Get information about Grand Junction’s Community Food Bank, its hours, location, services and programs and information on how to donate financially at this link.
Category: Local concerns
Activism, City of Grand Junction, Crazy Republicans, Cronyism, Dangerous Republicans, Democracy, Democracy under threat, Extremism, Freedom under threat, Good things about Mesa County, Grassroots advocacy, Human rights, Local concerns, Republican incompetence, Republicans violating laws, Trump Insanity
Estimated 2,500 people turn out to protest Trump regime at Grand Junction Hands Off! demonstration
by • • 6 Comments
An estimated 2,500 people turned out to loudly protest convicted felon, sexual abuser and President Donald Trump and his co-president Elon Musk and their erratic governing style, economy-destroying tariffs, alienating of America’s allies, crony capitalism, ignoring people’s rights to due process, rolling back of civil and human rights, illegal dismantling of federal agencies and worse, at one of the biggest protests ever in town. The demonstration was one of about 1,400 similar protests taking place across the nation on April 5 as Americans, increasingly worried about Trump pushing the country into authoritarianism, rise in solidarity against Trump and Trumpism.
Activism, Authoritarianism, Christian nationalism, Cronyism, Dangerous Republicans, Democracy, Democracy under threat, Democrats, Destruction of the federal government, Equal rights, Ethics, Ethnic/Minority, Extremism, Fascism, Freedom under threat, Human rights, Local concerns, Oligarchy, Public health, Racism, Republican incompetence, Republicans violating laws, Trump Insanity
The April 5 Hands Off! demonstration is ON in Grand Junction!
by • • 31 Comments
On Saturday, April 5, 2025, from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m., Mesa County Democrats, Indivisible Grand Junction, Western Colorado Alliance, Mesa County Action Coalition, and others will host a Hands Off! protest on the lawn of the Historic Lowell School Building at 7th and Grand! The event coincides with nationwide action that day “to stand up against those who believe they can take whatever they want — our democracy, our future, our rights.”
The event will protest the drastic, illegal measures the Trump/Musk regime is taking against our federal government offices and services, the unprecedented attacks on our civil rights and seizure of millions of Americans’ personal information, like social security numbers and banking information, and the damage Trump and Musk are doing to vital sources of scientific research, as well as their attacks on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts, the rights of transgender Americans, immigrant rights and so much more.
Activism, Cringeworthy, Dangerous Republicans, Extremism, Local concerns, Racism, White Supremacists
Demonstration to protest fascism and white supremacist Jared Taylor’s appearance at CMU to be held Thurs., 3/27 @ 4:00 p.m., 12th & North
by • • 30 Comments
The Mesa County Democratic Socialists of America is promoting what they hope will be a massive, peaceful protest against fascism and white supremacist Jared Taylor’s appearance at Colorado Mesa University. Jared is scheduled to speak at 6:00 p.m. on March 27 in room 213 of the University Center.
Below is the press release about the event:
Activism, Dangerous Republicans, Democracy under threat, Destruction of the federal government, Fascism, Freedom under threat, Human rights, Local concerns, Republicans violating laws, Social Justice
April 5 Hands Off! Rally & Protest: Grand Junction, CO Fights Back
by • • 1 Comment
UPDATE: THE EVENT IS ON!! HERE’S THE CURRENT INFO:
On April 5, 2025, from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m., Mesa County Dems, Indivisible GJ, Western Colorado Alliance, Mesa County Action Coalition, and others are hosting a protest on the lawn of the Historic Lowell School Building on 7th and Grand! This is in conjunction with the nationwide protests on April 5
Bring your signs and park in the parking lot at Grand and 8th! There will be food trucks, kids’ activities with Creative Spirits Colorado, and Gemini Brewing will be open. This is a nonviolent, family-friendly, peaceful protest that welcomes all people.
Here is the up to date link for the Grand Junction Hands Off! event.
Word about the supposed “cancellation” of the event (see below) is that the venue was changed, and in order to change the venue for the event online on Mobilize.us, organizers had to cancel the original event, wait 24 hours and the re-post the event with the new venue.
NOTE: I GOT AN EMAIL SAYING THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED BY THE ORGANIZER, BUT SIMILAR EVENTS ARE STILL TAKING PLACE IN MONTROSE, MOAB, GLENWOOD SPRINGS (SAYRE PARK) , EDWARDS (EAGLE COUNTY) AND GUNNISON.
The next national protest against the Trump/Musk regime is the Hands Off! National Day of Action on Saturday, April 5. Hands Off rallies and marches are taking place nationwide that day. In Grand Junction the event will be from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. The exact location hasn’t been stated yet, but from the map it looks like it might be Lincoln Park.
Sign up to attend and get more information here.
