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A fenced-in area for demonstrators at the Democratic National Convention amounts to putting the proverbial "soapbox in the town square" inside a "caged pen" on the "outskirts of town." Or so the American Civil Liberties Union and a host of protest groups plan to argue in federal court next week. Not so, the city and county of Denver and the U.S. Secret Service plan to assert. "To be clear, this so-called 'demonstration zone' is not an isolated area to which the city will confine demonstrators," lawyers for Denver argued in a brief filed on the eve of next Tuesday's trial...

Democratic Party Chairman Gov. Howard Dean toured Invesco Field at Mile High Thursday morning to view the site where Barack Obama will deliver his acceptance speech during the Democratic National Convention late next month. Dean said he's reviewed drawings for the staging of the event and was "stunned" by them, The Rocky Mountain News reported. However, he also said the Obama campaign has not signed off on them yet. Dean noted this new convention format will make the political event one for outsiders, not insiders. Democratic National Committee Chief Executive Officer Leah Daughtry and Federico Peña accompanied Dean Thursday. "This...

Skiing, local real estate likely to suffer scientists say VAIL, Colorado — If greenhouse gas emissions aren’t curtailed, climate change will reduce Eagle County’s snowpack by 57 percent by 2085, according to a new report. “The state’s most popular tourist activity is at risk from climate change,” said the report, published Wednesday by the Center for Integrative Environmental Research at the University of Maryland. The report, “Economic Impacts of Climate Change on Colorado,” does not paint a pretty picture for skiing — and the attendant industry of real estate — over the next century. The “snow season” could become 30...

Denver, CO (AHN) - Republican nominee Bob Schaffer and Rep. Mark Udall (D-CO) are tied in the race for the seat of retiring Sen. Wayne Allard (R-CO), according to the latest Quinnipiac University poll. Schaffer and Udall are in a dead heat at 44 percent each. One percent of voters declared their support for other candidates and 11 percent were undecided. Schaffer has closed a 10-point deficit since last month, when he trailed 38 percent to 48 percent. Pundits are attributing his rise to increased support for offshore oil drilling, which the former Republican congressman supports. Fifty-nine percent of Colorado...

Republican presidential candidate John McCain received a warm welcome and standing ovation from a Hispanic veterans group Friday as he sought to highlight his credentials to be the country's commander-in-chief. Speaking at Denver's Grand Hyatt hotel, McCain said he and rival Barack Obama faced a choice 18 months ago when the situation in Iraq had deteriorated. In prepared remarks, the Arizona senator called it a "real-time test for a future commander-in-chief. America passed that test." McCain advocated sending more troops to Iraq before the Bush Administration decided to follow that strategy. Obama has opposed it and said again this week...

Prepared text of speech delivered at the 2008 American GI Forum of the United States National Convention in Denver:Thank you for that kind introduction and warm welcome. I want to begin by talking about an issue in this campaign that I know concerns you as it concerns all Americans: the war in Iraq. Thankfully, the news from Iraq today is much more encouraging than I could have reported to you last year. Eighteen months ago, America faced a crisis as profound as any in our history. Iraq was in flames, torn apart by violence that was escaping our control. Al...

McCain is going after Obama on funding for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Live on Foxnews Give em hell! The more I hear McCain speak the more I'm liking...

Edward Davidson, the "spam king" who reportedly forced his wife to help him escape from a Colorado prison on Sunday, has killed himself, a woman, and a toddler, according to The Denver Post. Earlier Thursday, Colorado NBC affiliate 9News.com reported that three people had been found dead in an apparent murder-suicide in the area of East Arkansas Place, near the town of Bennett, Colo. The identities of the victims were not disclosed at the time. Responding to an inquiry from InformationWeek, an officer with the Lakewood, Colo., police department said that he had heard that Davidson might have been involved...

Republican John McCain is tightening the presidential race against Democratic rival Barack Obama in four key states, according to polls released Thursday.

Colorado officials say man, woman, 3-year-old dead; 2 survive ordeal BENNETT, Colo. - A convicted spammer and his wife, who were being sought after she helped him escape prison, were found slain along with their young daughter Thursday in an apparent murder-suicide, authorities said. A teenage girl was shot in the neck and a baby was found unhurt in a car seat inside the vehicle where the three bodies were found, Arapahoe County undersheriff Mark Campbell said. The relationship between the girl, baby and the escaped convict wasn't immediately clear.

