Podcast appearances and mentions of brian eason

The Joint Budget Committee has finished drafting the state budget for the next fiscal year, which takes effect July 1. It's now time for the legislature to finalize it. Colorado Sun political reporters Brian Eason and Jesse Paul talk about what's in the budget — and why this may just be the start of the conversation. https://coloradosun.com/2025/03/26/colorado-lawmakers-finalize-2025-2026-budget-proposal-cuts/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A variety of factors have strained the state's finances as of late, and that meant state lawmakers had to find more than a billion dollars in savings in order to balance the state budget this session. Many legislators described the process as painful, with big-ticket items up for cuts, including Medicaid and K-12 education. And the hand wringing over the toughest decisions, in the end, led to delays on finalizing the spending package, aka “the long bill.”CPR's Bente Birkeland and The Colorado Sun's Brian Eason discuss the powerful body tasked with deciding where to pull back spending, the Joint Budget Committee; what were the most difficult choices before them in this tight budget year; and what it all could mean for Coloradans.Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Funding for the Alliance is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.Purplish's producer is Stephanie Wolf. This episode was edited by Megan Verlee and sound designed and engineered by Shane Rumsey. Our theme music is by Brad Turner.

We've been covering all the big ins and outs of state budget negotiations, but today we're going to take a step back to look at how we got here and review what's on the table as lawmakers consider how to fix the giant hole in state finances. The Sun's Brian Eason joined Colorado Public Radio's Bente Birkeland for the latest episode of the Purplish podcast, from the Colorado Capitol News Alliance. The Sun is a member of the alliance. Read more: https://coloradosun.com/2025/02/21/colorado-state-budget-hole-medicaid-costs-continue-to-climb/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here's a mystery: Colorado's economy is healthy. It's unemployment rate is low and its tax collections are healthy. So why are lawmakers looking at a recession-sized budget gap? And just as importantly: where are they going to find the savings to close it?CPR's Bente Birkeland and The Colorado Sun's Brian Eason explore the colliding circumstances that got Colorado into this situation, and talk about the hard choices lawmakers must face as they craft next year's spending plan.CPR is about to launch a new podcast designed to keep you up to date each weekday -- and you can get a sneak peek! Join us at a listening event at CPR's future headquarters in Denver on February 25 by signing up at this link.Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Funding for the Alliance is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.This episode of Purplish was edited by Stephanie Wolf and Megan Verlee and produced by Shane Rumsey. Our theme music was composed by Brad Turner.

Today – Gov. Jared Polis is once again on a collision course with fellow Democrats in the state legislature and the Colorado labor movement. Political reporters Jesse Paul and Brian Eason discuss why the conflict may be about more than just one bill.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

https://coloradosun.com/2024/11/01/colorado-state-budget-2025-26-jared-polis-proposal/ Today – Colorado lawmakers have begun working on the state budget for the next fiscal year — and they have their hands full. There is a projected $1 billion deficit. Colorado Sun politics reporter Brian Eason explains why there's a gap and what state officials are planning to do about it.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

https://coloradosun.com/2024/05/17/colorado-abortion-ballot-measure-2024-qualifies/ Today – as our politics team is heads down – focusing on the election – we're revisiting a conversation between reporters Brian Eason and Jesse Paul focused on Amendment 79, which would enshrine abortion access in the state constitution. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

https://coloradosun.com/colorado-voter-guide-2024-election/ Today – There are less than two weeks until Election Day and many Coloradans are dreading filling out their ballot because of how long and complicated it is. Don't worry. We're here to help. Political reporters Jesse Paul and Brian Eason break down how to get information on the judges on your ballot, as well as what each of the 14 statewide initiatives in Colorado this year would do.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

https://coloradosun.com/2024/07/18/colorado-affordable-housing-middle-income-tax-credit/ Today –  Can Colorado solve its housing crisis? At SunFest 2024 last week, political reporter Brian Eason talked with a panel of housing experts about how we got here and what policies could help address our housing affordability crunch.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

https://coloradosun.com/2024/09/20/proposition-131-polling-colorado-ranked-choice-voting/ Today –  Proposition 131 on the November statewide ballot would fundamentally change how elections are conducted in Colorado. Political reporters Brian Eason and Jesse Paul break down what the changes would be and who is supporting and opposing the measure. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

https://coloradosun.com/2024/05/17/colorado-abortion-ballot-measure-2024-qualifies/  Today –  There will be 14 measures on the statewide ballot in Colorado this year. That means voters will have to make a lot of decisions on a lot of important issues for the state. On today's podcast, politics reporters Brian Eason and Jesse Paul talk about one of the initiatives: Amendment 79, which would enshrine abortion access in the state constitution. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

https://coloradosun.com/2024/09/03/colorado-ballot-measure-influence-legislature/ Today –  As the dust settles from Colorado's special legislative session on property taxes, Democrats at the Capitol are eyeing ways to prevent themselves from being held hostage by ballot measures. Colorado Sun politics reporters Jesse Paul and Brian Eason discuss the dynamics.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today –  Colorado lawmakers are in the midst of their second property tax special session this year. It's been a bumpy ride so far. Political reporters Jesse Paul and Brian Eason discuss where the disagreements are — and what the future holds. https://coloradosun.com/2024/08/27/special-session-progressive-property-tax-bills/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

https://coloradosun.com/2024/08/15/colorado-special-session-property-taxes-election-2024/ Today –  Colorado lawmakers are returning to the state Capitol for the second time in 10 months for a special session on property taxes. This time around their work will prevent a pair of tax-cutting measures from appearing on the November ballot. Colorado Sun political reporters Jesse Paul and Brian Eason discussed what led to this moment — and what's next.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

