Alex Burness
@alex_burness
Followers
18,024
Following
1,083
Media
2,328
Statuses
25,610
Covering local politics, voting rights/elections, criminal justice for @boltsmag . Previously @denverpost and @dailycamera . Support local journalism.
Joined July 2013
Don't wanna be here?
Send us removal request.
Explore trending content on Musk Viewer
#DebateINE
• 389808 Tweets
Xóchitl
• 329070 Tweets
Claudia
• 320216 Tweets
#GranHermano
• 287481 Tweets
#GranFuria
• 152487 Tweets
Maynez
• 126502 Tweets
Emmanuel
• 125580 Tweets
Lite
• 106433 Tweets
Coty
• 87553 Tweets
#DebatePresidencial2024
• 86728 Tweets
#CandidataDeLasMentiras
• 83465 Tweets
PRIAN
• 80060 Tweets
STILL MISSING YOU LIN KATH
• 79922 Tweets
昭和の日
• 57627 Tweets
Suns
• 43003 Tweets
#KAMIGATA_BOYZ
• 42935 Tweets
Rangers
• 41489 Tweets
#EstamosHastaLaMadre
• 41216 Tweets
Foundation Day
• 30909 Tweets
Anthony Edwards
• 23107 Tweets
Rebsamen
• 21382 Tweets
All To Myself D-3
• 21356 Tweets
Beal
• 21208 Tweets
カミガタボーイズ
• 20506 Tweets
Jalisco
• 20353 Tweets
Timberwolves
• 20086 Tweets
Durant
• 17304 Tweets
Texcoco
• 17007 Tweets
Booker
• 16706 Tweets
DDAY SB19 JAPAN CONCERT
• 16266 Tweets
MARTIN AL 9009
• 16062 Tweets
ドル円160円
• 14710 Tweets
Chochil
• 10635 Tweets
Violin vigil in Aurora for Elijah McClain, who was a violinist.
175
20K
76K
Colorado Gov. Polis has signed SB-217 into law, ending qualified immunity for police, heavily restricting use of tear gas/projectiles on citizens, introducing criminal charges for cops who don’t intervene in excessive force cases + much more.
All a direct result of protests.
246
7K
22K
This is why news stories can't start and end with "police said." It's why the crime beat must be reimagined. All true before Uvalde, but local newsrooms everywhere should take this moment to really question how they cover policing and public safety moving forward.
44
2K
8K
I think more important to discuss than Cruz’s individual behavior is that it’s part of something we’ll see more and more with climate change: If you have enough $ you can escape it, either temporarily or by resettling, and if you don’t, your whole life can be upended.
61
939
4K
Can’t overstate what a big deal this is. One of the most vicious law enforcement figures in America lost tonight.
BREAKING: After 25 years in office, Bristol County Sheriff Tom Hodgson has conceded defeat in the election to his Democratic challenger Paul Heroux.
24
160
1K
7
795
4K
For those counting at home, Colorado protesters so far can claim three removed statues, a new state law, a new investigation into Elijah McClain’s death, a KKK-connected neighborhood changing its name and a slew of city-level reforms. This has all happened in less than one month.
Kit Carson is no longer on top of the fountain
7
21
86
28
1K
3K
A few yards to the right of this very peaceful scene was a big line of riot cops. And just past that line, more riot cops, and some shouting from demonstrators in the distance. The violinists just played through it all.
9
328
3K
As one of maybe 11 Wizards fans in Colorado, I thought this was a great moment after the win last night.
@BulletsForever
36
506
2K
Earlier today outside the Colorado House, a gun fell off the person of Rep. Richard Holtorf and onto the floor as he rushed back into the chamber for a vote, according to several who witnessed it. It didn’t go off but those standing there got a bit of a jolt.
143
818
2K
AP calls it: Paid family and medical leave (Prop. 118) passes easily in Colorado. A massive, progressive policy change for the state.
6
304
2K
U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, the chair of Colorado’s GOP, pressured a local party official to submit inaccurate election results.
@Conrad_Swanson
got the audio.
161
2K
2K
From a leading Colorado immigration attorney, a press release quote you don’t see every day.
25
432
2K
If in New York or DC there was ash raining down and communities were fleeing for safety under creepy orange skies at midday, I strongly suspect it would’ve come up tonight. It certainly would be bigger national news.
