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Week of January 19, 2023
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DENVER, COLORADO
A publication of
VOLUME 96 | ISSUE 9
‘If the calendar was open, I always said yes’ Voters may be asked to forgo future TABOR refunds Bill to be introduced BY JESSE PAUL THE COLORADO SUN
Michael Spencer, right, will be moving into the CBS Colorado’s news anchor spot being vacated by Jim Benemann, left, who is retirCOURTESY OF CBS COLORADO ing this March.
CBS4’s Jim Benemann reflects on career, retirement BY BRUCE GOLDBERG SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
Back in May, longtime CBS Colorado — KCNC-TV, Channel 4 — news anchor Jim Benemann announced his retirement, bringing a close to his 44 years in TV news, including 36 years in the Denver market. Denver’s Benemann has served as the face of CBS Colorado’s evening news since 2002, anchoring the program alongside Karen Leigh since 2008. KCNC sports anchor Michael Spencer, who began working at CBS
Colorado in June 2016, will replace Benemann as anchor of the CBS Colorado news at 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. In December, Gary Shapiro, who began anchoring 9NEWS Mornings in 1989, retired. He intends to stay on part-time, and will occasionally be seen on the air for some stories and specials, 9NEWS reported. In his retirement, Benemann is looking forward to spending more time with his wife, Karen, their eight children and five grandchildren, and also traveling at a more leisurely pace than reporting the news demands. With only about three months left before he retires, Colorado Community Media visited with Benemann to learn more about his career and retirement plans.
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 11
Q&A with Jim Benemann What will retirement look like for you?
Like a full-time move up to the mountains. We have a little place in Eagle that we really enjoy. We’ll be spending a lot of time up there. But also, we have some kids here in Denver … we’ll be visiting. We have not done an awful lot of travel. It’d be nice to go places where you can be free and easy. One place we want to get to is New Zealand. You need three weeks to discover (everything there). And Slovenia is an undiscovered gem. What are you most proud of as you review your television career?
I would say the No. 1
SEE REFLECTING, P5
The Colorado legislature will debate a bill this year that would ask voters in November to waive their future Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights refunds and earmark the money, potentially billions of dollars each year, to public education. The forthcoming measure, sponsored by state Rep. Cathy Kipp, a Fort Collins Democrat and former Poudre School District board member, and state Sen. Rachel Zenzinger, an Arvada Democrat who has worked as a teacher, is sure to face pushback from Republicans, who are fierce defenders of TABOR refunds. There could also possibly be opposition from some fellow Democrats, including Gov. Jared Polis, who would like to see the money spent elsewhere. “We need to pay our teachers,” Kipp said. “We need to fund our schools. We do not fund our public schools adequately. TABOR is a part of that.” TABOR requires voter approval for all tax increases in Colorado and it also caps government growth and spending, mandating that tax revenue collected in excess of the cap be refunded to taxpayers. In the case of state government, the legislature decides how the refunds are distributed. Last year, Coloradans SEE FORGO, P2
EMOTIONAL LEARNING, ART, GOOD MEDICINE P14