Thousands have flocked to Denver for the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Delegates will spend time at the Pepsi Center in addition to taking in the sights of the Mile-High City - many of which were around during the last convention in 1908. KUNC’s Brian Larson visited some of those enduring landmarks and has this report.
This press release was issued by the City of Colorado Springs at about 2:30pm.
City Attorney Patricia K. Kelly said:
“The City Attorney’s Office has just concluded a comprehensive review of evidence regarding further prosecution of Eric Verlo and Elizabeth Fineron. Based upon that review, we have decided that it is not in the public interest to continue the further prosecutions. We have decided to seek a dismissal of charges against the two defendants.”
“The comprehensive review revealed police actions were appropriate during the St. Patrick’s Day parade and there was probable cause to arrest the defendants. Further, the review found ample and sufficient evidence, along with multiple witnesses to continue with the prosecution. However, a second trial would require a significant time commitment from police officers, citizen witnesses and prosecutors, and, in this case, it would appear that the public has already spoken when the first trial ended in a hung jury.”
The Colorado State Supreme Court heard arguments Thursday on whether to block amendment 41, a voter approved ethics law that bans lobbyists from giving gifts to lawmakers. The constitutional amendment also sets strict limits on how much money Government workers and their families can receive. Bente Birkeland reports from Denver.
An auditor hired by the Reverend Don Armstrong’s attorney has found no evidence the pastor committed fraud or theft. Armstrong is the pastor of Grace Episcopal Church and St. Stephen’s Parish in Colorado Springs. Last December, he was suspended by the Episcopal diocese of Colorado on suspicion of financial misconduct. In August, that body found him guilty of misappropriating nearly $400,000, lying to the IRS, illegally encumbering church property and other crimes. Armstrong has denied any wrongdoing, and says the diocese has no jurisdiction over him. But he remains under investigation by the Colorado Springs police department’s financial crimes unit.
El Paso County Attorney Jay Lauer was placed on administrative leave Monday, six months after he started the job. County Commission Chairman Dennis Hisey says commissioners do not intend to bring Lauer back when his 30-day leave is over.
A federal judge says Pueblo’s district attorney can’t sue Colorado Springs over wastewater spills, but the Sierra Club can. On Wednesday the judge tossed out the suit Pueblo DA Bill Theibaut filed in 2005, after a pair of spills sent some 340,000 gallons of raw sewage down Fountain Creek. Fountain Creek enters the Arkansas River at Pueblo. Theibaut argued that the spills violated the federal Clean Water Act, and asked for monetary penalties. The Judge said the DA didn’t demonstrate that he had jurisdiction to file suit. Theibaut says he disagrees with the ruling and that he is considering an appeal. The Clean Water Act was written to give ordinary citizens the power to call for enforcement of pollution violations. So the Sierra Club’s lawsuit, which is very similar to the one Theibaut filed, is being allowed to go forward. It’s scheduled for a 10-day trial starting September 17th. Colorado Springs utilities Spokesman Steve Berry says the city is ready for its day in court.
The number of Court-approved wiretaps are rising dramatically in Colorado, resulting in more drug arrests but raising privacy concerns.
Forest Service contractors have begun thinning stands of ponderosa pine in a 200-acre tract of the Rio Grande National Forest to reduce fire danger and improve big-game habitat.
Tom Tancredo says the parents of the New Jersey schoolyard slaying victims should sue the city for negligence.
No institution of higher learning in Colorado has made the Princeton Review’s annual list of top 10 party schools for 2008, but the U.S. Air Force Academy ranks number 7 on it’s list of schools that are, “stone, cold sober.”
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An activist attorney from Colorado will receive $106,500 as part of a settlement of two federal lawsuits. Sixty-year-old Francisco "Kiko" Martinez of Alamosa had sued state and federal authorities, alleging he was illegally held at traffic stops in three states because his name appeared on an FBI terrorist watch list.
The state has asked that a water court ruling with potentially far-reaching effects on the oil and gas industry be put on hold, while state officials prepare an appeal.
