Monument town manager and police chief on paid leave
Two high-ranking Monument officials have been placed on paid administrative leave, a town trustee confirmed Thursday.
The Board of Trustees voted unanimously on Monday to suspend Town Manager Chris Lowe and Police Chief Jacob Shirk for two weeks each, said Monument Mayor Pro-Tem Don Wilson.
Wilson could not say why the two were suspended or what had prompted the board’s decision.
The vote, which was taken at the board’s regular Monday meeting, followed an executive session that involved discussion about the two officials as well as other matters, Wilson said.
Overdose deaths from opioids dip in America — but not in Colorado, study says
Jacob Mauk
jacob.mauk@denvergazette.com
Updated 3 hours ago
Overdose deaths from opioids rose in Colorado, diverging from the national trend, which has been decreasing, according to a new study from a think tank. In its new report, the Common Sense Institute said synthetic opioid overdose deaths in Colorado...
Colorado voters will decide whether transgender students can join girls’ sports
Marissa Ventrelli
marissa.ventrelli@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 4 hours ago
A ballot initiative that would require student athletes to only join sports teams that correspond to their biological sex has qualified for the November ballot, the latest development in the culture war being waged in school districts, in the courts...
Error-prone Douglas County judge triggers another reversal of criminal convictions
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 7 hours ago
Colorado’s second-highest court overturned a defendant’s Douglas County convictions on Thursday due to the error of a judge whose actions have triggered a disproportionate number of reversals to convictions and sentences in recent years. Since 2021, the Court of Appeals...
Susie Wiles diagnosed with ‘early stage’ breast cancer: Trump
David Zimmermann Washington Examiner
davidzimmermannwashingtonexaminer@wpstage.coloradopolitics.com
Updated 9 hours ago
President Donald Trump announced White House chief of staff Susie Wiles has been diagnosed with “early stage” breast cancer and that she decided to take on the illness immediately. Wiles will not step down from her administrative role at this...
Hacked crosswalks in Denver sound anti-Trump messages
Deborah Grigsby
deborah.smith@denvergazette.com
Updated 3 hours ago
Denver pedestrians got a surprise this weekend when the audio messages from push-button speakers on some crosswalks were mysteriously replaced with anti-President Donald Trump messages. “The walk signal is on, Trump … (reference to the Iran school that was bombed),”...
Federal judge formalizes injunction blocking USDA’s ‘pilot project’ for Colorado food assistance
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 7 hours ago
A federal judge formalized his order on Monday to prevent the U.S. Department of Agriculture from requiring Colorado to participate in a food assistance “pilot project,” finding that it violates the law, the U.S. Constitution, and “the bounds of reasoned...
Colorado justices speak about inner workings of court, analysis of appellate opinions | COURT CRAWL
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 12 hours ago
Welcome to Court Crawl, Colorado Politics’ roundup of news from the third branch of government. Members of the state Supreme Court provided an inside look at the workings of their institution, and a Colorado Politics analysis found that some appellate...
Appeals court finds no requirement for different judge to handle attorney-client conflict hearings
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 13 hours ago
Colorado’s second-highest court rejected a defendant’s argument on Thursday that a judge improperly heard about a potential conflict between himself and his lawyer right before sentencing, and the man’s reaction could have “tainted” the sentencing decision. In September 2023, Anthony...
3,800 Colorado workers are on strike at JBS, one of the largest meatpacking plants in the US
Brittany Peterson
brittany.peterson@associatedpress.com
Updated 6 hours ago
GREELEY, Colo. (AP) — About 3,800 workers at one of the nation’s largest meatpacking plants went on strike Monday in Colorado in what union representatives said was the first walkout at a U.S. beef slaughterhouse in four decades. Hundreds of...
The influencers? Some Colorado appeals judges outpace colleagues in setting legal precedent
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 13 hours ago
A handful of judges on Colorado’s second-highest court are producing substantially more precedent-setting opinions than their colleagues, which create binding interpretations of the law that reach beyond individual cases. The Court of Appeals issues approximately 1,700 opinions each year. A...
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The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel: Yes to rural aid
State Sen. Kerry Donovan’s bill to help rural areas of the state recover from job losses looked more impactful when it included $1.5 million for grant-making purposes. The version that finally made it past the Senate’s “kill committee” on Wednesday, however, is revenue-neutral, calling only for “non-monetary assistance” to struggling rural communities. Read more at […]
Former state Sen. Shawn Mitchell posts profane attacks on Rep. Susan Lontine
Update: as of Saturday noon, Mitchell has apparently taken down the posts attacking Lontine. Senate Democrats Friday afternoon called out former state Sen. Shawn Mitchell, a Broomfield Republican, for posting “vile” comments on Facebook regarding Democratic Rep. Susan Lontine of Denver. Lontine on Thursday went public with a complaint of sexual harassment against Republican Sen. […]