https://coloradosun.com/2024/08/13/colorado-gop-bylaw-amendment-dave-williams/ There are just a few months left before the 2024 election, but the Colorado GOP is embroiled in turmoil because of its chairman, Dave Williams. Colorado Sun political reporters Jesse Paul and Brian Eason break down why some in the party are so mad at Williams and provide an update on the effort to remove him from the party's top leadership post.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

https://coloradosun.com/2024/08/05/initiative-50-property-tax-cap-bond-investors-housing/ Today –  Municipal bond investors are threatening to leave Colorado if voters approve a proposed cap on property tax growth, putting the state's largest source of infrastructure funding for new development in jeopardy. Colorado Sun political reporters Jesse Paul and Brian Eason discuss why.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

https://coloradosun.com/2024/07/30/colorado-pera-pension-finances-alarm/ Today –  New reports show Colorado's public pension system may be in more financial trouble than was previously known. Colorado Sun politics reporters Brian Eason and Jesse Paul talk about what's causing anxiety about the Public Employees Retirement Association.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

https://coloradosun.com/2024/07/18/colorado-affordable-housing-middle-income-tax-credit/ Today –  Colorado has begun subsidizing rental units for middle-income families who make as much as $170,000 instead of what affordable housing dollars used to be exclusively spent on — low-income residents. Colorado Sun politics reporters Jesse Paul and Brian Eason break down why — and who is speaking out against the shift.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

https://coloradosun.com/2024/07/08/colorado-hoa-foreclosure-new-laws/#:~:text=HOA%2Dforeclosed%20homes%20in%20Colorado,sold%20for%20%2460%2C000%20or%20less. Today – The Colorado legislature this year passed a law aimed at making it harder for homeowner's associations to foreclose on their residents. The bill came in response to reporting last year by The Colorado Sun. Political reporters Jesse Paul and Brian Eason break down how the new law will work.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

https://coloradosun.com/2024/06/28/unaffiliated-20240628/  Today – The dust has settled from Colorado's primary elections last week and Colorado Sun political reporters Jesse Paul and Brian Eason are here to break down what happened — and why. They're also looking ahead to November and how what happened on June 25 could affect the general election.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

https://coloradosun.com/2024/05/30/colorado-ranked-choice-voting-legislature-ballot-measure/ Today - In the final days of the legislative session, a bill was amended to create a major hurdle for the implementation of ranked choice voting in Colorado should voters adopt the new system in November. Political reporters Jesse Paul and Brian Eason break down what it would do and the political firestorm that it's causing.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

https://coloradosun.com/2024/05/08/colorado-land-use-bills-legislature-2024/ Today - Colorado Sun political reporters Jesse Paul and Brian Eason discuss the land-use bills passed by Colorado lawmakers and how they may affect housing affordability in the state.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today - There's a week left in Colorado's 2024 legislative session but still hundreds of bills left on the General Assembly's calendar. Colorado Sun politics reporters Jesse Paul and Brian Eason break down what some of the biggest outstanding measures are.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

https://coloradosun.com/2024/04/23/colorado-property-tax-overhaul-2024/  Today - The long-awaited bill overhauling Colorado's property tax system is set to be introduced in the legislature in the coming days. Colorado Sun political reporters Jesse Paul and Brian Eason got a sneak preview of what will be in it.cSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

https://coloradosun.com/2024/04/14/colorado-assault-weapons-ban-passes-house/ Today - Colorado Sun political reporters Brian Eason and Jesse Paul discuss the so-called assault weapons bill embroiling the Capitol — and the big roadblocks the bill has ahead.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today - Sandra Fish talks with Colorado Sun policy reporter Brian Eason about the next steps for the state budget.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

https://coloradosun.com/2024/04/01/trisha-calvarese-ken-buck-4th-congressional-district-special-election/ Today - Colorado Sun political reporters Brian Eason and Jesse Paul talk about the latest in the June 25 special election in the 4th Congress District that will determine who serves out the rest of U.S. Rep. Ken Buck's term. Democrats and Republicans have their nominees for the contest. Jesse and Brian talk about who they are and what's ahead.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

https://coloradosun.com/2024/03/26/the-unaffiliated-20240326/  Today - Politics reporters Jesse Paul and Brian Eason discuss who will replace Ken Buck in the 4th congressional district.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

https://coloradosun.com/2024/03/12/ken-buck-congress-departure-march-22/ Today - Congressman Ken Buck's surprise announcement on Tuesday that he would leave Congress on March 22nd is scrambling the already highly contentious and competitive race to replace him in the 4th Congressional District. Lauren Boebert is at the center of that contest. Political reporters Brian Eason and Jesse Paul break down what happens next. *Additional audio in this episode comes from CNN.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

http://coloradosun.com/2024/02/12/colorado-presidential-primary-caucuses/ Colorado's presidential primary is Tuesday and Colorado Sun political reporters Jesse Paul and Brian Eason are here to break down how to cast your vote, who's on the ballot and what they'll be watching on Election Day.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

https://coloradosun.com/2024/02/20/transit-oriented-communities-bill/ Today - The housing conversation at the Colorado Capitol is heating up and political reporters Brian Eason and Jesse Paul are here to break down what it all means for the state. The latest bill would withhold state dollars from communities that don't tie housing to transit.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

