Denver-based App Rolls Out Gene-Testing Kit for Parents

It’s a question that most parents ponder at some point: What will your children look like? Will they be athletic, lactose intolerant? Denver-based HumanCode may hold the answers. Its BABYglimpse is a new app parents can use to determine basic traits like the color of a baby’s skin, eyes and hair, and even more complex behavioral traits — like whether a kid will be prone to problem-solving or act more confrontational.

$171K Payout in Dennis Choquette’s Cruel Death Is the Tip of the Iceberg

The State of Colorado, acting for the Department of Corrections, has agreed to pay a fairly modest $171,000 to settle a lawsuit in the torturous, slow-motion, completely preventable jail death of Dennis Choquette in November 2016. But Choquette’s estate has also reached confidential agreements with a slew of other defendants, including a giant private-prison company that owns the facility where most of the horrors took place. And given the disturbing facts of the case, which we first outlined this past February, after the complaint was filed, the sum of the settlements is almost certainly much, much larger.

Mandatory Potency Testing of MMJ Edibles, Concentrates Starts November 1

All medical marijuana edibles, concentrates and other infused products made in Colorado will soon be subject to mandatory potency testing now that state testing laboratories have reached an acceptable level of proficiency, according to the Marijuana Enforcement Division. Retail marijuana product manufacturers have been required to send all of their…

The Wildly Varied Punishment for White, Privileged College Sex Criminals

Critics have long complained about the relatively light sentences given to some prominent white, privileged college students found guilty of sex crimes, and this week brings another example of the phenomenon. Jack Warmolts, a onetime Air Force Cadet who pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and unlawful sexual contact in October 2016, is now back on the streets after serving only eight months of a one-year term. However, ex-CU Denver student John D. Kennedy was sentenced to a minimum of nine years for sexual assault and more in part because his victim wrote an impassioned letter asking the judge in the case not to “allow another predator to go free.”

How a Colorado Senator Wound Up Posing With a White Supremacist

A photo has surfaced in which state senator Kevin Lundberg, a Republican from Larimer County, is seen alongside Joshua Yeakel, a reputed neo-Nazi with ties to William Scott Planer, an alleged white supremacist who was arrested in Colorado Springs this summer. In the image, taken at a pro-Donald Trump rally in July, Yeakel is wearing a T-shirt that references The Daily Stormer, a website that appeals to extremist groups. But Lundberg says he had no idea about Yeakel’s background or the meaning of the shirt when he smiled for the shot and rejects any suggestion that he was consciously cozying up to the alt-right.

Denver Wants You to Participate in a Citywide Conversation About Race

On Wednesday, October 4, Mayor Michael Hancock announced an initiative called Denver Talks, a six-week-long series of events that aims to bring together Denverites for discussions around race and social justice. With a passing reference to the NFL #TakeAKnee movement and President Donald Trump, Hancock said that Denver Talks is…

Five Colorado DREAMers Head to D.C. to Lobby for DACA

Marco Dorado, profiled by Westword in March, is one of five Colorado Dreamers headed to Washington, D.C., this week to ask members of Congress to pass the DREAM Act to protect nearly 800,000 DACA recipients in limbo since the Trump administration pulled the plug on the program last month.

How Bathroom Graffiti Could Get a DACA Student’s Entire Family Deported

Although Colorado has joined a lawsuit intended to stop the repeal of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, better known as DACA, President Donald Trump’s plan to end the program on March 5, 2018 remains in place at this writing. That leaves DACA students who were brought to this country as children in limbo and potentially vulnerable to deportation for even otherwise insignificant offenses. And according to an advocate for restorative practices, a process being used in Denver Public Schools, such risks can also extend to DACA students’ loved ones.

Ex-Rasta Bus Driver Gets 80 Years for Marijuana Grow Shooting

As seen in the photo above, Keith Hammock was once the driver for the Rasta Bus, a service that won a Best of Denver award in 2006. But if this recognition was a high point for him, yesterday marked an all-time low. On October 4, Hammock was sentenced to eighty years in prison for a 2016 shooting of two teens who invaded his home marijuana grow. One of the teens died in the incident.

Rockies’ Worst/Most Heartbreaking Moments — Including Last Night

In a post yesterday headlined “Rockies’ Playoffs Run Could Last One Game, and That’s F*cked Up,” I noted that I hate the play-in game for Major League Baseball wild card teams, adding that I was confident my mind wouldn’t be changed even if Colorado’s team bested the Arizona Diamondbacks last night. Too bad I didn’t get the chance to find out. The Rockies dug themselves a 6-0 hole, and while Nolan Arenado and company fought back to within a single run late in the contest, the ‘Zona crew proved too much, ultimately winning 11-8. As such, the game joins the most heartbreaking, and just plain worst, moments in the squad’s 24-year existence.

Tanner Flores Guilty in Murder of Rodeo Queen Ashley Doolittle

Tanner Flores, nineteen, has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Ashley Doolittle, his girlfriend, in June 2016. Later today, October 5, he’s expected to be sentenced in the case. He faces a possible life term plus 32 years for kidnapping. As we noted in our previous post, on view below, Flores killed Doolittle near Berthoud, then transported her body across the state in his truck before being arrested in the Collbran area.

Rockies’ Playoffs Run Could Last One Game, and That’s F*cked Up

After years of outright suckage, your Colorado Rockies made the playoffs for the first time since 2009. But their time in the spotlight could be short. The squad will take on the Arizona Diamondbacks at 6:08 p.m. Mountain time tonight, October 4, but it’s not the first meeting in a series between the two wild card entrants from the National League. Rather, it’s a single-game elimination, meaning that the Coloradans’ surprisingly strong season could be over tonight. And that’s stupid for reasons that go well beyond Rockies fandom.

Blame Game Sh*tstorm After Marijuana Special Session Flops

Yesterday, October 3, a special legislative session called by Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper in an attempt to fix a gaffe in a new law pertaining to marijuana taxes crashed and burned. What followed was a blame game in which Republicans and Democrats tried to score political points while special districts such as RTD continue to lose thousands of dollars per month.