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Reader: Focus on the Family Is the Worst Thing About Colorado

By Westword StaffMarch 24, 2018

John Oliver caught the ire of Focus on the Family, a religious group in Colorado Springs that advocates for scary things like gay-conversion therapy, when the talk show host went after Vice President Mike Pence’s views on homosexuality. After the Brit argued Pence’s association with FOTF reinforced the theory that he is a hypocritical homophobe, Focus hit back.

Denver’s Chief Financial Officer Didn’t Know About $75K to Leslie Branch-Wise

By Michael RobertsMarch 23, 2018

In 2013, nearly five years before police detective Leslie Branch-Wise unveiled inappropriate texts sent to her by Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, she received a $75,000 settlement from the city after making similar complaints about Wayne McDonald, a Hancock friend and employee fired over the matter. Now, a spokeswoman for Cary Kennedy says the former Colorado state treasurer, who’s running for governor and handily won the recent Colorado Democratic caucus, didn’t know anything about the payout even though she was serving as Hancock’s deputy mayor and the city’s chief financial officer at the time.

Departing Denver Post Writer: Owners “Hurling Sh*t at Dedicated Journalists”

By Michael RobertsMarch 23, 2018

The Denver Post’s announcement that it would be laying off thirty journalists, or nearly one-third of its newsroom staff, included a March 21 deadline for employees to voluntarily join those who’d be departing. The biggest name to do so was outdoor writer Jason Blevins, whose tweet about his decision put Alden Global Capital, the hedge fund that owns the Post and is bleeding it dry, on blast.

Focus on the Family Calls John Oliver “Vile” After Mike Pence Takedown

By Michael RobertsMarch 23, 2018

On the most recent episode of HBO’s Last Week Tonight, host John Oliver used Vice President Mike Pence association with Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family to support his argument that the veep is a hypocritical homophobe. Now, FOTF president Jim Daly has fired back with a post that brands Oliver as “vulgar and vile” and suggests that gay conversion therapy, an organization-supported technique that allegedly “cures” homosexuality, is widely accepted rather than condemned by medical experts everywhere. But Daly has also invited Oliver to attend an event next week in Colorado Springs at which Pence’s wife and daughter will discuss a new book about the family’s pet rabbit, Marlon Bundo.

Plans Unveiled for a Second Tiny Home Village for the Homeless

By Chris WalkerMarch 22, 2018

Today, March 22, the organization behind the RiNo tiny home village, the Colorado Village Collaborative, has unveiled some of the first architectural renderings for a second village, this one consisting of eight tiny homes located on the St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church campus at Glenarm Place and 20th Avenue near downtown.

South End of Broncos Stadium to Become Entertainment Destination

By Margaret JacksonMarch 22, 2018

A nonprofit created by the Metropolitan Football Stadium District, a political subdivision of the state, and the Broncos has been exploring creating a mixed-use neighborhood destination on the property, which is currently occupied by surface parking lots that are only used during games and special events.

Vatican Will Consider Our Lady of Visitation’s Plea to Reopen

By Ana CampbellMarch 22, 2018

Sandra Garcia was on her way out of town last Friday when she got a letter she had been expecting since last year. Signed by higher-ups at the Vatican, the letter informed Garcia that Rome is considering the plea she and her fellow congregates at Our Lady of Visitation have made to reopen their little church in unincorporated Adams County.

Online Colorado Gun Memorial Doesn’t Want Any Victim to Be Forgotten

By Michael RobertsMarch 22, 2018

The Colorado page of GunMemorial.org is eloquent in its simplicity. Under a slogan that reads, “Real People, Not Just Statistics,” the site offers an online place to salute, celebrate, remember and mourn every single person in the state who dies from gun violence, no matter the circumstances. Included are photos, links and places for family and friends to share details about loved ones whose lives ended so suddenly. Each item stands as an individual tribute, as well as a single image in a larger mosaic that illustrates how much pain, bloodshed and heartache involving firearms takes place in our state on practically a daily basis.

James Mack Goes From Coke Arrest With Ex-Bronco to $3M Mailing Pot Bust

By Michael RobertsMarch 22, 2018

Westminster’s James Mack is the latest Coloradan to be sentenced for mailing marijuana, and it’s no surprise that he earned considerably more than the one year in federal prison doled out to Arvada’s Mark Koenig for the offense last month. While Koenig was found guilty of shipping between 950 grams and 1.6 kilograms of cannabis during four incidents, Mack is said to have posted multiple pounds of pot to Kansas-based cohort Justin Polson on a weekly basis for nearly three years. And this won’t be Mack’s first trip to prison for a high-profile drug case. He was convicted in 2009 for his involvement in a cocaine deal that teamed him with former Denver Bronco Travis Henry.

Why Brandon Johnson Got 5 Years For Selling Fentanyl That Proved Deadly

By Michael RobertsMarch 21, 2018

In February 2016, as we’ve reported, Brandon Johnson and William Lancaster were charged with felony manslaughter for selling Mark Largay fentanyl, a powerful opioid that wound up killing him. Two years later, Johnson has been sentenced for a lesser crime, distributing a controlled substance, but still must serve five years behind bars because of an aggravating factor. Johnson was confined in a community corrections facility in Denver when he took part in what proved to be a fatal transaction.