https://coloradosun.com/2023/04/28/colorado-governor-signs-four-gun-bills-into-law-erpo-age-red-flag/ Today - Colorado Sun political reporters Brian Eason and Jesse Paul talk about the history of gun control legislation in Colorado and what bills the Democratic majority in the legislature plans to introduce at the Capitol this year to curb gun violence.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

https://coloradosun.com/2024/02/06/unspent-rental-assistance-colorado/ Today - Colorado Sun political reporters Jesse Paul and Brian Eason discuss Brian's recent reporting on unspent state rental assistance money that could have prevented as many as 1,500 evictions but that went unspent.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

https://coloradosun.com/2024/01/22/mike-lynch-minority-leader-vote-dui-arrest/  Today - Colorado Sun political reporters Jesse Paul and Brian Eason discuss turmoil in the Colorado House Republican caucus after news broke last week that Minority Leader Mike Lynch had been arrested in September 2022 on suspicion of drunken driving. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Colorado state legislature returned to work last week, with Democrats still in control of both the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the governor's office. Housing remains top of mind for state leaders, with unsettled debates over zoning, rent control, and transit-related development expected to continue from last year. But after Governor Jared Polis's massive land-use reform failure, what, if anything, could change about Colorado's approach to housing? And what should Denverites in particular be watching? Colorado Sun politics reporter Brian Eason joins host Bree Davies to dig into the big themes for legislators this year and examine the burning question: With lingering tensions over Gaza, will they be able to agree on anything at all? Bree mentioned friend of the show Nate Minor's excellent podcast “Ghost Train” for CPR.  For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver at denver.citycast.fm. Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenver Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver What do you think? Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: 720-500-5418‬ Learn more about the sponsors of this episode: Tecovas Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Read more: https://coloradosun.com/2023/12/20/democratic-presidential-primary-ballot-colorado Today – political reporters Brian Eason and Sandra Fish talk about a surprising choice in the upcoming Democratic presidential primary and more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today – Political reporters Jesse Paul and Brian Eason discussed what state lawmakers did during Colorado's special legislative session on property tax and other financial relief that ended Monday — and how it will affect your wallet.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today – Colorado Sun political reporters Jesse Paul and Brian Eason talk about what to expect during the special legislative session on property tax relief that begins Friday following the failure of Proposition HH.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today – Colorado Sun political reporter Jesse Paul talks about Proposition HH, the 10-year property tax relief plan, with political correspondent Sandra Fish. Jesse and fellow political reporter Brian Eason are hosting a free, virtual event Thursday where Coloradans can ask questions about the highly complex ballot measure.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monday marked Crossover Day in Georgia. WABE politics reporter Sam Gringlas joins “Closer Look” to discuss several proposed bills that are one step closer to becoming law. Brian Eason, a local government reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, discusses a special investigation series that explores how corporate homebuyers competed against regular homebuyers with more than 65,000 home purchases across 11 counties. N'namdi Arinze, the founder and owner of Vegan Wangs, talks with Rose about his entrepreneurial journey.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lawmakers have introduced bills that would put restrictions on the kind of care transgender kids can receive. WABE politics reporters Sam Gringlas and Rahul Bali discuss those bills and an effort by the legislature to define antisemitism for use in the context of anti-discrimination and hate crime laws. Later, the Atlanta Journal Constitution's government reporter, Brian Eason, joins Rahul and Sam to talk about the impact of single-family homes being purchased by investors and then put up for rent.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Thursday on Political Rewind: Across metro Atlanta, corporations have bought up tens of thousands of homes, raising rents and pricing middle-class Georgians out of home ownership. Our special panel of journalists and government leaders explains why the rent is so high. Guest host Kevin Riley, @ajceditor, editor, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Brian Eason, @brianeason, government reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration, @ChuckEfstration, (R) Dacula King Williams, @IamKingWilliams, journalist and documentarian, The Atlanta Way State Sen. Nikki Merritt, @merritt4ga, (D) Gwinnett Timestamps 0:00 - Introductions 3:00 - How investors are scooping up homes 20:00 - Making housing safer for tenants 24:00 - Atlanta's marketability for workers 26:00 - How investors increase the racial wealth gap 40:00 - Legislation on the floor Friday on Political Rewind: Lawmakers host Donna Lowry joins the panel.

