Bill Supporting Child-Welfare Caseworkers Passes House Committee

A bill that aims to create a task force to provide support — including mental-health services — to Colorado’s child-welfare caseworkers crossed its first hurdle on Tuesday, April 11, when it passed out of the House Public Health Care and Human Services Committee by a vote of ten to three. During the nearly two-hour…

Introducing the Sunday Gardner, Weekly Protests Against Senator Cory Gardner

Indivisible Denver, under the auspices of local artist Eric Shumake, is staging weekly rallies at the Denver offices of Senator Cory Gardner. Dubbed the Sunday Gardner, the gatherings blast the state’s highest-ranking Republican official for his unblinking support of President Donald Trump, not to mention his efforts to denigrate demonstrators by suggesting that they’re being paid to protest.

Why It’s So Hard to Make a Living in Denver Despite Strong Economy

A new survey lists Denver among the top ten U.S. cities for job seekers owing to the area’s strong economy, low unemployment rate and plenitude of high-tech industries. But the man behind one of the city’s most popular job sites feels that these factors mask the difficulties many people in Denver are having when it comes to making a comfortable living.

Why Frontier Finished Last in Airline Quality Rating — Again

Frontier Airlines finished dead last among the twelve carriers analyzed in the 2017 Airline Quality Rating, just as it did in 2014. According to the report’s co-author, Frontier sunk to the bottom of the rankings again after finishing in eighth and eleventh place during 2015 and 2016, respectively, due largely to customer anger over a series of delays and cancellations last December at Denver International Airport and other facilities around the country. But he also feels the airline may be suffering from something of an identity crisis.

What’s In a Name? Ask These Three Hot Denver Neighborhoods

Denver is suddenly stuck on nicknames. Developers are smacking hip labels on once-dowdy parts of town; the Colorado-born creators of South Park are smacking those developers with SoDoSoPa mockeries. So far, though, only three neighborhood nicknames have passed any test of time. One of them is RiNo, and the area is holding its annual meeting April 13.

Colorado Dems Chair on Party Politics and Resistance in the Trump Age

In a wide-ranging conversation with Westword about her new role as Colorado Democratic Party chair, former state senate president Morgan Carroll acknowledges mistakes made at the local, state and national level and talks about the need for innovation and fresh thinking during a period when cynicism about the political system is rising at a rapid rate. But she also exhibits enthusiasm and optimism about channeling anti-Trump energy into practical action.

High-Profile Colorado Sexual-Assault Survivors Band Together to Help Victims

Brittney Westphal, who was at the center of a startling November 2016 exposé revealing that seven of ten sexual assault reports in Denver during the previous two years weren’t prosecuted, and Kendra Heuer, whose attacker, former CU Boulder student Austin Wilkerson, received no jail time despite being convicted of unlawful sexual assault against her, have joined with Lizzie Stelten, another sexual assault survivor, to create a new and novel support group that will be meeting for the first time on April 18 in Niwot.

The Mystery of 1,600 People (or More) Who’ve Gone Missing on Public Land

Approximately 1,600 people, and perhaps many more, have gone missing on public lands, according to sources cited in a fascinating new article from Outside magazine. The piece prominently highlights two tragic Colorado cases covered in this space, involving Joe Keller and Dale Stehling. Regis University instructor Heidi Streetman, also took part in the article, and she tells us that progress is being made toward her goal of creating a national database that could help solve such mysteries.

Denver to Pay $1M, Make Changes Over Jessie Hernandez Police Shooting

At this hour, Denver officials are announcing their decision to pay $999,900 to the family of seventeen-year-old Jessica “Jessie” Hernandez, who was killed by police while she was behind the wheel of a stolen car two years ago in an incident that led to widespread protests and calls for a federal investigation of officer-involved shootings in the city. But equally important to Qusair Mohamedbhai, the attorney representing Hernandez’s loved ones, are two additional actions Denver has agreed to take.

What’s in My Bag? Pot Pioneer Jane West Unpacks Her Stash

Over the past decade, Colorado’s cannabis industry has grown far beyond stoner stereotypes. Ever since Jane West started her wellness-products business, she’s been vocal about what it’s like to be a cannabis consumer, a business leader and, yes, a parent. We recently sat down with West to find out what this pot pioneer carries every day, and will be taking with her on 4/20.

Colorado Lawmakers Pass New Plant Limits for Home Grows

Colorado might have been the first state to sell recreational marijuana, but we’re not nearly finished updating our cannabis laws. Lawmakers have introduced seventeen bills during this legislative session, most of them aimed at tightening the rules for marijuana sale and production. Governor John Hickenlooper will sign a bill that will limit marijuana home grows to twelve plants this week.

What’s Inside the Black Bag You’ll Get at the Denver 4/20 Rally

The Denver 4/20 Rally, scheduled to take place on April 20, is offering something new this year. Each attendee will receive a black bag containing tons of swag from marijuana businesses that were unable to legally give away such items at big public events in the past because of restrictive advertising rules related to cannabis.