EDITORIAL: State ducks DUI jail costs
Pueblo County Sheriff Kirk Taylor has a genuine beef with the state for pushing the cost of incarcerating habitual DUI offenders onto local jails, rather than state prisons where such sentences ought to be served.
A new law, House Bill 1288, mandates hard time for offenders convicted a fourth or subsequent time for driving under the influence, making it a class 4 felony to be sentenced to county jail, rather than the Colorado Department of Corrections, where state felons belong.
While he supports getting tough on these habitual drunken drivers, Taylor said, “The problem with the bill, in my opinion, is the fact that they’re not sentenced to DOC, they’re sentenced to county jails. Even though the numbers are not going to be substantial, we’re going to see jails have an uptick in sentenced inmates.
10th Circuit appoints ex-Colorado solicitor general to argue issue after federal government declines
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 12 hours ago
The Denver-based federal appeals court took the unusual step earlier this month of appointing an attorney to independently argue a key issue in a criminal sentencing appeal after the government indicated it would not contest the defendant’s view of the...
Greeley voters halt landmark development project
Hap Fry, Special to The Gazette
hap-fry@gazette.com
Updated 12 hours ago
GREELEY – The landscape-altering Cascadia development project has been put on ice, according to unofficial results of a city referendum on the project Tuesday. The proposed development would have included an 8,600-seat multiuse arena and ice center that would be home to the Colorado Eagles,...
State audit: Rape kit backlog reduced but more work needed to hit goal
Jenny Deam
jenny-deam@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 14 hours ago
In the past year, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation has slashed the time it takes to process DNA collected in sexual assault cases, but the agency still is far short of its turnaround goal, the state auditor reported on Wednesday....
Polis administration awards $7.2 million to cut emissions from large buildings
Scott Weiser
scott.weiser@gazette.com
Updated 6 minutes ago
The Colorado Energy Office awarded $7.2 million Wednesday to help owners of large buildings across the state pursue high-impact projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions through improved energy efficiency and electrification. The grants, drawn from federal Climate Pollution Reduction Grant...
Daniel Domenico to take over as Colorado’s chief federal judge
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 18 hours ago
Daniel D. Domenico will become the new chief judge of Colorado’s federal trial court next week, a role that encompasses the administration of the court as well as a judicial caseload. Under federal law, the chief judge of a U.S....
10th Circuit upholds violations, sanctions against Colorado Springs mental health hospital
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 19 hours ago
The Denver-based federal appeals court agreed earlier this month that the government properly cited and penalized a Colorado Springs psychiatric hospital for failing to protect its staff from known risks posed by patients. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspected...
Vance working with DOJ and Treasury after Trump announces ‘war on fraud’
David Zimmermann Washington Examiner
davidzimmermannwashingtonexaminer@wpstage.coloradopolitics.com
Updated 19 hours ago
Vice President JD Vance confirmed on Wednesday that he is working with the Justice and Treasury Departments to root out fraud nationwide. During the State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Donald Trump announced Vance would lead the administration’s “war on...
House Ethics Committee dismisses some claims, advances others against Rep. Ron Weinberg
Marianne Goodland
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 17 hours ago
The House Ethics Committee voted on Wednesday to accept three allegations filed against Rep. Ron Weinberg, R-Loveland, but combined two into one subject area. The two issues involve inappropriate comments made to female lawmakers in two separate incidents and the...
Bipartisan opposition sinks eviction bill in Colorado
Marissa Ventrelli
marissa.ventrelli@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 15 hours ago
Two Democrats sided with Republicans on a legislative panel to reject a proposal that would have made several changes to eviction filings and proceedings, including requiring judges to suppress court records. Sponsored by Rep. Junie Joseph, D-Boulder, House Bill 1047...
Appeals judges tell Boulder students about workload, ‘attack mode’ during school visit
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 20 hours ago
Three judges on Colorado’s second-highest court traveled to Boulder on Tuesday to hear oral arguments in real cases and field questions from students about their professional paths, their workload on the Court of Appeals, and their approach to interacting with...