We surely haven’t heard the last of a recent smash story in which four fracking-related ballot measures apparently won’t be appearing on the November ballot. It has basically been described as a backroom deal, presided over by Gov. John Hickenlooper, in which the measures were withdrawn in favor of — get this — a study by a commission. Oh yay.

An enterprising and well-paid reporter would find this an inspiring topic to dig into. Lacking all of that, I will instead refer you to two revealing columns on the topic.

One strongly worded opinion piece came from Joel Dyer, writing in the Boulder Weekly, in which he complains loudly of a sellout by Rep. Jared Polis.

The other is an “insider” analysis of the backroom dealings involved, focusing on Hickenlooper’s role and written by Mike Littwin and appearing in both the Daily Camera and the Colorado Independent.

Between the two, you can get a pretty good head start on figuring out what’s really going on. More investigative reporting won’t be forthcoming from these quarters anytime soon. Here’s hoping someone digs deeper and tells the real story, which is needed. The stakes couldn’t be higher, as in, the future of Colorado’s water supply and of climate change on a global level. That’s all.