Jefferson County

Reader: Incompetence in Jefferson County is nothing new

Jefferson County adopts first-ever bicycle plan with proposed (unfunded) routes

Editor's note: This is the fifth in a series of reports about biking and bike safety in Denver and beyond. Watch out, Denver, the suburbs are taking cycling seriously, too! We've reported on the dramatic rise of cyclists in Denver, and it turns out the healthy debate this news has sparked is also ... More >>

Videos: Solar eclipse draws a crowd in Boulder

When my family members tried to check out last night's solar eclipse from a spot in Jefferson County, they saw...nothing, due to cloud cover. Those who gathered at CU-Boulder's Folsom Field had better luck, and that's a good thing -- because there were a record-setting 10,000 of them. See video of t ... More >>

Beltway authority proposal hits the brakes...for now

Boosters have put the brakes to a proposal that would have formed a state beltway authority to allegedly smooth traffic snarls, but critics charged was really designed to grease the wheels for the completion of the northwest beltway, including a toll road past Rocky Flats.

Golden accuses beltway proponents of sneak attack

For months the City of Golden met with Jefferson County and state authorities, trying to come up with a plan that would could increase and ease the flow of traffic in the metro area as it also protected the town. But those negotiations came to a halt at the very end of December, and Golden soon join ... More >>

Lower North Fork Fire photo gallery: Symbols of blazes to come?

As firefighters work to squelch the Lower North Fork Fire near Conifer once and for all, Jefferson County photos of the destruction to nature and property left in the blaze's wake can't help raising concern for the future. Given the dry conditions, will scenes like these be repeated for months to c ... More >>

Why Golden put the brakes on the Jefferson Parkway land swap

Despite the efforts of Governor John Hickenlooper and Don Hunt, the head of the Colorado Department of Transportation, the negotiations with Golden, Jefferson County and the group that would build the Jefferson Parkway wound up going nowhere...fast. In mid-December, Golden outlined a $57 million tra ... More >>

13-year-old girl accused of trying to murder her family by fire -- four times

Bigger pic below.​For a school photo, a certain Jefferson County eighth-grader wore a cheerleading shirt. But right now, neither she nor her family has anything to cheer about. The thirteen-year-old is currently in custody, accused of trying to kill the other six members of her family by burn ... More >>

Poop Fairies watch over Jefferson County hiking trails: Kenny Be's Worst-Case Scenario

​ Jefferson County officials should not be encouraging pet owners to believe that "There Is No Poop Fairy." As the illustration above indicates, scat scofflaws won't respond to any poop-pickup commandments unless they are being watched over by real, live poop fairies...

Bump-and-run robberies in Denver: Suspect in 3 ripoffs matches description from Jeffco crime

Big sketch below.​Update: Earlier this month, we told you about a Jefferson County bump-and-run robbery, in which a thief hit a car in front of him, then stole a purse after the driver got out to check the damage. At the time, Jeffco authorities said this wasn't an isolated incident -- and now ... More >>

Plans for the Jefferson Parkway inch forward

Golden mayor Jacob Smith.​Government officials in Jefferson County are negotiating with a Spanish construction company that is interested in financing, designing, building and operating the controversial Jefferson Parkway, a ten-mile toll road between State Highway 128 in Broomfield and State ... More >>

Wild Wild West Colfax

The Jefferson Parkway project hits more roadblocks

Walk, Run or Bike for a Cause

Fire bans announced (a little late) in Boulder, Larimer County -- and JeffCo and Golden, too

​It took the Fourmile Canyon fire and the Reservoir Road fire to convince Boulder County and Larimer County to put fire bans in place; click here to read about the former, here to learn about the latter. Kudos, then, to Jefferson County and Golden, which have prohibited burning prior to blazes ... More >>

Tonight: Annual "Indoor" Legislative BBQ in Jeffco

​Colorado politics have become a feeding frenzy -- and from 5-7 p.m. tonight, you can mouth off with legislators at the same time you're stuffing your mouth at the annual "Indoor" Legislative BBQ, a gathering for legislators, elected officials, Jefferson County nonprofit agency staffers and b ... More >>

DMV rage: Year after fee hikes, Jeffco budgeting $200,000 per annum for private security

​It's been more than a year since the initial bedlam over increased vehicle registration fees prompted some counties to pay off-duty police to keep angry citizens from lashing out at Motor Vehicle personnel. But Jefferson County is still spending a good chunk of the extra revenue to post priva ... More >>

