Free Republic

A handicap ramp in front of a Fountain family's house is in the middle of a neighborhood squabble. Vincent and Heidi Giesegh say their neighbors are threatening legal action if they don't remove the ramp. They say the next door couple is worried that the ramp will hurt the value of their home. The Giesegh's say they need it for their 16 year old daughter Kirsten who has Cerebral Palsy. "As she goes into her spastic modes, we could just tumble down the stairs and both of us could get massively hurt," said Heidi Giesegh. The Giesegh's neighborhood doesn't have...

DENVER - Mail-in ballots for recall elections for two state senators will be tossed out after a judge ruled Monday to use a constitutionally-set deadline for candidates to allow more access to the ballots. Judge Robert McGahey considered a lawsuit brought by Libertarians last week alleging they were wrongfully denied the ability to get a candidate on the Sept. 10 recall elections for Senate President John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, and Sen. Angela Giron, D-Pueblo. The constitution says that candidates can get on a ballot by turning in enough valid signatures within 15 days of election day, which would make mail-in...

A conservative 501(c)(4) nonprofit whose application for tax exempt status was among several wrongfully given to ProPublica earlier this year is suing the IRS over the disclosure and demanding big bucks in damages. The Denver-based Citizens Awareness Project filed the suit in federal court Thursday, asking the court to award it $1,000 for every time unauthorized persons saw its confidential returns, as well as other unspecified damages. In addition to the IRS, the suit names the United States of America and Attorney General Eric Holder as defendants. “Defendants’ conduct has caused Plaintiff to incur actual damages in the form of...

DENVER – A liberal ally may have cheered Democrat congressional candidate Andrew Romanoff’s commitment to reject contributions from political action committees (PACs) and special interest groups, but the former state lawmaker appears to be sidestepping that pledge by accepting money from high-profile lobbyists and fundraising “bundlers.” T.Q. Houlton, a spokesman for the National Republican Campaign Committee (NRCC), blasted Romanoff, who faced similar criticism during his unsuccessful 2010 bid for the U.S. Senate. “After a devastating electoral loss in the 2010 Senate primary, Romanoff is making it clear that he is just another washed up professional politician looking to make full-time...

A group of Woodland Park parents and educators want to get rid of the Common Core Academic Standards that are being implemented in Colorado Schools. Teller County Citizens Against Common Core Standards maintains the new academic guidelines aren't as good as the ones in place. It also argues that the system is unconstitutional because it takes local control away from school districts. It may lobby Woodland Park School District RE-2 and the state to drop out. "We want to get the word out. The standards were just a money carrot for the state to get federal money," ... Among other...

Loopholes in California and Colorado laws designed to keep criminals from hunting down cops and other public employees are being used by local officials and their extended family as a way to avoid paying thousands of dollars in traffic and parking fines. In Colorado, special license plates issued to 100 state lawmakers and representatives not only shield them from radar tickets for speeding, but also prevent collection notices on past-due parking tickets. That’s because the legislative plates in Colorado aren’t entered into the Division of Motor Vehicles database. If someone with a special license plate blows through the speed limit...

Renters at an apartment community just south of Denver are between a ro