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More Victims Coming Forward as Douglas County Tackles Growing Sex Crime Caseload
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DENVER7, Approved, Local

More Victims Coming Forward as Douglas County Tackles Growing Sex Crime Caseload

By Allie Jennerjahn | Denver7 Sex crimes can range from internet crimes against children, to adult sex assault, and George Brauchler said the county is working to find a solution. DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — District Attorney for the 23rd Judicial District George Brauchler is speaking out about a surge in sex crime cases and why he thinks there's an increase. Sex crimes can range from internet crimes against children, to adult sex assault and Brauchler said the county is working to find a solution. “It's unclear to me if we're seeing an incredible uptick in it, or if because this jurisdiction that has invested so heavily in public safety, including creating subject matter experts in rape cases … if that, in and of itself, hasn't caused an increase in the number of...
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Colorado’s Appointment System Tested as Districts Lose Multiple Lawmakers
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Colorado’s Appointment System Tested as Districts Lose Multiple Lawmakers

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette Two vacancy committees that will convene in the next month or so will have an interesting challenge: Picking a new state senator and state representative who will represent the same geographic area. The vacancy election for Senate District 25, represented by the late Sen. Faith Winter, D-Broomfield, will meet on Dec. 23 at 6:30 p.m. to pick a replacement. The meeting will be livestreamed. Winter died in a car crash a few weeks ago. Reps. William Lindstedt, D-Broomfield, and Jenny Willford, D-Northglenn, are planning to run for the Senate seat.  Lindstedt already filed the candidacy paperwork for the Senate District 25 seat for 2026, given that Winter was term-limited. He noted in an announcement Monday that Win...
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Fort Collins Charter School Secures $1.8M Federal Grant for Expansion
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The Coloradoan, Approved, Local

Fort Collins Charter School Secures $1.8M Federal Grant for Expansion

By: Kelly Lyell | The Coloradoan Liberty Common School has been awarded a federal grant of nearly $1.8 million in support of the continued construction of its new junior high school campus, a school spokesperson said in a news release. Liberty Common opened the new junior high school for seventh and eighth graders this fall in one of two adjacent commercial buildings at 1825 Sharp Point Drive in east Fort Collins. The junior high school will expand into the second building and new facilities connecting the two for the 2026-27 school year, co-founder and Headmaster Bob Schaffer said in August while leading a Coloradoan reporter in a tour of the first of two phases of planned renovations. The second phase is underway and will include a gymnasium, locker rooms...
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Robotaxis Coming to Denver as Colorado Opens Door to AV Innovation
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Axios Denver, Approved, Local

Robotaxis Coming to Denver as Colorado Opens Door to AV Innovation

By John Frank | Axios Denver In the near future, you can hop in a driverless car and cruise through Denver. Why it matters: The technology promises to reduce vehicle fatalities and crashes, and to increase mobility for people who are elderly, disabled or impaired. State of play: Waymo is preparing to deploy its robotaxis on Denver roads starting next year, a spokesperson confirmed this week. The company began testing in September to map streets and gather data on driving patterns. The next step is to test the vehicles in autonomous mode with a driver on board, though a date for those efforts is TBD. A date for the company to start offering driverless rides is not yet set. Between the lines: The company also is meeting with c...
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Regulators Keep Pueblo Comanche Coal Unit Running While Xcel Repairs Newer Plant
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Regulators Keep Pueblo Comanche Coal Unit Running While Xcel Repairs Newer Plant

By Alexander Edwards | The Denver Gazette The Comanche Power Plant in Pueblo will continue to operate a coal-powered electrical generating unit that was slated for retirement this month for one more year. The move comes after Xcel Energy, the state’s largest utility company, petitioned in November to keep one generator operating after an outage at the coal-fired power plant. Gov. Jared Polis backed the petition. On Wednesday, the Public Utilities Commission approved a variance submitted by the utility. This allows Comanche 2, which was slated to be retired on Dec. 31, to continue operating as Xcel fixes the Comanche 3. “The Commission found that the outage at Comanche 3 was the sole justification for the extension of Comanche 2,” a fact sheet released by th...
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JeffCo SWAT Leader Resigns After Responding Drunk to Evergreen School Shooting
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9News, Approved, Local

