Colorado Week in Review

awesome + uniting

• Aurora’s Vikram Raju Takes 2nd In Scripps National Spelling Bee’s First-Ever Lightning-Round Tiebreaker
• PHOTOS: Five Points Jazz Festival and parade in Denver
• Big investments to address Colorado’s homelessness crisis become law

awesome + controversy

• New law offers hope to would-be employees by automatically sealing criminal records
• Colorado joins list of states waiting to make daylight saving time year-round
• Colorado becomes first state to ban anonymous sperm and egg donations

awful + uniting

• Denver Starbucks workers allege retaliation for union vote
• Denver deputy, officers disciplined after duty guns stolen from cars
• Bodies of 2 men pulled from collapsed coal pile at Pueblo power plant

awful + controversy

• Colorado’s moth invasion has begun. How long will ‘miller moths’ stick around?
• Southwest Airlines faces $1.3 million in fines over “systemic violations” of Colorado labor laws
• Congressman says AR-15 is ‘a gun of choice’ for killing raccoons and foxes on Colorado farms, ranches

awesome + uniting

• 400 butterflies released in refuge, Polis to sign law aimed at Colorado pollinator protections
• U.S. Senate confirms Charlotte Sweeney as Colorado’s first openly gay federal judge
• Avalanche advance to Western Conference Finals for 1st time in 20 years

awesome + controversy

• Colorado leaders celebrate “transformational” education funding
• Douglas Co. commissioners decide not to use ARPA money on San Luis Valley water proposal
• 3 Colorado Congressional Leaders Permanently Banned From Russia

awful + uniting

• After back-to-back shootings, members of Congress from Colorado clash on policy response
• Elijah McClain’s mother attends signing of executive order on police reform, but says Biden’s plan wouldn’t have helped her son
• Colorado Health Officials Report Second Presumptive Monkeypox Case

awful + controversy

• Capitol Gains: What You Were Supposed To Know About Two State Senators
• Contributions by conservative lobbyist appear to run afoul of campaign finance laws
• Federal trial begins for Castle Rock man accused of lying to donors to his “We Build The Wall” campaign

awesome + uniting

• Rockies slugger C.J. Cron is doing stuff at first base that Coors Field hasn’t seen since Todd Helton’s heyday. Could All-Star berth be next?
• Polis signs Innovative Housing Incentive Program Bill on site of future GJ megafactory
• Late May snow pastes Colorado 24 hours after 90-degree heat

awesome + controversy

• Colorado Congressman Jason Crow Joins Public Hearing On UFOs
• Colorado Democrats want to be one of the first to hold presidential primaries in 2024
• Five Colorado Starbucks stores have voted to unionize, joining more than 80 nationally

awful + uniting

• Las Animas code enforcer arrested for starting a fire that destroyed homes
• Capitol Gains: Has Colorado Earned Its Corruption-Free Reputation?
• Gov. Jared Polis calls for delay in wild horse roundup after 142 die in federal facility in Cañon City

awful + controversy

• GOP Congressional Candidate Still Thinks Contraception ‘Harms the Poor And the Marginalized Among Women’
• Prosecutors debunk Mesa County clerk’s 2020 election claims
• Rep. Boebert one of 9 Republicans to vote against two bills tied to formula shortage

awesome + uniting

• First all-Black climbing team, including Colorado members, summits Mount Everest
• WATCH: Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic accepts NBA MVP award from horse stable in Serbia
• Colorado Avalanche vs. St. Louis Blues: Who has the edge, five things to watch and predictions

awesome + controversy

• Colorado lawmakers just passed legislation creating a statewide recycling program. Here’s how it would work.
• ‘We Are Going To Go After Every Single Company Doing This’: Colorado Lawmakers Crack Down On Employers Who Steal Workers’ Wages
• ‘Bans Off Our Bodies’ Rally And March Held In Downtown Denver

awful + uniting

• Smoke from New Mexico fires now impacting residents in southern Colorado
• Amid nationwide shortage, Colorado parents search for baby formula and safe alternatives
• Colorado led the nation in bank robberies last year — a ranking that some investigators lay at the hands of desperation and addiction

awful + controversy

• Here’s what’s in the Colorado fentanyl “accountability and prevention” bill just sent to the governor
• Two federal reports muddy water around decision to relocate Space Command away from Colorado
• Judge bars Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters from overseeing 2022 elections

awesome + uniting

• Colorado’s Chicano communities celebrate Cinco de Mayo.
• Juneteenth officially becomes Colorado’s newest state holiday.
• MSU Denver makes tuition free for Indigenous students.

awesome + controversy

• A former Loveland cop gets sentenced to five-years in prison after violently arresting an elderly dementia patient.
• The Avalanche take 3-0 lead over Nashville in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
• The Colorado legislature passes a bill protecting homeowners from predatory HOAs.

awful + uniting

• A surge of new homeless pets fill local animal shelters.
• Abortion advocates unite in righteous anger and action after draft Roe reversal leaks.
• Colorado’s Chicano murals are included on a list of the nation’s most endangered historic places.

awful + controversy

• A leaked draft opinion suggests that the Supreme Court will overturn Roe, months after Colorado Democrats affirmed abortion access in the state.
• Colorado COVID cases and outbreaks increase.
• The Colorado Senate votes to felonize fentanyl possession over one gram, whether someone knows they possess the drug or not.