33
303
2K
Colorado primary voters roundly rejected the most vocal election deniers tonight. Yes, Boebert won, but she’s in a red district, has a ton of cash and faced an opponent who didn’t mount too strong a campaign. At the statewide level, hardcore Trumpism remains unpopular here.
77
275
1K
The banner onstage at today’s Colorado GOP candidate event misspelled Greeley — “Greeey”
They have raised a revised banner with a new misspelling: “Greely”
73
161
1K
Today in Colorado: A record 73rd day this year above 90 degrees in Denver. It’s raining ash from the 6th largest wildfire in state history, while the No. 1 wildfire in state history still isn’t fully contained. And it’s going to snow tomorrow.
18
501
1K
I'll be furloughed for the next 2 weeks, so taking an unpaid reporting break. The mega-rich hedge fund guys who own our paper should be giving us raises, not pay cuts, but here we are. Support your local news outlet if you can, and see you all in January.
38
109
1K
All these people are in line to make donations to Bernie’s campaign. Talked to a nurse who gave $3, a construction worker who gave $20.
20
258
1K
With Jared Polis and Cory Gardner in the room, Donald Trump says of mail voting: "It's subject to tremendous corruption — cheating."
Colorado, which is at the vanguard of the mail-in trend, has shown that this just isn't true. Widely regarded as one of safest states to vote in.
53
364
1K
Rep. Richard Holtorf (R) apologized to Rep. Tom Sullivan (D) for suggesting Sullivan should get over the death of his son, who was murdered in the Aurora theater shooting. Sullivan said he read the apology letter once and told Holtorf, “You’ve told me who you are. I believe you.”
25
158
1K
Kinda fascinating: Colorado’s D-controlled Senate couldn’t coalesce around a paid family leave bill for the past two years. Now paid leave is on the ballot, and 18 D senators (whole caucus minus Ginal) just endorsed it. If 18 had backed the policy before, it’d be law by now.
19
208
1K
John Hickenlooper has made up his mind and will run for Cory Gardner's U.S. Senate seat, several sources tell
@COindependent
.
49
281
1K
It’s long-sleeves o’clock and every street looks like this now. Peak Denver goodness.
8
51
1K
Took one of the grimmest quotes of my career today, from a STEM 8th grader who said he "always knew" he'd witness a school shooting: “I live close to Columbine. I always knew this would happen. It’s bound to happen sooner or later. That’s just the U.S. It’s sad but it’s reality."
20
521
1K
A new bill introduced today in Colorado, HB21-1314, would end driver's licenses suspensions for people b/c of unpaid court debt, among other reasons. 100K-ish here lose licenses (+ sometimes livelihoods) each year for this reason. Doubt this bill gets much attention but it’s big.
17
189
1K
Seeing lots of praise for Polis in the replies/quotes. His signature is what made it law, but the bill is not his doing. It is the work of POC bill sponsors who collaborated with ACLU, Mari Newman and others to write it. That it was drafted at all is the work of protesters.
Colorado Gov. Polis has signed SB-217 into law, ending qualified immunity for police, heavily restricting use of tear gas/projectiles on citizens, introducing criminal charges for cops who don’t intervene in excessive force cases + much more.
All a direct result of protests.
246
7K
22K
31
276
1K
Just in: CO lawmakers (Donovan, Roberts) introduce bill to create job opportunities in fire depts. for former prison firefighters. A big deal, because right now prison firefighters here do hard, skilled work for very low pay, then can't get hired in most fire depts. upon release.
9
129
1K
Iman Jodeh, a Democrat in Colorado's House District 41, will be the first Muslim state legislator in state history.
5
178
1K
The average Denverite has adopted 1,342 cats, according to a press release in my inbox that I do not care to fact-check.
49
187
1K
This is my last day at The Denver Post. In a couple weeks I’ll be moving to DC. I’ve had nine thrilling years in Colorado and I’m feeling really grateful for this place and its people. I’m also excited about what’s coming next — more on that soon!
140
24
1K
BTW, the same out-of-state demand Colorado is seeing (+ will keep seeing) for abortion exists for gender-affirming care. As these and other issues are treated as state matters, CO has become an unofficial sanctuary on multiple fronts. Serious capacity/funding limits as a result.
