Weekly News from COBRT - April 3rd, 2018
LEADERSHIP. REACH. RESULTS.
April 3, 2018

Thank you to everyone who attended and supported the Democratic Governor Candidate Forum last week. We hope you had a great time and we look forward to seeing you at the next event. If you would like to view pictures from the event, please click here
The Democratic candidates for Colorado governor showed maybe their widest ideological spread Thursday when discussing health-care costs. U.S. Rep. Jared Polis offered a full-throated support for moving to a national single-payer health system with Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne countering that greater enrollment in private insurance plans is key to beginning to bend the cost curve. 

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As sports fan everywhere watch the NCAA men's basketball Final Four, we'll be speculating about the NBA stars of tomorrow as a tournament worth billions of dollars entertains us today. The Final Four is part of a talent pipeline - as Gallup CEO Jim Clifton often comments, kids everywhere with basketball talent dream of playing in the NBA, and from junior high through college we have a pipeline. The next Steph Curry - who was a little-known basketball talent until he torched the NCAA tournament at Davidson - can get a chance at the stars. 

But the Final Four brings up a question: What if we're finding every LeBron James, but losing most Einsteins? 

The wireless communication network for first responders that Colorado opted into last year has gone national. AT&T's FirstNet is the first nationwide public safety communications platform exclusively for the use of police, firefighters and other emergency responders, giving them their own separate, nationwide broadband network. 

Colorado lawmakers are launching another financial rescue of the state's troubled public pension system this year, the fourth in less than two decades. We support this effort because the massive - multi-billion dollar - unfunded liability at the Public Employee's Retirement Association (PERA) is unacceptable. 



Thank you to everyone who supported and attended Colorado Energy and Manufacturing Event in Pueblo last week. We hope we see you at the Greeley event on April 20th. 
Higher electricity prices in the Pueblo area stemmed in part from Colorado shifting too far away from an all-of-the-above approach to energy development, U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn said Thursday in a visit to Pueblo. 

Competing factions that want to change how the state's electoral maps are drawn say they've struck a deal to send Colorado voters a package of constitutional changes aimed at making it harder for political parties to abuse the process. 

High hurdles to passage remain, but the deal is a major boost to Colorado's chances of enacting redistricting reform this fall, as voters will be offered a consensus proposal instead of a ballot littered with competing - and confusing - options. 

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DENVER - A consortium of Denver's most recognized technology companies have partnered with state and city economic organizations to form the Colorado Technology Recruiting Coalition (CTRC). The Coalition will promote Colorado as one of the country's fastest-growing tech hubs and recruit world-class tech talent. The first target market is Silicon Valley and the greater San Francisco Bay Area. 

CEOs: Keep Productive Dialogue In Trade Disputes, Coordinate With U.S. Allies On China Issues
Business Roundtable CEOs have been keeping trade issues front and center, calling for the United States to address China's unfair trade practices while maintaining access to its market. Business Roundtable used social media to highlight their comments on trade during the week.
  • Alex Gorsky, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Johnson & Johnson, told CNBC that open trade would ultimately serve everyone's interest. In an interview from Beijing, site of the China Development Forum, Gorsky said: "At the end of the day, we think that having, first of all, fair, equitable trade around the world is in everyone's best interest ... for all companies and all countries." Noting China's market of 1.4 billion people, he added that Johnson & Johnson is building three new facilities in the country for manufacturing and R&D.
  • Doug PetersonPresident and Chief Executive Officer of S&P Global, also speaking with CNBC from Beijing, cautioned against the unilateral imposition of tariffs by both countries and called for involving Europe and Japan in U.S. trade discussions with China. "We think that this needs to be [a] bilateral-multilateral approach, where you talk to the Europeans, you have a really professional dialogue with the Chinese, as opposed to ... this blunt force instrument all at once, right up front," he said. Peterson added he was pleased that China recognized it must deal with trade disputes and that the American business community wants a constructive approach.
  • Cathy Engelbert, CEO of Deloitte, addressed trade and tariffs in a  far-reaching interview with Fox Businesson U.S. economic growth. She stressed the importance of keeping global markets open to U.S. exports, commenting, "I think in any trade agreement, negotiation is key... This is a chess game, but it also is a big balance."
This year Citizens for Space Exploration will be traveling to Washington, D.C. for the 27th time, and this year could not be more critical.  It has been proposed that NASA should defund the International Space Station (ISS) by 2025.  The same ISS that has been a shining light of international cooperation for the last 20 years.  The same ISS that has been the platform for ground breaking medical research.  The same ISS that has developed the technology that runs our modern world.  This invaluable asset is key to both the commercialization of low earth orbit and our deep space exploration ambitions. Much like the cancellation of the shuttle program, ending support for the ISS would leave a hole in our human spaceflight program and would be devastating to our local economy.

Citizens for Space Exploration will be heading back to Washington, D.C. for the 27th time. Our trip this year will take place May 15-17. Please join us as we meet with members and staff of the 115th Congress to discuss the benefits of human space exploration.

Colorado Workforce Development Council Talent Pipeline Survey
In an effort to strengthen the talent pipeline for business services occupations and the cybersecurity industry, the CWDC is currently identifitying career pathways for these industries. The CWDC requests your feedback via a 12 minute survey on the critical occupations and competencies in cybersecurity and business operations before April 13. 


Listen at KDMT 1690 AM Denver's Money Talk from 
4-5 p.m. Monday through Friday or  live stream online. Podcasts are available at  http://www.cobrt.com/radio-podcast and on your favorite podcast app the day after live airing.

Stream or Download These Recent Episodes

See all at our events page and use this contact form to add yours!

04/11/18 - 04/14/18
NUICC Trade Mission for DefExpo 2018 - National US INDIA Chamber of Commerce

04/12/18
NOCOM 18 - Manufacturing Partnership

04/20/18

04/20/18 - 04/22/18

05/03/18 - 05/04/18

05/10/18
Cybersecurity Roundtable- CSU-Global and COBRT

05/14/18 - 05/18/18
Boulder Startup Week

05/30/18 - 06/01/18
Western Pathways Conference - Global Pathways Institute

06/04/18
Lunch with Congressman Lamborn - Strategic Resources Group

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