With child hunger on the rise,  

summer lunch programs ramp up    

Family economic security
Colorado Public News: With child hunger on the rise, summer lunch programs ramp up
Statewide, 40 percent of Colorado children are eligible for free or subsidized school meal programs. Children here qualify for free lunch if they are living in families of four with an annual income of $28,665 or less. Reduced cost lunches cost 40 cents and are available to children living in four-person families with incomes up to $41,000.

Colorado Springs Gazette: Many Coloradans qualify for food assistance, but only about 40 percent apply
Between 2007 and 2009, use of food stamps in El Paso County increased 38 percent. But in 2009, Colorado had the country's lowest percentage of participants of those eligible for the Supplemental Nutrients Assistance Program, or SNAP, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Sterling Journal-Advocate: NJC expanding effort to re-educate, retain older learners
For baby boomers who started college and began working toward a degree or certificate but didn't finish, community colleges are revving up a new grant-funded initiative that will help them reach their dreams. Northeastern Junior College was among 20 colleges recently selected by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) to participate in the Plus 50 Completion Strategy.


Health care
The Denver Post: Critics file complaint about Colorado hospital-buyout deal with state attorney general
The Colorado Health Foundation's $1.45 billion deal to sell its share of Denver's largest hospital group to a for-profit chain may be underpriced in a closed-door deal and undercutting community interests, according to objections lodged with the state attorney general.


Fiscal policy
The Aspen Times via The Denver Post: Property value collapse about to hit Colorado high country governments
Special taxing districts in the midvalley are starting to learn how hard the collapse of property values will hit them in their pocketbooks.

The Denver Post: Colorado casinos clip their taxes through loophole
Even before winning a controversial tax break from regulators in May, many of Colorado's mountain casinos were already avoiding hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual taxes through a loophole in the state's gaming regulations.