http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/co-news/ en-us Fri, 1 Jan 2010 00:17:30 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418699/posts Colorado's minimum wage will drop slightly in the new year — the first decrease in any state's minimum wage since the federal minimum was adopted in 1938. Colorado's wage is falling 3 cents an hour, from $7.28 to the federal level of $7.25. That's because Colorado is one of 10 states that tie the state minimum wage to inflation. The goal is to protect low-wage workers from having unchanged paychecks as the cost of living goes up. But Colorado's provision also allows wage declines, and the state's consumer price index fell 0.6 percent last year, so the minimum wage is... ABC News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418699/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 00:17:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417764/posts Electric carmaker plans to keep gallery in Boulder. Nate Hukill was not in the market for a new car -- he said Tuesday he's not even really a "car person." But on his way back from lunch ... Now Hukill's owned his high-performance, all-electric, thunder-gray Tesla Roadster for three weeks. ... which has a $100,000 price tag. But it was the $42,000 tax credit offered by the state of Colorado that really sealed the deal. Embarrassingly, the tax incentive was so shocking... Within 30 seconds, he was hooked. The incredibly liberal tax incentive... Camera http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417764/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 18:06:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417671/posts Denver Police Department misleading the public when it released erroneous information about an attempted chemical attack on a union office building. Around 11 a.m. on Monday Dec. 28, Denver police were called to the Denver headquarters of the Service Employees International Union ... Shortly after police arrived they found much of the first floor of the building covered in standing water, as well as broken glass jars containing mercury, or a similar liquid metal, and a second broken jar, sources say, labeled "chlordan." Initial reports ...were that vandals had broken into the building, but Denver Police spokesman John White later... The Denver Channel http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417671/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:51:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417044/posts GYPSUM — Tara Haymond woke up at 2 a.m. Sunday to the sound of Bubba, her 150-pound Great Pyrenees dog, crying. "I thought I better tell him to be quiet so he wouldn't bother the neighbor," she said. She opened the sliding door next to the bed and discovered a mountain lion on top of Bubba. "There is nothing in anybody that would prepare them to find that," she said. The 47-year-old grabbed a shotgun but couldn't find ammunition, so she started hitting the cougar with the gun. Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_14086839#ixzz0b6IjvlNx Denver Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417044/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 17:41:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416773/posts Reporting from Denver - After a gun-wielding student killed 32 at Virginia Tech, faculty at Colorado State University in Fort Collins found, to their alarm, that theirs was one of the few public schools in the country with no policy banning firearms. Anyone with a concealed weapons permit could legally carry on campus. Students, however, were alarmed when the faculty moved to change that. Among other arguments, students contended that permitting people to carry concealed weapons was the campus' best defense against another tragedy. "Let's say you have another Columbine or Virginia Tech," said Dan Gearhart, the student government president.... LA Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416773/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 05:17:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413848/posts VANCOUVER - ski resort giant Intrawest ULC may default on a US $1.4 billion loan and is in talks with lenders about debt repayment options. Intrawest may be pushed closer to default if it fails to make a US$524 million payment due Wednesday. The Vancouver-based company which operates some 2010 Winter Olympics venues in British Columbia, is owned by private equity firm Fortress Investment Group LLC of New York. Fortress scrambled to refinance the loan after Intrawest, which holds the debt, was pushed to the brink of creditor protection. In November Intrawest said it agreed to sell one of its... Canadian Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413848/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:24:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413825/posts CO Judge sentences the father of 6 year old Falcon Heene, who was part of the "balloon" hoax earlier this year to four (4) years of probation..... Fox news Alert (Live) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413825/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:01:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413402/posts Logan, my son, made Eagle Scout this last May. Logan’s Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project was to organize and collect cell phones for the organization, “Cell Phones for Soldiers”, which is run by Brittany and Robbie Bergquist of Norwell, Massachusetts. Cell Phones for Soldiers turns old cell phones into millions of minutes of prepaid calling cards for U.S. troops stationed overseas. Logan and I met with the Bergquist Family earlier this year when they attended the 16th Annual National Character & Leadership Symposium held at the US Air Force Academy. His project was to collect 350 cell phones. He acquired... Youtube http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413402/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:34:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412982/posts Activist Maurice Joseph Schwenkler, 24, pleaded guilty Monday to a second-degree misdemeanor for smashing windows at the Colorado