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CBS Colorado

Long-running Colorado animal sanctuary facing “a lot of hurdles” during critical fundraising period
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Long-running Colorado animal sanctuary facing “a lot of hurdles” during critical fundraising period

By Ashley Portillo | CBS Colorado The founder of an animal sanctuary in Adams County says because of a cellphone company cutting her phone line and that leading to her landline phone not working, she's down thousands of dollars. With winter coming, she's now worried about how she's going to keep nearly 200 animals fed. Maxine Mager is the owner and founder of Creative Acres, a nonprofit organization which provides no-kill and free-roam sheltering to animals like horses, pigs, and chickens among many others. She says because of the phone issue, she could not get the word out about her fundraising efforts. "They cut my line and apparently they cut it five times. I haven't had a phone for over a month," said Mager. "During that time, we couldn't do any fundraising through t...
Four U.S. Postal Service mail carriers robbed in Denver and Aurora: “It’s shocking”
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Four U.S. Postal Service mail carriers robbed in Denver and Aurora: “It’s shocking”

By Tori Mason | CBS Colorado The United States Postal Inspection Service is looking for suspects in the recent armed robberies and attempted armed robbery of letter carriers in Denver and Aurora. Four incidents involving a postal carrier occurred between the end of September and end of October. On Sept. 25, a carrier was robbed at at1624 Chester Street in Aurora. The suspect is described as a black male wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt who showed a firearm. The suspect fled to a nearby blue four-door sedan. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
Group raises money to get American flags in Jefferson County classrooms
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Group raises money to get American flags in Jefferson County classrooms

By Karen Morfitt | CBS Colorado A group in Jefferson County is working to get an American flag into every classroom in that Colorado district. They made their first delivery to North Arvada Middle School on Veterans Day. "It's sacred," Navyveteran Sam Bandimere said. "It's a symbol of my homeland a symbol of freedom," Army veteran Ron Noble said. "Respect, you know. The flag means everything to the U.S.," Dan Wolf said. These veterans say the flag's importance is hard to put into words, but it's something they want future generations to understand. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
Amendment H is on the ballot in Colorado as a result of a scandal involving the state’s highest court
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Amendment H is on the ballot in Colorado as a result of a scandal involving the state’s highest court

By Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado Among the ballot measures Colorado voters are considering on Election Day is one that may seem like it's a no-brainer. It is Amendment H, which deals with judicial discipline. Supporters say it will pull back the veil of secrecy in the judiciary. Amendment H is on the ballot as a result of a scandal that exposed a lack of transparency and accountability in Colorado's judicial disciplinary system. Beginning in 2019, Denver Post reporter David Migoya about the state supreme court's involvement in a widespread scheme to cover up judicial misconduct. Former Chief Justice Nathan Coats was censured and resigned. Investigators accused other justices of obstruction, retaliation and intimidation. In the wake of the scandal, the legislature referred Amendment H ...
Counties across Colorado, including Boulder, offer behind-the-scenes tours to show how ballots get sorted
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Counties across Colorado, including Boulder, offer behind-the-scenes tours to show how ballots get sorted

By Sarah Horbacewicz | CBS Colorado As we push forward to Election Day, it's not just getting busy at the ballot dropoff boxes in Colorado but behind the scenes. Layers of staff and security work to keep your ballot safe, and Boulder County wants to give voters the chance to see that process for themselves. Ahead of the election they're offering tours of where they're counting ballots and this year a record number of people are taking them up on it. In her busiest season, County Clerk and Reporter Molly Fitzpatrick also hosts some of those tours. This year alone the office has welcomed more than 200 people to see the democratic process firsthand. Along the tour, Fitzpatrick points out the machines and humans (of a mix of political parties) that sort your ballot. The group then mov...
Federal home energy rebate program aims to help lower family utility bills in Colorado
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Federal home energy rebate program aims to help lower family utility bills in Colorado

By Jesse Sarles | CBS Colorado The Biden Administration is announcing the launch of a federal home energy rebate program in Colorado. It aims to help lower families' utility bills. The program will provide Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates to qualified Coloradans when they install cost-saving measures like heat pumps, electrical panels and insulation. Eligible households will be able to save up to $14,000 per home. "From folks living in the Plains to those in the Rockies, big cost savings are coming for Coloradans looking to adapt their home's energy needs to face the new challenges posed by climate change," U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said. "Colorado's HEAR program presents a historic opportunity for residents in the state to save hundreds to thousands of ...
Ballot measure 2C in Wheat Ridge would lower building height limits at old Colorado hospital
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Ballot measure 2C in Wheat Ridge would lower building height limits at old Colorado hospital

By Karen Morfitt | CBS Colorado The old 100 acre campus of a hospital in the Colorado city of Wheat Ridge is empty and on the verge of development. But before that happens, voters are deciding in the general election next week whether or not to change the city's height requirements for that area. Ballot measure 2C asks Wheat Ridge voters to consider making changes to the city's current height requirements at the old Lutheran Hospital campus. "It actually asks two specific things," Community Development Director Lauren Mikulak said. "We're asking to lower the height further on the perimeter, so from 35 feet to 30 where we have new development potentially adjacent to existing neighborhoods. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
Inmates cast in-person ballots during Northern Colorado jail voting event
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Inmates cast in-person ballots during Northern Colorado jail voting event

By Dillon Thomas | CBS Colorado Inmates being held in the Larimer County Jail in Northern Colorado showed up in record numbers this year for voting after a new Colorado law went into effect. In 2024 Colorado became the first state in the United States to require counties offer in-person voting to inmates who are legally qualified to vote. "Everybody here is innocent until proven guilty. Just because you are in our building doesn't mean you should lose your right to vote," said Steven LaChance, program specialist at the Larimer County Sheriff's Office. Inmates who have not lost their right to vote due to felony conviction have always been allowed to vote. However, in previous years, the inmates were typically left to vote via mail-in ballot. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
Ballot measure 1A would allow Colorado’s Jefferson County to keep $30 million in tax revenue it knowingly overcollected
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Ballot measure 1A would allow Colorado’s Jefferson County to keep $30 million in tax revenue it knowingly overcollected

By Shaun Boyd, CBS Colorado For the third time in five years, Jefferson County is asking voters to permanently remove caps that limit how much tax revenue the Colorado county can keep and spend, including a new cap just put in place by the state legislature two months ago. "We would be the first in Colorado to have no cap, and they're trying to say it's not a tax increase," says Natalie Menten, who is leading the "No on 1A" effort. While Jeffco says 1A is a "revenue retention" measure to fund infrastructure and public safety, Menten says, not only would taxpayers forfeit all future refunds from the county, but $30.5 million in property tax revenue from 2023 that Jeffco deliberately overcollected. "They took our money. They're holding it, earning interest on it, k...
$2M federal grant awarded to help prevent youth violence in Aurora
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$2M federal grant awarded to help prevent youth violence in Aurora

By Tori Mason | CBS Colorado A $2 million grant will help the city of Aurora's efforts to reduce youth violence. The money was awarded by the Department of Justice's Community-Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative, a federal investment in local programs. Standing Against Violence Every Day, or SAVE, is Aurora's violence-reduction strategy that focuses on teens and young adults who are at high risk for violent victimization and offending.  The program uses proactive measures to address the root causes of youth violence.  READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO