Councilman Espinoza Seeks to Join Lawsuit Over City Drainage Project

A court document expected to be filed today seeks to add several Denver residents to a lawsuit against the city, challenging its plans to convert City Park Golf Course into a “detention area” for stormwater runoff — including Denver City Council maverick Rafael Espinoza, who’s raised several questions about the city’s $300 million drainage project.

Death-Penalty Ban Extinguished in Party-Line Vote

The latest attempt to repeal Colorado’s seldom-used death penalty was defeated in a committee hearing Wednesday evening — after emotional testimony from families of homicide victims on both sides of the issue that underscored how deeply divided the state remains on the issue of capital punishment.

Lakewood Ponders Thousands of New Homes, Other Impacts of Rooney Valley Plan

Lakewood’s city council is poised to vote Monday night on whether to adopt a revised master plan for the Rooney Valley — one that encourages a dramatic influx of housing, retail services and other development impacts in an area where dinosaur tracks, open space, and the stunning backdrop of Red Rocks Park have long provided a buffer zone between suburban sprawl and the foothills.

Holly Moore: Family Suspects Murder in Teen’s Death Ruled Suicide

The mystery surrounding the death of Holly Lynn Moore, a 19-year-old college student found hanging in a closet in her Castle Rock apartment in 2015, just keeps getting deeper. Family members have spent months and thousands of dollars uncovering evidence that suggests Moore’s death wasn’t the suicide that it appears to be.

CDOT, I-70 Project Opponents Duel Over Competing Events

Citizens interested in the state’s $1.8 billion plan to expand I-70 through a ten-mile stretch of north Denver and Aurora had a perplexing choice to make last night. They could attend a “community town hall event,” organized by opponents of the project and co-hosted by Denver city councilman Rafael Espinoza and former city auditor Dennis Gallagher. Or they could join a Facebook Live session with Colorado Department of Transportation executive director Shailen Bhatt, which was peppered with questions and concerns about the highway expansion, wedged between other queries about mountain traffic and HOV lanes.

I-70 Expansion Foes Organize Town Hall to Discuss Options

Just days after Colorado Department of Transportation officials received a long-awaited final okay to proceed with a $1.8-billion makeover of I-70 through north Denver and Aurora, opponents of the highway expansion are holding a “community town hall event” tonight to discuss what options remain for putting the brakes on the project.

Jeffco Nixes Car Dealers Next to Dino Ridge

Bowing to pressure from community groups and fossil lovers, Jefferson County’s Board of County Commissioners voted last night against a proposed rezoning that would have placed up to four auto dealerships in close proximity to the most significant dinosaur track site in the country.

Broomfield Backpedals on Fracking Moratorium, Postpones Vote

A decision this week by the Broomfield City Council to postpone action on a proposed five-month moratorium on new oil and gas development highlights the legal and political uncertainties local government officials are facing as they try to figure out what authority they might have to control the spread of fracking operations in their communities.

Jeffco Battles Over Proposed Car Dealerships Next to Dino Ridge

On Tuesday, January 17, Jeffco’s board of county commissioners will consider a proposed zoning change for a planned 140-acre development on four parcels straddling the four corners of the Alameda and C-470 interchange. The change would allow for a proposed hotel and gas station southeast of the interchange and, on the northwest quadrant, up to four car dealerships, which would surround the Dinosaur Ridge visitor center on three sides. Representatives of the developer, Three Dinos LLC, have described the request as “a minor change” in use for property that’s been zoned for commercial development for nearly a decade. But opponents of the plan say there’s nothing minor about the impacts the development would have on adjoining open-space land, on wildlife, on nearby hiking and biking trails, and on one of the last scenic vistas in the Rooney Valley, which has seen increasing encroachment by highways, the Solterra housing development, a motocross park, Bandimere Speedway and other projects.