Author: Deborah Grigsby
-
Court snuffs out challenge to Denver’s flavored tobacco ban
The smoke finally cleared in Denver’s battle over a citywide ban on flavored tobacco products when a Denver court dismissed a challenge from local vape shop owners seeking to declare the ordinance unconstitutional and block its enforcement. On Wednesday, Denver District Court Judge Erica F.H. Englert dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Rocky Mountain Smoke-Free…
-
Monitor says Denver police not sharing information about disciplinary program
Denver’s civilian public safety oversight system is not receiving information it needs to properly review certain programs within the city’s police department, according to Lisabeth Pérez Castle, Denver’s independent monitor. Pérez Castle, who presented the OIM 2025 annual report to a Denver City Council committee Wednesday, said that her office has been sidelined in its…
-
Municipal sentencing bill in Denver moves forward
The Denver City Council introduced legislation Monday aimed at aligning municipal penalties with state law to “stop criminalizing poverty.” The bill, which was heavily revised and amended, was moved forward on a 10 to 2 vote, with Councilmembers Darrell Watson and Amanda Sawyer dissenting. Currently, people in Denver can face months in jail for relatively…
-
Denver City Council considers criminal code update
Returning to the Denver City Council chambers this week is an ordinance that would update the city’s criminal code to align local penalties with state laws and recent Colorado Supreme Court rulings. It primarily aims to reduce the maximum possible jail time and fines for lower-level, city-specific offenses. The code update was postponed during the…
-
Denver gets more time to answer FAA questions in probe regarding Key Lime lease denial
The City of Denver has asked the Federal Aviation Administration for additional time to gather information and prepare its response to the federal agency’s investigation of the city’s 2025 denial of a Denver International Airport ground lease expansion for Key Lime Air. The FAA has agreed to extend the deadline, a spokesperson for Denver Mayor…
-
Denver City Council committee delays vote to advance biennial budget
Members of the Denver City Council Governance and Intergovernmental Relations Committee delayed a vote that would advance a proposed ballot measure allowing the city to adopt an optional biennial budget cycle because three of the seven voting members were out of town. Committee members will now vote on the matter on June 30. The “Budget…
-
Denver City Council eyes lobbying regulations, restriction
Topping the agenda for the Denver City Council’s Monday’s regular meeting is a proposal that, if adopted, would amend the Denver Revised Municipal Code to increase regulation of lobbyists. This will be the second reading for Council Bill 26-0686. High-profile lobbying activity around flavored tobacco, surveillance, and other policy areas prompted concerns from the sponsors…
-
Tapped: Is water a problem for data centers in Colorado?
Editor‘s Note: The Denver metro region sits at the center of one of the American West’s most complex and consequential water challenges. This series examines the interconnected systems that determine how the region secures, stores, and conserves its water while navigating the competing demands of fast‑growing urban communities and the increasingly unpredictable mountain snowpack that…
-
Tapped: Denver residents face hotter, costlier summer under new drought rules
Editor’s note: The Denver metro region sits at the center of one of the American West’s most complex and consequential water challenges. This series examines the interconnected systems that determine how the region secures, stores, and conserves its water while navigating the competing demands of fast‑growing urban communities and the increasingly unpredictable mountain snowpack that…
-
Denver stops new data centers for 12 months
Denver just slammed on the brakes on new data centers Monday after members of the Denver City Council voted unanimously to impose a one-year moratorium on permits and site development plan applications for data centers as the proposed primary use. Close to 60 individuals signed up for the required public hearing preceding the vote. The moratorium will…