Before the refreshments in the basement but after federal judge Christina M. Habas fervently waved a pocket-sized Constitution during her speech, 76 people became naturalized citizens of the United States during a Tuesday morning ceremony at the Denver Central Library. Of the 76 people, they came from 39 countries, said…
The election’s been over for a month, but people on governor-elect John Hickenlooper’s e-mail list got one last fundraising message today. Turns out Hick’s campaign still owes $9,500 to small vendors and local businesses, and he’s hoping to raise that much by midnight tonight. Look below for his pitch…
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar’s plan to reduce wild horse herds on public lands and relocate thousands of mustangs to preserves back East has triggered protests of roundups across the West — over everything from the costs involved to the brutal conditions of the government “gather” techniques. Tonight presents…
In a state where a onetime brewpub owner, Democrat John Hickenlooper, was just elected governor, it makes sense that a onetime bartender, Paul Weissmann, would be named the House Dems’ chief of staff. Weissmann, the former House majority leader, is term-limited, so he couldn’t run for reelection in November. Still,…
In short, it’s because of the language barrier and the fact that many immigrants who drive cabs are Muslim, which makes getting a job that much harder, says Ahmed Odawaay, 30, who drove a cab in Denver from 2003 to 2009…
The invitation is alarming: “Come find out what nasty things Colorado Governor Ritter is contemplating doing BEHIND closed doors.” The nasty thing it’s referring to is Secure Communities, a federal program that would check the fingerprints of anyone arrested in Colorado against immigration records, possibly triggering a call to Immigration…
For wildlife, Interstate 70 is the forage-lined kill zone that bisects Colorado. Last June, the ARC-International Wildlife Crossing Infrastructure Design Competition invited architects, engineers and ecologists to create the next generation of animal overpass for the top of West Vail Pass. The five finalists of the competition will on display…
In yesterday’s preview of an immigration summit organized by the Republican Study Committee, Senator Kevin Lundberg, the committee’s chairman, insisted that he was more interested in finding solutions to a big problem than playing partisan games. But Representative Sal Pace, leader of the Democratic minority in the Colorado House, isn’t…
Speaking moments before the start of today’s immigration summit at the State Capitol, Senator Kevin Lundberg, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, portrays the session as an attempt to tackle an important issue in a post-election environment that will give him and his fellow legislators a better shot at success…
Immigration and Customs Enforcement continues to emphasize that it’s focusing on arresting so-called criminal aliens — and it’s lassoed plenty in these parts of late. In September, ICE busted 78 people — and of the 6,617 folks grabbed in the Denver area during fiscal 2010, 4,447 were said to be…
With John Hickenlooper having been elected Colorado’s governor, we know Denver will have a new mayor next year, and the race promises to be wide open. To introduce you to the players, we’re offering profiles of official candidates. Next up: Danny Lopez. Danny Lopez hopes that not having an official…
Scott McInnis still doesn’t quite get how he went from a governor’s office shoo-in to a political pariah. He’s back in the spotlight, engaging in an act of premature rehabilitation in the Denver Post, vowing to clear the air over this silly plagiarism scandal that derailed his campaign — and…
With John Hickenlooper having been elected Colorado’s governor, we know Denver will have a new mayor next year, and the race promises to be wide open. To introduce you to the players, we’re offering profiles of official candidates. Next up: Michael Hancock. “It’s not about control,” says Michael Hancock. “It’s…
By our count, about 1,600 people watched the debate on immigration between almost-Colorado governor Tom Tancredo and Gustavo Arellano, who writes the “Ask a Mexican” column that appears in Westword each week, on Tuesday night at Su Teatro on Santa Fe. That of course, includes you, our wonderful online readers…
Most human smuggling cases in Colorado are handled by state prosecutors using a 2006 state law — the effectiveness of which is questioned in this week’s feature story, “Disappearing Act.” But human smuggling remains a federal crime, as well — and in cases where there are aggravating factors, such as…
Update below: With John Hickenlooper having been elected Colorado’s governor, we know Denver will have a new mayor next year, and the race promises to be wild and wide open. To introduce you to the players, we’re offering profiles of official candidates. Next up: Michael Forrester. “I don’t align myself…
Today, the American Civil Liberties Union announced a formal administrative complaint against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over an April incident during which dozens of Spanish speakers aboard a Denver charter bus were detained under suspicion of human smuggling. Turns out the riders were citizens on their way to an…
With John Hickenlooper having been elected Colorado’s governor, we know Denver will have a new mayor next year, and the race promises to be wild and wide open. To introduce you to the players, we’re offering profiles of official candidates. Next up: Doug Linkhart. “I want to be a grassroots…
Colorado Border School sounds like an illegal immigration forum. But founder Pam Faraone, a chaplain with the Southwest Border Sheriffs Coalition in Texas, insists that’s not the case. “Border School really isn’t about immigration,” she says. “It is the rest of the story about the issues of border security.”…
This week’s cover story, “Disappearing Act,” examines the difficulties of enforcing Colorado’s anti-human smuggling law, which was passed in 2006. Though the law was well-intentioned, prosecuting the alleged smugglers has proven tough. As such, many smugglers end up taking plea deals that result in little to no jail time before…
The West Highland neighborhood is the home of the (former) Elitch Gardens Amusement park and hotbed of Denver Democratic politics. So it’s only fitting that the icon shown above would include a reference to a historic carousel. The rotating rides may have left the streetcar suburb when Elitch’s was relocated…
Speaker Designee Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch, thinks Republican candidates are selling like hot-cakes, so he has jacked the the House and created a huge flap by renaming committees to better represent the priorities of the Republican Party…
