Free Republic

NCBA will engage EPA in lawsuit alleging overreach in Waters of the U.S. rule, group says. Concerns of cattlemen regarding the U.S. EPA and Army Corps of Engineers Waters of the U.S. rule released last month are coming true, National Cattlemen's Beef Association Vice President of Government Affairs Colin Woodall said Tuesday, but that's actually generating more support for repeal efforts. We just got some more feedback this last weekend that it's the determination of the EPA that any stock tank or pond that runs around in a flooding type event would be considered a 'water of the United States,'"...

Grand Junction, COLO. It's a hot debate that's sparked a lot of controversy in Mesa County. The updating of the Resource Management Plan has been in the works for years. It was announced a few months back, but not everyone's happy about the proposal. The Mesa County Commissioners and the Bureau of Land Management took turns speaking at the town hall meeting. The public listened to what happened in a meeting with representatives from the governor's office, in regards to the Resource Management Plan, and had the chance to share their concerns and suggestions. At last week's meeting with the...

Boulder County is falsifying road maintenance data, and the Colorado Department of Transportation is refusing to verify the filings, some residents of the county’s subdivisions say. Chuck Wibby, chairman of the Boulder County Fairness in Road Maintenance community group, provided Watchdog.org with nearly a dozen examples of roads Boulder County rated as good in its 2012 road inventory report to CDOT – roads the county’s own contractor rated as fair to poor that year. “It’s sort of the textbook definition of fraud,” he said, adding the group sent state officials a letter with his allegations against the county. “The county...

Bubonic plague is the most common form of the disease in humans (about 80% of cases) Symptoms begin two to six days after the bite of an infected flea, or contact with an infected rodent or cat. Typical symptoms include swollen lymph nodes, sudden onset of fever or chills, severe headache, extreme exhaustion, and a general feeling of illness. Bubonic plague can be successfully treated when diagnosed promptly. If you have had a possible exposure to infected rodents or fleas and are experiencing these symptoms, consult a physician as soon as possible. Septicemic plague occurs when the bacteria enter the...

A civil rights group said on Friday it was deeply disturbed by reports that a Colorado motorcycle club has distributed flyers for an anti-Ramadan barbecue, including a pig roast, this weekend "in defiance of the Islamic holiday of Ramadan." Scott Levin, regional director of the Mountain States Anti-Defamation League (ADL), said in a statement the "open bike party" was being advertised by the Colorado Springs chapter of the Infidels Motorcycle Club.

A former police officer, Assam, 42, was on security duty Sunday morning at New Life Church here. Hours earlier, a 24-year-old who had been rejected from a missionary school in a Denver suburb had shot and killed two staffers there. Now he was spraying New Life's parking lot with gunfire and pushing through the doors to the sanctuary.

The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that businesses can fire employees who use marijuana during their off-time, including those with a legal prescription for medical pot. In a case that has been closely watched by employers in some states that have legalized marijuana for medicinal or recreational use, the Colorado court found that Dish Network lawfully fired a quadriplegic employee and medical marijuana user who failed a drug test. Customer service representative Brandon Coats, 35, used marijuana in his off-time to deal with painful muscle spasms. The court ruled that the federal prohibition on pot makes the drug unlawful despite...

Marijuana use could soon be seen in bars, restaurants, or any public place if a proposed ballot measure makes it on the ballot and is passed by voters. “It says any private business can decide if it wants to permit adults to use marijuana,” said marijuana proponent Mason Tvert. Tvert, well-known as the driving force behind Amendment 64 which legalized recreational marijuana in Colorado, is considering a new ballot measure that would vastly expand where people can use pot in Denver. “The community in Denver has been very clear that they don’t think adults should be treated like second-class citizens...

Defense attorneys for Colorado theater shooter James Holmes want to severely limit the testimony of a woman who was paralyzed, suffered a miscarriage, and whose 6-year-old daughter died in the attack. They say significant parts of Ashley Moser's testimony will unfairly bias jurors because they are too heart-wrenching and emotional.