A team of journalists at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution spent seven months digging into an investment trend that allows private equity firms to elbow individual buyers out of the housing market. In this special edition of Politically Georgia, AJC political insiders Greg Bluestein and Patricia Murphy sit down with AJC's Brian Eason for an in-depth look at the AJC investigation: The American Dream for Rent. Learn what's caused the single-family home rental industry to grow so quickly, how out-of-state landlords trap renters into bad situations, and how this trend disproportionately affects neighborhoods of color. Read the AJC investigation, American Dream for Rent on AJC.com/AmericanDream Listen and subscribe to Politically Georgia for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or Stitcher. You can also tell your smart speaker to “play Politically Georgia podcast.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To support independent ski journalism, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This podcast hit paid subscribers' inboxes on Oct. 2. Free subscribers got it on Oct. 5. To receive future pods as soon as they're live, please consider an upgrade to a paid subscription.WhoJason Blevins, ski country (and more) reporter at The Colorado SunRecorded onSeptember 13, 2022Why I interviewed himOver two decades starting in 1997, Jason Blevins built the best local ski beat in America at The Denver Post. That he was anchored in Colorado - one of the fastest-growing states in America and home to expansion monster Vail Resorts, the atrocious I-70, America's greatest ski towns, and the largest number of annual skier visits in the country - also made his coverage the most consequential and relevant to a national audience. By his own account, he loved the Post and his colleagues, and was proud of what he had built there.“I created this beat at The Denver Post,” Blevins told Powder in 2018. “It was something that I carved out myself, just looking at mountain communities. I found that the best stories were in these small towns with small-town characters. Some of the brightest minds.”But in 2010, the paper started a slow decline following its acquisition by New York-based Alden Global Capital. The newsroom shrank from a high of 250 reporters to approximately 70. This still wasn't enough for Alden, as The Washington Post's Margaret Sullivan documented in March 2018:Jesse Aaron Paul could hardly believe his good fortune when he started his internship at the Denver Post in 2014 not long after he graduated from Colorado College.“I felt like I had reached the end of the yellow brick road,” Paul, now 25, said, describing his first day at the paper with its history of Pulitzer Prizes, its beautiful downtown building (“like a beacon”), and its nationally regarded top editor, Greg Moore, who hired him at summer's end and who dubbed him “Super Jesse.”That all came crashing down on Wednesday when newsroom employees were summoned to an all-staff meeting at the paper's headquarters, no longer downtown but at the printing plant in an outlying county.After round after round of cutbacks in recent years at the hands of its hedge-fund owners, the staff thought there might be a small number of buyouts offered. There wasn't much left to cut, after all.Top editor Lee Ann Colacioppo, who has been at the paper for almost 20 years, gave it to them straight — and the news was far worse than expected.The Post, already a shadow of its once-robust self, would be making deep layoffs: another 30 jobs.“Sobs, gasps, expletives,” was how Paul, who covers politics, described the stunned reaction.“The room went silent — we were blindsided by the numbers” said Aaron Ontiveroz, a 33-year-old photographer who has been on that award-winning staff for seven years, watching its ranks drop from 16 photographers to six.Blevins, fed up, resigned shortly, as The Ringer documented:In March [2018], Blevins got back from [the Olympics in] South Korea and settled into his routine. (He also wrote about business and other subjects.) The next few weeks turned out one of the grimmest stretches in The Post's history. On April 6, The Post adorned its “ultimate visitors guide” to Coors Field with a photo of Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia—a mistake so egregious that one Denver radio host joked it was a strapped staff calling for help. The same night, The Post ran an editorial denouncing the paper's owner, Alden Global Capital, the hedge fund that's decimating the Post's newsroom.But what got Blevins was Alden president Heath Freeman's order that The Post lay off 30 more employees. “I couldn't really reconcile the fact that I was working so hard for such a shithead,” Blevins said.Asked whether he'd ever seen Freeman, Blevins said, “No one's ever seen him. There's like one photo of him out there. He's more like a mystery serial killer, just hiding in the shadows and slowly murdering newspapers.”Blevins decided to add himself to the 30-man headcount voluntarily. He sent an email to his editor and a resignation letter to the HR department. He kissed off the paper's “black-souled” owners in a tweet. And with that, The Post lost a good sportswriter, a newsroom character, and 21 years' worth of institutional memory.Here's the tweet:Blevins wasn't the only Post reporter to bounce. Over the spring and summer of 2018, the paper continued to lose talent. Instead of scattering, they formed into a sort of Rocky Mountain Voltron called The Colorado Sun. Per Corey Hutchins,* writing in Columbia Journalism Review:The politics desk at The Denver Post has imploded. Starting in April with voluntary exits that included Brian Eason, a Statehouse reporter, and climaxing this month with a new round of departures, four of the political writers and an editor have gone. John Frank and Jesse Paul, who also covered the Statehouse, resigned in recent weeks, along with other colleagues, in defiance of Alden Global Capital, the New York-based hedge fund that owns the Post and other newsrooms—and has set about shrinking their ranks dramatically. But there is some hope for readers who still want to see the work of these journalists in Colorado: Frank and Paul are headed to The Colorado Sun—a Civil-backed platform staffed entirely, so far, by 10 former Post employees, who will be ready to cover the midterm elections in November. (Eason will also contribute to it.)Larry Ryckman, an editor of the Sun, who left the Post as a senior editor in May, says he's not in a position to recruit anyone, but receives calls “practically every other day from people at the Post who want to come work for me.” The Sun—which raised more than $160,000 in a Kickstarter campaign, doubling its goal—will be ad-free with no paywall, and reader-supported, and will focus on investigative, narrative, and explanatory journalism. Founding staff members own the company, an LLC, which also received enough startup funding from Civil to last at least the next two years.Now the Sun, which hopes to start publishing around Labor Day, is poised to be a kind of post-Post supergroup. Four years in, The Colorado Sun is thriving. Blevins tells me in the podcast that the publication is approaching 20,000 paid subscribers and has 27 reporters. Morale and output are high. Profitability is close. They feed content to every paper in Colorado – for free. How, in this age of media apocalypse, did this bat-team of super-journalists conjure a sustainable and growing newsroom from the ether? Will it work long-term? Is The Sun's template repeatable?Let's hope so. Hurricane Alden's damage is not localized – the fund owns approximately 200 American newspapers and is trying to devour more. The company repeats its cut-and-gut strategy everywhere it lands. It works because locals' decades-old brand allegiance often persists even as the quality of the product declines. This was especially true in Denver, a city that had lost its other daily newspaper – The Rocky Mountain News – in 2009. Where 600 reporters once competed across two daily papers to deliver the most urgent local news to the residents of Greater Denver, somewhere between 10 and 15 percent of that number do the job today.Fortunately for skiing and the high country, one of that number is Blevins. His work has always been important in a hyper-specific way, exploring skiing's impact beyond its traditional branches of stoke-brah Red Bull flippy-doozers and ogling mansion-porn materialism. But in our current mass media extinction event, a Texas kid who spent his formative years living in a Vail laundry room has become an unlikely general in the battle for journalism's soul. His platoon is small and outgunned, but they have more spirit and better ideas. Frankly, they could win this thing.