Some things are working- At the 5th meeting of our Legislative Interim Committee on Criminal Justice Sentencing, the State Restorative Justice Coordinating Council presented the results of a three year pilot program; almost a thousand kids were diverted into restorative justice victim offender conferencing and 92% were successful and thus avoided having any charges filed. District Attorneys take note! Restorative Justice resolves cases successfully. Victims, offenders and participating community members were universally satisfied. Recidivism? 8%.

Patriot's Day- I joined the Mt Carmel Center of Excellence and their community partners, including Randy Gradishar with Phil Long dealers, this morning to recognize and assist our local service members with groceries and assistance. It was an expression of thanks from a grateful community.

Inspired by the students- I joined a couple of hundred people at Acacia Park this afternoon to support the Dreamers. The President's ill-conceived repeal of DACA disrupts the lives of thousands of Colorado's best who are studying to prepare for their future. Lets hope bipartisan federal lawmakers will show some vision.

I join my colleagues in condemning the violence, racism and white supremacist language occurring in Charlottesville today in the strongest possible terms. There is no place in our nation for this type of bigotry and hatred. The exercise of free speech rights does not include threats, calls for violence or hate speech. Our national leaders at the all levels must condemn this type of conduct and demonstrate their commitment to inclusion, diversity and respectful dialogue.

It's great to be home. I spent a week with my family at a rustic, lakeside cabin in upstate NY with no TV, cell, wireless or internet. It really is survivable. I am now re-invigorated and excited to be home in Colorado Springs. While back east, combining business with pleasure, I attended a Boston NCLS conference with a thousand state legislators to discuss common challenges and promising solutions. The day after getting home, I chaired an Interim Legislative Comm. at the capitol on Sentencing reform. We can do better than over-incarceration as state policy.