Phil Weiser: Sadly, we've had to file 24 separate lawsuits. In each case, Colorado is being harmed and the law is being violated.
Marilyn Gleason: That is Colorado's Attorney General, Phil Weiser. The lawsuits are in response to various actions of the Trump administration. Later this week, Weiser comes to Glenwood Springs, where he will speak and listen to members of the public in an open forum.
AG Weiser: We want everybody to come. There's no one specific person or group that we're targeting. We believe in hearing from community, and that means whoever you are, if you can make time; listen and learn; share ideas and questions.
MG: The Attorney General is the first in what promises to be a wide-ranging series of speakers envisioned for the Roaring Fork Valley. Raleigh Burleigh is editor of Carbondale’s Sopris Sun and a key member of a blossoming consortium of news outlets serving the Roaring Fork Valley.
He told KDNK about the origin and mission of the collaboration of local media that is sponsoring this event.
Raleigh Burleigh: It kind of came to fruition in late 2021. There was some grant money that tied together a lot of media organizations here in the Roaring Fork Valley to work on having more Spanish language news. Now it's called the CoWest Noticias Collaborative. It includes the Sopris Sun, Sol del Valle, Aspen Times, the Post Independent, Aspen Daily News, KDNK, Aspen Public Radio and Radio Tricolor.
MG: The mission of CoWest Noticias Collaborative is to provide a reliable and growing source of Spanish-language local and regional news and information to support the well-being of the Latino community from Parachute to Aspen.
Weiser is in his second term as AG. He has announced his run for governor when Jared Polis is term-limited in 2026. Weiser outlined his priorities for Colorado in a conversation with KDNK yesterday ahead of his visit.
Immigration is likely to be a central topic at Thursday's event, after deportations carried out without due process and ICE activity in Colorado and elsewhere.
AG Weiser: How do we ensure that, whether in rural communities, resort communities, or elsewhere in Colorado, we have housing people can afford? Childcare issues and healthcare issues are also high up on the list of affordability.
Protecting our land, air, and water is vital. Natural resources is top of my mind too. This administration is try trying to sell off public lands, and undermine what for Colorado is part of our core outdoor recreation economy and our way of life.
MG: The collaborative is reaching out to Latino and other communities in multiple ways.
RB: We have designed this event to be bilingual from the ground up, so there will be live interpretation available in Spanish. We're also working to live stream that audio for anybody who's unable to be there.
MG: Attorney General Weiser will be at Morgridge Commons at the Glenwood Springs Library tomorrow evening, starting at 4:30 until at least 6 o'clock.
He will answer questions from the public, and light refreshments will be served from Sabor de Mexico.
The visit with the Attorney General is free and open to the public. Listen for updates on future events, as CO West Noticias Collaborative plans to present a speaker every two months at Morgridge Commons, representing all points of view. KDNK’s Lily Jones contributed to this story.
