In order to address the many questions of marijuana legalization, Governor John Hickenlooper assembled a 24-member task force charged with developing policy recommendations. The addiction expert is Dr. Christian Thurstone, who says his goal is to limit the harm A64 could cause youth. We caught up with him yesterday to…
We reported yesterday that Representative Ed Perlmutter, a Democrat, plans to introduce an assault weapons ban on the very first day of the new Congress. But his colleague, Democrat Diana DeGette, is pushing for gun-control action even sooner with a bill to ban high-capacity assault magazines that she wants to…
Secretary of State Scott Gessler has faced a lot of pushback for his efforts to identify immigrants who are illegally on Colorado’s voter rolls. But over the summer, those criticisms escalated to a new level when he received multiple violent threats, some targeting his family. Through an Open Records request,…
Colorado Springs is trying to clean up its downtown by banning panhandling and soliciting, but there’s one problem with that plan: The ordinance would violate the First Amendment — at least according to the American Civil Liberties Union. And in the first major ruling on that issue, a federal district…
Update, 10:30 a.m.: The man who allegedly killed three others in a Longmont home yesterday and then shot himself had been released from jail a few hours before the shooting, according to the Weld County Sheriff’s Office. Daniel Sanchez, 31, reportedly showed up to the home where his ex-girlfriend was…
In the days following the movie theater massacre in July, Representative Ed Perlmutter, whose district then included Aurora, was one of the few local politicians who called for a gun policy change: the reinstatement of the assault weapons ban. He’s been working on that legislation for months, but given the…
Just days after a gunman broke into an elementary school in Connecticut and killed twenty children and six adults, Monica Avila, a 34-year-old Denver mother, is facing charges for allegedly bringing a gun to a middle school and threatening students who may have bullied her daughter. She was arrested after…
This morning’s press conference to unveil Colorado’s new mental-health plan was scheduled weeks earlier — but the announcement ended up being very timely, since it took place just days after one of the worst mass shootings in history. And just as Governor John Hickenlooper’s recent-gun control comments have been thrust…
Yesterday, the Task Force on the Implementation of Amendment 64, charged with researching the many unanswered questions about the legalization of marijuana in Colorado, met for the first time. But not before a marijuana activist objected to the involvement of Tamra Ward, who had signed onto a letter urging the…
After the tragic mass shooting in Connecticut on Friday, Governor John Hickenlooper, no stranger to devastation, said the time has come to talk gun control. President Obama has also signaled his interest in policy changes. But thousands of Colorado residents are having a different reaction: They are looking to purchase…
When Governor John Hickenlooper signed Colorado’s pot measure into law last week, he announced the creation of a task force dedicated to resolving the long list of unanswered questions about legalization. In its first meeting yesterday afternoon, the group debated the best path to consensus — a process sure to…
Update: A silver Ford Explorer ran through a red light last week in Fort Collins, colliding with a cyclist and sending him flying off his bike before the driver fled from the scene, leaving the cyclist on the ground. So says the police’s official accident report, on view below, along…
In the immediate aftermath of the Aurora theater shooting, Governor John Hickenlooper said it was too soon to talk about gun control. He remained virtually silent until, in a Thursday interview calling for a debate on the topic. One day later, the unimaginable shooting in Connecticut that claimed the lives…
Secretary of State Scott Gessler is facing criminal and ethics investigations into his alleged misuse of public dollars. Now, he could face an additional review from the state auditor’s office, with legislators yesterday approving the first step of the process…
Secretary of State Scott Gessler was not at his “election integrity” hearing in Denver yesterday — but his mother was. Barbara Gessler, mom of Colorado’s chief election officer, sat in the front row and waited for her turn to offer public comment which, included a plea for voter ID laws…
In our recent cover story, “Bed Check,” which chronicles the challenges homeless women in Denver face, we note the need for both emergency shelter and more permanent homes. In the latter category, a group called the Empowerment Program is now pushing forward with a housing project specifically for female veterans…
People across the country may have their eyes on the Mile High City because legalized marijuana is officially a thing. But Denver’s also going to get some national attention for another celebrated activity: its night-time bike parties. The Denver Cruisers are hosting an off-season ride tonight that will be featured…
This is one way to get politicians’ attention. Yesterday, around 150 activists descended on the offices of Senators Michael Bennet and Mark Udall to urge them to avoid “fiscal cliff” negotiations that protect the wealthy and burden the middle class. Protesters did so in 24 different shifts every twenty minutes,…
Right around the time we reported yesterday about a recount request in Boulder, Ellyn Hilliard, the Republican House candidate who’d asked for one, decided she would not be going forward after all — in part, because it would just be too expensive. The costs, she argues, are an explicit tactic…
It just doesn’t make sense for lawmakers to allow guns on college campuses, where the risks of suicide or shootings tied to mental health illness can be high. At least that’s an argument of Boulder Representative Claire Levy, who is crafting legislation that would add campus buildings to the list…
In our latest feature, “Bed Check,” we take a close look at the day-to-day challenges homeless women in Denver face when navigating the emergency shelter system. This is just one piece of the available-services puzzle, and the city says it is dedicated to long-term solutions. So what is Denver doing…
The Colorado Secretary of State’s office may have certified election results last week, but that doesn’t mean the battle is over. At least not from the perspective of Republican candidates in Boulder and Pueblo, who are considering pursuing recounts. While the races there weren’t close, supporters argue a recount would…
