Potential jurors in the James Holmes case were asked about mental illness, the death penalty and if they’d already formed an opinion about whether Holmes is guilty of murdering twelve people and injuring seventy more by opening fire in an Aurora movie theater. They were also asked several biographical questions…
Nine candidates have applied to fill a vacancy on the five-member Adams 12 Five Star school board. They are: Merylee Appel, Amira Assad-Lucas, Brian Batz, Andrew Been, Jessy Hamilton, Joseph Holt, Nicholas Jonson, James Joy and incumbent Rico Figueroa. The board has until May 1 to fill the vacancy. If…
The battle over public education policy in Jefferson County has gotten ugly, as we explain in this week’s cover story, “Class Warfare.” And the free-market Independence Institute is aiming to call out some of the perpetrators with a new website, MeanGirlz.org. The site, explains executive vice president Amy Oliver Cooke,…
In November 2013, three new school-board members were elected in Jefferson County. Ken Witt, John Newkirk and Julie Williams — or “WNW,” as they called themselves — ran as a group of fiscal conservatives who were in favor of school choice and opposed to Amendment 66, a statewide Democrat-backed tax…
Glendale is proud to announce that it’s going backwards. City officials hope to restore Glendale’s reputation as a social hub with a $175-million dining and entertainment district along Cherry Creek. They unveiled plans Monday for the new development, called Glendale 180. Glendale 180 is slated to include 25 bars and…
A nationwide ban on tiny magnet balls has been temporarily lifted. The ban went into effect on April 1, though only briefly. That afternoon, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary stay while it considers a motion by Denver-based Zen Magnets to lift the ban permanently. Shihan Qu, the…
Lakewood baker Jack Phillips is appealing a May 2014 ruling that he cannot discriminate against same-sex couples seeking wedding cakes. The Colorado Civil Rights Commission ruled that Phillips, who owns Masterpiece Cakeshop, had violated Colorado’s anti-discrimination law when he declined to make a cake for same-sex couple Charlie Craig and…
Oral arguments in the appeal of the Red Rocks amphitheater rockfall case have been postponed. The delay will allow lawyers for the injured concertgoers and for the City of Denver, which owns Red Rocks, to respond to a recent Colorado Supreme Court decision that could have a big impact on…
On March 29, the Denver Zoo lost one of its five lions when Baby, a seventeen-year-old female who mothered three cubs from two litters, was euthanized. “Baby had been battling several, chronic age-related health issues over the last few years,” zoo veterinarian Betsy Stringer said in a statement. “When she began…
The Denver Zoo has reportedly done a bang-up job of breeding and managing African wild dogs. According to the zoo, 28 puppies have been born there since it began housing the species in 2001. And the baby boom could continue thanks to the recent acquisition of two four-year-old brothers who,…
On the afternoon of Friday, March 20, more than one hundred marchers set off from the First Unitarian Society of Denver, bound for the federal immigration court downtown. Arturo Hernandez Garcia, an undocumented immigrant who has taken sanctuary in the church to avoid deportation, stood on the stone steps to…
Will Dynel Lane be charged with murder for the death of a seven-month fetus that authorities say she cut from a pregnant woman’s womb? That may depend on the results of an upcoming autopsy. District attorney Stan Garnett said at a press conference on Thursday that his office will be…
The bullet that paralyzed Karina Vargas wasn’t meant for her. In 2010, Karina, then sixteen, was standing outside of Aurora Central High School. Her classes were over for the day, and she was hanging out with a group of friends, showing off her new puppy. A passing car made a…
Colorado Senator Cory Gardner is co-sponsoring a bill to legalize hemp nationwide. The Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2015 (on view below) would remove industrial hemp from the definition of “marihuana” in the federal Controlled Substances Act, making it legal to use the crop commercially. “Industrial hemp is a safe…
The first bedbug that Tim ever found was in an unlikely place: his kitchen sink. He’d been living in his apartment near Jefferson Park for a little more than a month when he noticed something crawling on one of the clean plates he’d left out to dry. It was flat…
A contested seat on the Adams 12 Five Star school board should be declared vacant, the Colorado Supreme Court has ruled. Since the candidate who won the most votes is ineligible to serve, it’s as if no one won the election, the high court decided. The school board will now…
In 2014, ten undocumented immigrants entered sanctuary in churches around the country in order to avoid being deported. Arturo Armando Hernandez Garcia was one of them. As explained in this week’s cover story, “Sacred Ground,” Arturo has been living at the First Unitarian Society of Denver church for four months,…
Arturo Armando Hernandez Garcia balances on an orange workman’s ladder in the front hallway of the cavernous First Unitarian Society of Denver church. The fit 42-year-old wears work boots, jeans and a T-shirt that says “Chinos Construction” on it, a souvenir from a friend’s business. He dips a paintbrush into…
Mental illness and the death penalty featured prominently in questions posed to twelve potential jurors in the Aurora theater shooting case on Wednesday. At one point, prosecutor Rich Orman pointed toward suspect James Holmes, who was seated in the courtroom with his attorneys, and asked a prospective juror, “Would you…
For the second year in a row, Colorado lawmakers have introduced a bill aimed at reducing the number of construction-defects lawsuits — and hopefully increasing the number of condos built in the metro area. Senate Bill 177 would push homeowners and builders toward arbitration rather than litigation when homeowners’ units…
Back in January, we told you that Aurora theater shooting survivor Carli Richards had sold one of the birdshot pellets that hit her for $1,650. Now, Richards has sold a second pellet, the last one she had, for the same sum. She says the proceeds have allowed her to begin…
Think you’ve got the best beard in Denver? Think again. That honor belongs to Bernas, the Denver Zoo’s new supremely hirsute orangutan, whose spray of facial hair frames his sweet smile like a fuzzy sunburst. See also: Drunk Woman Who Stumbled Into Elephant Exhibit Inspires New Denver Zoo Signage…
