Email Author Melanie Asmar

Awards

• 2012 - GLAAD Media Awards, published May 5, 2011

  "Coming Out in America"

• 2012 - National Association of Black Journalists Awards, published March 17, 2011

  "Say What?"

• 2011 - Education Reporting Awards/National Education Writers Association, published June 10, 2010

  "Teacher's Fret"

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2013 Stories by Melanie Asmar

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  FEATURED STORY

  Hollywood, Colorado! Three feature films to be made here thanks to new incentives

  published Feb 18, 2013

  Last year, lawmakers approved new film incentives to lure Hollywood back to Colorado after movie-makers had largely abandoned the state for cheaper locales. Seven months into the program, nearly $4 m... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Santa Bill Lee and animal cruelty: Two cases dropped, some animals (but no reindeer) back

  published Feb 08, 2013

  Mall Santa Bill Lee has gotten sixteen more of his seized animals back. That number doesn't include any reindeer, though. Not yet. As we explained in our cover story, "Santa is Grounded," Clear Creek... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Theater shooting case: Judge denies city of Aurora's request to lift gag order

  published Feb 07, 2013

  Update: In an order dated February 11, Judge William Sylvester denied the city of Aurora's request to lift a gag order in place since the early days of the theater shooting case. The city asked for pe... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Bill Sullivan: Judge rejects settlement in fraud case against Operation Cock Block target

  published Feb 06, 2013

  It seems that Bill Sullivan, the subject of our story "Operation Cock Block," isn't out of trouble with the Securities and Exchange Commission just yet. A federal judge has rejected an effort to sett... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Marijuana: Amendment 64 Task Force backs letting employers fire people for pot use

  published Feb 06, 2013

  Employers would be allowed to fire employees for smoking marijuana off-site under a recommendation endorsed by the Amendment 64 Task Force on Tuesday. Members also voted to support a marijuana DUI bi... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Catholic hospital's fetuses-aren't-people claim "hypocrisy," says NY Times's Frank Bruni

  published Feb 05, 2013

  New York Times columnist Frank Bruni has weighed in on the story first reported in Westword two weeks ago about a father's attempt to sue a Catholic hospital for the wrongful death of his wife and un... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Fetuses-aren't-people argument was "morally wrong," says Catholic hospital

  published Feb 04, 2013

  Catholic Health Initiatives has acknowledged that it was "morally wrong" for its lawyers to argue in court that fetuses aren't people. As explained in our cover story "The Meaning of Life," the Engle... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Fox News tells James Holmes's lawyers it will "vigorously" defend reporter against subpoena

  published Feb 01, 2013

  The back-and-forth between Fox News and attorneys for accused Aurora theater shooter James Holmes is getting heated. Holmes's lawyers are attempting to subpoena a Fox reporter who quoted unnamed law ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Aurora theater shooting: Judge delays hearing about Fox News information "leak"

  published Jan 31, 2013

  A judge has postponed until April 1 a hearing at which attorneys for accused Aurora theater shooter James Holmes hope to question a reporter about who, if anyone, "leaked" her information about a not... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Fetal homicide bill defeated by Democrats not a Trojan horse for personhood, sponsor says

  published Jan 30, 2013

  Update: As we reported yesterday, a fetal homicide bill sponsored by Republican Representative Janak Joshi was defeated along party lines, with Democrats saying they plan to bring forward a measure th... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  GIFs: Mayor Michael Hancock does Ray Lewis dance to make good on Baltimore bet

  published Jan 30, 2013

  Mayor Michael Hancock delayed paying off a wager with Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake because of an injury. The termsr If the Broncos lost to the Ravens (which they did), Hancock would send a... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Aurora theater shooting inspires local first-graders to launch Jar of Kindness project

  published Jan 29, 2013

  How do you help young children cope with a terrible tragedyr A first-grade teacher in Aurora has come up with a way. Every day after recess, the kids in Megan Anderson's class at Peoria Elementary si... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Fetus = personr District court judges have come to different conclusions

  published Jan 28, 2013

  This week's cover story, "The Meaning of Life," tells the story behind a seemingly contradictory legal argument being made by Englewood-based Catholic Health Initiatives: that a fetus is not a person.... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  James Holmes's attorneys ask to delay quizzing Fox News reporter due to network "resistance"

  published Jan 28, 2013

  Attorneys for accused Aurora theater shooter James Holmes have asked a judge to delay a hearing at which they hope to question Fox News reporter Jana Winter about her sources. Back in July, Winter re... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Fetuses-aren't-people lawsuit: Bishops to review Catholic hospital's argument

  published Jan 25, 2013

  Colorado's Catholic bishops say they will "undertake a full review" of a lawsuit in which Catholic Health Initiatives, an Englewood-based operator of 78 Catholic hospitals in seventeen states, has arg... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Insanity defense: Frank McNulty wants to shift burden of proof from state to defendant

  published Jan 24, 2013

  When a defendant pleads not guilty by reason of insanity in Colorado, the burden falls on prosecutors to prove otherwise. A bill sponsored by state Representative Frank McNulty would shift the respon... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Denver Zoo welcomes an effing adorable red panda named Chewbacca, ready for love

  published Jan 24, 2013

  A red panda named Chewbacca has come to live at the Denver Zoo. His purposer To mate with the zoo's female red panda, Daisy. His other, more important purposer To be effing adorable. Continue read... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Fetuses aren't people, says Catholic hospital: Does argument contradict church doctriner

  published Jan 23, 2013

  Is a fetus a personr Colorado-based Catholic Health Initiatives, which operates 78 Catholic hospitals in seventeen states, is arguing in court that it's not, as explained in this week's cover story, "... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Racial justice hotline report: 39 percent of callers say they were injured by police

  published Jan 22, 2013

  A year ago, the Colorado Progressive Coalition relaunched its Racial Justice Hotline. The goal was to collect stories and statistics about racial profiling and police misconduct in the hopes of chang... More >>

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  COVER STORY

  Is a fetus a person? The Colorado Supreme Court may have to decide.

  published January 24, 2013

  On the morning of the day she died, 31-year-old Lori Stodghill balanced her breakfast plate on her very pregnant belly and watched it bob up... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Marvin Booker's family upset at delay in lawsuit against city, deputies they say caused his death

  published Jan 22, 2013

  Justice for the family of Marvin Booker may have to wait. On Monday, Booker's brother, sister-in-law and cousins stood in front of the statue of Martin Luther King, Jr. in City Park and expressed the... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Aurora theater shooting judge allows subpoena of Fox News reporter about info "leak"

  published Jan 18, 2013

  The judge in the James Holmes case will allow Holmes's defense attorneys to subpoena a New York-based Fox News reporter who first reported that the accused Aurora theater shooter sent a notebook "full... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Aurora Century theater reopens six months after shooting with speeches, The Hobbit

  published Jan 18, 2013

  The smell of buttered popcorn drifted into the parking lot as survivors of the July 20 shooting that killed twelve people and injured seventy made their way last night toward the front doors of the re... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Aurora theater shooting: City asks judge to consider lifting gag order against it

  published Jan 17, 2013

  The City of Aurora has asked the judge in the theater shooting case to revise a gag order that prohibits law enforcement agents from discussing what happened. "The city has refused numerous requests.... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Michael Hancock bet-losing Ray Lewis dance delayed due to injuryr

  published Jan 15, 2013

  Before Saturday's Broncos-Ravens playoff game, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock made a friendly wager with Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. If Denver won, Rawlings-Blake promised to send a platt... More >>