hearings of the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack, providing testimony on President Donald Trump’s conduct and that of his senior aides and political allies before and during the January 6 United States Capitol attack. As a Trump administration member and direct eye witness to the events that unfolded that day, Hutchinson’s testimony received significant national attention, with several media outlets calling it “compelling” and “explosive.”

Arm yourself with factual information before purchasing a used or new vehicle

Consumer Reports’ April, 2024 issue, “Best and Worst Cars, Trucks and SUVs.” THIS is where to get truly honest and complete vehicle reviews. Consumer Reports is a nonprofit organization devoted solely to helping American consumers. They accept no advertising or free products, their evaluations are done by teams of experienced experts and by compiling information on the actual experiences of hundreds of thousands of vehicle owners, and there are NO fake reviews, EVER.

Many Mesa County residents have related their nightmare of buying a used vehicle from a dealer only to have major problems with it shortly after purchase: the transmission goes out, it starts burning excessive oil, the check engine light comes on, the vehicle starts making weird noises and in one instance the entire engine needed to be replaced. These are just some of the complaints. Many people buy extended warranties when purchasing used cars in an attempt to alleviate worry about such problems, but often find these warranties useless as dealers often count on people not reading and fully understanding the limitations of the warranties, or dealers try to weasel out of paying for expensive repairs, especially repeated repairs, because they’ll lose money. Because the Lemon Law only applies to new vehicles, used car buyers are often left holding the bag for thousands of dollars in repairs with no recourse.

There is a way to stack the odds in your favor when buying a new or used car though, and that is by arming yourself with impartial data about the reliability of different makes, models and years of cars.

Turn out to help save the much-loved Orchard Mesa Pool at two important meetings this month

Citizens attend a meeting on 3/13 to discuss how to save the much loved and needed Orchard Mesa Pool.

The Save the Orchard Mesa Pool Committee asks everyone who wants to save the OM pool from destruction to mark their calendars and attend the next city council meetings about the pool, and wear blue to help show solidarity for saving the pool:

The next meeting is March Monday, 18th at 5:30 p.m. at the downtown fire station at 625 Ute Ave., right by the Grand Junction Police station. This is a listen-only meeting, but the Orchard Mesa community needs to show a big presence. All you need to do is show up and wear blue!

Then after that, on Wednesday, March 20 at Grand Junction City Hall, 250 N. 5th Street, at 5:30 p.m. The Committee needs a HUGE CROWD to attend this meeting because City Council may be voting on the fate of the pool at this meeting. The public can weigh in at this meeting.

Former Public Utilities Commissioner from Paonia sends up warning flags about legislation, construction of hyperscale data centers & the sharp rise in electricity consumption

Inside a hyperscale data center. More than 100 such data centers were built in 2020, and now hundreds more are in the pipeline. Their  massive power consumption is threatening the power grid.Amazon, Google and Microsoft operate half of the world’s 600 hyperscale data centers.

Colorado Senate Bill SB24-085, “Sales & Use Tax Rebate for Digital Asset Purchases” introduced on January 24th, would give substantial tax savings incentives to stimulate construction of new data centers in Colorado.

John C. Gavan of Paonia, who has a 25 year career in tech and sat on the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, argues this is a VERY bad idea for Colorado’s environment and ratepayers, and he really wants readers to know why. He says he can only talk about this now because his term as a commissioner on the PUC expired last year, which freed him to discuss it.

First, readers need to know that the boom in computer-intensive tech, like artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, crypto mining and businesses outsourcing their IT to cloud-based systems, combined with the rush to electrify cars and homes are all pushing our country’s existing power grid to the brink, leading to a major power crunch and imperiling utilities’ ability to meet the rapid, massive increase in demand.

High cholesterol? Go to Bella Balsamic & the Pressed Olive on Main Street

A 750 ml bottle of Bella Balsamic’s butter-infused olive oil

Western slopers who are struggling with high cholesterol need to know about Bella Balsamic and the Pressed Olive on Main Street in Grand Junction.