9
187
995
James Harvey, 98 years old and the last living member of the Tuskegee Airmen in Colorado, is a guest at the state Capitol today.
8
72
941
On a farm in Longmont, with chickens clucking in the background, Gov. Jared Polis just signed a bill requiring all egg-laying hens in Colorado to be cage-free by 2025.
54
99
885
Elijah McClain's case went nationally viral in large part because of how gentle he was. Animal lover, violinist — that's what captured a lot of folks. But this was always a story of state violence, and it shouldn't take an angelic figure for people to pay attention to that.
8
190
919
Deeply misleading story. This is an info mailer, doesn’t mean anyone who shouldn’t vote is going to. There’s zero scandal here.
28
213
871
Cory Gardner said he just conceded to John Hickenlooper.
Gardner adds: "His success is Colorado's success. Our nation and our state need him to succeed."
6
73
823
Colorado legislature has passed the right-to-abortion bill, HB22-1279. In both chambers, all Democratic lawmakers voted for it and all Republicans voted against it. The governor has indicated he will sign into law.
36
144
822
Whoa. CSU athletes and staff "say coaches have told players not to report COVID-19 symptoms, threatened players with reduced playing time if they quarantine and claim CSU is altering contact tracing reports to keep players practicing."
@MilesBlumhardt
:
58
645
813
The Colorado legislature is going to adjourn its session very soon. To mark the moment, lawmakers will drop this big ball of rubber bands into the Capitol rotunda and cheer when it bounces back up into the air, as is customary.
49
155
833
Colorado just became the 16th state to ban driver’s license suspensions for people with unpaid court debts.
Life-changing for 100,000+ Coloradans, mostly poor. For many, can’t drive = can’t get to work = can’t make money to pay debt = stuck in system. This law ends that cycle.
9
150
792
Beto responds to the woman carrying the gun: “No other country allows its citizens to buy weapons that were designed for war. ... You don’t need it to hunt. The logic of your argument is, ‘Why shouldn’t we allow you to have a bazooka, or drive a tank down the street?’
8
59
719
This may be the most important result tonight that most people have no idea about: solidifies D majority on the court that decided more Trump 2020 lawsuits than any other in the country, and that is very likely to hear major cases in 2024 related to voting rights and elections.
6
245
891
Man, this photo by
@eliimadaliphoto
from yesterday's Denver-Aurora march against racism and police violence. This kid is 4 years old.
17
131
756
350 Denver airport janitors voted overwhelmingly (99%) to authorize a strike that could begin as soon as Friday, SEIU Local 105 announces.
6
104
750
So much raw, real pain in the crowd at the Beto rally tonight in Aurora. We heard from the dad of an Aurora theater victim, from a survivor of Columbine who knew the shooters, from scared moms, veterans and young people. One woman was in tears. Another spoke of “collective PTSD.”
29
239
703
BREAKING: Colorado Senate, after 6 hours of deliberation, votes 19-15 to adopt a bill to repeal the death penalty.
This all but assures the repeal will succeed because the House and governor support repeal. Senate takes a final vote tomorrow, but that's a formality.
8
227
683
Boulder is a small place and people know each other. I’m just dreading when we find out the names and more pain ripples through the community and beyond.
12
44
723
New from
@BySajaHindi
and me — How Colorado found the political will (in just 16 days) to pass sweeping police reform into law:
4
223
680
In terms of electoral power, Colorado Republicans were already at their post-WW2 low point — then took a drubbing tonight. Losing races they planned to win, getting demolished in some supposed toss-ups.
Honestly don’t know where they go from here.
34
95
721
A GOP bill to repeal automatic mail voting in Colorado is dead. It was just voted down overwhelmingly in its first committee hearing, as was expected.
21
73
654
Watching today’s scene, and the police response, and thinking about how police in Denver blanketed blocks upon blocks in tear gas, and fired projectiles at people’s heads, when Black Lives Matter protesters were throwing water bottles and setting off fireworks.
8
192
683
We can be sure, having seen this movie many times before, that a lot of the people losing their homes in Boulder County won’t come back. Many just won’t be able to afford it. Real loss of community. Horribly sad anywhere, but especially in a county already so starved for housing.