awesome + uniting

• Jessica Watkins makes history as first Black woman on ISS crew
• Broncos off to ‘good start’ in 2022 NFL Draft, adding pair of impact players and three picks
• Right To Repair Bill Passes Out Of Senate, Moves Closer To Governor’s Desk

awesome + controversy

• Colorado taxpayers can expect $400 checks by late summer, Democrats announce
• Denver judge rejects effort to end Don Coram’s primary challenge against Lauren Boebert
• Xcel Energy agrees to close Pueblo’s Comanche 3 coal plant by 2031

awful + uniting

• Parks and Wildlife employee seeks justice after director’s ‘back of the bus’ remark
• Rep. Boebert involved in ‘beginning stages’ of White House Jan. 6 planning, ex-aide says
• Evictions in Denver climb to pre-pandemic levels despite millions in aid available

awful + controversy

• Douglas County Commissioner Calls Colleague A ‘Cancer’ As Board Erupts In Controversy… Again
• Critic Fears New CU President’s Commitment to Diversity Is a Sham
• BANNED, ON THE RUN: As Aurora ban on homeless camping gears up, opposition continues amid scant details

awesome + uniting

• President to sign forest protection, wildfire order on Earth Day
• Downtown hotel designed to look like aspen bark to be “carbon positive,” developer says
• Denver will now help you buy an e-bike

awesome + controversy

• Colorado could be short 10,000 nurses by 2026. Polis, lawmakers roll out plan to shore up staffing
• Baristas in Superior win Colorado’s first Starbucks union election
• Everyone we met at Denver’s Mile High 420 Festival

awful + uniting

• Dennis Gallagher, longtime political stalwart in Denver and Colorado, dies at 82
• Colorado House approves bill that tightens penalties for low-level possession, distribution of fentanyl
• Denver, Aurora Rank 7th Worst In U.S. For Ozone According To American Lung Association Report

awful + controversy

• Parker man accused of selling hundreds of fake vaccination cards charged in federal COVID fraud roundup
• Grandview HS students walk out in protest of Cherry Creek School’s treatment of sexual assault victim
• Man dead after setting himself on fire outside Supreme Court building

awesome + uniting

• A new national study shows that Colorado ranks #3 in percentage of women in municipal office and #2 in percentage of women in the state legislature.
• Coloradans of different faith celebrate Ramadan, Easter, and Passover.
• Ski resorts bring back the tradition of pond skimming for their closing weekends.

awesome + controversy

• Aurora to become first Colorado city to exempt diapers from city sales tax.
• Colorado wants to have an esports team in half of the state’s high schools.
• New Era Colorado starts a campaign to shut down CU’s Benson Center for association with January 6th architect John Eastman and “White Supremacy Culture”

awful + uniting

• Alcohol deaths jumped by nearly 30% in Colorado in 2020 with less treatment, more drinking alone.
• Colorado air pollution now severely in violation of federal standards.
• The Nuggets lose to the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the NBA playoffs.

awful + controversy

• A bill in the CO legislature would make possession of fentanyl a felony, upsetting many criminal justice advocates.
• A CO panel recommends stripping all LGBTQ references from K-3 studies standards.
• High winds contribute to wildfires across Colorado.

awesome + uniting

• Colorado senators confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation
• Biden, U.S. Department of Transportation to invest $181M in Colorado transit
• Forest Service Outlines Steps To Allow E-bikes On Colorado’s Forest Trails

awesome + controversy

• As Gov. Polis signs abortion access into law, Colorado clinics brace for an influx of patients
• Denver beats Minnesota State 5-1 in NCAA hockey final for record-tying ninth title
• Rockies 3, Dodgers 2: Connor Joe and Germán Márquez propel the Rox to victory

awful + uniting

• Avian flu detected in Pitkin County flock
• Former Adams County Deputy Sentenced To Jail In ‘Outrageous And Reprehensible’ Sex Assault Case
• Mother of Elijah McClain condemns Aurora police chief’s firing — ‘it’s about good and evil’

awful + controversy

• Colorado regulators find ‘systemic issue’ with Carvana
• Colorado GOP embraces election conspiracy theories in nominations for secretary of state, Senate
• Top Election Conspiracist Hit With Lawsuit While Protesting at CO Capitol Rally

awesome + uniting

• ‘Cannibal’ solar flare brings rare aurora borealis to Colorado
• 2 Coloradans headed to International Space Station
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to invest $350M to restore stretch of South Platte River

awesome + controversy

• Polis signs law barring open carry of guns at Colorado voting locations
• A new Colorado bill would fund free transit rides in the summer to help improve air quality
• Colorado Democrats think the towing industry is broken. Here’s their plan to fix it.

awful + uniting

• Colorado records most West Nile deaths in 18 years as climate change pushes U.S. toward “Goldilocks zone” for virus
• Nearly 4,000 catalytic converters stolen in Denver, Boulder since start of 2020
• Federal verdict calls Denver police chief’s credibility into question

awful + controversy

• Latino Advocates File Complaint Alleging Discrimination In Search For Next CU President
• Jeffco Sheriff: Colorado Postmaster Communicated Wanting To Meet Teenage Girls For Sex
• As Aurora passes camping ban, some say enforcement money would be better spent on affordable housing