Eli Stokols launches a Sunday morning politics show on Fox31

[Colorado Media Newsroom]

From The Denver Post:




The setting is hip (although a drab old studio would have allowed for better audio), the introductory graphics and local images are lively, and the topics are of the moment: “#COpolitics from the Source” debuts June 1 at 9 a.m. on Fox31 with Eli Stokols firmly in charge. Credit KDVR with trying something new. And the timeslot, up against “Meet the Press,” gives Sunday mornings a local voice.

The opening roundtable looks at Colorado’s life with legalized marijuana. “Five months in” the transition couldn’t have gone more smoothly, Stokols notes. Jack Finlaw, general counsel to Gov. John Hickenlooper agrees, allowing that edibles remain troublesome. Video from dispensaries and grow houses accent the piece, breaking up the talking heads.

Joe Hodas of Dixie Elixirs, which manufactures 30-40 edible cannabis products, complains about the difficulties the company faces now that regulators are “changing the rules midstream.” How’s business? Hodas doesn’t give numbers but notes “we underestimated how popular edibles would be.” Across the market, he says, demand outpaces supply.

U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter observes the national perception of Colorado as a stoner state: “It is on people’s minds,” he said. “I’ve got to get past what I call ‘the chuckle factor’.” More seriously, he notes, federal law is in conflict with state law. He’d like to get the two align.

Stokols concludes with a one-on-one interview with Rep. Jared Polis about current oil/gas ballot measures.

We won’t expect the kind of ratings NBC’s David Gregory gets on Channel 9, but Stokols and Fox31 are adding to the thoughtful discussion of local issues. That beats canned syndicated fare, whatever your politics.



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