8
87
709
I knew Colorado’s election system was seen as effective but didn’t fully understand its “gold standard” status until I started reporting around the country. It’s wild how often folks who work to improve local and state election administration cite Colorado as inspiration.
37
85
721
Broken record, I know, because we’re three days into this, but the amount of tear gas that’s being dropped on Denver during a respiratory pandemic is just staggering. This video was taken mere minutes after curfew expired. Cops wasted no time tonight.
16
254
624
Strange to say about a supermarket, but I think a lot of people feel a special affection for that King Soopers. I do. It's a hub, the anchor of the main commercial gathering spot in south Boulder. Really sick how many nice, normal places like that end up with scenes like this.
30
50
669
At the Univ. of Colorado, a female student reported having her crotch grabbed by a man who said "there's nothing you can do about it now."
59
1K
561
I've spent the day speaking with Boulder-area people who've been victims of and/or witnesses to acts of hate this week. A few stories:
75
884
583
Colorado, which affirms the right to abortion in state law, is going to play a big role moving forward. People already travel here for abortions and that out-of-state demand is certain to pick up as other states’ trigger laws go into effect.
6
113
649
Huge efforts were made to stop MLK Day from becoming an official Colorado holiday, before it passed in 1984. Lawmakers killed seven different MLK Day bills. Black people who testified were mocked at the Capitol. Coretta Scott King was blocked from speaking in the state House.
8
157
629
The Colorado Senate has passed the police accountability bill, SB217, by a vote of 32-1. Never would have been possible two weeks ago. Bill now moves to the House, which is expected to pass it by week's end.
10
185
593
Time for journalists at every level, but especially in presidential debates, to stop asking politicians if they believe that human activity contributes to climate change. Yes. The answer is yes. Lead your question with the facts. It’s insane that this is still “debated” in 2020.
10
157
649
Fanny Starr, who was the oldest living Holocaust survivor in Colorado, died last night at 98. She was an amazing person.
11
84
622
A housed person calls an encampment disruptive, no homeless people are quoted and viewers are never invited to consider what it says that thousands of our neighbors are so destitute that they sleep on pavement. Dehumanizing and lazy. Way past time to retire this story format.
Denver parent refuses to send kids back for in-person learning due to homeless camp
36
19
83
16
134
603
Some context since much of the country is now meeting him: A lot of people in Colorado Democratic politics see Joe Neguse as the state's most promising political export. I've heard elected officials many times say they think he could be president one day, and they're not kidding.
20
65
606
Colorado's landmark police accountability bill, SB217, went from introduction to passing the Senate and House in just 10 days. It does more to change policing than has been accomplished here in years. Impossible to see what's happened and not conclude that the protests worked.
7
192
595
Colorado is looking pretty damn blue tonight. CO Democrats win: governor, secretary of state, both chambers of the legislature. A majority of the state's congressional delegation is now Democratic. Ds also leading treasurer and A.G. races.
18
123
553
Be nice to meteorologists. These people tell us more or less exactly what’ll happen every day just by looking at the sky. Or whatever it is they do to make predictions, no one knows for sure. They even know the names of different cloud types. To me they are magicians, and heroes.
13
58
598
This is what it looks like when government chooses not to make elections accessible. We have none of these lines in Colorado, and turnout is sky-high.
15
108
564
New: Every Colorado taxpayer will get a $400 tax rebate this summer ($800 for joint filers), Colorado governor, Democratic lawmakers announce. This is a change to TABOR refund mechanism.
75
142
603
Here’s an amendment Republican state Sen. Kevin Priola drafted, but didn’t introduce, during a debate in the Colorado Senate on an elections bill.
17
80
566
Colorado will become the 16th state to ban debt-based driver's license suspensions under a bill that just passed the legislature, if Gov. Jared Polis signs it. This would be a massive change for thousands of poor Coloradans.
5
108
550
I’d say much national coverage on Colorado’s US Senate race dropped the ball. The reporting, suggesting O’Dea is a maverick + this one would be tight, often came off as superficial, disconnected from the ground. And in the end it was called for Bennet 40 min. after polls closed.
25
75
593
Ranked No. 8 in the country for police killings per capita: Aurora, Colorado.
Police departments that kill people at the highest rates per population among the 100 largest cities in America, 2013-19.