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. Mesa County Commissioners and the Bureau of Land Management remain in a stalemate over what to do with 393 routes of public land. The two parties met with a governor's representative for over four hours Tuesday to try to come to some sort of compromise regarding the BLM’s Resource Management Plan, which could close up to two thousand miles of public lands.

Here’s a rundown of the hottest races:

Pot may be legal in Colorado, but you can still be fired for using it. The state Supreme Court ruled 6-0 Monday that a medical marijuana patient who was fired after failing a drug test cannot get his job back. The case was being watched closely by employers and pot smokers in states that have legalized medical or recreational marijuana. Colorado became at least the fourth state in which courts have ruled against medical marijuana patients fired for pot use. Supreme courts in California, Montana and Washington state have made similar rulings, and federal courts in Colorado and Michigan also...

DENVER (AP) Almost 14 percent of Colorado adults use pot. That's according to the state Health Department's first-ever survey of how many adults use the newly legal drug. Results from the 2014 survey were announced Monday. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment says that 13.6 percent of adults currently use pot. Of those, more than a third said they use pot every day.

Marcia Neal, chair of the State Board of Education, announced her resignation Thursday morning. In an interview with Chalkbeat Colorado, Neal said board dysfunction was one reason for her decision. “You know how dysfunctional we are, and that is really difficult for me,” Neal said. “I find it really difficult to deal with that.” ... Neal’s departure comes at the same time as education Commissioner Robert Hammond is preparing to leave the department. He announced his retirement, effective later this month, in late April. The composition of the seven-member board and the tone of its meetings changed after new members...

(CNSNews.com) – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), part of the Interior Department, will decide by September 30 whether to list the greater sage-grouse as an endangered or threatened species under the 1973 Endangered Species Act (ESA).The stakes are huge: Greater sage-grouse (or prairie chicken) habitat covers 165 million acres across 11 western states, but that is only half of what it used to be, the federal government says. At one time, the greater sage-grouse population likely numbered in the millions, but it is now estimated to be in the 200,000 to 500,000 range.The enormous sage grouse habitat also is home to...

A Colorado man-- who police say was curious to see what being shot felt like-- reportedly sustained a non-life-threatening injury Wednesday night after he fired a single bullet into his foot. The Denver Post reported that Adam Hirtle, 30, told a Colorado Springs officer that he purposely shot himself in the foot while inside his garage. Police told FoxNews.com that Hirtle used a .22 caliber, semi-automatic handgun.

There is a simple solution to ensuring that every child receives a nutritious meal: provide taxpayer-funded free lunches for all of them.During my year as an elementary school kitchen manager, kids came through my lunch line without money for all kinds of reasons: Some lost the check their parents had given them. Some had divorced parents who weren’t communicating. Others had single parents who just got busy and forgot to give them money. My school district mandates that, after three incidents in a row, kitchen supervisors take away that child’s hot lunch and replace it with a slice of cheese...

Businesses nix New Belgium in controversy over coal mineSeveral Craig-area businesses cut off New Belgium Brewery’s products after learning the craft beer maker is listed as a supporter of the environmental group that filed suit challenging a Moffat County coal mine. “We no longer carry New Belgium products because of what they stand for,” said Danny Griffith, owner of J.S. Snacks, a Craig restaurant and bar. “We’re not carrying them because of what we stand for. You take the coal out of Craig and you’ve got nothing.” Fort Collins-based New Belgium Brewing was “never aware” of the actions WildEarth Guardians...

A couple of weeks ago, we reported that the war waged by the Jeffco teachers union against school district staff, particularly those in the communications office, was the most vitriolic in history. We couldn’t figure out why the union would be such abusive bullies to staff members – not even elected officials. And, now, the reason is clear. Documents recently uncovered show that the teachers union and other school staff were using the Jeffco Schools communications department as a de facto campaign headquarters – and had been since at least 2003 (see last picture of memo). With a contentious election...

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. Pot divides the real estate industry -- Colorado may have legalized recreational marijuana, but not all landlords are on board with pot on their property. According to Dan Slover, a broker at Cedar Creek Property Management, it comes down to landowner preference whether or not they will allow the possession, consumption, and production of marijuana in their rentals.