*I highly recommend Hutchins' Substack newsletter, Inside The News in Colorado:What we talked aboutSkiing as a Texas kid; the ‘90s ski bum; Vail 30 years ago; living in a laundry room; getting a chance at The Denver Post with no reporting experience; inventing the Colorado business ski beat; the great Charlie Meyers; the ‘90s heyday and slow implosion of mainstream American newsrooms; the nefarious impact of Alden Global Capital's gutting of local newspapers across America; leaving The Post to found The Colorado Sun; the Sun's journalist-led business model and whether it can be replicated elsewhere; why The Sun doesn't cover sports; the I-70 tipping point; pandemic relocators; Back-in-'92 Bro coming strong; Vail locals as the great liftline generators; the midweek business resort communities always wanted has arrived and no one was ready; the trap of basing long-term policy decisions on the anomaly of Covid; Colorado as short-term-rental laboratory; how ski towns created their own housing crisis; the new Mountain West, “where the locals live in hotels and the visitors stay in houses”; the housing scuffle between Vail Resorts and its namesake town; does an old Telluride lawsuit tell us how this ends?; the sheep defenders; the centuries-old problem of the company town; why developers give up and would rather build mansions than affordable housing; density is not the enemy; the elusive NIMBY; whether Vail's employee pay bump and lift ticket limits will be enough to prevent a repeat of the complaint-laden 2021-22 ski season; why the Epic Pass keeps losing independent partners; the most well-kept secret in skiing; why comparing Vail and Alterra's business models is so difficult; the inevitability of Alterra going public on the stock markets; perhaps the best reaction I've ever heard to Vail and Beaver Creek charging $275 for a one-day lift ticket; and why independent ski areas are thriving in the megapass era.                 Why I thought that now was a good time for this interviewAny time is a good time to talk to Blevins. He is wired on virtually any story impacting Colorado's ski industry: Vail's financial performance, leadership tumult at the National Ski Patrol, patroller unionization, Keystone's expansion oopsie. Incredibly, skiing is just part of his beat. His Sun author page is an eclectic menu of stories ranging from the drama upending crunchy thinktanks to novel collaborations between ranchers and the Bureau of land management to crises in Colorado trailer parks. But we didn't talk, explicitly, about any of these things. We focused, instead, on adding context to stories I've been covering in The Storm: multi-mountain passes, mountain-town housing, traffic, the evolution of media. We could have had a different conversation the next day, and an entirely different one the day after that. Blevins is the best kind of journalist: observant, curious, prolific, devoted, and unapologetically honest. And also extremely busy. I took more of his time than I deserved, but his candor and insight will be enormously valuable to my listeners.Questions I wish I'd askedYou could ask Blevins about any issue of consequence to hit the Colorado ski scene in the past 20 years and he would have a ready answer, so we could have gone just about anywhere with this interview. Our focus was the evolution of media in the digital age, I-70, housing, the megapass wars, Vail Resorts' operating adjustments ahead of next ski season, and the resilience of independent ski areas in this consolidation era. But I had backup questions prepared on the tumult roiling the National Ski Patrol, the proposed mega-development at tiny Kendall Mountain, the comeback of Cuchara, resort employee unionization, and much more. Next time.Why you should read The Colorado SunThere is a whole subset of journalists who write about journalism. This beat is surprisingly robust. If you want to keep up, I suggest subscribing to Nieman Lab's near-daily newsletter, which aggregates the day's best media coverage of itself.But even if you're not paying attention, you understand that journalism, like everything else, has gotten its ass kicked by the internet over the past 25 years or so. The world I grew up in is not the world we live in now. Newspapers, dropped daily on a doorstep and acting as a subscriber's primary source of information about the local community and outside world, no longer exist principally in that form or serve that function. They are one source of information in a universe of infinite information, most of it bad.Many people, it seems, have a hard time telling the good information from the bad. “The media” is a four-letter word in many circles, cast as an agenda-driven force puppet-mastered by diabolical unseen elites. Besides, why bother reading the work of trained journalists when you can find online groups who validate any kookball idea you have, from the notion that the planet is flat (surely these knuckleheads are trolling us), to the conviction that the government is pumping toxic chemicals into the atmosphere.Certainly there are ideologically driven news organizations. But “the media,” for the most part, is individual journalists – educated middle-class workers – seeking the truth through a methodical process of fact-finding. Unfortunately, as the world migrated online and the information gatekeepers lost power, traditional media business models collapsed, opening an enormous void that was quickly filled by every moron with a keyboard.Big, legacy media was slow to adapt. But it is adapting now. Journalists are finding a way. The Colorado Sun, like the Texas Tribune before it, has established a sustainable template for high-quality, community-supported journalism. They have no central office, no printing costs, minimal advertising. Every dollar they earn goes into reporting. Most of those dollars come from citizens grateful for the truth, who pay a monthly subscription even though The Sun has no paywall.It's an appealing alternative to the minimalist business model of Alden Global Capital and The Denver Post. And I think it will predominate long-term, as journalists migrate from low-morale dens of aggressive cost-cutting run by opaque hedgemasters to spirited corps of locals engaged with and invested in their communities. In 50 years, we may be looking back at The Colorado Sun as a pioneer of digital-age journalism, one that established a new template for what a local news organization could be.Podcast notes* Alden Global Capital's hilariously useless website.  * The Texas Tribune is considered the OG of modern public-service journalism, and it comes up throughout the podcast.* In our discussion on the current housing-development dispute between the town of Vail and Vail Resorts, Blevins referred to a recent column he had written comparing this situation to a similar situation in Telluride:When a deep-pocketed investor proposed luxury homes and a village on Telluride's pastoral valley floor in the late 1990s, the town moved to block development, citing damage to the region's rural character. Town voters approved a decision to condemn the 572 acres on the valley floor in 2002. The case eventually landed in the Colorado Supreme Court, which ruled that Telluride had the power to condemn that acreage outside its boundary.The valuation proved spicy. The town offered the developer $26 million. The developer wanted $51 million. He forced a jury trial to move to nearby Delta County where the jury in 2007 ordered Telluride to pay $50 million, which was twice what the town had set aside to protect the parcel. A massive fundraising effort followed and the valley floor remains a bucolic stretch of open space on the edge of downtown Telluride.In Telluride, the value boiled down to the developer arguing the “highest and best use” of the 572 acres, where he envisioned multimillion-dollar homes, shops and restaurants. At Vail, that could come down to whether the parcel could ever be used for high-end homes.“The Vail corporation will argue that the land should be valued for its higher and best use,” said Collins, who penned a legal paper analyzing the Telluride valley floor case. “Assuming the ski corporation wants to fight this, that will absolutely be their argument. Highest and best use. That's just good lawyering.”This, Blevins thinks, is where the Vail dispute is headed. Tens of millions in public money spent and no new housing built. For more insight like this, sign up for The Sun:The Storm publishes year-round, and guarantees 100 articles per year. This is article 104/100 in 2022, and number 350 since launching on Oct. 13, 2019. Want to send feedback? Reply to this email and I will answer (unless you sound insane, or, more likely, I just get busy). You can also email skiing@substack.com.The Storm explores the world of lift-served skiing all year round. Join us. Get full access to The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast at www.stormskiing.com/subscribe