Sen. John McCain pulled slightly ahead of Sen. Barack Obama in a new poll of likely Colorado voters, erasing a five-point lead the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee had a month ago. If the election were held today, 46 percent in Colorado would pick the Republican nominee versus 44 percent for Obama, according to the poll released today by Connecticut-based Quinnipiac University with the Wall Street Journal and Washingtonpost.com. Though the margin is a statistical tie, McCain has gained since June, according to the survey. Obama led in Colorado 49 percent to McCain's 44 percent a month ago. "Sen. Barack Obama's...

Republican U.S. presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain has gained support in four key battleground states, polls indicate. McCain, R-Ariz., who likely will face Democrat Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois in November, leads Obama in Colorado, while narrowing the gap since June 26 in Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin, Quinnipiac University polls show. In Colorado, McCain leads Obama 46 percent to 44 percent. In Michigan, Obama leads McCain 46 percent to 42 percent, while in Minnesota Obama narrowly leads McCain 46 percent to 44 percent. In Wisconsin, Obama leads McCain 50 percent to 39 percent.

Six weeks ago, Senator Jim DeMint launched the Senate Conservatives Fund, a PAC that supports strong conservatives in Senate races. DeMint created the SCF as an answer for contributors who wanted an option apart from the NRSC that focused on conservative policy and commitment to such. Today, they have announced their first endorsement — Bob Schaffer of Colorado, running for the retiring Wayne Allard seat:The SCF post has an extensive report on Schaffer’s positions as well as his key votes in Congress. Schaffer, as it turns out, was even more conservative than DeMint himself in his last session in Congress,...

ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today announced that John McCain will speak at the 2008 American GI Forum of the United States National Convention on Friday, July 25th in Denver, Colorado.

If John McCain and his loyalists were hoping for something to brighten their day amid the blizzard of coverage of Barack Obama's foreign tour, they've gotten it with new poll results from four key states -- Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The survey by the Connecticut-based Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, conducted between July 14 and Tuesday, contains especially good news for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee in Colorado and Minnesota. In Colorado, the one state among the four that President Bush carried in 2004, the poll showed McCain ahead by 2 percentage points. That lead is within the poll's margin...

John McCain is now winning among likely Colorado voters, helped by a surge of sentiment blaming Democrats for the soaring price of gas, new poll results show. The Quinnipiac University polls shows McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, the top choice among 46 percent of likely Colorado voters. Democrat Barack Obama is the top choice among 44 percent of likely voters. A month ago, Obama held a 49-44 percent lead over McCain in the same poll. And in the U.S. Senate race, Republican Bob Schaffer has closed the gap against Democrat Mark Udall. Udall was ahead a month ago by 10...

Republican John McCain has quickly closed the gap between himself and Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama in several key battleground states even as the Arizona senator struggles to break through the wall-to-wall coverage of Obama's trip to Europe and the Middle East this week. McCain and Obama are in a statistical dead heat in Colorado, Michigan and Minnesota while the Illinois senator has a more comfortable double-digit edge in Wisconsin, according to polling conducted by Quinnipiac University for washingtonpost.com and the Wall Street Journal during the past week. Only in Colorado, however, does McCain hold a greater percentage of the...

Florida: Obama + 2 Minnesota: Obama + 13 Colorado: Obama +3 This is beginning to worry me.

John McCain will step off the campaign trail tomorrow to sit down with the Dalai Lama. McCain will meet with the Tibetan spirtual leader and international icon in Aspen, Colorado, according to a McCain aide. The Dalai Lama is there as part of a three-day Aspen Institute conference billed as "A Celebration of Tibetan Culture." The Arizona senator was already scheduled to be in the state to speak to a military gathering in Denver. McCain has been outspoken about the Chinese crackdown in the Tibetan region, issuing a statement earlier this year praising the The Dalai Lama and urging the...

Colorado, Wyoming and Utah have more oil in oil shale than OPEC. Everyone seems to know that by now, but here are six things you probably did not know about oil shale. 1) Did you know oil shale has a smaller carbon footprint than ethanol? When calculating the carbon emissions of the entire oil shale process, without the use of carbon capture technology, its total carbon footprint is about 7 percent larger than gasoline. But a peer-reviewed article in the February issue of Science calculates the entire carbon footprint of ethanol to be 93 percent larger than gasoline. The article...

Today, Senate Conservatives Fund (SCF) endorsed former Republican Congressman Bob Schaffer for U.S. Senate in Colorado. “Bob Schaffer is a true, common sense conservative,” said U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina), the chairman of SCF. “He believes in a strong national defense, limited government, and traditional family values. He has a proven record of fighting for American taxpayers and standing up for the nation he loves.” During his three terms in Congress from 1997-2002, Schaffer earned a 99 percent Lifetime Rating with the American Conservative Union. His average National Taxpayers’ Union ranking was 13th in the entire House, and he...