JeffCo SWAT Leader Resigns After Responding Drunk to Evergreen School Shooting

By Jeremy Jojola | 9NEWS Internal Affairs documents obtained by 9NEWS describe Sgt. Anthony Hamilton smelling of alcohol while responding to the Evergreen shooting in September. JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — A SWAT team leader for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office was drunk while responding to the Evergreen High School shooting in September and has resigned amid an internal affairs investigation. Sgt. Anthony Hamilton was set to be fired for violating the department's alcohol policy. According to internal affairs documents, Hamilton admitted in an interview that he drank “the better part of a 12 pack” of beer starting around 6:30 a.m. Sept. 10, the day of the shooting.  Scores of law enforcement officers began responding to the campus after 1...
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Colorado schools win landmark settlement protecting female athletes
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

Colorado schools win landmark settlement protecting female athletes

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice In a move that reshapes how school athletics operate across the state, School District 49 and seven partner districts have secured a landmark settlement with the Colorado High School Activities Association. The agreement formally protects biological sex policies for sports, locker rooms and overnight travel, and it removes CHSAA from the center of Colorado’s most charged debate over fairness, privacy and Title IX. The December 4 settlement also allows the districts to continue full participation in sanctioned activities without penalty. District 49 described the outcome as a decisive step in restoring equal opportunity for girls and strengthening the role of local school boards in setting policy. “CHSAA deserves credit for doing t...
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The quiet takeover: What early oaths and a Friday ultimatum meant for Douglas County Schools
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

The quiet takeover: What early oaths and a Friday ultimatum meant for Douglas County Schools

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Douglas County’s newly elected school board majority took office days early and outside public view after a week of private oaths, a Friday deadline, and a dispute over whether a policy on the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey (HKCS) should be added to the December 2 meeting agenda. Emails, texts, and public comments released since then show conflicting explanations from the incoming directors and intensifying concerns about transparency. A Sudden Shift in Board Composition Outgoing Board President Christy Williams said she first learned something was wrong on November 26. “I was notified by the superintendent that Tony Ryan had gone to get sworn in the day prior to that, and I said, ‘so what does that mean for Beck...
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GOP Canvass Board Member Declines to Sign Arapahoe Election Results
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kdvr.com, Approved, Local

GOP Canvass Board Member Declines to Sign Arapahoe Election Results

By Jacob Factor | KDVR Fox31 Results were still certified, and a GOP official had certified other county election procedures. DENVER (KDVR) — The election results in Arapahoe County were certified last week by the county’s canvass board, but not with apparent approval of the county’s Republican Party designee. Results from the Nov. 4 general election were certified across the state last week, after procedural steps including post-election audits and reviews of the audits and voter and ballot counts by each county’s canvass board. Even though election officials in Arapahoe County went through the same processes as others —and the Arapahoe County Republican Party Chair John Temple certified other stages in the election process — the Republican Party’s canvass board ...
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Plaintiffs Win $10 Million Settlement in CU Anschutz Case Over COVID Vaccine Mandate
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, Local

Plaintiffs Win $10 Million Settlement in CU Anschutz Case Over COVID Vaccine Mandate

By: John Ingold | The Colorado Sun The Thomas More Society sued the University of Colorado Anschutz in 2021 alleging that the university violated its plaintiffs’ religious freedom. The University of Colorado Anschutz will pay more than $10 million to settle a lawsuit brought by students and staff who sued in 2021 after being denied religious exemptions to the campus’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate, according to a group that represented the plaintiffs. CU Anschutz has also agreed to make policy changes, the Thomas More Society announced Monday. The group, which represents plaintiffs in religious liberty cases nationwide, called it one of the only cases in the country where plaintiffs have received money damages in a lawsuit over a COVID vaccination mandate. Th...
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