Here is the description of the event from Mobilize.us:
About this event
Donald Trump and Elon Musk think this country belongs to them. We are fighting back!
They’re taking everything they can get their hands on — our health care, our data, our jobs, our services — and daring the world to stop them. This is a crisis, and the time to act is now.
On Saturday, April 5th, we’re taking to the streets to fight back with a clear message: Hands off!
This mass mobilization day is our message to the world that we do not consent to the destruction of our government and our economy for the benefit of Trump and his billionaire allies. Alongside Americans across the country, we are marching, rallying, and protesting to demand a stop the chaos and build an opposition movement against the looting of our country.
A core principle behind all Hands Off! events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values.
Check out handsoff2025.com for more information.
Accessibility
Mainly flat ground
Have accessibility questions? Reply to your registration email to confirm your requirements or request more information.
Janet Rowland, Local concerns, Mental health, Public health
Sources: Mesa County Behavioral Health Director Lisa Mills pushed out
by • • 13 Comments
Lisa Rickerd Mills, former director of Mesa County Behavioral Health (Photo: Facebook)
Sources inside Mesa County say the County’s Director of Behavioral Health, Lisa Mills, was “voluntold” to resign on March 11.
Mills played a key role in convincing former Mesa County Commissioner Janet Rowland to push Dr. Jeff Kuhr out of his long time position as Director of the Mesa County Public Health Department in 2023. Kuhr had been director of the health department for 12 years, had assured the Public Health Department was well funded and efficient, and won accolades for helping the County successfully get through the pandemic.
About a week and a half ago several sources contacted AnneLandmanBlog saying Mills had “left the building” and been put on administrative leave. At that time, an inquiry to the County revealed she was currently still employed by the County, but had no County email address or office phone number, which seemed to verify claims she was on administrative leave.
Now it appears Mills is permanently out.
Ethics, Local concerns
ALERT: Hurd pulls last minute switcheroo on when & how to participate in his promised Tuesday, 3/11/25 telephonic town hall meeting on
by • • 6 Comments
CD-3 House Rep. Jeff Hurd, who represents western Colorado (Photo: X/Twitter)
CD-3 House Representative Jeff Hurd (R) has made VERY last minute changes to the time and way to participate in his promised telephonic town hall meeting scheduled for TODAY.
Previously constituents were told they had to call a number and give the person who answered their telephone number, and that THEY would get a call from Hurd at 6:00 p.m. today, at the established time the meeting was to begin, 6:00 p.m.
That’s all changed.
NOW, constituents are being told THEY must call a different phone number, (833) 380-0417 and the meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. instead of 6:00 p.m.
Economics, Elections, Ethics, Grand Junction City Council, Local concerns
29 Road interchange project still alive despite being resoundingly defeated at the ballot box in Nov., ’24 election
by • • 7 Comments
Screenshot of March 5 meeting at which City Council discussed moving forward with the 29 Road interchange project, even though it was resoundingly voted down at the ballot box just 4 months ago
Even though voters turned down the proposal to build a new interchange on I-70 at 29 Road in the November 5, 2024 election by a margin of 56.44% to 43.36%, a discussion of how to push forward with the project was on City Council’s agenda at their March 5, 2025 regular meeting. The proposal on last fall’s ballot asked voters to approve the City and County taking on $80 million in debt to fund the project, with a payback cost of $173,438,202.
At the time, the City’s finance manager told City council members at a workshop that the debt the from the project would “decimate city capital, basically.”
The City and County combined have already invested over $2 million in trying to make the project happen, and the City is now considering what to do with $800,000 remaining under a current design contract for the project.
Below are notes about the project from Council’s 3/5 regular meeting. Boldfaced emphasis was included by a person who lives on the 29 Road corridor and is following the project closely.
Dangerous Republicans, Democracy under threat, Fascism, Freedom under threat, Harassment, Local concerns, Propaganda, Trump Insanity, Weird Grand Junction Stuff, White Supremacists
CMU fostering a climate of hate
by • • 14 Comments
This piece was written by Jacob Richards and is reprinted here with permission from The Revolutionist. The Revolutionist accepts no advertising and is 100% volunteer-run and subscriber-funded community media. You can subscribe to it at this link.
Colorado Mesa University’s Western Culture Club is hosting an out-and-out white Supremacist as a speaker on campus later in March. (Time and date erased because we don’t platform nazis).
A new campus club, the “Western Culture Club,” appeared on campus in early March promoting a talk by Jared Taylor to be held at Colorado Mesa University (CMU) later in March. Taylor is an avowed white supremacist and author, and this is just the latest escalation by bigots on campus, seemingly with the blessing of the CMU administration.
When students started a new semester at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction on January 20th, the same day Trump took office, the campus seemed different.
