VOL. 01 NO. 191 | NOVEMBER 22, 2016 | COLORADOSTATESMAN.COM/THE-HOT-SHEET | © 2016

DENVER – Good Tuesday to you and yours.  If it’s a traveling day (“over the river and through the woods …”) for you, we do hope you arrive safely and possibly hungry.

As you’ll notice, we are sharing several topics concerning our law enforcement today. With the recent police shootings (four this weekend) they have been top of mind and frankly … in our prayers. As Thanksgiving approaches, we hope you will keep those who wear a badge in your thoughts and prayers as well.

More today as well …

Let’s get started!

The First Shot

“It’s just been the last two or three months that have really kept me concerned about officers posting right out on social media …”

– Breckenridge Police Chief Dennis McLaughlin

DOJ: Denver Sheriffs employees don’t have to be U.S. citizens … nope, nope, nope

There are days we have to reread a story several times because it just doesn’t seem to make sense … the first, second or even third reading. This is one of those stories.

The Denver Sheriff’s Department (or shall we say the Denver taxpayer) has been slapped with a $10,000 fine for limiting sheriff applicants to U.S. citizens. In addition to the fine, the sheriff’s department has been directed by the U.S. Justice Department to change its hiring practices to include job candidates who are not U.S. citizens.

The settlement requires sheriff’s officials to reconsider disqualified candidates without regard to their citizenship, retrain staff and revise its policies to adhere to the Immigration and Nationality Act’s anti-discrimination provision. The Associated Press story can be found at the Denver7 website.

According to FOX31, the Denver Sheriff Department posted a short comment on Twitter, “While we didn’t commit this violation intentionally, we accept responsibility.”

Sen. Gardner has your Golden Ticket

It’s prom night for political junkies … The president’s inauguration celebration in Washington D.C. complete with parties and events are a must for many. It’s hard to imagine that the man who brought us gold-plated – well, EVERYTHING – won’t throw one heck of a party, right?

So, if you’re looking for tickets to the big day on January 20th – look no further than Colorado’s Republican senator.

Sen. Cory Gardner has a limited number of tickets for Coloradans hoping to attend the history-making event. Hopefuls should E-MAIL with their full name, address, phone number and number of tickets they’d like.

Better hurry … Requests must be made by December 1st.

NOT addressing Denver’s homeless is costing you … Millions!

The revolving door of arrest, court, jail, detox and medical treatment of Denver’s homeless is costing Colorado taxpayers way more than you probably could have imagined.  The numbers are truly astounding! Just 10 people cost Denver more than $477,000, according to the detailed reporting of 9Wants to Know and Rocky Mountain PBS.

The city estimates that jail, detox, arrests and emergency room visits cost taxpayers $7 million annually for just 250 homeless individuals.

Not reaching a long-term solution to the city’s chronic homeless problem is more than socially irresponsible … it could be fiscally disastrous. In hopes of addressing both, Denver is looking at a plan to house and provide preventative services to 250 homeless selected at random from a lottery.

In all, 9Wants to Know estimates that in 5 years, ten people cost taxpayers more than a million dollars in jail time, court costs, police time and medical care.

Pot and your gun rights …

Use pot and be denied a gun. Lie on the official form and commit a federal crime.

It might be legal in Colorado to be a pot smoker but the feds don’t see it that way. It’s still illegal under federal law. But could changes to a federal government form be seen as a possible shift in U.S. ganja policy?

The U.S. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will be changing the wording of their Firearms Transaction Record form come January.

The timing of the form change just happened to coincide with multiple states voting on legalizing marijuana use, according to 9News. The ATF form asks if you’re an “unlawful user” of marijuana, and before you in Colorado check “no,” it reminds you of the federal government position on the matter.

FOR SAFETY: Breckenridge police go dark on social media

In what began as a successful outreach to the community has now become an unacceptable safety risk to police officers. Following a weekend of targeted police shooting across the nation, the Breckenridge Police Department will no longer share the locations of traffic enforcement on social media.

Breckenridge police started it as a way to grow social media exposure, according to CBS4. Over the two years, the chief of police says traffic accidents have gone down, and community relations have gone up.

“I hope to start it again one of these days, I really do, but with the turn of events and the anti-policing sentiment in some segments of the United States, for officer safety we wouldn’t post exactly when and where we were.”

He’s Baaaaccckkk! Bob Beauprez for Interior Secretary?

The buffalo rancher returns. A blast from the past, former U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez’s name has been dropped as a possible contender for U.S. secretary of the Interior. Of course, the name dropping is intentional – and a long-shot. The GOP-gadflies at Colorado Peak Politics first mentioned Beauprez as being in the running … so kinda take that for what it’s worth given that some folks believe the blog’s authors have a direct connection to Beauprez-funded, ground-game political operations to oust Tea Party Republicans in this year’s GOP primaries across the state, while defending moderate Republicans – some of those efforts botched.

But, yeah, Beauprez and a whole herd of other names are being vetted by a former Rifle man turned Beltway insider who worked on former U.S. Rep. Scott Mcinnis’s staff in D.C. That man, David Longly Bernhardt, has a lot of names to sift through for the high office, but we wish Beauprez the best of luck in his political pursuits.

Beauprez’s comments: “Yes, I have had some communication with people that (sic) are part of the transition team. I know my name has been put in the mix. What that means, time will tell. I’m very flattered, and it if came to pass, I would be thrilled to have that opportunity to serve my country in this new administration.”

Today in History

2005 – Angela Merkel becomes the first female Chancellor of Germany.

1995 – Toy Story is released as the first feature-length film created completely using computer-generated imagery.

1990 – British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher withdraws from the Conservative Party leadership election, confirming the end of her Prime-Ministership.

1986 – Mike Tyson defeats Trevor Berbick to become youngest Heavyweight champion in boxing history.

1974 – The United Nations General Assembly grants the Palestine Liberation Organization observer status.

1963 – U.S. President John F. Kennedy is assassinated and Texas Governor John Connally is seriously wounded.

Just for Laughs

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