Since the shootings in Connecticut that left twenty elementary school students dead, there has been an unprecedented surge in Colorado gun sales. The demand is so overwhelming that the Colorado Bureau of Investigation says it needs more money for background checks. And now Democrats in the legislature are planning to…
In what may be Denver’s last protest of 2012, a flash mob is gathering this morning at the Canadian Consulate by the 16th Street Mall in support of Theresa Spence, the chief of the Attawapiskat First Nation, who has been on a hunger strike for more than twenty days. For…
In 2012, a lot more people rode their bikes in Denver and throughout the state — which led to an overall jump in the number of crashes. But a more ominous trend, perhaps, was the growing tension on the road between cars and cyclists, resulting in a steady stream of…
Just before the end of 2012, Nicholas Mitchell, Denver’s new independent monitor, released his first report to the public, covering discipline cases at the police and sheriff’s departments. The document from the city’s official watchdog, just the second person to hold the position, offers a glimpse into pending investigations of…
Update: Adams County District Attorney Don Quick announced this afternoon that Ezequiel Padilla-Villalobos, the 24-year-old who called 911 over the weekend, admitting he had killed a 14-year-old girl, is also facing sexual assault charges. As expected, he’s facing first-degree murder charges, too, after allegedly stabbing to death the younger sister…
Representative Rhonda Fields, an Aurora Democrat, generally sides with liberal lawmakers in Colorado. But when it comes to a possible repeal of the death penalty, she is unwavering in her opposition. Getting rid of the death penalty would be an insult to crime victims and ill-timed given recent horrific tragedies,…
In 2012, requests for emergency food assistance increased in cities across the country — and a new report shows that in Denver, the need was especially high. Over the past year, requests jumped by 56 percent in Denver, the U.S. Conference of Mayors says, and the city was unable to…
Recreational marijuana is now legal in Colorado, but carrying eleven pounds of pot on a Greyhound bus with the “intent to manufacture or distribute” is not. That is the felony charge that landed 35-year-old Jason Ramirez in jail, after a routine check at a rest stop in Lamar uncovered an…
How much access should the government have to Americans’ phone calls and e-mails — and should Congress and the public know how people are being monitored? Senator Mark Udall addressed these questions of surveillance in a lengthy floor speech yesterday, calling for better privacy protections and more information on how…
As of December 26, “retail marijuana stores” are officially prohibited in Douglas County. That means that six weeks after the legalization of recreational marijuana, any commercial activities involving pot are banned in DougCo. The county is the first in Colorado to enact this kind of ordinance — and it made…
Since the horrific mass shooting in Connecticut that claimed the lives of twenty children, there has been a renewed gun-control debate in Colorado — along with a record-breaking number of residents looking to buy guns. Now a Littleton business that offers gun classes says it’s seeing unprecedented interest in lessons…
As a senior partner with a Colorado law firm, Dick Clark works with international companies looking to expand their operations here. But since the passage of Amendment 64, which legalizes small amounts of recreational marijuana, some companies are reconsidering doing business with Colorado,he says, and he expects that problem will…
With the new year comes a new legislative session, and there’s already talk about a potential effort to repeal the death penalty in Colorado. And John Morse, a Democrat and the new president of the Senate, says he is likely to support a repeal. This would be a major shift…
Based on safety concerns and the potential for crashes in a congested corridor, Longmont officials are considering a ban on biking downtown through a so-called “dismount zone” that would require cyclists to get off their wheels and walk their bikes. And while cycling advocates aren’t opposed to encouraging safer behaviors,…
Nothing signals holiday spirit like the scrawled message “I hate black people,” accompanied by a swastika. This was the message that vandals in Colorado Springs left just before Christmas, according to city officials. In an alert, police say they are searching for leads in two cases — one involving a…
The legalization of marijuana is such a hot topic that even Olivia Culpo, the newly crowned Miss Universe, is weighing in on its merits. Culpo is the first American to win the title in fifteen years — and she’s now representing a country where recreational pot is legal in two…
After a week of silence since the Sandy Hook massacre, the National Rifle Association today said that more guns need to be part of the strategy to stop this kind of violence. Meanwhile, families of the victims of the Aurora shooting and the Columbine tragedy came together for an emotional…
On Wednesday, we reported on a disturbing phone call made to Secretary of State Scott Gessler, in which a man said he knew where the Republican lived and wanted to kill him. We now have information about a second violent threat — specific details of which are outlined in Gessler’s…
As we reported earlier this month, the shooting of Chloe, the beloved dog of Gary Branson, has caused quite a stir. The incident was caught on video, and footage showing an officer firing shots at the dog five times has led to an outpouring of support on a petition page…
Last Friday, Stephen Barton, a survivor of the Aurora theater shooting and now a vocal advocate for stronger gun policies, was back in Colorado, doing outreach work. While in Denver, he heard the news about the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. It was hard to comprehend,…
The tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut last week has reignited policy debates in Colorado that had quieted since the July 20 massacre in Aurora. And for victims of the theater shootings, the devastation in Connecticut can also trigger painful memories. That’s why officials in Aurora…
Kirsten Hamling is sorry she stole more than $200,000 from a charity she started to raise money for Children’s Hospital burn-unit victims. Her nonprofit group, Fired Up For Kids, collected money with an annual firefighters’ calendar — which got only positive attention until accusations surfaced that Hamling was pocketing donations…