Emboldened by the inauguration of an openly racist and openly fascistic president, racist students on the campus have begun a now months-long sticker campaign. The stickers call on students to fulfill “civic duty” to “report any and all illegal aliens” to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
Democracy, Jeff Hurd, Local concerns, politics
CD3 Representative Jeff Hurd to hold telephonic town hall meeting Tuesday, March 11 @ 6:00 p.m. – people must call today to participate
by • • 18 Comments
Republican House Rep. Jeffrey S. Hurd, CD-3
House Rep. Jeff Hurd plans to hold a telephone town hall meeting on Tuesday, March 11, 2025 at 6:00 p.m.
To participate, people must call his office at (719) 696-6968 and give them your name and phone number before 4:00 p.m. TODAY, Friday, March 7. They will then call you at the appointed meeting time and give you a code to use to ask the Congressman a question.
Authoritarianism, Conservatives, Corruption, Dangerous Republicans, Democracy under threat, Destruction of the federal government, Economics, Ethics, Extremism, Freedom under threat, Inept Republicans, Law and Order under threat, Local concerns, Oligarchy
DOGE cancels leases on four federal agencies in Grand Junction
by • • 27 Comments
Local TV news stations KJCT and KKCO are reporting that Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) is terminating the leases of four federal Agencies in Grand Junction:
City of Grand Junction, Local concerns
Angle-in parking coming back in front of downtown G.J. Post Office in April
by • • 2 Comments
Homeless people hang out in a part of the street that used to have angle-in parking spots in front of the main Post Office on 4th Street in downtown Grand Junction. The angle-in parking is coming back as soon as it gets warm enough to re-paint the street.
In a conversation on February 15, 2025, City Councilor Randall Reitz said the City is going to restore the original angle-in parking in front of the Main Post Office in downtown Grand Junction “in April, when it’s warm enough to repaint.”
Last fall the City re-vamped 4th and 5th Streets to be more friendly to bicyclists. Unfortunately, the new arrangement made the area in front of the Post Office far less friendly to motorists by narrowing it one lane and requiring motorists to parallel park into parking spots located about 12 feet into the street. The new parking arrangement accommodates fewer cars in front of the Post Office and often caused a single motorist to hold traffic behind them while parking. Once parked, motorists were faced with opening their doors into oncoming traffic squeezed into the single, narrow lane.
Reitz said the parallel parking situation turned out to be “not a good model.”
Many City residents have clamored to have the angle-in parking restored in front of the Post Office. Come April, they’ll get their wish.
Economics, Local concerns
Orchard Mesa Public Library facing possible closure or move
by • • 1 Comment
A Mesa County Library card holder posted a 3-page letter on Instagram that is being sent to library users announcing that the Orchard Mesa (OM) Library at 230 Lynwood is facing several problems that threaten its existence, including the sharply rising cost of rent, decreasing usage and a lower budget in 2026 due to changes in Colorado property tax laws.
Section 4 of Article X of the Colorado Constitution exempts public libraries from paying property taxes, but the OM Library doesn’t own its building. It rents the space, and the rent increased 21% in 2023. Also, in the last few years, Colorado has passed laws cutting property taxes to relieve pressure on property owners for rapidly increasing property valuations amid the housing shortage. The result is that less money is flowing to local governments to help fund public amenities like libraries.
Activism, Crime, Dangerous Republicans, Extremism, Fascism, Grassroots advocacy, Law and Order under threat, Local concerns, Oligarchy, Republican incompetence, Republicans violating laws, Republicans violating rules, Trump Insanity
“Not My President Day” brings out hundreds of area residents to protest Trump’s authoritarian regime
by • • 14 Comments
A crowd of about 350 people turned out at noon today to loudly protest the ongoing coup of the federal government by convicted felon, adjudicated sexual abuser and President Donald Trump and his unelected provocateur Elon Musk, the richest billionaire on Earth who purchased the ability to use Trump’s presidency for himself with a $250 million donation to Trump’s presidential campaign. Trump and Musk have been in almost continuous violation of the U.S. Constitution and U.S. laws since Trump was inaugurated January 20. The two have been working together quickly to destroy entire federal agencies that Americans rely on for essential services, that help starving and sick people and that distribute foreign aid, and they’ve been working to hobble the federal government’s ability to keep U.S. citizens safe in the air, safe from financial fraud and grift, and safe from attacks on U.S. soil.
Dangerous Republicans, Environment, Ethics, Local concerns, Oligarchy
Trump administration working to change or eliminate boundaries of national monuments to allow increased mining & drilling
by • • 6 Comments
Colorado National Monument (Photo: National Park Service)
The Trump administration has started reviewing the boundaries of protected public lands with the intent of increasing mining for minerals and drilling for fossil fuels, actions that could drastically change existing national monuments, a category that includes the Colorado National Monument.
