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Homeless camp cleared in Lakewood after years of complaints and media pressure
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Homeless camp cleared in Lakewood after years of complaints and media pressure

By Alliyah Sims | Fox31 LAKEWOOD, Colo. (KDVR) — After nearly two weeks of pushing for answers and two years of neighbors dealing with a growing homeless encampment at the 6th Avenue and Wadsworth Boulevard interchange in Lakewood, crews cleared the site Wednesday. Mounting trash, fires being started, needles found in neighbors’ backyards, and contamination in a waterway that feeds into the Platte River were all big concerns. Cleanup started around 9 a.m. on Wednesday and lasted about 8 hours. Brett Charbonneau, the neighbor who contacted FOX31, was amazed that there was finally some action. Charbonneau and his neighbor Bob Emulengracht were relieved after watching crews clear out the encampment site near their neighborhoods. “The first thing I want to say is thanks to ...
After years of controversy, Chimney Hollow Reservoir nears completion
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After years of controversy, Chimney Hollow Reservoir nears completion

By Seth Boster | Denver Gazette 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. Now, Chimney Hollow's dam is close to complete outside Loveland. Northern Water expects to finish construction and begin filling the reservoir this summer. And a recently published plan envisi...
Stabbing at Aurora middle school leaves one student hospitalized, another arrested
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Stabbing at Aurora middle school leaves one student hospitalized, another arrested

By Michael Braithwaite | Denver Gazette 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. The girl was transported to the hospital with injuries considered to be serious but currently not life-threatening, a spokesperson for Aurora police confirmed Wednesday afternoon. The other girl who stabbed her was arrested. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
Greeley to vote on future of new hockey stadium and entertainment district, suggested to be “regional hub” of Northern Colorado
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Greeley to vote on future of new hockey stadium and entertainment district, suggested to be “regional hub” of Northern Colorado

By Dillon Thomas | CBS Colorado The City of Greeley is looking to develop what some are calling a "regional hub" for Northern Colorado, and the project could come one step closer to reality on Tuesday night. Greeley's City Council will vote Tuesday night on whether or not to approve a predevelopment agreement that would move forward a proposal to build an arena in western Greeley. The proposal is largely driven by The Water Valley Company, which owns the minor league hockey team, the Colorado Eagles. The team currently plays in the Blue Arena in Loveland. Greeley City Manager Raymond Lee told CBS News Colorado that bringing an entertainment district to Greeley is important for many voters. "I think the citizens of Greeley have spoken and been very loud and clear that they want ...
Clear Creek County sheriff strives for change in his office after former deputy sentencing
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Clear Creek County sheriff strives for change in his office after former deputy sentencing

By Nate Belt | Fox 31 News IDAHO SPRINGS, Colo. (KDVR) — Former Clear Creek County deputy Andrew Buen will spend the next three years behind bars, officially sentenced Monday morning after being convicted of criminally negligent homicide in the death of Christian Glass nearly three years ago. Clear Creek County Sheriff Matthew Harris says while they still have a ways to go, he’s confident his office is on the right track to making sure something like this doesn’t happen again thanks to many policy changes made since Glass’s death. “We as an organization understand the tragic nature of what happened,” said Harris. That’s why he said things needed to change in his office. “We issued over 200 brand new policies in the last year,” said Harris. Policies to better hold dep...
Coal-fired power plant in northwestern Colorado still set for 2028 closure despite Trump administration orders
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Coal-fired power plant in northwestern Colorado still set for 2028 closure despite Trump administration orders

By Mark Jaffe | The Colorado Sun The coal-fired Craig Station is still set to close in 2028 — even as the Trump administration is making a drive to keep coal units going — according to the operator’s electric resource plan filed with Colorado utility regulators on April 11. Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, which runs the plant, says in its preferred plan that the Craig Unit 1 will close by the end of this year and units 2 and 3 will be shuttered in 2028.  Battery storage and a natural gas-fired plant will be added in Moffat County as part of the plan. Three days before Tri-State filed its plan with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to expand production of “beautiful clean coal” a...
Former Colorado town clerk arrested for embezzling $47K in public funds
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Former Colorado town clerk arrested for embezzling $47K in public funds

By Sydney Isenberg | Denver7 HOT SULPHUR SPRINGS, Colo. — The former town clerk of Hot Sulphur Springs is accused of embezzling more than $47,000 in town funds during her tenure. Jessica Webb, 51, of Hot Sulphur Springs was arrested on Saturday for money laundering, theft, embezzlement of public property and first-degree official misconduct. She posted bond and was later released from the Grand County Jail. Court documents show that Webb became Hot Sulphur Springs' town clerk on February 21, 2019, and was fired in August 2023. The investigation began on Oct. 11, 2023, when Mayor Ray Tinkum brought concerns to the Grand County Sheriff's Office. Due to the complexity of the investigation, detectives requested help from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) High Tech Crime Un...
Niwot residents urge Boulder County to pause minimum wage ordinance harming small businesses
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Niwot residents urge Boulder County to pause minimum wage ordinance harming small businesses

By Peggy B. Graham | Left Hand Valley Courier During the Boulder County Commissioners' public comment session on April 3, several Niwot residents addressed the commissioners with significant concerns about the detrimental effects of the current minimum wage ordinance on Niwot's small businesses. Ordinance 2023-4, which took effect on January 1, 2024, established the minimum wage for unincorporated Boulder County at $16.57 per hour this year, $1.76 higher than the neighboring incorporated towns and cities, except Boulder, which is still lower than the county ordinance. The ordinance mandates annual increases, reaching $25 per hour by 2030, and then further adjusting in accordance with the Consumer Price Index. Notably, most larger municipalities within...
Perceptions of downtown Denver plummet despite $1.2B in investment
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Perceptions of downtown Denver plummet despite $1.2B in investment

By Bernadette Berdychowski | Denver Gazette 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 grew more unfavorable in 2024, according to a preview of a Gensler report shown at the State of Downtown Denver breakfast event by the Downtown Denver Partnership held on Thursday. Gensler surveyed 500 people in Denver — from local visitors to residents and office workers — between September and October to gauge how downtowns across the country are performing. The full report hasn’t been released and is scheduled to come o...
Books, ballgames and bold leadership: Cherry Creek Republican Women tackle hot topics
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Books, ballgames and bold leadership: Cherry Creek Republican Women tackle hot topics

RMV Staff | RMV NE CO Newsroom, Rocky Mountain Voice The Cherry Creek Republican Women (CCRW) held their general meeting and luncheon on April 8 in Centennial. Attendees heard from Elizabeth School District Superintendent Dan Snowberger and Centennial Mayor Stephanie Piko, who each addressed pressing issues facing schools and cities across Colorado. Superintendent Snowberger on book policy dispute Snowberger noted that the board' s decision to remove the books stemmed from concerns regarding explicit content and age appropriateness, all in alignment with community values. He reassured attendees that the district is committed to upholding its policies and addressing parental concerns, and the appeal to a federal judge' s order to return the books to the library shelves. On April...