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Central to Colorado Springs’ hate crime hoax case, Derrick Bernard had lengthy record in home state
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Central to Colorado Springs’ hate crime hoax case, Derrick Bernard had lengthy record in home state

By GLENN WALLACE | The Gazette Derrick Patrick Bernard is the figure at the center of a federal indictment and political dust-up involving an alleged hate crime hoax in the closing days of the 2023 Colorado Springs mayoral election. But before his complicated career in Colorado Springs, Bernard had already had his share of run-ins with the law in his home state. Born in Florida in 1989, Bernard was 15 when state records indicate he was first arrested for petty theft. Just two months later he would be arrested again, this time for felony burglary and grand theft. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE GAZETTE
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Disciplined judges, after stepping down, show up in municipal courts
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Disciplined judges, after stepping down, show up in municipal courts

By DAVID MIGOYA | The Gazette via Denver Gazette Not long after 18th Judicial District Judge Natalie Chase resigned over a series of inappropriate racial remarks, she was back on the bench — as a municipal judge in tiny Deer Trail and as a traffic referee in Fort Collins. Despite a public censure by the state’s judicial discipline commission and her resignation in April 2021, Chase landed the part-time jobs within a few months and held them simultaneously for the next three years, according to payroll records from both locations obtained by The Denver Gazette. Chase is one of at least a half-dozen jurists who resigned or retired in the past decade over discipline issues they faced, nearly all of them private sanctions the public never knew about, then reappeared in another lower-l...
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‘I did not lie to the FBI’: Mayor Mobolade rejects rumors around alleged hate crime hoax
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‘I did not lie to the FBI’: Mayor Mobolade rejects rumors around alleged hate crime hoax

By Brennen Kauffman | The Gazette Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade spoke Friday to address the recent weeks of rumors surrounding his connection to an alleged hate crime hoax that took place during the 2023 election. In a video message on his official Facebook account, Mobolade emphasized his full cooperation with the investigation into the alleged faked hate crime and condemned the "politically motivated attacks" he faced in recent weeks. In November the Department of Justice indicted three individuals for allegedly staging a cross burning in front of a Mobolade campaign sign defaced with a racial slur during the 2023 mayoral runoff election between Mobolade and Wayne Williams. Derrick Bernard Jr., Ashley Blackcloud and Deanna West were charged with "maliciously conveying fal...
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Developer meeting on proposed Palmer Lake Buc-ee’s turns heated
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Developer meeting on proposed Palmer Lake Buc-ee’s turns heated

By Savannah Eller | The Gazette A public meeting hosted to discuss a proposed Buc-ee's location along Interstate 25 packed the Palmer Lake Elementary School cafeteria Tuesday night, frequently turning hostile and argumentative between company representatives and community members. "We don't desire your beaver nuggets," said audience member Alexandra Olivier, who joined an overwhelmingly negative wave of comments at the informational meeting. Residents raised a myriad of concerns over the travel center, which has been proposed on a piece of current El Paso County land west of I-25 and directly south of County Line Road. Developers have submitted an annexation plan to the county that would bring the site into the town of Palmer Lake under a "flagpole" annexation, connecting the roug...
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‘Large number’ of Americans’ metadata stolen by Chinese hackers, senior official says
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‘Large number’ of Americans’ metadata stolen by Chinese hackers, senior official says

By Raphael Satter | The Gazette A large number of Americans' metadata has been stolen in the sweeping cyberespionage campaign carried out by a Chinese hacking group dubbed "Salt Typhoon," a senior U.S. official told journalists on Wednesday. The official declined to provide specific figures but noted that China's access to America's telecommunications infrastructure was broad and that the hacking was still ongoing. "We believe a large number of Americans' metadata was taken," said the official, who spoke to reporters on condition that their name be withheld. Pushed on whether that might include every American cell phone's records, the official said: "We do not believe it's every cell phone in the country, but we believe it's potentially a large number of individuals that the Chine...
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Colorado Springs man gets 23-year sentence on meth and fentanyl trafficking
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Colorado Springs man gets 23-year sentence on meth and fentanyl trafficking

By The Gazette A traffic stop led to a major drug bust, and now a 23-year prison sentence for Colorado Springs resident Michael Hemersbach, 36.  Hemersbach pleaded guilty Nov. 7 in a Douglas County courtroom to possession with intent to manufacture or distribute fentanyl, possession with intent to manufacture or distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to manufacture or distribute cocaine and driving while impaired, according to a news release Monday from the 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office.  Hemersback was pulled over by a Colorado State Patrol trooper, who noted his Chrysler 300 was repeatedly weaving while driving southbound on Interstate 25, near the Happy Canyon Road exit north of Castle Rock on July 13, 2023.  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE GAZETT...
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Judge sides with resident over developers in fire evacuation lawsuit, fight with El Paso County simmers on
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Judge sides with resident over developers in fire evacuation lawsuit, fight with El Paso County simmers on

By Mary Shinn | The Gazette A 4th Judicial District judge recently sided with a resident asking El Paso County to uphold its own fire-safety standards along dead-end roads.  Hay Creek Valley resident Mike Cloutier sued the El Paso County commissioners earlier this year because they approved a proposal making way for 20 more high-end homes that take access off a dead-end road. Hay Creek Road, north of the Air Force Academy, already serves 80 existing residences hidden among the foothills. The county limits the number of homes along a dead-end road to 25 for safety in a fire evacuation.  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE GAZETTE
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CDOT expands lane-weaving detection for express lanes
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CDOT expands lane-weaving detection for express lanes

By The Gazette "Cross the line, pay the fine" is the warning from the Colorado Department of Transportation. The technology to detect when drivers weave in and out of express lanes is coming to the central Interstate 70, I-25 South Gap and U.S. 36 corridors beginning Dec. 1, according to a recent news release. CDOT said its common to see drivers cross over the solid white lines into the express lanes when traffic slows or when trying to get around another vehicle already in the express lane. Vehicles may only enter or exit express lanes at points clearly designated with signs and dashed lines, said department officials. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE GAZETTE
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Duffy: Denver’s mayor frets over the wrong Exodus
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Duffy: Denver’s mayor frets over the wrong Exodus

By Sean Duffy | Commentary, The Gazette Mayor Mike Johnston is confused. Denver’s mayor wants to stand athwart the city’s boundaries to stop people from leaving. His problem is he’s focused on the wrong people. Apparently seeking to bolster his progressive bona-fides, Mayor Mike recently staged a public hissy fit about the incoming Trump administration’s plan to deport illegal immigrants. In a bizarre rant he had to walk back, he said he would deploy the already understaffed Denver Police Department to stop federal immigration agents. If his goal was to get national attention as a pro-illegal immigrant warrior, it worked. READ THE FULL COMMENTARY AT THE GAZETTE Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflec...
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El Paso commissioners give 4th Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen $50k pay raise
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El Paso commissioners give 4th Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen $50k pay raise

By Savannah Eller | The Gazette Last week the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners approved a requested $50,000 raise for newly reelected Fourth Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen.  Allen is the only county elected official whose salary is set by commissioners and not state statute. The raise came recommended by the county budget office, which presented commissioners with a high and low end of cost-of-living increases based on a consumer price index and market data. Allen's salary will factor into the District Attorney's Office's 2025 budget and cannot be changed for the rest of his four-year term.  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE GAZETTE
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