Rocky Mountain Voice

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City of Boulder sues FAA over 2040 airport closure dispute, claims ‘unconstitutional overreach’
Approved, Boulder Reporting Lab, Local

City of Boulder sues FAA over 2040 airport closure dispute, claims ‘unconstitutional overreach’

By John Herrick | Boulder Reporting Lab The City of Boulder has filed a lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration in federal district court, challenging the agency’s assertion that the city must keep its airport operating indefinitely. The city claims the FAA is violating protections in the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court on July 26, seeks a judicial declaration that would allow the city to legally close Boulder Municipal Airport by 2040.  This legal dispute is the latest development in a longstanding debate over the airport’s future. Boulder Municipal Airport, in the city’s northeast corner, primarily serves private pilots, trainees, glider pilots and researchers. Last summer, the city began considering whether to upgrade...
Alexander Mountain fire triples in size to 990 acres in a day
Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Alexander Mountain fire triples in size to 990 acres in a day

By Austen Erblat, Jesse Sarles, Dillon Thomas | CBS Colorado The Alexander Mountain Fire in Larimer County grew slowly overnight to around 990 acres on Tuesday, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The fire forced evacuations in Big Thompson Valley on Monday. What was initially reported at about 100 acres around 10:30 a.m. that day grew to 365 acres in a few hours and then 950 acres by the evening with 0% containment. Tuesday morning, Copter4 flew over the fire and captured images of the blaze on U.S. Forest Service land. The fire is currently about 20 miles west of Loveland. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
Police: Man pulls knife, another a hammer while one was collecting ballot signatures in west Colorado Springs
Approved, CBS 11 KKTV, Local

Police: Man pulls knife, another a hammer while one was collecting ballot signatures in west Colorado Springs

By Lindsey Grewe | KKTV CBS 11 A fight between a person collecting ballot signatures and a citizen landed both men in jail. According to police, the men got in an argument while the first suspect was gathering signatures in a business parking lot near Uintah and 19th Street Monday afternoon. Things quickly escalated from there. “The person gathering signatures pulled a knife and menaced the citizen. The citizen walked to his vehicle and retrieved a hammer, returned to confront the person gathering signatures,” a CSPD lieutenant said. READ THE FULL STORY AT KKTV CBS 11
Rock Church gets injunction to temporarily continue housing homeless in RVs
Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Rock Church gets injunction to temporarily continue housing homeless in RVs

By Olivia Young | CBS Colorado A federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction to a Colorado church that sued the town of Castle Rock after it was barred from sheltering the homeless. The judge's ruling allows the town to resume sheltering people on church property while the lawsuit proceeds, marking the first time since December that the town forced them to halt, citing a zoning violation. "So it's nothing fancy," said Mike Polhemus, pastor at the Rock Church, as he opened the door to an RV. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
Windsor developer could locate hotel, water park and Eagles hockey in West Greeley
Approved, BizWest, Local

Windsor developer could locate hotel, water park and Eagles hockey in West Greeley

By Dallas Heltzell | BizWest Developer Martin Lind’s plans for a hotel and water park, as well as a new home for the Colorado Eagles minor-league hockey team, could shift from Loveland to Greeley. The Greeley City Council has called a special meeting for Tuesday to consider a memorandum of understanding between the city and Lind’s Windsor-based Water Valley Co. to evaluate the feasibility and public benefit of developing land in west Greeley for the hotel, water park and larger arena as part of a mixed-use, transit-oriented entertainment district. According to the council meeting packet the city posted late Friday, the project would include a new 8,600-seat arena for the Eagles that would also house an ice center with at least three sheets of ice that could be used by the Northern...
Stagecoach Mountain Ranch, a lavish members-only ski and golf resort,  could turn town upside down
Approved, Local, The Colorado Sun

Stagecoach Mountain Ranch, a lavish members-only ski and golf resort, could turn town upside down

By Kari Dequine Harden | The Colorado Sun Fifteen years ago, Jennifer and Adam Fernley came across an abandoned hilltop cabin for sale in the northwestern Colorado community of Stagecoach.  Overrun with mice and other rodents, the house had been flooded by frozen pipes. But the couple knew immediately they’d found their slice of paradise. A house painter by trade, Adam took on the work of repair. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
Reworded ballot measure to lift pit-bull ban passed forward by Aurora Council
Approved, coloradopolitics.com, Local

Reworded ballot measure to lift pit-bull ban passed forward by Aurora Council

By Kyla Pearce | Colorado Politics Aurora councilmembers passed a resolution to put a re-worded question regarding the ownership of pit bulls on the November ballot.  After the original ballot measure was approved in a previous council meeting, a group of residents expressed concerns about the language of the proposed measure, saying it could be "misleading." City officials updated the wording and the measure went back to a vote Monday and passed.  READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
Mesa County counters proposal for 400,000-acre ‘monument’ with 30,000-acre proposal for Dolores River
Approved, Local, The Colorado Sun

Mesa County counters proposal for 400,000-acre ‘monument’ with 30,000-acre proposal for Dolores River

By Jason Blevins | The Colorado Sun Mesa County has countered the call for a national monument around the Dolores River with plans for a much smaller national conservation area.  The Dolores Canyons National Conservation area would increase protections on 29,806 acres around the Dolores River in Mesa and Montrose counties. The proposal for a national monument around the river in the two counties calls for increased protection on 391,000 acres along the river.  Mesa County commissioners in May adopted a resolution opposing the national monument plan, which was crafted by river and environmental advocates asking President Joe Biden to use the Antiquities Act to create the Dolores Canyons National Monument. The commissioners in May pointed to existing protect...
Tony May faces Garfield School Board recall; accused of bullying, other claims
Approved, Local, Post Independent

Tony May faces Garfield School Board recall; accused of bullying, other claims

By Taylor Cramer  | The Post-Independent Former Garfield Re-2 School Board President Tony May is facing a recall election on Aug. 27. Last year, May led efforts to implement American Birthright Standards, which ultimately failed to gain approval from the board after facing significant resistance from community members and district personnel​. Organizers of the recall petition that followed accused May of bullying community members and Re-2 staff members, misusing his position and more. His opponent is Sott Bolitho, endorsed by the Coalition for Responsible Education in Re-2, who was profiled in the Post Independent and Citizen Telegram last week. May resigned as board president in December, aiming to reduce political tensions. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE POST-INDEPENDE...
Rumor control, wolf pup update detailed with monthly wolf activity map from CPW
Approved, Local, The Craig Press

Rumor control, wolf pup update detailed with monthly wolf activity map from CPW

By Elliott Wenzler  | Craig Daily Press Colorado’s collared wolves largely remained in Routt, Grand, Summit and Jackson counties and somewhat withdrew from some areas like Eagle County over the past month, according to a map released by Colorado Parks and Wildlife Wednesday.  The map, posted on the agency’s website, uses Colorado watershed boundaries to indicate where wolves have been detected and reflects movements from June 25 through July 23. It is updated on the fourth Wednesday of every month. State officials have released the maps monthly since January after reintroducing 10 wolves in Grand and Summit counties in December. In its update Wednesday, Parks and Wildlife also addressed rumors on social media that claim the agency’s tracking planes ar...