Democratic Party headquarters last summer. Anarchist websites across the country raised money for Schwenkler's $5,000 bail, and identified him as "a transgendered anarchist" using the name Ariel Attack. Authorities have consistently identified him as male. The gay, lesbian and transgender protest group Denver Bash Back characterized Schwenkler as one of its "friends and comrades." Initially, Democratic Party officials blamed conservative ... Then it became known that Schwenkler had previously worked for a Democratic candidate. Denver Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412982/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:37:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412040/posts The debate about reforms to the Colorado Public Employees' Retirement Association (PERA) has reached a new level after the PERA board’s recommendations known as the 2/2/2 plus plan. The plan is another temporary solution to potential long-term problems. Because of PERA’s inherent conflict of interest, it cannot provide recommendations based on new principles. Rather than focusing on the details of PERA’s plan, broad principles must be articulated by the Legislature as guidance for long-term changes. These principles are vital to maintain a competent state work force providing a desired set of services at reasonable cost to the taxpayer. Pueblo Daily Chieftain http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412040/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 04:56:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411584/posts Sunday, December 20, 2009In God's name: Father Carl Kabat has spent a lifetime protesting nuclear weapons and doesn't plan to stop By Sharon Dunn A lifetime of civil disobedience Father Carl Kabat was born in 1933 in Scheller, Ill. He was ordained a priest in 1959. He has been protesting nuclear weapons much of his adult life, and has spent almost 18 years behind bars for his cause. He has been in Weld County Jail since he was arrested Aug. 6 entering a missile silo facility in northeast Weld County. Five months in Weld County Jail is starting to wear... Greeley Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411584/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 11:28:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411414/posts Evangelical Church Opens Doors Fully To Gays Renegade pastor in Denver finds new followers, but makes enemies too DENVER - The auditorium lights turned low, the service begins with the familiar rhythms of church: children singing, hugs and handshakes of greeting, a plea for donations to fix the boiler. Then the 55-year-old pastor with spiked gray hair and blue jeans launches into his weekly welcome, a poem-like litany that includes the line "queer or straight here, there's no hate here." The Rev. Mark Tidd initially used the word "gay." But he changed it to "queer" because it's the preferred term... AP Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411414/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 00:41:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411252/posts 18 states allow for recall votes on US Senators. The 18 states allowing for recall are as follows: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin. The Senate oath of office is: I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well... Vanity http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411252/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 19:02:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411107/posts Pueblo, Colorado - Nicholas Coke, a baby boy from Pueblo is a living miracle. He was born with no brain. He can’t see, hear, crawl or suck, but still managed to make a history. This week he has completed his one year’s tough fight for survival.The disease Nicholas was born with is called Anencephaly. It’s a genetic disorder in which a person has no brain, just a brain stem. Anencephaly is a defect in the closure of the neural tube during development in the womb. The neural tube is a narrow channel that folds and closes between the third... Health News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411107/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 14:03:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406039/posts United Airlines passengers removed from flight at Denver airport This is a news story and video interview done by Chris Vanderveen of 9news about United Airlines Flight 227, which was detained at Denver International Airport yesterday. Police officers and FBI were called to the scene. The video at the side gives more info, including passenger interviews. ALSO SEE: Hmmm . . . Yet Another Dry Run?: United 227 Sounds Just Like AirTran 297 ----------- Clearly there is a pattern of such incidents; note similarities to what we are now finding out about Airtran flight 297 Annie Jacobsen's ordeal on Northwest... 9news.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406039/posts#comment Sat, 12 Dec 2009 13:14:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409126/posts A medical marijuana dispensary at 3005 W. Gill Place was robbed at 10:06 a.m. today by two armed men - one of more than two dozen such robberies or burglaries in the past five months, according to Denver police.The suspects entered the dispensary and held the owner and an employee at gunpoint, said Officer Joe Ramirez, spokesman for the Denver Police Department. Subsequently, the suspects and the employees got into a fight and multiple shots were fired, said Ramirez. Denver police said that since July, there have been a total of 25 medical-marijuana related robberies or burglaries. Thirteen of those... Denver Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409126/posts#comment Wed, 16 Dec 2009 23:39:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407916/posts Faced with persistent questions from a leading Republican senator, Stephanie Villafuerte on Monday withdrew her name from consideration to become Colorado's next U.S. attorney...two days after Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, asked that consideration of her nomination be delayed because her record is "incomplete." The controversy has its