"Civility" was the overused word of the day at the state Capitol as the 2011 session of the Colorado General Assembly started back in January [2]. But, as usual, the sentiment was quickly dismissed [3] until the session finally came to an end last night.

As the day began, it looked as though lawmakers would have to call a special session—with a steep price tag for taxpayers—to work out an issue over payday loans (Colorado Independent [4]). But Governor John Hickenlooper swooped in to negotiate [5] the "hostage" situation and was ultimately effective in ending the "standoff" (Denver Post [6]).

Although the 2011 assembly convened with a lot of noise over immigration, budget axing [7] quickly put education in the spotlight. Before wrapping up yesterday, Lawmakers scrounged up "spare change" for the Colorado Preschool Program, which serves low-income kids, but that payout is expected at "well less than $100,000" (Education News Colorado [8]). A number of business-related bills were also taken up before the final gavel fell (Denver Business Journal [9]), and Pueblo lawmakers signed off celebrating their successes in maintaining a program for the Colorado Mental Health Institute and an extension that will keep the city's steel mill from temporary closures (Chieftain [10]).