General Steel, controversial Colorado building company, faces more lawsuits

Defendants again.​Update, 4:17 p.m.: Comments from General Steel have been incorporated into the original post, published at 2:28 p.m. Colorado's General Steel Corporation is being sued in federal civil court for fresh allegations of fraud similar to those that cost the company more than $4.5 ... More >>

Alisha Brown, Mile High Murder No. 63: Daryll Glenn Brown arrested for killing ex-wife

Daryll Glenn Brown, allegedly a terrible former spouse.​On December 30, a woman was found dead in her home at 14192 W. 4th Avenue in Jefferson County, an area captured in the graphic on view below (if you have problems seeing the image, click "View Larger Map"). The victim was subsequently id ... More >>

New marijuana smackdown: Footprints Health & Wellness challenges Jeffco dispensary ban

Footprints Wellness to Jeffco: Don't tread on me.​Ever since Centennial's dispensary ban was shot down in Arapahoe District Court a month ago, Colorado medical marijuana operations faced with similar moratoriums in other locales have refused to go quietly into the night. The latest dispute is ... More >>

Morning Dew: Quick, before the snow returns

​ The Meadowlark Trail in Jefferson County, courtesy of timmyjohn1's Flickr page. To have your photos featured in Morning Dew, send them to edge@westword.com or post them to the Westword Flickr pool.

Swine flu protocol: Children and inmates first

​In the movie The Dark Knight, the Joker conducts a nail-biting sociology experiment by rigging bombs on two ships -- one loaded with ordinary folk, the other transporting prisoners. A detonator for each bomb is then placed in the hands of the opposing camps, who are invited to blow up the oth ... More >>

Could Jeffco students be getting two snow days? Forecast looks good

A Flickr photo"Does anyone know a snow dance?"​ At 5 a.m. this morning, when Jefferson County officials decided to declare a snow day, there wasn't all that much of the stuff. Even in the Ken-Caryl Ranch area, near the foothills, only about an inch of it had collected on driveways. But Jeffers ... More >>

Being a movie usher isn't just about cleaning gum off seats anymore

An aptitude for public speaking isn't a typical requirement for working at a movie theater -- unless you're employed at the Bowles Crossing 12, a Kerasotes-owned venue located in southern Jefferson County. (It's across the street from Clement Park; then-Vice President Al Gore gave a speech from it ... More >>

Will the proposed Jefferson Parkway toll road take Colorado commuters for a ride?

Russ Cook: A good cop's lonely death

When Jefferson County deputies found their former boss, Russ Cook, dead in his home on November 21, the press reports were short and predictable. They began with a hasty, almost embarrassed review of the man's public disgraces of the past few years -- his 2003 resignation as sheriff after just six ... More >>

The difficulty of being a first-time, mail-in Colorado voter

Early voting is quick and easy -- even though they didn't let me do it

This year's hot presidential ticket: Dukakis-Bentsen?

Sarah Palin's Jefferson County Fairgrounds speech -- in bits and pieces

What kinda folks showed up to see Sarah Palin? Pale ones

Getting out of the Sarah Palin speech

More Messages: Climbing the Poll

Letters to the Editor

From the week of October 7, 2004

Hot Stuff

A new measuring technique may allow higher broadcast emissions on Lookout Mountain.

Best Sporty School Project

Sunday Best: The Making of a Stadium, Invesco Field at Mile High

One for All

Charter schools are perfect for special-education kids. That's the problem.

The Wide World of Grief

Colorado has become one of the country's hubs for teaching, and learning, how to feel bad.

Killing Time

It may take years to sort out what happened during the “missing” minutes at Columbine.

The Boys Next Door

In the rush to ban sex offenders, cities and counties may inadvertently be creating more of them down the line.

Seeing Red

Denver's gain is Jeffco's pain.

The Pitch Is In, and It's Good

Public schools accepting private-sector funds is becoming commonplace. But not everyone's money is good enough.

A Rough Road Ends in Jeffco

A proposed quarry gets bulldozed by irate residents.

Strange but True

A Quick Ride on a Fast Track

for offenders arrested in jefferson county, speed is of the essence.

A Shock to the System

The rush to protect battered women has turned domestic violence into "the social issue of the nineties"-- and raised issues of fairness for both perpetrators and victims.

Strange but True

Alms for the Not-So-Poor

A "nonprofit" hospital gets its lucrative office buildings taken off the tax rolls.

CLASS STRUGGLE

THE WINNERS AND LOSERS AFTER A YEAR OF THE CHARTER-SCHOOL LAW.

SEPARATION ANXIETYARE DISABLED PUPILS IN A CLASS BY THEMSELVES?