denvergazette.com

Tina Peters asks court for relief, feds ask for caution—judge asks why

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A federal judge on Tuesday struggled to understand why the United States government is claiming an “interest” in a relatively narrow issue related to the prosecution and conviction of former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters.

Although the government now alleges Peters’ state criminal case may have been politically motivated, the U.S. Department of Justice’s attorney would not say what evidence, if any, the department has to that effect.

Tina Peters asks court for relief, feds ask for caution—judge asks why Read More »

Bible sales up. Church attendance rising. Revival whispers loud.

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After years of more and more Americans claiming atheism, agnosticism or “nothing in particular” in religiosity, there are signs that the category is leveling off at 29% of the population, while at the same time, the continual decline of Americans who self-identify as Christians appears to have reached a plateau, according to a new study from Pew Research Center.

Slightly more than 6 in 10 of the 36,908 respondents in the Religious Landscape Study released in February consider themselves to be Christians.

Though that represents a 9-percentage-point drop from a decade ago, the stability is now a trend, Pew says. For the past five years, from 2019 through 2024, the Christian share of the adult population has remained between 60% and 64%, instead of sliding further downward.

Bible sales up. Church attendance rising. Revival whispers loud. Read More »

After years of controversy, Chimney Hollow Reservoir nears completion

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Back in 2009, Zac Wiebe was hiking near the foothills of northern Colorado, where today a dam rises close to its final height of 350 feet.

“I recall a sign that actually stated the reservoir could be built as soon as 2009,” Wiebe said.

That would not be the case — not in the face of lengthy permitting and litigation against Chimney Hollow Reservoir, to be a smaller neighbor of Carter Lake and divert Colorado River water for the northern Front Range’s growing populations. In 2021, environmental groups and Northern Water settled a $15 million lawsuit.

After years of controversy, Chimney Hollow Reservoir nears completion Read More »

Stabbing at Aurora middle school leaves one student hospitalized, another arrested

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A teen girl was stabbed by another girl outside the Aurora Science and Tech Middle School on Wednesday, suffering injuries severe enough to require hospitalization.

The incident began at about 1:23 p.m., when the two were involved in a heated argument outside on school property, the Aurora Police Department said on X Wednesday afternoon. The argument then escalated and one of the girls stabbed the other.

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ACLU sues to block use of Alien Enemies Act to deport TdA members in Aurora

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The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Colorado to try to block the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to remove immigrants unlawfully living in the U.S. who are accused of being members of a Venezuelan gang.

ACLU sues to block use of Alien Enemies Act to deport TdA members in Aurora Read More »

Colorado taxpayers footed $7.3M bill for dead Medicaid enrollees, audit finds

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Thousands of deceased Coloradans stayed on the state’s Medicaid rolls, as the state continued paying managed care organizations to cover them, a lapse federal investigators flagged as wasteful in a recent audit.

Colorado made an estimated $7.3 million in capitation payments between 2018 and 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG). The payments continued for some Coloradans months after their deaths because of outdated reporting and system delays, state officials said.

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Perceptions of downtown Denver plummet despite $1.2B in investment

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City leaders have stressed downtown Denver has several things going in its favor — reopening of 16th Street Mall, new businesses moving in, stronger police presence and $570 million of investment money.

Despite efforts to make a comeback, optimism fell among the public last year.

Perceptions of downtown Denver plummet despite $1.2B in investment Read More »

Rosen: Eco-radicals push watermelon socialism, not science

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I recently stumbled on one of my all-time favorite movies on TV. It was the 1965 film of Boris Pasternak’s Doctor Zhivago, starring Omar Sharif and Julie Christie. So, I watched the whole thing for 10th time. One particular scene stands out.

After his service as a doctor in the Russian Army during World War I, Zhivago returns to his family who’d been living with his in-laws, in Moscow. By this time, the Russian Army had disintegrated, the Czar had been overthrown and the Bolsheviks had taken control following the 1917 Revolution.

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House approves $44B budget, GOP spending cut efforts rejected

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Colorado state House legislators on Wednesday debated and advanced a $44 billion spending plan for the next fiscal year.

They also approved 63 “orbital” bills designed to change state law in order to balance the state budget.

As introduced, the fiscal year 2025-26 budget stands at $43.9 billion, including $17 billion in general funds and $14 billion in federal dollars. General funds are the discretionary dollars, derived from individual and corporate income taxes, as well as sales and use taxes. Cash funds make up the rest, about $12.8 billion.

Lawmakers’ biggest hurdle is closing a $1.2 billion general fund shortfall, driven by higher-than-expected Medicaid costs and a structural deficit.

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‘I can’t do business in Denver now’: Developers flee as climate mandates bite

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While Colorado is earning praise from climate advocates for its new mandates to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, developers and their economists are giving D and F grades to the state and its capital city, blaming the regulations for a noticeable decline in some projects.

Representatives for developers and property owners are flagging new data showing a marked drop-off in investments and revenues from commercial projects in Colorado. That decline, they said, follows directly on the heels of Colorado’s adoption of some of the nation’s boldest carbon-reducing strategies.

‘I can’t do business in Denver now’: Developers flee as climate mandates bite Read More »