The committee hosting the Democratic National Convention has used the city's gas pumps to fill up and apparently avoided paying state and federal fuel taxes. The practice, which began four months ago, may have ended hours after its disclosure. An aide to Mayor John Hickenlooper released a statement Tuesday evening saying that Denver 2008 Host Committee members would pay market prices for fuel and would also be liable for all applicable taxes.

Another Dam Threat July 16, 2008 http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/another_dam_threat By Fred Burton and Scott Stewart At the stroke of midnight July 8, the Denver Water Board closed the road over Dillon Dam in Summit County, Colorado, citing security concerns. The board’s decision, which was implemented without advance notice to local governments and citizens, has not been well-received. It has sparked protests by enraged residents and has even prompted officials from Summit County, three affected towns nearby and the local fire and rescue department to file suit in state district court in a bid to force Denver Water to reopen the road. The...

Denver officials expect to spend more than $18 million on police equipment for the Democratic National Convention — but the purchases apparently won't include high-tech weapons that use sonic waves to incapacitate protesters or goo guns to immobilize them. That information, provided by the city to the American Civil Liberties Union as part of an agreement to delay a public records lawsuit, marks one of the most detailed looks yet at the super-secret efforts to provide security for the convention, scheduled Aug. 25 to 28. The ACLU sued Denver in May under the state's public records law after city officials...

WASHINGTON, DC –Today, United States Senator Ken Salazar declared victory for the communities of Colorado’s Western Slope. Efforts by Reps. John Salazar and Mark Udall and Senator Salazar will now ensure that language is included in the omnibus spending bill that will prohibit the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from issuing any final regulations for commercial-scale leasing of oil shale and from offering any commercial oil shale leases during fiscal year 2008. Senator Salazar was also able to work in language that specifically reiterates how important it is for the Department of Interior and BLM to cooperate more fully with...

GLENN: Now, here's one of the most incredible stories I have read today and I've read a lot of incredible stories. Wait until I get to the John Edwards story. I've read a lot of incredible stories today. Here's one from the DNC host committee in Denver, tanking up at city gas pumps to avoid paying the $0.40 a gallon in combined Federal and State gas taxes. Let me repeat that. The DNC would like to save money for their convention and so they have decided that they're going to buy it from the State gas pumps. You know where...

The committee hosting the Democratic National Convention has used the city's gas pumps to fill up and apparently avoided paying state and federal fuel taxes. The practice, which began four months ago, may have ended hours after its disclosure. An aide to Mayor John Hickenlooper released a statement Tuesday evening saying that Denver 2008 Host Committee members would pay market prices for fuel and would also be liable for all applicable taxes. However, Public Works spokeswoman Christine Downs told City Council members just hours before that host committee members were fueling up at the city pumps. The city does not...

"...In Colorado, Barack Obama leads Republican John McCain by seven percentage points, 49% to 42%. However, when leaners are included, McCain is more competitive and pulls to within three points, 50% to 47%..." http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/colorado/election_2008_colorado_presidential_election

The host committee for the Democratic National Convention set for Denver next month is avoiding paying state and federal taxes on gasoline by gassing up vehicles at a city fuel depot, according to a city councilwoman quoted yesterday on the Web site of the Rocky Mountain News. "There's something there that just doesn't seem right ..." the Denver official, Jeanne Faatz, said at a city meeting yesterday. "I believe this [tax free gas pump] is only for elected officials, government dignitaries," Mayor Hickenlooper said at the session, according to the News. [Snip] Republican National Convention's host committee in [Minneapolis], Teresa...

The Twin Cities and Denver will face a common challenge for the next five weeks. As host cities for the Republican and Democratic national conventions, both are girding for battle with "sleeping dragons" and other tools of mass disorder. There's one significant difference. Denver's City Council is considering an ordinance to defang the dragons. Minneapolis and St. Paul are biding their time. Denver City Council's public safety committee will vote today on an ordinance that would bar protesters from carrying items such as weighted PVC pipes, carabiners and quick-drying concrete. These are the raw materials of the sleeping dragon --...

The committee hosting the Democratic National Convention is using the city's gas pumps to fill up on fuel, avoiding state and federal highway taxes, officials said today. "There's something there that just doesn't seem right to me because, in a sense, you're saying then that the officials who pass the laws are not willing to live by them, and that concerns me," Councilwoman Jeanne Faatz said. The issue came up during the council's weekly meeting with Mayor John Hickenlooper when the Public Works Department requested authorization to be reimbursed by the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee for use of "fueling...