Trump’s newly-appointed Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, issued a 7-page directive (pdf) on February 3, 2025 to implement Trump’s January 20 Executive Order #14154, “Unleashing American Energy,” which has a goal of boosting mineral mining and fossil fuel exploration and production on all federal lands. Burgum’s directive orders federal officials to consider redrawing the boundaries of federally-protected areas that were set aside by past presidents to protect their unique landscapes and cultural resources.
Previous conservation policies are now gone
Burgum’s directive tells federal land managers to “suspend, revise, or rescind” previous conservation policies that include bans on oil, mining, and gas drilling in sensitive locations on public lands. Burgum gave officials at federal agencies until February 18 to submit plans on ways to comply with his order, which includes taking “actions to review and, as appropriate, revise all withdrawn public lands” to facilitate more fossil fuel production and mining for minerals.
National parks and monuments are considered “withdrawn,” or protected, from extractive industrial activities like mining and drilling.
Conservation groups are worried that changes in the borders of national monuments will shrink or eliminate them in favor of increased mining and drilling for fossil fuels.
Activism, Acts of kindness, Dangerous Republicans, Democracy under threat, Education, Extremism, Harassment, Immigration, Latino community, Local concerns, School District 51, Social Justice, Trump Insanity, Xenophobia
As public school districts across Colorado take steps to protect students from ICE raids, Mesa Valley School District 51 says it is “obligated to comply”
by • • 7 Comments
First page of the letter sent to “District 51 families and colleagues” saying the District “will remain politically neutral,” and telling parents to update their student’s emergency contacts
On January 20, convicted felon, sexual abuser and now President Trump rescinded the decades-old federal policy (pdf) of not pursuing immigrants in “sensitive places” (pdf), including schools, hospitals, churches, synagogues, mosques, funerals, weddings, parades and public demonstrations like marches and rallies.
U.S. Department of Education policy says that in the U.S., all children are entitled to a public education (pdf) regardless of their immigration status.
News from today indicates Trump is going after immigrant kids. White House “border czar” Tom Homan, who is carrying out Trump’s mass deportation, says the data they seek on children won’t be used for enforcement, but rather to “ensure that children were placed in the best possible homes,” according to the Washington Post.
But Trump recently enacted a change in federal policy that will now allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents enter and arrest immigrants in these places.
As he started his term, Trump promised to prioritize removing “violent criminal” immigrants, but has since changed his stance and now considers every undocumented person in the U.S. to be a “criminal,” even though being in the U.S. without legal status is a civil and not a criminal violation.
Trump says he seeks to pursue criminals, but as the first U.S. president who is a convicted felon, Trump himself is a criminal.
Bad behavior, Crime, Dangerous Republicans, Democracy under threat, Domestic terrorism, Ethnic/Minority, Extremism, Fake patriotism, Firearms, Freedom under threat, Harassment, Hate, Human rights, Local concerns, Media, Propaganda, Racism
Arrest affidavit: Trump’s racist, anti-immigrant rhetoric motivated strangulation attack on local TV reporter
by • • 22 Comments
Patrick Thomas Egan, 39, who attacked and attempted to strangle KKCO TV reporter Ja’Ronn Alex
KKCO TV News reporter Ja’Ronn Alex was followed and physically attacked December 18 by a Trump supporter who yelled “Are you even a U.S. citizen! This is Trump’s America now! I took an oath to protect this country from people like you!”
Dangerous Republicans, Democracy under threat, Ethics, Extremism, Fake patriotism, Freedom under threat, Intolerance, Jeff Hurd, Local concerns, Mesa County Republican Party, Weird western slope stuff
A “weird” watch party for Jeff Hurd and the media
by • • 11 Comments
Charles Ashby
The following opinion column by longtime political reporter for the Daily Sentinel, Charles Ashby, is reprinted here in full with permission from the Sentinel’s publisher. The original article is here, on the Sentinel’s website. It is a rare opinion column by Ashby, who has been a news reporter for 45 years, and who has covered politics for about half that time. It describes the unprecedented way District 3 Republican U.S. House Representative-elect Jeff Hurd treated journalists attending his watch party on election night, Nov. 5, 2024.
—————————–
In all my nearly 50 years in journalism, about half of which was in covering politics in Colorado, I’ve never heard of what happened during U.S. Rep.-elect Jeff Hurd’s election night watch party occurring anywhere else.
While it’s not uncommon to corral the media at political events, or even bar them from entry, what Hurd’s campaign did to the print, radio and television press at The Warehouse 25Sixty-five Kitchen & Bar on Tuesday night was unprecedented.