For this third installment of Flintco Forward’s look at the Texas Capitol Complex project, Ruben Martinez, President of Martinez Moore Engineers, LLC, Tom Stuhler, Vice President, Senior Project Architect, at HKS, Inc., Brian Eason, Senior Project Manager at HKS, Inc., and Jason Riley, Senior Superintendent, Flintco, LLC focused on the 1801 Congress portion of the project. “The 1801 Congress project, also referred to as the George H.W. Bush building, is a 15-story office tower that sits on a four-story, below-grade garage,” Riley said. A lot of effort goes into keeping a project of this magnitude on track with the various Texas Facilities Commission Agencies. “There is a lot of coordination necessary,” Stuhler said. With five other packages to consider, this project touches upon others. Eason mentioned hundreds of people and multiple teams, from engineers to designers, working on this project phase. For Martinez, there’s a lot of pride on the line with his firm’s ability to tie the state's traditions to those shaping Texas’ future the way companies such as Martinez Moore and HKS have done for years. “When you can contribute to a very important part of Texas that a lot of people will one day get to enjoy, [including] everything this complex will have to offer, it’s just something I find very fulfilling,” Martinez said. “All of the various phases are not under one general contractor's direction or designed by one architect,” Riley said. “There are a lot of different challenges where these projects meet and come together, and there’s a lot of coordination that goes into that on Flintco’s end to make sure what we’re providing can tie into what the other contractors are providing and vice versa.” One thing is for sure: the efforts, teamwork, and shared mission of so many will make the Texas Capitol Complex project a smashing success for Austin and something Texans can be proud of for years to come.