Democrat Mark Udall is still narrowly ahead of Republican Bob Schaffer in the race to become Colorado’s next United States Senator. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state finds Udall up 47% to 43% this month. When “leaners” are included, it’s a three-point advantage for the Democrat, 49% to 46%. Last month, Rep. Udall enjoyed a nine-point lead over Shaffer. In May, he led by six. Prior to May, the race had been essentially even. Udall and Schaffer are competing for the right to replace Republican Senator Wayne Allard.

The committee hosting the Democratic National Convention is using the city's gas pumps to fill up on fuel, avoiding state and federal highway taxes, officials said today. "There's something there that just doesn't seem right to me because, in a sense, you're saying then that the officials who pass the laws are not willing to live by them, and that concerns me," Councilwoman Jeanne Faatz said. The issue came up during the council's weekly meeting with Mayor John Hickenlooper when the Public Works Department requested authorization to be reimbursed by the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee for use of "fueling...

Michelle Obama was both personal and policy-driven while speaking to a crowd of about 150 who paid from $1,000 to $10,000 to sip wine, eat dinner standing up and hear her talk. She got the laughs - telling a story about how Barack Obama had asked her out - but she also got solemn silence when she painted contrasts between her husband and his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain. "We have one candidate who essentially is telling us every day that the world as it is is just fine, that what we've been doing for the last eight years is...

Bitter Half Alert: Here she goes again. But don’t you dare breathe a negative word about what she says on the campaign trail, because she’s just a “civilian” whom you should lay off of–and if you don’t you’re a racist, wife-beating brute! MichelleO, MichelleO, MichelleO: Michelle Obama mixed a story about how her husband, the Democratic presidential candidate asked her out, with a solemn assessment of U.S. economic and social conditions during a visit to the Denver area Wednesday. Obama spoke before a crowd of about 150 that paid from $1,000 to $10,000 apiece at a private fundraising dinner at...

The U.S. Interior Department said on Monday it will propose regulations on Tuesday to establish a commercial oil shale program that could result in up to 800 million barrels of recoverable oil on public lands in western United States. The White House and many Republicans have called for a ban on oil shale drilling to be lifted to help alleviate record high oil prices. Congress temporarily blocked oil shale development in the Midwest due to concerns from environmentalists that oil shale production consumes large amounts of water and power, both of which are scarce in the West.

DENVER - Planners of the Democratic National Convention are limiting the party's carbon footprint through a unique partnership with an Indian-focused environmental business. The Democratic National Convention Committee began working with NativeEnergy Inc. this spring to purchase carbon offsets for the dozens of convention staff who are flying, driving and otherwise polluting Denver as they carry out the big event. Party organizers are now asking that delegates, members of the media and other political officials who will be attending the late August gathering do the same. Delegates to the convention with the highest percentage of members offsetting their carbon emissions...

Bears and mountain lions are getting into trees, trash and backyards all over Colorado, lured by the smell of easy prey and free meals. They're getting smarter, they're getting fatter, and they're getting killed more frequently, thanks to the thoughtlessness of the humans living in their midst, say Colorado Division of Wildlife officials. In the northeastern quadrant of the state, which includes metro Denver, there have been some 47 reports of human-bear encounters since April. A remarkable number of them involve hummingbird feeders, trash left outside, steaks left on the barbecue, garage doors left open. In Aspen and numerous other...

As if paying $4-plus for gasoline isn't bad enough, some of Colorado's political leaders seem bound and determined to spread pain at the pump to the cost of heating our homes this winter - and for decades to come. Ours is a beautiful state with an abundance of natural resources: silver and gold lured early pioneers, mountain vistas and ski slopes keep visitors coming year after year, and abundant energy sources fuel our economy and our way of life. Not long ago, political leaders of both parties understood that the energy sector is vital to the economic health of our...

A scene from the recent Colorado senate debate. The man reading from the resolution is Republican Bob Schaffer, the man standing to his left and looking uncomfortable is Democrat Mark Udall. Given the state of public opinion, I’m not sure how smart it is to remind voters that your opponent eventually came around to seeing the war as a mistake while you never did, but as a bit of political theater, I dig it. A lot.