We’re really lucky to have this store in Grand Junction. The only other one in the country is in Punta Gorda, Florida.  I love it because not only are its products unique, delicious and not available in grocery stores, but they could save your life.

Findings from the 2023 Colorado Latino Policy Agenda Survey to be presented on 3/11 @ 7 p.m. @ UU Congregation

What issues are top of mind for Latino voters in Colorado? How do Colorado Latino voters feel about the major political parties?

The public is invited to this review of the Colorado Latino Policy survey findings from 2023, with some very knowledgeable local panelists. The review has the highest number of findings from CD-3.

Started in 2021, the Colorado Latino Policy Agenda (CLPA) is an annual, nonpartisan report that provides insights into the demographic makeup and views of Latino voters in Colorado on a number of pressing policy, political, and social issues.

Tina Peters taking advantage of delays in her trials to sell “Tina Peters-as-Hero” swag

Tina Peters “Patriot Whistleblower Truth Teller” dog hoodie

Tina Peters has wasted no time in taking advantage of the most recent delays in her criminal and civil trials to milk her status as a darling of the Trump Party and rake in more money. She has started broadening her appeal to the MAGA crowd by praising people convicted of participating in the deadly January 6 insurrection, lovingly referring to them as “our J6ers.” She condemns “the military-age men who are coming across our border with debit cards and buying $5,000 worth of new clothes” “and saying in no uncertain terms “… we need an authoritarian in office.”

While she repeatedly insists in her videos that she hasn’t profited from anything she’s done, Tina has also quickly rolled out a huge line of Tina Peters-as-Hero themed promotional gear for sale through her website, including T-shirts, sweatshirts, “Patriot-Whistleblower-Truth Teller Tina Peters” greeting cards (pack of 5 for $25), aluminum Tina Peters-themed vanity license plates with her website on it ($14.85), Tina Peters Sherpa Fleece Blankets ($70.40 – $97.70), “I stand with Tina Peters” scented candles ($38.10), dog hoodies ($37.35), backpacks and whiskey glasses,

Relative of Tina Peters calls her “vile” in 2/28/24 Daily Sentinel article

Tina Peters and her financial benefactor Mike Lindell, the My Pillow CEO

In a February 28, 2024 article in the Daily Sentinel about a lawsuit against Tina Peters in which she is accused of stealing her ex-husband’s house (pdf) by converting the deed to her own name while she was county clerk, Sentinel reporter Charles Ashby interviewed Tina’s former brother in law, Jack Peters, whose brother, Thomas, died December 31, 2023. Tina and Thomas Peters were married for 36 years.

Jack Peters describes himself as “extremely conservative” and says he believes there might be election fraud going on, but says Tina “is unfairly using her former husband and her deceased son, Remington, to gain sympathy in her criminal case in order to gather legal defense money. Remington, the couple’s only son, died in a 2017 parachute accident as a Navy seal performing at an air show in New York City,” the Sentinel writes.

‘I’ve always been a bit at odds with Tina, she’s always been somewhat abrasive,’ Jack Peters said. ‘My brother-in-law John and my sister Kathy are being unjustly persecuted by this vile woman.’      —The Daily Sentinel

Tina Peters fired by Badlands Media, calls getting Covid on the start day of her criminal trial “a miracle”

Tina on her 2/12/24 internet talk show on Lindell TV after getting fired from Rumble.com’s Badlands Media for violating their policy.

On her 2/12/24 internet TV show, Tina Peters tells her fans she was just fired from Badlands Media, which uses the MAGA video platform Rumble.com.

“I got canned,” Tina says, “because I didn’t ask permission to have someone else host the show” on the day she was supposed to be in court for the first day of her criminal trial. “This is what they did on the day I was in court,” she tells viewers.