Kathryn Eastburn was the editor of the Colorado Springs Inedpendent when she began working on the story of the Dutcher murders in Guffey, Colorado on December 31st, 2000.
This fall, Eastburn will publish a book about the incident, called, “Simon Says: A True Story of Boys, Guns and Murder in the Rocky Mountain West.” She will read from her forthcoming work Thursday night, June 28th as a part of the Colorado College Summer Arts Festival. Noel Black spoke with her about the book.
A state Judge has blocked Colorado’s new ethics law from going into effect. The law bans lobbyists from giving gifts to lawmakers. It also sets strict limits on how much money Government workers and their families can receive. Bente Birkeland reports from Denver.
Photo: Daniel Zwerdling, NPRSix months ago, an NPR investigation found that leaders at Fort Carson, Colo., were punishing some soldiers who returned from war with serious mental health problems - and were preventing them from getting the treatment they needed. In some cases, officers kicked the soldiers out of the Army.
Those stories sparked ongoing investigations of the post, including one by a bipartisan group of U.S. senators and another by Pentagon officials.
Early this year, commanders at Fort Carson responded by launching what they described as an important new program: They required every leader, from sergeants up to generals, to attend a training course on how to spot and help soldiers who potentially have post-traumatic stress disorder. Officials say more than 2,200 leaders have taken the course so far, most of them early this year.
But during a recent return trip to Fort Carson to see whether conditions for troubled soldiers had improved, the most significant changes appeared to be rhetorical.
Everyone in Colorado would have health care coverage within three years, under new proposals from the state’s blue ribbon healthcare commission. The commission will issue final recommendations to the legislature next year. Bente Birkeland reports from Denver.
Soldiers and Army families unhappy with the mental health treatment Ft. Carson provides had a chance to sound off to Congress this week. A bipartisan group of nine U.S. senators and congressmen sent a team of their staffers to Ft. Carson Monday for two days of fact-finding about mental health problems being reported at the base. Carson has come under fire in the media following allegations by soldiers that leaders there mistreat troops with Post Traumatic Sttress disorder, or PTSD.
In America, there are generally more families that want to adopt children than there are newborns available. But, the opposite is true for foster children. The government estimates that there about 115,000 kids in foster care in the country ready and waiting to be adopted. Evangelical leaders say that’s a big motivation for the three-day Orphan Care and Adoption Summit wrapping up today at Focus on the Family. This is the third year they’ve held such a conference. The last two drew about a hundred people combined. This year, it’s significantly bigger. Click to see photos from the event.
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Listen to this story at NPR’s website, as well. [NPR LINK]
Kathryn Eastburn was the editor of the Colorado Springs Inedpendent when she began working on the story of the Dutcher murders in Guffey, Colorado on December 31st, 2000.
A state Judge has blocked Colorado’s new ethics law from going into effect. The law bans lobbyists from giving gifts to lawmakers. It also sets strict limits on how much money Government workers and their families can receive. Bente Birkeland reports from Denver.
Everyone in Colorado would have health care coverage within three years, under new proposals from the state’s blue ribbon healthcare commission. The commission will issue final recommendations to the legislature next year. Bente Birkeland reports from Denver.
Soldiers and Army families unhappy with the mental health treatment Ft. Carson provides had a chance to sound off to Congress this week. A bipartisan group of nine U.S. senators and congressmen sent a team of their staffers to Ft. Carson Monday for two days of fact-finding about mental health problems being reported at the base. Carson has come under fire in the media following allegations by soldiers that leaders there mistreat troops with Post Traumatic Sttress disorder, or PTSD.
In America, there are generally more families that want to adopt children than there are newborns available. But, the opposite is true for foster children. The government estimates that there about 115,000 kids in foster care in the country ready and waiting to be adopted. Evangelical leaders say that’s a big motivation for the three-day Orphan Care and Adoption Summit wrapping up today at Focus on the Family. This is the third year they’ve held such a conference. The last two drew about a hundred people combined. This year, it’s significantly bigger.