This was the first ever podcast for WTB and it was shot on a cell phone!!!! We are stoked to have shared it with our buddy Brian Eason. We've come a long way since our humble beginnings.

In this episode we talk to Keith Merriman and Brian Eason about adventure racing and their experience at Untamed New England. Both Brian and Keith are business owners, dads, and lead extremely busy lives. Brian is a seasoned adventure racer, competing all over the world. Keith jumped in head first and took on this event as his first ever adventure race. Listen for a ton of great insight into what adventure racing is, what qualities make a great adventure racer, and how to get into the sport if it's something you've been considering.

The stop and search of two Native American students at CSU prompted us to ask Cheryl Crazy Bull, the president of the American Indian College Fund, about other barriers Native students face on college campuses. Then, Brian Eason of the Associated Press checks in about the struggles of the state employee pension system. Also, why the president of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition opposes making child autopsy reports public. A few groups are in the early stages of deciding whether to step in and buy the Denver Post. And, Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan. Hogan died Sunday of cancer.

In this episode we continue our discussion of the anti-Trump movement by taking a look at Elizabeth Warren’s potential impact on the 2018 Midterm elections around the country. We then move on to a discussion of the current polarization in the Colorado statehouse, whether it is simply the “new normal” given the state of our political parties and to what extent it can be attributed to President Trump’s actions. Segment 1: Elizabeth Warren, The Race for DNC Chairmanship and the Future of the Democrat Party Much has been made about Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s use of Senate rules to prevent Senator Elizabeth Warren from reading a letter written by Coretta Scott King during the debate over the nomination of Jeff Sessions for Attorney General. The move has been described as a terrible blunder and as carefully planned strategy, and everything in between. Which side you fall on depends upon how you view Senator Warren – is she a champion of progressive values who shows the way to future Democratic success, or does she symbolize how far left the national Democratic Party has become, which hurts the chances of the 10 Senate Democrats who are up for re-election next year in states where President Trump won? This all feeds into the discussion we had last week about the Women’s March and the Tea Party, and it’s important to remember that all this anti-Trump energy does not automatically translate to Democratic success. It still matters where in the country the Democrats are trying to win elections. Dan McLaughlin has a useful breakdown of the 2018 Senate Races here at National Review. Clearly, Democratic senators are up for re-election in states that will be incredibly tough: West Virginia, North Dakota, Montana, Indiana and Missouri are all states were Trump received 60% or more of the two-party vote for President. Whoever prevails in the race for DNC Chair will also presumably play a large role in determining the party’s success next year. James Hohmann at the Washington Post has some great reporting about the race for DNC Chair, and he highlights the fact that the candidates all give a similar explanation for why Hillary Clinton lost: She talked too much about Trump. Yet, as Hohmann points out: “Ironically, every person who complained about how the party was too focused on attacking Trump in 2016 also tried to out-do the other candidates in promising to go after the new president. Ellison called Trump “the most misogynistic person to ever become president.” Perez called him “the most dangerous and destructive person to ever hold the presidency.” Buttigieg described the new commander in chief as “a chicken-hawk.” Most of the DNC Candidates also highlight the need for a 50-state strategy – basically, strengthening local and state parties across the country from the ground up. What they don’t acknowledge is that the party’s move to the left makes this more difficult. Quite simply, the voters who Democrats need to reach in red states and most swing states are not going to respond to this kind of reflexive, anti-Trump sentiment. They are going to view it as either exaggerated or inconsequential. They care far more about kitchen-table economic issues, and they are not going to be animated by the same issue set that concerns the liberal base (immigration, women’s and minority rights, etc…) Segment 2: Polarization in the Colorado State House In Monday’s Denver Post, Brian Eason and John Frank write that anti-Trump sentiment is influencing the Colorado legislative session, as Democrats face pressure to push back against Donald Trump. House Democrats introduced a resolution urging Trump and Congress to rescind his executive order restricting travel from 7 majority-Muslim nations, and a second resolution defending women’s reproductive rights and health care. Both drew criticism from House Republicans as purely political moves that undermine the possibility for bipartisanship and cooperation. At the same time, Republican Rep. Dave Williams introduced a bill targeting sanctuary cities, and House Republicans have also introduced three abortion-related bills, which were all rejected along party lines. The danger for both parties in all this political posturing is that middle voters will witness the back-and-forth arguing over President Trump’s policies and it will just further convince them that legislators are incapable of working together to solve the issues that they care about. Still, it’s important to remember that this kind of polarization is not exactly new. There have always been contentious debates during the legislative session. But if the battle between support for and opposition of Donald Trump’s agenda overshadows the real bi-partisan work that needs to be done on transportation and education, it’s unclear who exactly stands to benefit.

In this episode, we discuss the top 10 issues facing the Colorado legislature in 2017. For this show we reference an article in the Denver Post, “The Top 10 Issues Facing Colorado Lawmakers in the 2017 Session”, published January 8th by Brian Eason and John Frank. Segment #1 - The Trump Effect Will legislators try to adopt the style and tone of Donald Trump even though he lost Colorado to Hillary Clinton by 137,000 votes?  We think this is a bad idea, but some legislators will not get the hint. Segment #2 - Fixing Colorado’s Crowded Crumbling Roads Transportation is going to be an issue that voters want addressed. The big question is if Democrats and Republicans can come together and put something on the ballot this November for voters to approve. Segment #3 - The 2018 Governor’s Race What the legislature is able to accomplish or fail to accomplish in the 2017 session will impact the primary and general elections in 2018. However, other than Senator Ray Scott, there are not many players in the legislature that will be running for Governor. Segment #4 - It’s All About the Budget  The projected state budget is 28 billion dollars and a budget shortfall is projected to be $169 million dollars. This is going to force legislators to prioritize their spending and make touch choices. However, we do not believe voters will really care about the actual nuts and bolts of the budget in the 2018 election. Segment #5 - Energy vs. the Environment  The ongoing battle between fossil fuels, oil and gas and the environmental lobby continues into 2017. However, with split control of the legislature it is unlikely any anti-fracking or major changes to energy regulations will occur this session. It’s really more about legislators grandstanding for their respective constituents. Segment #6 - A New Look at Construction Defects Overhaul This is another ongoing battle between the home building community, defective construction compensation and consumer rights advocates. This debate is really inside baseball that only lobbyists and legislators follow. Housing is a hot issue, but construction defects legislation reform is not going to be on voter’s minds come 2018. Segment #7 - Addressing the Affordable Housing Crisis This issue is a big one and will be more and more relevant as we get closer to the 2018 election cycle. The bottom line is housing, either renting or owning a home is more difficult for Coloradans than it ever has been. Governor Hickenlooper has increased funding to fight the increase in the homeless and made this a signature issue of his legacy. We comment on how Republicans would be politically wise to put forth solutions to this problem. Segment #8 - A New Formula for Funding Classrooms  This is also a hot topic and always will be, funding for public education. The article says behind the scenes there may be some discussion about some new funding for public education, however anything that has involved a massive tax increase has been rejected by Colorado voters. We are eager to learn about any new proposals on this front. Segment #9 - Hospital Provider Fee Again, the debate about reclassification of the Hospital Provider Fee so that it does not fall under TABOR limits is in our opinion inside baseball. Voters do not understand or really care about this debate. We discuss the point that this the Hospital Provider Fee is really a debate about setting a new precedent where TABOR would could be weakened. Segment #10 - Marijuana  This segment discusses the problems created by the legalization of marijuana and how the state is dealing with it. We also discuss the politics of marijuana and how there are stark differences by party affiliation.

