COVID-19 Updates

As of April 12th, 2021 over 1.3 million Coloradans have been fully immunized. This is great news and assures us that we are making progress in our fight against this pandemic.

However, we must still be cautious as statewide cases are on the rise and our very own Pueblo county is rated ‘yellow’ on the state’s COVID dial. The chart below shows how counties are rated on our dial. To view more data visit https://covid19.colorado.gov/data

https://covid19.colorado.gov/data/covid-19-dial-dashboard#determinants

Vaccines

All Coloradans who are 16 or older are eligible to be vaccinated! Moderna and Pfizer vaccines have both been tested for effectiveness and safety in adults. The FDA has approved them for use. The vaccine works by teaching your immune system how to fight the virus. You won’t catch COVID as a result of getting vaccinated. It’s important to sign up for a vaccine as soon as you can if you are able and willing. To learn more about the COVID vaccines visit covid19.colorado.gov/vaccine-faq

Several locations in the San Luis Valley are offering vaccine appointments. To find a provider in your county click here. Some Walmart and City Market pharmacies in the area also have vaccines available. Information on how to make an appointment with them can be found here.

The map above shows the current Snow Water Equivalent based on the normal or average SWE with data taken between 1981 and 2010. So for example the South Platte River area currently has 92 percent of their normal SWE. The green color indicates that an area has had more snowpack. Snowpack and SWE have increased slightly, but by looking at the Gunnison area or even our own backyard we have a long way to go and we are hoping for heavy spring precipitation!

Another reminder that the application for the 2021 Colorado State Fair Fiesta Queen Scholarship Pageant is still open! This is a great opportunity for our Latinx community. The scholarship qualifications are listed below. Please reach out to [email protected] with any questions.

● Applicants must be of Hispanic/Latinx/Chicanx descent, between the ages of 18 and 22, having reached the age of 18 and not older than the age of 22 as of June 26, 2021;
● Applicants must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 upon applying;
● Applicants must be a United States citizen (or an eligible non-citizen) and a Colorado resident for at least six (6) months prior to application deadline;
● Applicants are required to submit a complete Fiesta Pageant application, a current and official high school or college transcript, a resume ( See Example), and a minimum of two (2) signed letters of recommendation;
● COMPLETE APPLICATION MUST BE SUBMITTED AND/OR POSTMARKED BY SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 2021

Rep. Donald Valdez’s Legislative Update

It was budget week at the capitol! Here in Colorado we have a balanced budget. After a hard year and several difficult budget cuts in 2020 we have been able to restore vital funds for different departments and services across the state. Deciding on specific budget line items is a long and tedious process. We worked through over 90 amendments and saw hundreds of hours of work from our Joint Budget Committee. Agriculture, education, wildfire mitigation, and recovery programs were all priorities in creating the budget. The full budget is available to the public here.

Here’s some of the critical investments we made this week

$480 million to K-12 education
$800 million to Colorado Comeback State Stimulus Plan.
$124 million for transportation infrastructure
26.4 million for the state’s wildfire response
$59.4 million to veteran community living centers and $500,000 to fund workforce services for veterans
$48.2 million to hospitals that serve severely low income and uninsured patients.

SB21-203: Funding For Colorado Proud: Senator Simpson and I are proud to be sponsoring this bill that appropriates $2.5 million to the department of agriculture for the Colorado proud program. This program is vital to educating citizens on the importance of agriculture and food production. It supports those local industries along with our states thriving agritourism. Investing in this program can help our state recover and build back better! This bill is being heard in the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources on April 22nd. If you’re interested in testifying physically, remotely, or a written testimony follow this link to sign up.

If you’d like to keep up with what bills are being introduced and where they are in the legislative process visit Bills, Resolutions, & Memorials | Colorado General Assembly

Please reach out!

I am here to listen! The needs of the community are my concerns.

[email protected]

From the desk of Donald Valdez

Donald Valdez

P.O. Box 110

La Jara, Co 81140

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