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DOJ lawsuit puts spotlight on Denver’s ‘sanctuary’ policies
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DOJ lawsuit puts spotlight on Denver’s ‘sanctuary’ policies

By Deborah Grigsby | Denver Gazette The U.S. Department of Justice has sued Colorado and the City and County of Denver, alleging their policies are interfering with the job of immigration officers in a case that could have ramifications for enforcement nationwide. The lawsuit filed Friday in Colorado District Court claims both the state and Denver have enacted “sanctuary laws” in violation of the U.S. Constitution, the latest in a series of actions by the president cracking down on so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions. A “sanctuary city” generally refers to a jurisdiction that discourages local law enforcement from reporting an individual’s immigration status to federal authorities. This tension was on full display during a congressional hearing in March, when Denver Mayor Mike Joh...
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Colorado Senate committee rejects judicial watchdog picks over misconduct concerns
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Colorado Senate committee rejects judicial watchdog picks over misconduct concerns

By David Migoya | Denver Gazette In a bipartisan rebuke of how a years-long scandal has been handled, a Colorado Senate committee on Monday made the rare move of not approving the gubernatorial reappointment of the top two members of the state’s Commission on Judicial Discipline. Just months after voters statewide overwhelmingly chose to change how Colorado disciplines judges, the state Senate Judiciary Committee voted — 4-3, with two Democrats joining the panel’s two lone Republicans — to offer an unfavorable recommendation to the full Senate on the reappointment of Mindy Sooter and Jim Carpenter, the chair and vice-chair, respectively, of the 10-member commission. It was the committee’s last official act as the legislative session rushed to a close on Wednesday. The full...
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Caldara: Nothing’s more expensive than “free” school lunch
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Caldara: Nothing’s more expensive than “free” school lunch

By Jon Caldera | Commentary, Denver Gazette A key part of the planned march toward socialism is, of course, endless propaganda. It’s not enough just to rely on the politics of envy. We need to take away those dangerous little opportunities where young people might accidentally experience the benefit of the free market in their fledgling lives. So how can we teach children to participate in class warfare, punish the productive by taking their stuff and that property rights and free exchange don’t exist? Enter Colorado’s oversubscribed, already broke (as all redistribution schemes become) “free” school lunch program. Who could have guessed a $50 million take-from-thy-neighbor scheme would quickly cost $150 million? The free lunch program taxes Coloradans who make “too much money”...
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Judge overrules Elizabeth School District, forces return of books parents objected to
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Judge overrules Elizabeth School District, forces return of books parents objected to

By Michael Karlik | Denver Gazette An Elbert County school district confirmed on Friday to a federal judge that it has restored 19 restricted books to library shelves after she found the school board likely violated the First Amendment rights of students and authors by removing the titles for ideological reasons. Earlier this week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit declined to suspend, or stay, a preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney. Previously, Sweeney ordered the Elizabeth School District to return the restricted books to libraries, and she set a specific date of April 5. The 10th Circuit put that order temporarily on hold while it took an initial look at the case, before ultimately deciding against intervention...
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Trump prioritizes Venezuelan gang crackdown, while Colorado and other sanctuary states resist
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Trump prioritizes Venezuelan gang crackdown, while Colorado and other sanctuary states resist

By Nicole C. Brambila | Denver Gazette As millions of immigrants fleeing the economic and political chaos in Venezuela used social media to navigate the journey north, Tren de Aragua (TdA) operatives embedded in their ranks and exploited these same platforms — particularly WhatsApp — to coordinate extortion, smuggling and violence. Venezuela’s economic and political chaos made the rise of an enterprising criminal organization like TdA almost inevitable, according to Ronna Rísquez, a Venezuelan journalist who's been investigating the gang. “The heads of the Tren de Aragua identified the massive and forced Venezuelan migration as a goldmine of business opportunities,” Rísquez wrote in her book, “El Tren de Aragua: La banda que revolucionó el crimen organizado en América Latina” (The...
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Six Colorado Springs nightclubs under police investigation for years, public just finding out
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Six Colorado Springs nightclubs under police investigation for years, public just finding out

