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Woodland Park sales tax repeal proposal could be losing steam
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Approved, Local, Pikes Peak Courier

Woodland Park sales tax repeal proposal could be losing steam

By Doug Fitzgerald | Pikes Peak Courier The idea of ending the sales tax that benefits the Woodland Park School District has, for now, lost traction among members of the city council. But the desire for detailed accountability for how the money is spent has never been stronger. The Woodland Park City Council held a work session on May 29 concerning the 1.09% sales tax that is earmarked for the city’s schools. Mayor Kellie Case reminded the council that the city has authority only over the sales tax. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE PIKES PEAK COURIER
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Colorado is charting a rise in potential money laundering. Could stopping it slow the fentanyl trade?
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado is charting a rise in potential money laundering. Could stopping it slow the fentanyl trade?

By Ernesto Cabral | The Colorado Sun Colorado money service businesses, such as check-cashing businesses and money forwarding services, filed a record number of reports last year of possible money laundering by people using their services, official data shows. In 2023, money services businesses flagged more than 22,000 transactions in Colorado they suspected were intended to convert money from crimes into usable cash, according to data from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, known as FinCEN. That’s a 40% increase from the previous year and a 1,009% surge since 2014. The increase comes as federal authorities are eyeing the role money services businesses play in allowing fentanyl dealers — many associated with the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels in Mexico — to...
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In future, one of state’s largest off-leash dog parks could require out-of-town visitors to pay
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Approved, Local, Westminster Window

In future, one of state’s largest off-leash dog parks could require out-of-town visitors to pay

By Monte Whaley | Westminster Window One of the state’s largest off-leash dog parks will likely stay intact but Westminster should do more to make the 470-acre parcel self-sustaining, including charging out-of-town visitors a fee to use the area, a majority of city councilors said Monday night. Councilors said at the work session that they wanted to keep the off-leash area as-is. This is despite a city staff recommendation to cut the parcel roughly in half or more to increase open space in the city. Councilors said they were responding to the desires of a majority of residents who covet the off-leash area as a prime getaway for dogs and their owners. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE WESTMINSTER WINDOW
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D-Day anniversary shines spotlight on ‘Rosies’ who built WWII weapons
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Air Force Times, Approved, National

D-Day anniversary shines spotlight on ‘Rosies’ who built WWII weapons

By Sylvie Corbet and John Leicester, The Associated Press (via The Air Force Times) When the 5,000th B-17 bomber built after Pearl Harbor rolled out of its Boeing factory, teenage riveter Anna Mae Krier made sure it would carry a message from the women of World War II: She signed her name on it. Now 98, and in Normandy, France, for this week’s 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, Krier is still proudly promoting the vital roles played by women in the June 6, 1944, invasion and throughout the war — including by making weaponry that enabled men to fight. Krier was among millions of women who rolled up their sleeves in defense-industry factories, replacing men who volunteered and were called up for combat in the Pacific, Africa and Europe. The women had thei...
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Last WWII veterans converge on Omaha Beach for D-Day and fallen friends
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Air Force Times, Approved, National

Last WWII veterans converge on Omaha Beach for D-Day and fallen friends

By John Leicester, Sylvie Corbet, and Danica Kirka, The Associated Press | Air Force Times Under their feet, the sands of Omaha Beach, and in their rheumy eyes, tears that inevitably flowed from being on the revered shoreline in Normandy, France, where so many American young men were cut down 80 years ago on D-Day. Veterans of World War II, many of them centenarians and likely returning to France for one last time, pilgrimaged Tuesday to what was the bloodiest of five Allied landing beaches on June 6, 1944. They remembered fallen friends. They relived horrors they experienced in combat. They blessed their good fortune for surviving. And they mourned those who paid the ultimate price. They also bore a message for generations behind them, who owe them so much: Don’t forget what...
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Ex-girlfriend testifies Hunter Biden smoked crack ‘every 20 minutes’
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Approved, National, The Washington Times

Ex-girlfriend testifies Hunter Biden smoked crack ‘every 20 minutes’

By Jeff Mordock | The Washington Times A former girlfriend of Hunter Biden who met him while working as a stripper testified Wednesday that the president’s son smoked crack cocaine “every 20 minutes” and gave drug dealers the access code to his bank account to supply his addiction.  Zoe Kestan told the court that she met Hunter Biden while she was working part-time at a gentleman’s club in New York in December 2017. She detailed their drug-fueled relationship for a federal jury, saying Hunter Biden failed at several attempts to get sober, including an experiment with frog venom. She testified that Hunter Biden “would want to smoke crack as soon as he woke up.” Ms. Kestan was a key witness for the prosecution on the second day of testimony in the federal criminal gun trial ...
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York: Measuring the Trump conviction factor in the 2024 election
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Approved, Commentary, TownHall.com

York: Measuring the Trump conviction factor in the 2024 election

By Byron York | TownHall.com If you've been keeping up with the news, you've probably heard a lot of speculation about the effect former President Donald Trump's felony conviction will have on the 2024 presidential race. Here's the real answer, so far: We don't know. The first thing to remember about momentous events and public opinion is that it takes a while for people to process the full import of truly consequential developments. With the Trump verdict, of course partisan zealots on both sides know exactly how they feel. But other, more normal people are not entirely sure. They want to think about it and see how things work out before they settle on what they think. That's where polls come in. The first survey out of the gate came from Morning Consult. The verdict was announce...
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What’s behind Wheat Ridge’s 26% crime drop since 2021? Start with police staffing, mayor says.
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Approved, Commentary, Local

What’s behind Wheat Ridge’s 26% crime drop since 2021? Start with police staffing, mayor says.

By Mayor Bud Starker | Wheat Ridge Neighborhood Gazette Wheat Ridge has seen a significant drop in crime rates, returning to levels last observed before the pandemic. The Wheat Ridge Police Department reports a 26% overall decrease in crime since 2021, marking a substantial improvement from the spike experienced during the pandemic. A major factor in this reduction is the department’s success in recruiting high-quality candidates, even as law enforcement agencies nationwide struggle with recruitment and retention. After staffing levels dipped in 2021, WRPD is on track to add a dozen officers this year. Seven rookies graduated from the academy last December and completed over three months of field training before beginning independent patrols. Additionally, five more recruits are curr...
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Big money filtering into 5th District Republican race for Congress
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Big money filtering into 5th District Republican race for Congress

By Sandra Fish | The Colorado Sun The Republican primary in Colorado’s 5th Congressional District is becoming a battle for the soul of the GOP, with conservative groups spending $1.3 million and counting to beat state party chairman Dave Williams, who has been endorsed by Donald Trump. Williams is running against conservative commentator and activist Jeff Crank, who has been endorsed by U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, in the El Paso County district where U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs, is retiring at the end of his ninth term. Whoever wins the primary is almost certain to win the general election in the highly Republican district.  That’s why the 5th District spending by outside political groups, more than what’s spent by outside groups in any of the state’s othe...
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Community input sought ahead of possible Denver Public Schools closures
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Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Community input sought ahead of possible Denver Public Schools closures

By Anna Alejo | CBS Colorado Despite a surge in the enrollment of migrant students this year, Denver Public Schools continues to experience a drop in the size of its student population. The school board is asking for community input as it plans how to consolidate and close schools. The school board says it's necessary to close schools to keep the district financially viable and to re-allocate limited resources. As proposed "guardrails", the board wants the Superintendent to consider schools of any size and not to use standardized test scores or school performance ratings as a condition for consolidation. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
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