74
2K
3K
10
302
543
Quinceañera photo shoots have returned to the Capitol. A nice sign of back-to-normal.
10
36
565
Thousands has gathered at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver for a Bernie Sanders rally. He should be speaking in a couple hours. I’ll thread highlights here.
23
80
492
Colorado AG Phil Weiser announces grand jury investigation into Elijah McClain case.
6
129
525
Bernie’s speechwriter,
@davidsirota
, a Coloradan, addresses the watch party in Denver: “This is a state that is in many cases owned and operated by the political establishment, and we won this state despite that ownership.”
14
82
484
Colorado will offer universal pre-K, at least 10 hours per kid per week, starting in 2023. Today Gov. Polis and Democrats in the legislature unveil the plan (including a new state agency) to get there.
15
57
502
This party’s gubernatorial candidate ran on anti-furries panic. The vast majority of its state legislators voted to preserve conversion therapy. Last election cycle, CO Republicans ran an ad dead-naming a trans lawmaker and calling her “dangerous for Colorado families.”
This is absolutely horrific.
Our hearts and prayers are with the victims and their families during this tragic time.
182
9
58
20
155
549
Erik Hamlin, 45, of Arvada, said he used to be a Republican but now supports Bernie. Hamlin makes minimum wage and said Sanders “is for workers, for teachers” and that his policies can “invigorate the country.”
4
82
467
That the attorney general was investigating the Elijah McClain case at all is a result of an executive order by the governor amid intense protests that created a national spotlight on the case. Very possible today’s indictment never happens without that public pressure.
5
99
498
There are two comfort dogs at the site of the Boulder shooting. Cubby and Devorah. Their presence is so appreciated by the mourners. Four more golden retrievers are on the way from Nebraska.
6
85
518
New: Colorado Gov. Jared Polis issues a statewide eviction moratorium
11
105
482
Cory Gardner, who famously campaigned on a promise to call out his own party when it was wrong, has not issued any statement acknowledging Biden's win, or pushed back publicly on the president's baseless claim that the election was stolen.
48
68
462
Inmate firefighters in Colorado still can’t work for most fire departments in the state once they get out of prison. When they’re in the field working a fire they get paid about 40 cents an hour.
CA’s inmate firefighter program is decades-old and has long needed reform.
Inmates who have stood on the frontlines, battling historic fires should not be denied the right to later become a professional firefighter.
Today, I signed
#AB2147
that will fix that.
2K
9K
49K
12
172
464
To recap, some big-deal changes today to a Colorado legal system that disproportionately burdens the poor: New laws signed include juvenile fee forgiveness, banning debt-based driver’s license suspensions. No cash bail in juv. system. Bond hearings w/in 48 hours across the state.
5
91
467
Lauren Boebert is losing by more than 5 points with 230,000+ votes counted.
9
14
486
Colorado lifts SAT and ACT requirement at public colleges, becomes first state to ban legacy admissions:
9
114
466
I’ve been furloughed for two weeks and achieved absolutely nothing until today, when I produced this handsome flan.
29
3
471
If I were a CO Republican, I’d take comfort in knowing that conservative fiscal policy is locked into the state constitution and will continue to thwart all kinds of progressive policy ideas.
If I were a CO Democrat, I’d start thinking way more seriously about a TABOR repeal.
11
75
477
New in
@boltsmag
: Minnesota Democrats narrowly flipped the state Senate in November, and now, as a result, some 50,000 people on probation and parole are poised to gain voting rights. Local elections matter!
1
119
503
Colorado state Rep. Kyle Mullica, an ER nurse, has just returned home after working for 5 weeks at the Cook County Jail in Chicago, which is one of the country’s top 10 coronavirus hotspots. He was treating virus patients, working seven days a week, 12 hours a day.
6
82
466
Cory Gardner in February 2016, the week Antonin Scalia died: "I think we’re too close to the election. The president who is elected in November should be the one who makes this decision.”
20
162
449
The Colorado House has passed HB1251, a bill limiting the use of chemical restraints, like ketamine, by first responders. Bill is inspired by the case of Elijah McClain, who was injected with ketamine while handcuffed, prior to his death. House voted 37-25, bill moves to Senate.
7
112
447
A Boulder rabbi told me some of his younger congregants have been called "kike" and subjected to concentration camp jokes this week.
21
767
393