<p>At the stroke of midnight July 8, the Denver Water Board closed the road over Dillon Dam in Summit County, Colorado, citing security concerns. The board’s decision, which was implemented without advance notice to local governments and citizens, has not been well-received. It has sparked protests by enraged residents and has even prompted officials from Summit County, three affected towns nearby and the local fire and rescue department to file suit in state district court in a bid to force Denver Water to reopen the road.</p>

Five members of the “Rainbow Family” — a loose-knit band of hippies that preaches love, tolerance and peace and is best known for its large gatherings every July — were arrested Tuesday night by Boulder County sheriff’s deputies after a violent brawl broke out at the group’s campsite near Ward. at a fight had broken out among a group of a dozen people camping out in the area of Ruby Gulch, located on state Forest Service property ... When deputies arrived, witnesses reported that one man, a Nederland resident aged 34 or 35, was hit in the back of the...

Standards aren’t about generating revenue. Motorcycle officers in Colorado Springs should each be writing a minimum of 11 tickets a day, and their counterparts in patrol cars should issue at least one... But these aren't quotas, Police Chief Richard Myers said. During an impromptu media briefing Friday, Myers described them as guidelines that help supervisors keep track of their officers' job performance ... Ticket quotas - feared and despised by drivers everywhere - demand that officers meet goals or face mandatory discipline, Myers told reporters. That's not the case here, he said. "Police officers are paid for by taxpayers, and...

This should be an easy year for Democrats. A record percentage of Americans say the country is headed in the wrong direction -- and after years of mostly Republican rule, that should help Democrats. Meanwhile, the media hype surrounding Democratic nominee-to-be Barack Obama is unprecedented and often unquestioning. National media have set him up as some sort of messiah. And after a pitched primary battle in which he emerged victorious, you would think Obama would appear unbeatable by now. By contrast, after an anti-climactic fizzle of a Republican primary, John McCain has sort of stumbled out of the gate for...

Hundreds of Denver's homeless could be cooling their heels in a movie theater or museum while the Democratic National Convention is in town next month. The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless plans to get 500 movie tickets as well as passes to the Denver Zoo, Denver Museum of Nature and Science and other cultural facilities for the people it helps. Many day shelters will have expanded hours during the convention, and big screen TVs are being donated to some shelters so patrons can watch convention goings-on without being caught up in the mayhem. A two-day voter registration drive is also...

Hundreds of Denver's homeless could be cooling their heels in a movie theater or museum while the Democratic National Convention is in town next month. The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless plans to get 500 movie tickets as well as passes to the Denver Zoo, Denver Museum of Nature and Science and other cultural facilities for the people it helps.

At least 900 officers are being brought into Denver to help at next month's Democratic National Convention. Suburban Aurora will send the largest contingent, 300 police officers, or half the force. The Wyoming National Guard will send 22 members who are trained to detect nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. At least 582 officers have been committed from Lakewood, Littleton, Colorado Springs, Boulder, Englewood, Jefferson County, Arapahoe County and Adams County. More are expected from Douglas County, Brighton, Broomfield and Arvada. Some will go on routine patrols with Denver police to free up the city's officers for convention work. Denver police...

On Election Day in November, voters in Colorado will be asked to clarify when human life begins. According to the Washington Post, the Human Life Amendment, also known as the "personhood" amendment, states that the words "person" or "persons" in the state constitution should "include any human being from the moment of fertilization," thus providing fertilized eggs with the constitutional right to life enjoyed by all humans. The mere presence of that question on the ballot could have a decisive effect on the outcome of the presidential election in Colorado by spurring pro-life voters to turn out in large enough...

In the Rockies today, a lawsuit is filed to stop energy leasing on Colorado's Roan Plateau, the public gets more time to weigh in on a change in national parks' gun policy, and the BLM rounds up hundreds of horses in Nevada. Ten environmental groups have sued the Bureau of Land Management to keep energy leases on Colorado's Roan Plateau from being auctioned off on Aug. 14. The leases are opposed by hunters and anglers who said wells present a danger to the plateau's wildlife habitat.Groups sue to stop energy leases on Colorado plateauA proposal to change gun policy in...

Denver businesses stiffed by DNC By ELIZABETH AGUILERA - THE DENVER POST | 7/13/08 8:09 PM EST As soon as Charlotte Kulscar heard the Democratic National Committee named Denver its 2008 convention site, she began researching how to get a piece of the estimated $160 million economic impact for her print shop. She thought she had a good shot. L&M Pressworks already does printing for the city, the state and the Downtown Denver Partnership. She filled out the application for the DNC Vendor Directory and was sure to include the shop's status as female- owned and green-certified. Yet so far,...