The three major candidates for governor are staking out vastly different positions on a trio of controversial tax measures on the November ballot; Amendments 60 and 61, and Proposition 101.

The initiatives are mostly measures aimed at limiting government, including pushes to restrict the ability of local governments to issue mill levies and other taxes.

A proposal to start federally regulating the disposal of the residue that’s left over from burning coal at power plants is getting a public hearing in Denver.

The hearing Thursday is the second of seven the Environmental Protection Agency is holding around the country on disposing of coal ash, which contains such substances as arsenic, cadmium and mercury.

The U.S. Mint in Denver is going green.

Xcel Energy said Tuesday that the Mint, which produces coins, will start getting all its electricity from wind power. The federal facility will buy its power from the utility’s Windsource program, through which customers pay a little more to support the development of electricity generated by wind farms.

Xcel Energy says the Mint will be one of the largest purchasers of renewable energy in Colorado. It uses nearly 13 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year.

Going into the Sunday night game in Denver, I was excited to watch Dennis Dixon get some work with the Steelers’ first team offense. He does have a sense of excitement when we talk about the QB position in this league. And, from what I have heard, the QB has had a good camp in Pittsburgh.

But, just as I wrote in my game notes yesterday, he struggled against the Broncos. The pick in the red zone is a drive killer and throwing a ball late to the opposite numbers on a curl route won’t work in the NFL against veteran secondary talent. Bottom line: poor decision making. Can’t have that and win, and definitely can’t have that when the head coach is trying to pick a week one starter with Ben Roethlisberger suspended for at least the first four games of the season.

Frontier Airlines will begin seasonal service to Liberia, Costa Rica starting Feb. 13 of next year.

Liberia is about four hours northwest of the capital, San Jose, by bus. It is also a jumping off point for beach resorts on the West Coast.

Frontier, a unit of Republic Airways Holdings Inc., will operate weekly nonstops to and from its hub at Denver International Airport.

There are certain NBA franchises that just never seen to put it all together. No matter who they add, no matter how hard they try, no matter what they do something is always just a little off. These aren’t always bad teams, like the Clippers, they’re just teams that are barely wrong. The Timberwolves of the early 2000s fit the bill, as do the Bulls from the same time period. But most relevant to today’s discussion are the Denver Nuggets, who — outside of a glorious 2008-09 run — always seem to have something that derails their season. Whether it be injuries, a reluctance to defend in the playoffs or just the wrong combination of players, the Nuggets are just always a little bit out of sync. But they usually wait until the playoffs to self-destruct. This year, they’re getting started early.

Denver auditor Dennis Gallagher is holding a regional summit on oversight of federal stimulus funds.

Participation in the meetings on Thursday and Friday include the states of Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.

Gallagher says millions of dollars are being spent in Colorado and the public has a right to know if it’s being spent appropriately.

Ronald Perea, Denver’s manager of safety, resigned Monday amid anger over his decision not to fire police officers caught on video hitting a man during an arrest last year. The city’s independent police monitor has said the officers involved should have been fired for trying to cover up what happened. The video showed the officers striking a man who was talking on his cellphone as he watched his friend’s arrest. The FBI and the police department are investigating.

The man who oversees Denver’s police force has resigned amid anger over his decision not to fire two police officers caught on video hitting a man during a violent arrest last year.

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper said Monday that Ronald Perea resigned as the city’s manager of safety. Perea will step down Aug. 31.

A World War II veteran who died in prison after pleading guilty to killing his wife is scheduled to be buried in Denver’s Fort Logan National Cemetery, angering some other vets.

Raymond R. Sawyer, an ex-Marine from Colorado, will be buried Tuesday. He died Aug. 11 at age 83 in an Arizona state prison, where he was serving 13 years for second-degree murder. His cause of death was not known.