Bronco Bar Murder Was an Execution, Judge Says

Ignacio Luque-Verdugo received the maximum sentence in a 2014 triple shooting at Aurora’s Bronco Bar that the judge in the case described as an execution. Prosecutors said a man killed in the incident was shot six times, with five of the bullets fired into his back after he was already down.

Dear USA Today: Marijuana Hasn’t Devastated Colorado

Jeff Hunt, the vice president of Public Policy at Colorado Christian University, invited Westword and others to share his op-ed, “Marijuana Devastated Colorado, Don’t Legalize It Nationally” earlier this week. Although we declined, USA Today obliged in spreading Hunt’s reefer-madness gospel on August 7

The Long, Strange Trip for Pot Club Studio420

Studio420, an Englewood marijuana club, has been ordered to shut down following an administrative hearing. The business is planning to appeal the latest negative ruling in a years-long fight with the city that dates back to a time when it was called iBake Englewood and fronted by an entrepreneur who called himself Thurlow Weed.

How a Tragedy Shut Down Colorado’s Most Famous Cliff-Jumping Spot

The death of James Cummings, a 27-year-old from Denver, who drowned after leaping from a cliff-jumping spot at Green Mountain Reservoir in Summit County, was at least the fifteenth fatality at a Colorado water attraction in 2017. Now, federal and local authorities have jointly decided to temporarily restrict access to the site, in part because of its spreading reputation online among adventurers in Colorado and beyond.

Colorado’s New Prison-Gang Program Draws From Inmate Efforts

Over much of the past decade, several inmates in a Colorado prison developed a series of revolutionary programs that challenged the way most correctional facilities handle gang violence. Their approach was so successful that Colorado Department of Corrections administrators are now using some of their ideas for their own new prison-gang program.

Wins for Cory Gardner ADAPT Protesters in Cases That Made Him Run Away

Charges against Cynthia Dawn Russell and Elizabeth Moseley in relation to an ADAPT protest of Senator Cory Gardner in January have been dismissed. This decision, which came down on the same day that cases against five Democratic Socialists of America members who demonstrated against the senator at a July sit-in were also tossed, helps explain why Gardner recently relocated his offices from the Chase Bank building, a commercial enterprise, to a federal building.

Krystal Voss’s “Shaken Baby” Conviction Finally Tossed

An Alamosa judge has ordered a new trial in the case of Krystal Voss, who was convicted of child abuse in the death of her 19-month-old son and sentenced to 20 years in prison. The reversal is another setback for advocates of “shaken baby syndrome,” a diagnosis that’s been attacked by skeptics as junk science.

Ten Least Expensive Neighborhoods for Rent in Denver This Summer

Our recent post about the most expensive neighborhoods for rent in Denver this summer included ten areas in which the average cost for a one-bedroom apartment ranged from just under $1,500 per month to almost $2,000. In contrast, the ten least expensive Denver neighborhoods in terms of rent prices all boast an average rent price of less than $1,000.

Third Death on One of Colorado’s Most Dangerous 14ers in 22 Days

Shortly after the publication of our August 8 post identifying the fourteeners in the Elk Mountains near Aspen as Colorado’s most dangerous, authorities announced the death of 57-year-old Rei Hwa Lee on North Maroon Peak, one of the aforementioned sites. Lee is the third person to die on an Elk Mountains fourteener in 22 days, and the second fatality in the Maroon Bells area since late May.

Why Colorado Tokers Love Blackberry Kush

Blackberry Kush has been largely overshadowed by the Blueberries and Grape Apes of the strain world, but it’s achieved a moderate shine in Denver, where I’ve found at least a dozen pot shops carrying it over the past year.

#StayStrongTaylor: Twitter Nation Backs Taylor Swift in Groping Trial

Jury selection for the Taylor Swift-DJ David Mueller trial is continuing in Denver at this writing, with national and international media operations closely monitoring developments in a story that involves dueling accounts about alleged bottom-touching prior to a June 2013 Pepsi Center concert. But this activity seems positively sluggish in comparison to the explosion of activity on Twitter, where Swift supporters are rallying under the hashtag #StayStrongTaylor.

More Nazi Vandalism in William Scott Planer’s Latest Strike Zone

Less than a month after William Scott Planer was arrested in Colorado Springs for putting an anti-Semitic sticker on the door of Chabad Lubavitch Jewish Center, a second synagogue in the city has been the target of hateful vandalism via Nazi graffiti at Temple Beit Torah. And while there’s no evidence of direct linkage between the crimes, Jeremy Shaver, associate regional director for the Anti-Defamation League, says such incidents appear to be escalating in the Springs and beyond.

Ten Ways to Enhance Your Hike With Cannabis

Most Colorado locals know the unwritten rules of smoking while on a hike, but some tourists and transplants might have a little bit to learn. Here’s some tips on how to get the most from a pot-infused hike.

Colorado’s Most Dangerous 14ers, Including Site of Two 2017 Deaths

On Sunday, August 6, a thus-far-unidentified 35-year-old Front Range man died while climbing the Knife’s Edge portion of Capitol Peak, in the Elk Mountains near Aspen. He’s the second person to perish scaling Capitol Peak in less than a month, following Parker’s Jake Lord, who suffered a fatal fall there on July 15. And according to Lloyd Athearn, executive director of the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative, data compiled by the organization shows that Capitol Peak and several other Elk Mountains fourteeners are among the riskiest in Colorado.