On September 10, as we’ve reported, voters in southeastern Colorado will decide whether state senators John Morse and Angela Giron should be recalled because of their advocacy of gun-control measures. But with the election looming, a technical question over the vote threatens to make a controversial matter even messier. Hence,…
Senator Vicki Marble, come on down! You’re the next contestant on The Politics is Wrong! Marble, a Republican from Fort Collins, was apparently trying to be sympathetic to African-Americans at a State Capitol meeting yesterday, but her words sure as hell didn’t come out that way — unless you think…
Gun enthusiasts have long accused Colorado’s Democratic leadership of “following the script” established by major gun-control advocacy groups, such as Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG), in their campaign to pass legislation expanding background checks and limiting magazine capacity — two measures that now have state senators John Morse and Angela…
The long-simmering battle over the future of a major hunk of southeastern Colorado may have taken a giant step toward resolution in Pueblo yesterday. A senior Army official assured ranchers that the Pentagon has no plans to expand the sprawling, 367-square-mile Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site — and might even rescind…
Last month, we told you about Jaxine Bubis, a political hopeful whose campaign for embattled state senator John Morse’s seat was derailed after it was revealed she’d written several steamy books — read excerpts below — and referred to herself as a “grammy who writes erotic romance.” Now, however, she’s…
Surrounded by friends and advocates at a sunny park in Aurora today, immigrant Jeanette Vizguerra celebrated a victory: She was released yesterday from the immigration detention center where she’d been held since July 24. But her fight to remain in the U.S. isn’t over. Federal authorities have given Vizguerra a…
Immigrant Jeanette Vizguerra has been fighting for years to stay in the United States. The mother of four ended up in deportation proceedings after she was pulled over in 2009 for driving with expired tags. Vizguerra was arrested and put in an immigration detention center. After being released, she fought…
This week’s feature points out that for those living off the grid, the world is full of free stuff — and freedom. At the heart of the radical movement is an emphasis on community — because it would be difficult to maintain a lifestyle of conversation, creative projects and no…
This week’s cover story, “Free for All,” talks about living off the grid and anarchism in the radical community — topics of great interest to Stephen Polk, who not only lectures on political science, ecological crisis and the Occupy Wall Street movement at University of Colorado Denver, but has over…
It’s no secret that private, for-profit prison operators such as Corrections Corporation of America pay their employees far less than what correctional officers earn in the public sector. But Republican state senators have managed to put thousands of state workers on their guard, as it were, by suggesting that the…
Update to our update, July 18, 4:10 pm: In response to Judge Robert Hyatt’s ruling, below, Governor John Hickenlooper has signed an executive order designating September, 10, 2013, as the date for the recall elections of state senators John Morse and Angela Giron. “We appreciate that the court acknowledged we…
The acquittal of George Zimmerman in the fatal shooting of Florida teen Trayvon Martin has sparked protests and prayer vigils and a seemingly endless discussion about race and guns, self-defense laws and justice in America. One of the oddest responses to cross our desk comes in the form of an…
The Denver District Attorney’s Office is still sorting out its response to a fatal shooting on South Glencoe Street last week. It may well be that the death of 29-year-old Charles McLaughlin, who allegedly fought with the male occupant of a home and attempted entry before he was shot, is…
The language is similar, to some extent, and both laws were intended to clarify a person’s right to self-defense. But there’s a world of difference between Colorado’s 28-year-old home- protection statute, commonly known as the “Make My Day” law, and Florida’s 2005 “Stand Your Ground” law, which has been a…
The cynics among us have long believed that elected officials tend to be treated better by the law than the rest of us — and now, they have more evidence to bolster that theory. A new report reveals that state legislators are exempted from the current photo-radar system because of…
Today, Clarisa Mesta joined the ranks of undocumented immigrants who have successfully stopped their deportations after speaking publicly about their cases. Before her hearing in Denver’s immigration court this afternoon, the mother of three addressed a small crowd gathered on the sidewalk. “My name is Clarisa Mesta,” she said into…
At 10 a.m. on Monday, July 15, Mayor Michael Hancock will deliver his annual State of the City, this time at the Forney Transportation Museum, right by the Denver Coliseum, at 4303 Brighton Boulevard. The Forney was once in the old Tramway building that’s now home to the flagship REI…
“He dragged the rose down her chin, her neck, and tortured her, dragging it down between her breasts, her belly and across the top of her panties. She moved, arched, ached for more.” A scene in Fifty Shades of Grey? Nope. The passage is from 2004’s Beantown Heat, written by…
“This is not a protest!” exclaimed Ryan Tuleja, one of several dozen Second Amendment defenders who gathered outside the Colorado State Capitol on the day a ban of high-capacity magazines went into effect. And he was right. The event was more of an act of civil disobedience, with people in…
A decision today by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals could have a positive effect on the deportation case of Imelda Valenzuela Gonzalez, whose story we told in this week’s feature, “Out of the Shadows.” The appeals court ruled that an undocumented immigrant named Elia Ibarra should not be considered…
What would the immigration reform bill passed by the U.S. Senate yesterday mean for undocumented immigrants who are already in deportation proceedings — such as those featured in our cover story, “Out of the Shadows”? According to the office of Colorado Senator Michael Bennet, who is one of the “Gang…
Last month, Colorado’s legislature passed a hemp-farming registry bill that Governor John Hickenlooper signed into law. But can hemp escape the role of marijuana’s sober sister on a national scale? A new development gives it the best chance of doing so in ages. Colorado Representative Jared Polis was among legislators…