Host Greg Weaver and IndyStar's election team analyze Donald Trump's dominating win in the Indiana primary, Hillary Clinton's loss and the strange sights they spotted while on the presidential campaign trail. Reporters Tony Cook. Brian Eason, Chelsea Schneider and Stephanie Wang share their insights.

Host Greg Weaver talks the week in politics with reporters Chelsea Schneider, Stephanie Wang and Brian Eason.

Brian Eason has 2 Grand Prix Top 8s and has played in multiple Pro Tours. He is a former Poker pro, and an aspiring HearthStone professional. He hopes to win a Grand Prix and Pro Tour one day. Brian lives in Atlanta, GA. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Brian Eason when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep63 First Set   Ravnica Favorite Set Shards of Alara How did you get started in Magic? Brian got started playing Yu-Gi-Oh! and found it a natural progression to make the move to Magic. The complexity and more mature, professional player base drew him in despite doing poorly at his first sealed events. Favorite Card Bitterblossom When Brian started to get competitive Bitterblossom played to his creative sensibilities. What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? The first thing for Brian is the competitive aspect. Big tournaments, Star City opens, Grand Prixs and the possibility of hitting a Pro Tour—basically the challenge of playing amongst the best. The second thing is the ability to be creative in deck building. This creativity and competitiveness make Magic Brian’s favorite game. Early Challenge Brian admits he was terrible at Limited when he started. It took watching better players for him to realize he was behind and needed to up his game. Local Magic Scene: Atlanta A lot of big stores in Atlanta have fostered play for about 20 solid players, but they’re scattered around the area. Brian finds smaller groups playing at local stores on the weekends. Level Up Moment Most of Brian’s growth happened when he first started playing. He played around people that were way out of his league, but being able to team draft with them gave him invaluable feedback. Brain thinks limited is the key to becoming a better Magic player, as the skills needed translate over to different formats. Heaviest Magic Moment In his first Grand Prix Brian made it to the second day but went 0-4 and lost against weaker players. This loss helped him realize his skill level and pushed him back to the drawing board. Brian analyzed the winning player’s strategy at the same Grand Prix to figure out what he was doing wrong. Proudest Magic Moment Brian doesn’t have a specific, glorified moment that sticks out to him. What comes to mind for him is was placing second after his first time hitting the top eight at a Grand Prix. While bittersweet, he still is proud of how all his hard work and confidence materialize into a 2nd place finish. What does a typical week of MTG look like for you? Being a full time student and playing Hearthstone cuts into his Magic play, but Brian still tends to play one Magic Online draft a day. His playing incentives are driven by how fun the format is and what he gets if he wins. What is the deepest thing you’ve learned about yourself from playing Magic? Brian had a tendency to be impulsive and get caught up in the moment. Having a friend point out how he unnecessarily went all out early in a match helped him slow down. Favorite Format Limited How to choose a deck to play at a Standard Event If you want to have a good time with a descent finish, playing with a stock list with one of the better decks is the way to go. If you want to take down the whole tournament you have to do something that sets you apart—something like a tweaked deck or extra tech, and figuring that out comes from exposing yourself to different deck archetypes. Brian likes to do this to discover ways to exploit certain decks’ weaknesses. Biggest Mistake Players Make “When you play Magic it’s a bloodbath…take every small edge you can.” Brian can confidentially say that giving away tells during a match is something newer players don’t take into consideration. Looking frustrated and throwing your hands up in the air is a surefire way to throw away a game. Make it hard for your opponent to know what you have in your hand, and better yet, use your tells to mislead them. Sealed & Draft Tips Sealed: Brian believes the key in Sealed is to focus on the long game, play greedy, don’t focus too much on synergy, and make sure every card in your deck is a good standalone. Don’t ignore the early game, but understand what your deck wants to do. How to Effectively Prepare for a Big Event Putting too much emphasis on results can ramp up nerves, but going in with an experimental mindset to learn can make the experience a lot more fun. Talking with friends and getting feedback from a small group is invaluable when it comes to theory crafting and polishing your deck. Online forums are a great source too if you are a local player and don’t have any in-town connections. What’s in Your Tournament Bag? Brian likes to travel light to conserve energy during a long tournament day: Deck Notebook Pen Dice Water bottle Snacks Nuts and Bolts of a Playtest Brian thinks that playtesting can be hindered by trying to jam as many games into one session as possible. Fast games can feel inorganic as it’s not comparable to how you will play outside the test. Going through deck lists with a group of friends and theory crafting while arguing back and forth about what should and shouldn’t be in the deck helps get to the root of your deck. Magic Resource Star City Games Decklists Grand Prix Top 8 Decklists How Can a New Magic Player Break In? Magic is about creativity and flexibility, and when you build a Cube out of commons you can start a lot of discussion about deck building and have fun playing whatever version of Magic you can. Put yourself to the test and develop your skills. Final Wisdom If you’re a new player aiming for the competitive sphere it’s easy to get wrapped up in playtesting and not getting results. So whatever you do make sure you have fun with it, and remember, there’s no shame in taking a break if the fun fades. Connect With Brian Eason Twitter: @bloodyfaceHS Like What You Hear? If you like the show, head on over to iTunes and leave an honest Rating & Review. Let me know what you like and what I can do better so I can make the show the best it can be and continue bringing you valuable content. I read every single one and look forward to your feedback.   Sponsors