Colorado Dome Repairs Face Delay Amid Weak Fundraising

DENVER (AP) -- Repairs to Colorado's Capitol dome are facing a six-month delay as expenses to restore the rusting cast-iron dome mount and private fundraising lags.

An update to state lawmakers Thursday took on the atmosphere of a scratch-and-dent sale as lawmakers planned to sell old gold gilding scraped off during repairs and don lapel pins asking for donations.

The "Share in the Care" dome fundraising effort was launched in January with a goal of raising $4 million by June for a $12 million repair. Later estimates put repairs at about $17 million, and so far individual donations have totaled less than $34,000. A single lawmaker, Democratic Rep. John Soper of Longmont, donated $4,000 of that.

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