Quidnunc, whose name comes from the Latin  “what now,” is out and about as often as possible  to bring you news overheard in elevators,  rest rooms and spied in various e-mail boxes.

QUID HAS HEARD that you can forget the relatively minor controversies newly minted Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has been rolling out like thoughts for the day on a desk calendar. Since the Prince of Boulder became the King of Colorado in January,  the losing side of the election has suffered near daily attacks apoplectia as Polis pushed for gun control, then abandonment of the somehow sacred Electoral College, and there’s been sex ed in schools where they would actually cover sex as Colorado knows it. And then there’s the Mother of All Angst itself: local control of oil and gas drilling. Shudder. But all those causes of right-wing binge drinking and hand-wringing fall away like bad dreams compared to Polis’ surprise stunt this week: a new state logo. Horrors. Wisely, Polis unveiled the new Colorado icon next to the old one, which was reminiscent of a flatulence warning symbol alerting a warming climate. While yours truly would normally remark that anything is better than that, these are not normal times, and Polis’ pick for an icon is not necessarily better. It’s bright enough, but, not unlike the state itself, woefully off balance. Using the iconic Colorado “C” as a target, it’s actually defensible. The problem is, a woebegone tree appears to be tossed in at the end, begging questions about a do-over. Clearly, the sign works better sans a tree and with a pot leaf, or an oil well, depending on your politics. And your faithful affiant has personally heard talk from Colorado types who don’t think the mountains are the only feature setting Colorado apart from the other 49. There’s wheat and cattle and even watermelon or peaches that are iconic additions to the state. A fine addition, in the opinion of yours truly, would be the big-butted sheep that so fascinate tourists on the I-70 corridor. But in its current form, it looks like a reason to let gun-control go and pick up arms for something more critical, like the state logo.

AND THAT’S ALL THE NEWS THAT FITS