Author: PAUL BATURA
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Don’t forget the founding mothers of America | Paul Batura
America’s founding fathers are in the spotlight this week, and rightly so. Without the resolute leadership of George Washington, the moral fortitude of John Adams, the fluid pen of Thomas Jefferson and the thoughtful and intellectual genius of James Madison, to name just a few of our nation’s famed architects, there may never have been…
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FirstBank acquisition marks a new banking era | Paul Batura
With the completion this past weekend of PNC Bank’s $4.1 billion acquisition of FirstBank, the 63-year-old Lakewood institution joins a growing list of other well-known brands that have soared and then faded from the Front Range. You begin to feel old when you realize just how many once-familiar companies are now mere memories: Blockbuster Video,…
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Every child deserves a father in the home | Paul Batura
Americans are expected to spend far less on Father’s Day this upcoming weekend than they did on Mother’s Day this past May, and that’s exactly how dads want it and how it should be. According to the National Retail Federation, Americans spent $38 billion on their moms in 2026 compared to an anticipated outlay of…
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Five cultural lies people accept as being true | Paul Batura
Does art imitate life, or does life imitate art? Writing in an 1889 essay, the Irish playwright Oscar Wilde contested the latter. The article was titled, “The Decay of Lying: An Observation.” Known for his wit, charm, sarcasm, and vanity, he was being intentionally provocative when he declared, “Life imitates art far more than art…
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Why Biaggi’s failed and In-N-Out succeeds | Paul Batura
Although recent headlines might leave you with a different impression, more new restaurants open each year than old ones close – although in recent years, the margin seems to be narrowing. With over 1,600 eating establishments in Colorado Springs, there’s no shortage of choices and little chance of anyone with means going hungry. But some…
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The Air Force Academy is a bargain you can’t beat | Paul Batura
By now, you’ve likely already heard them: The United States Air Force Thunderbirds are in town to put their annual exclamation point on Thursday’s Air Force Academy graduation ceremony. Originally known as the “Stardusters” when they first took to the skies in 1953, the special demonstration squadron never ceases to amaze us. Flying upwards of…
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Remember the local soldiers who helped save the Union | Paul Batura
This Memorial Day weekend, Americans will be commemorating the nearly 1.4 million lives lost in wars and conflicts since the country’s founding 250 years ago. Over 6,000 Coloradans are among those killed in action, including some who died before we were even a state. Yet, if we’re not careful, we can grow numb to it…
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GUEST COLUMN: Why abortion radicals resort to vandalism
The recent defacement of a westside billboard celebrating the sanctity of preborn life, coupled with the vandalism at a nearby Colorado Springs Pregnancy Center operated by Life Network, begs the question: What are those perpetrating these crimes afraid of? Rich Bennett, who serves as president of Life Network, the local nonprofit operating the impacted facility that…
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Life advice for the graduating Class of 2026 | Paul Batura
It’s graduation season, which means commencement ceremonies will soon feature the wit and wisdom of celebrity speakers ranging from late-night comedian Conan O’Brien (Harvard), Henry Winkler, a.k.a. ‘The Fonz’ (Emerson College), and actor Hugh Jackman (Ball State). Even if you recall who addressed your graduation class, you likely can’t remember what they said unless you…
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Your neighbors are more important than you think | Paul J. Batura
Our longtime Mountain Shadows neighbor, Norma Jean Sanguinetti, passed away earlier this month, just a few weeks shy of her 88th birthday. “Mrs. Jean,” as our boys called her, died the way most of us would like to go – peacefully in her sleep. She had been happily visiting with friends, went to take a nap,…