After getting fired, Tina moved her show to Mike Lindell’s internet TV platform, FrankSpeech.com and renamed “The Tina Peters Show” to “The Truth Matters with Tina Peters.”

Lauren Boebert’s eldest son arrested on 22 charges amid alleged crime spree

Rifle Police Department’s Facebook post about the Tyler Boebert’s arrest yesterday.

House Rep. Lauren Boebert’s eldest son, Tyler Jay Boebert, 18, was arrested yesterday, February 27, 2024 (pdf) by the Rifle Police Department on a mix of 22 charges of felonies and petty offenses. The arrest came amid a spree of car break-ins and property thefts in Rifle.

CD-3 candidate Adam Frisch holding meet and greet Wed., 2/28@Kannah Creek Brewery 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Grab your chance to meet Adam Frisch, the leading candidate for the 3rd Congressional District seat, and the one who single-handedly chased Lauren Boebert out of our District for good.

Adam is hosting a Meet-and-Greet Wednesday, 2/28 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. at Kannah Creek Brewing Company, 1960 N. 12th St., Grand Junction. Adam advocates a climb-down from the “angertainment” politics we’ve had to endure in CD-3 for the last few years

Adam Frisch

and seeks instead to represent CD-3 in Congress in a more normal way, meaning he would actually represent and promote the needs of our district in the House instead of seeking fame and notoriety by constantly engaging in outrageous behavior. He also seeks to restore dignity to CD-3’s representation in Congress, while actually making progress towards solving problems in our District.

United Way to host Poverty Immersion Experience to increase understanding of what life is like for people living in poverty in Mesa County


The Poverty Immersion Experience allows participants to spend a simulated month in the life of an individual who is experiencing poverty in Mesa County. It is an interactive event that promotes awareness of poverty in Mesa County, increases understanding of people facing poverty situations and that will inspire local change. The intent is to shift the belief and paradigm about poverty from being seen as a personal failure or character flaw to the understanding that poverty is a systemic and societal issue.

The experience offers a unique opportunity to step into the shoes of a low-income family, navigating life with limited resources, while providing for their children and accessing essential community services.

Local owner of Red Rock Auto pushed out

Bryan Knight, the now former part-owner of Red Rock Auto dealerships

The sole local owner of the Red Rock Auto dealership chain, Bryan Knight, has been pushed out of the company.

Documents from the Colorado Department of Revenue show Mr. Knight, who oversaw the Red Rock dealerships and had long been listed as a partner and minority owner of the Red Rock GMC and Honda stores, is no longer an owner of record for any Red Rock stores.

The rumor that Mr. Knight had been pushed out of Red Rock Auto came on January 19, when someone in the local auto industry contacted AnneLandmanBlog to say “Bryan Knight no longer works at Red Rock.”

Rumor: In a reversal, Red Rock got fleeced by a customer

The Orchard Mesa Community Center Pool is barely afloat

Orchard Mesa Pool

Guest blog post by Mariann Taigman, co-founder of the Save the Pool Committee, and Nick Allan of Orchard Mesa United

Three different agencies—the school district, the city, and the county—are involved in managing the Orchard Mesa Community Center Pool (OMCCP).

Prior to 2020, a Pool Board was created that was comprised of one official from each of these entities to discuss the pool at joint meetings. In 2020, the pool board convened to discuss the pool’s future, including the possibility of demolition, marking the last “official” meeting of the Pool Board before it dissolved. In response, the Save The Pool Committee emerged as a grassroots effort, championed by concerned community

Kids and adults enjoying the OM Pool

members passionate about keeping the OMCCP operational.  During that final Pool Board meeting, the Save The Pool Committee presented proof to the three entities that the community wanted the pool to remain open.  Our efforts included: obtaining 7,000 online petition signatures and 1,000 paper signatures; collecting over 70 letters from school children; encouraged community engagement by distributing flyers as to the fate of the OMCCP, and having groups of community members speak at city council meetings.