Keeping track of the city government's checkbook could get a lot easier next year.

Fort Collins officials have committed to coming up with a system through which payments made by the city may be searched online with a user-friendly program. Still, it could be nine months before it's operational.

The director of elections at the secretary of state's office resigned suddenly Thursday.

The departure of Holly Lowder, former Alamosa County clerk, comes two months before what is expected to be one of the biggest elections in recent Colorado history. Lowder's work centered on the implementation of the new statewide voter registration system, said Richard Coolidge, spokesman for the agency.

Lowder could not be reached for comment.

A judge this week fined Republican Mark Waller's campaign $2,450 for failing to disclose an illegal campaign contribution.

Waller sought an endorsement in May from businessman Stephen Schuck, who sent a letter to 208 potential campaign contributors soliciting a "generous donation" to Waller's campaign for state House District 15.

The recent e-mail messages sent to those who've signed up for Gov. Bill Ritter's e-newsletter seem innocuous enough:

"Read Ryan Lizza's New Yorker article, "The Code of the West," reads the subject line of one. (For those who haven't seen it, the piece is subtitled "What Barack Obama can learn from  Bill Ritter" and features Ritter drawn as a Wyatt Earp-style Western sheriff - star and all.)

Colorado attorney regulators are moving forward with an ethical-misconduct case against the former Larimer County assistant district attorneys who prosecuted Tim Masters, according to a source close to the 8-month-old inquiry.

Attorneys for Gov. Bill Ritter said Wednesday that they will seek dismissal of a lawsuit filed by The Denver Post that requests 19 months' worth of cellphone records that Ritter has declined to give the newspaper.

Denver District Judge Morris Hoffman gave First Assistant Attorney General Maurice Knaizer — who is representing Ritter — until Sept. 5 to file the motion. Hoffman gave The Post two weeks after that, until Sept. 19, to respond to the motion to dismiss.

TRINIDAD - The Las Animas County commissioners on Tuesday sent a letter to Army Assistant Secretary Keith Eastin with a list of proposals that they said would help smooth issues between the citizens of the county and the Army should the proposed Pinon Canyon expansion happen.

The letter was sent in response to a meeting the commissioners had with Eastin on Aug. 6.

Boulder Valley school board members vowed Tuesday to use e-mail for disseminating information — not deliberating issues — after an attorney briefed the group on Colorado’s open meetings and records laws.

Two Louisville residents earlier this year lodged a formal complaint with the school board alleging that members were discussing public issues in private e-mail conversations after uncovering board member correspondence involving back-and-forth debate on demolition at Louisville Middle School.

DENVER -- Public officials are navigating ethical pitfalls as they hop from party to party during the Democratic National Convention.

 

During a welcoming party Sunday night, top officials stuck to water instead of sampling the free booze and hors’dourves at a party hosted by top lobbying firm Brownstein, Hyatt, Farber, Schreck.

 

Dan Robinson, the Democratic nominee for the District 1 seat on the Mesa County Commission, says the man who currently holds the job, Craig Meis, has a major conflict of interest.

Meis is one of the principals of energy services firm Cordilleran Compliance Services, and Robinson continues to raise the conflict of interest issue as energy-related questions come before Meis and the rest of the commission.

BOULDER — A nearly 100-year tradition of keeping all City Council deliberations open is in danger of being tossed in the name of good government, say critics of a proposed change to Boulder's charter.

"At times, is what we do inefficient? Well, yes," said City Councilwoman Crystal Gray, who is opposed to allowing the City Council to convene private executive sessions. "But does the public deserve the right to know how we spend money and conduct business? Again, yes."

The party will go on in Denver, but only after a lot of consultation with lawyers.

Stricter ethics rules have made corporations and lobbyists hosting Democratic National Convention receptions and soirees pause before putting lawmakers on the guest lists.

The Distilled Spirits Council used to organize parties honoring the Senate majority and minority leaders and hand out gift bags.

No longer.

The parties will rage on through the early hours of the Democratic National Convention despite new federal and state checks on lobbyist influence that have hosts dialing up ethics lawyers before event planners.

The groups responsible for more than 400 events have found workarounds that ensure their events will be both well-attended and in compliance with ethics rules.

 ASPEN — City Hall has handed over thousands of pages of documents and e-mails to the lawyers who are suing public officials.

Aspen City Attorney John Worcester said about 1,700 pages of documents and “literally thousands of e-mails” copied onto discs have been given to Garfield & Hecht PC, which is engaged in at least two lawsuits against City Hall.

Let the naysayers say nay no longer. Denver's committee hosting the Democratic National Convention has raised the cash expected of it.

After struggling for more than a year and a half, and missing its June deadline by $11 million, the committee responsible for raising $40.6 million in private cash that finances the convention has met its goal.

U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard plans to propose a law barring the Army from seizing land to expand Fort Carson's Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site, but it would clear the way for land purchases, a spokesman said.

Allard, a lame-duck Republican who is leaving office after the election, is working with Army bosses on the measure to erase fears that the Army will use federal land seizure laws to displace ranchers from the 100,000 acres it wants to add to its training area east of Trinidad. He'll push the measure when the Senate reconvenes next month.

DENVER -- A spokeswoman for the Jefferson County School Board said Tuesday that board member Vince Chowdhury, who pleaded guilty to assaulting his daughter, has resigned.

The resignation is effective Thursday, according to a school district spokeswoman Lynn Setzer.

In a written statement, Chowdhury said he was stepping down to focus on personal, family issues.

Chowdhury was asked to resign by his fellow board members in the wake of his arrest and guilty plea for third-degree assault in July.

FIRESTONE — A church's controversial commercial and housing development is once again headed for a public vote, this time in a special election.

The Firestone Town Board last week voted to put LifeBridge Christian Church's Union proposal on a special Sept. 30 ballot. But some worry that few residents will show up to vote.

The church is asking Firestone to annex its 340-acre Union parcel into the city limits with plans for 142 acres of homes, 57 acres for religious or civic uses and a 150,000-square-foot sports arena.

 

Great Outdoors Colorado, the trust that funds the Colorado Division of Parks with lottery revenue, is withholding $8.6 million after a critical state audit of the park division's finances.

The audit found that the parks division improperly accounted for $9.4 million and made $2 million in "questionable" payments.

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