The Denver Gazette Six nightclubs around Colorado Springs have been investigated for potential illegal activity since 2022, according to Colorado Springs police. Police said New Havana Bar and Grill off North Academy Boulevard, an unnamed after-hours club on Palmer Park Boulevard, and La Terraza on South Circle Drive were all shut down through the public nuisance process. Police said Babilonia Bar and Grill on East Platte Avenue, Nova Nightclub on South Nevada Avenue and El Huracán on South Academy Boulevard were evicted by their property owners. A Police Department spokesperson told The Gazette some of these clubs were licensed and some were unlicensed. The spokesperson said each of the locations had multiple calls for service, which started a police investigation an...
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Gazette editorial board: Sanctuary policies cost Denver taxpayers—again
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Gazette editorial board: Sanctuary policies cost Denver taxpayers—again

The Gazette editorial board | Denver Gazette Say what you will about the Trump administration, but give it credit for sparing U.S. taxpayers from bailing out cities whose sanctuary policies made them magnets for illegal immigration. The fact that Denver is among those cities isn’t Washington’s fault. It’s Mayor Mike Johnston’s. And the fact that Denver now likely won’t be reimbursed some or all of $32 million it had forced local taxpayers to pony up in welcoming the latest wave of illegal immigrants, as reported by The Gazette, is Johnston’s comeuppance. It’s also Denver taxpayers’ loss. The Mile High mayor who showboated before a congressional panel in Washington last March — and sanctimoniously pronounced, “… Denver made a choice as a city not to hate each other but to help e...
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Over 100,000 tainted products? Lawsuit exposes dangers in Colorado’s cannabis regulation gaps
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Over 100,000 tainted products? Lawsuit exposes dangers in Colorado’s cannabis regulation gaps

By Evan Wyloge and Chris Osher | Denver Gazette A Denver district court judge ruled against a cannabis cultivator’s request to force Colorado to immediately overhaul the state’s cannabis testing rules and seemed ready to rule for a complete dismissal of the case, after a full day in court Wednesday arguing over whether the state is living up to its obligation to protect marijuana consumers. The decision effectively keeps state cannabis regulators from being compelled — for now — to crack down on the alleged illegal use of hemp-derived THC distillate in the state’s legal marijuana supply chain. The lawsuit raises concerns about the legitimacy of Colorado’s legal cannabis market, once seen as an industry gold-standard. Depending on how pervasive the use of the synthetic, hemp-derive...
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Bill to require CBI employees to report wrongful actions heads to Colorado governor
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Bill to require CBI employees to report wrongful actions heads to Colorado governor

By Marianne Goodland | Denver Gazette Employees at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation who observe misconduct and don't report it could be in for problems of their own under a bill now heading to the governor's desk. House Bill 1275 creates "a duty to report" wrongful actions committed by crime lab employees. It also requires the crime lab director to investigate those actions, and creates a process for individuals to seek post-conviction relief if their case is impacted.  The bill is yet another outgrowth of the misconduct allegations tied to Yvonne Woods, a nearly 30-year employee of the CBI accused of deleting data and manipulating DNA evidence in more than 1,000 instances. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
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Douglas County commissioners balk at legislation ‘impairing local control’
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Douglas County commissioners balk at legislation ‘impairing local control’

By Noah Festenstein | Denver Gazette Douglas County's commissioners are balking at several proposals at the state Capitol that they said would diminish local control. In a resolution, the commissioners said lawmakers have "repeatedly injected state policies into long-standing matters of local concern, including local elections and land regulation.”  The resolution, which the commissioners approved on April 22, identified four specific proposals surrounding commissioner board vacancies, building codes and permitting: READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
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