roots in a 2002 plea deal extended by the office of then-Denver District Attorney Ritter. Walter Noel Ramo, a small- time heroin dealer and illegal immigrant with multiple aliases, was permitted to plead guilty to the manufactured charge of agricultural trespass, rather than a... Denver Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407916/posts#comment Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:07:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407363/posts Colo. Court: Immigrants Records Illegally Searched THE ASSOCIATED PRESS December 14, 2009 DENVER (AP) -- The Colorado Supreme Court ruled Monday that Weld County authorities violated the Fourth Amendment and privacy rights of suspected illegal immigrants when they used tax returns to potentially build hundreds of identity theft cases against them. The ruling affirmed a decision by a Weld County district judge who suppressed evidence against one of the defendants. That judge said authorities had no probable cause to search the man's tax returns and that the documents are confidential. The defendant was one of more than 70 people charged... NYTimes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407363/posts#comment Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:54:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406980/posts http://www.youtube.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406980/posts#comment Mon, 14 Dec 2009 05:38:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406723/posts Sunday, December 13, 2009Vigil held remembering ICE sweep that ended in 260 arrests in Greeley Swift raid continues to resonate with many By Colin LindenmayerThe Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid on Greeley's Swift & Co. plant three years ago is still causing deep impacts on Ernesto Garcia's life. Garcia, who was arrested during the raid, initially spent four months behind bars. Although he's been released, his court date from the raid has been pushed back until January 2011. Garcia can't legally work in the United States until after the hearing. “It was a nightmare for me,” Garcia said through a... Greeley Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406723/posts#comment Sun, 13 Dec 2009 20:02:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406496/posts A sign reading "Welcome to Obamaville Colorado's Fastest Growing Community" appeared at a homeless tent city in Colorado Springs this week. You probably didn't hear about it because outside of two Colorado television stations nobody found this newsworthy. By contrast, when word got out in March of a tent city in Sacramento, California, news media couldn't get enough of the story. Is it because that happened so soon after Inauguration Day that it could easily be blamed on George W. Bush, and that given the name given to this area that's no longer possible? NewsBusters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406496/posts#comment Sun, 13 Dec 2009 09:18:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406104/posts Someone has put a lot of thought into a welcome sign that may surprise you, it's in front of a homeless camp off I-25 in Colorado Springs. Its message, "Welcome to Obamaville, Colorado's fastest growing community." Despite repeated calls no one could answer the question, who put up the sign? To some homeless the sign's message says enough. Mark Limonez, a homeless man living in "tent city", says the sign doesn't make him feel good about trying to get back on his feet. "Guys are trying to work but there's not enough work out there, so they go pan handling... kjct.8.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406104/posts#comment Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:00:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405894/posts A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state finds Norton beating incumbent Democratic Senator Michael Bennet 46% to 37%, virtually identical to her lead in September. Eight percent (8%) prefer some other candidate, and eight percent (8%) are undecided. But Bennet, named to the Senate by Democratic Governor Bill Ritter after Senator Ken Salazar became secretary of the Interior, has a challenger in his own party, former state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff. Norton beats Romanoff 45% to 34%, little changed from the previous survey. Fifteen percent (15%) are undecided, while seven percent (7%) like another candidate. Other Republican contenders... Rasmussen Reports http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405894/posts#comment Sat, 12 Dec 2009 02:34:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405866/posts DENVER | It was a rough week for gun rights in Colorado. First, Colorado State University voted to ban concealed firearms on campus. Then the University of Colorado went a few steps further and cracked down on another nefarious threat: Nerf guns. Plans for a student-led game of humans vs. zombies took a hit after campus security officials discovered that players intended to use the popular orange-and-green toy weaponry. Simulated guns, even those that shoot spongy Nerf balls, are banned at the University of Colorado. The game, a national craze on college campuses, involves "zombie" students attempting to eliminate "human"... washingtontimes.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405866/posts#comment Sat, 12 Dec 2009 01:43:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405592/posts COLORADO SPRINGS — Folks shivering in frigid, snowy weather outside Borders bookstore before dawn Tuesday looked more like a line for advance ticket sales of a rock concert than a political book-signing event. But instead of John Lennon, who once declared the Beatles “bigger than Jesus,” they were waiting as many as 14 hours to see Sarah Palin, the author of “Going Rogue: An American Life,” who is hailed as a Joan of Arc heroine by her fans. And some of them argue that Palin was nearly burned at the stake by the news media and GOP campaign gurus during... The Colorado Statesman http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405592/posts#comment Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:00:52 GMT