Today is April 19, 2024, and here’s what you need to know:

Grand County livestock growers urge Polis, wildlife officials to 'lethally' manage wolves following attacks

With news that wolves have killed four more yearling cattle in Grand County in less than 72 hours, an association of ranchers is pleading with Gov. Jared Polis and Colorado Parks and Wildlife to “lethally” manage chronically depredating wolves.

Four yearlings killed by wolves this week were all on the same ranch in Grand County. A calf was found injured on a ranch in Jackson County on April 13, which wildlife officials confirmed.  

This week’s wolf attacks bring the number of calves and yearlings killed by wolves in the past 16 days to six, plus the injured calf.

All of the attacks occurred in Grand or Jackson counties. Ten wolves, several that came from packs in Oregon with histories of killing livestock, were released in Colorado in December in Grand County.

The wolf attacks began during calving season, which generally runs from March to May or June. 

Gov. Jared Polis signs bill allocating $24 million for Colorado schools with increasing immigrant student enrollment

Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill into law on Thursday that allocates additional funds to Colorado schools to accommodate increased immigrant student enrollment that came after the annual pupil count.

The state adjusts district’s funding according to the count, which takes place on Oct. 1.  

Polis signed House Bill 1389 into law, directing $24 million in one-time funds from the state education fund to the Department of Education. This allocation aims to help districts address any increases in enrollment that occurred after the pupil count. Many of the newly-enrolled students are immigrants who came to the United States with their families, who ended up in Colorado after crossing the southern border illegally.    

“This is good because there is an influx of students and they’re going to be funded this year, so I’m very excited that our legislature came together around that,” said Polis, who expressed hope that the state would implement multiple student counts throughout the year to prevent an undercount of students from happening.

As congenital syphilis cases sharply rise in Colorado, governor orders expanded access to testing during pregnancy

Gov. Jared Polis, flanked by health officials and experts, said his administration is launching an all-hands-on-deck response to a sharp rise in congenital syphilis cases statewide.

Congenital syphilis occurs when a child is born with syphilis that was transmitted to them in utero. Syphilis, a sexually transmitted infection, is treatable with basic antibiotics, but untreated cases can lead to severe consequences, such as miscarriage, stillbirth and permanent health issues for children born with the disease.  

Appeals court reverses stalking conviction after Douglas County judge violated right to counsel

A Douglas County judge violated the rules of criminal procedure and the Sixth Amendment’s right to counsel when she allowed a defense attorney to withdraw, did not seek input from the defendant and did not evaluate the necessity of the withdrawal, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday.

Shari Leigh Dooley ended up representing herself at trial, where jurors convicted her of a felony for stalking and for violating a restraining order. Weeks before trial, her hired defense attorney moved to withdraw. Although the procedural rules require a notice of withdrawal to inform a defendant of her right to object and that a hearing will be held, those elements were absent in Dooley’s case.

Moreover, trial judges “shall balance” the reasons for withdrawal with the needs of justice. Instead, then-District Court Judge Patricia Herron did not hold a hearing and granted the motion outright. Dooley was left without representation and told jurors she was “here today defending myself” because “I can’t afford another attorney.”

A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals reversed Dooley’s convictions, finding the withdrawal of her attorney “violated several provisions” of the procedural rules and Dooley’s constitutional right to counsel.

“Neither counsel’s written motion nor anything said by counsel or the trial court in Dooley’s presence informed her that she had the right to object to the motion to withdraw. Nor was Dooley informed that a hearing would be held,” wrote Judge Neeti V. Pawar in the April 18 opinion. “Instead, the court simply granted the motion without soliciting input from Dooley or explaining anything to her.”