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Woman pleads guilty in Colorado Springs hate crime hoax
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American Faith, Approved, Local

Woman pleads guilty in Colorado Springs hate crime hoax

ByTamira Musgrave | American Faith A Colorado woman has pleaded guilty to a federal charge related to a 2023 hate crime hoax involving a burning cross and a defaced campaign sign. Deanna West, 38, admitted to maliciously conveying false information with a threat, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado. The incident, which took place on April 23, 2023, targeted a mayoral campaign sign for then-candidate Yemi Mobolade in Colorado Springs. West conspired with two others, Derrick Bernard Jr. and Ashley Blackcloud, both of whom have been indicted and are awaiting trial. Prosecutors say the three orchestrated the hoax by burning a cross near Mobolade’s campaign sign and later spreading false information about the event. Mobolade, originally f...
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Denver Arrest Warrant Raises Stakes for Controversial Aurora Property Manager
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Approved, Local, Westword

Denver Arrest Warrant Raises Stakes for Controversial Aurora Property Manager

By Bennito L. Kelty | Westword Called "out-of-state slumlords" by Aurora's mayor, the owners of CBZ Management are now wanted in Denver months after entering the public spotlight. The owners of CBZ Management, a controversial property management firm, have a warrant out for their arrests for failing to appear in Denver court on March 10, to resolve fines for property code violations. An arrest warrant issued by a Denver County judge raises the stakes for the Brooklyn-based property owners, who triggered a media storm in Aurora after they blamed the abysmal conditions at their apartment complexes on a violent Venezuelan gang takeover. The warrant was issued for Zev and Shmaryahu Baumgarten after the two failed to appear for a deposition hearing as the owners of CBZ Man...
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Taxed and voiceless: How a debt trap turned Meadows Metro District residents into an ATM for bondholders
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Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

Taxed and voiceless: How a debt trap turned Meadows Metro District residents into an ATM for bondholders

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Imagine paying a $200 tax each month for a community infrastructure project that was completed decades ago. To add insult to injury, consider being told that you’ll continue doing so for 100 years.  That’s the reality for approximately 20,000 property owners who reside in Meadows Metro District (MMD), Castle Rock's largest neighborhood in Douglas County. The MMD ‘limited tax’ general obligation bonds were issued in 1989 to finance infrastructure, including roads and sewer systems. The project’s initial price tag was $57 million. But residents have paid approximately $400 million, with a remaining debt of $600 million due to a negative amortization structure.  How did a ‘limited tax’ bond turn into a debt that...
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Mesa County Commissioner advocates for fair share of transportation dollars
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Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

Mesa County Commissioner advocates for fair share of transportation dollars

By Lindy Browning | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice With an ever shrinking budget, and an ever increasing demand for state money for road repairs and construction due to increasing population and use on the Western Slope, Mesa County Commissioner, Bobbie Daniels went to the state legislature to put a spotlight on the needs of western Colorado. Her testimony highlighted the growing disparity between urban and rural infrastructure funding and the critical need for investment in the roads that keep Colorado moving. Rural communities, which already face resource limitations, are disproportionately affected. Large-scale infrastructure projects in these areas rely heavily on state and federal funding. Yet, much of the transportation budget is allocated to specialized urban pro...
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New team tackles ‘crime and cleanliness’ near Coors Field with $1M budget ‘funded by a fee on property owners and private money’
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Approved, Denverite, Local

New team tackles ‘crime and cleanliness’ near Coors Field with $1M budget ‘funded by a fee on property owners and private money’

By Kyle Harris, Denverite A team of 18 unarmed ambassadors is starting all-day patrols of the neighborhood around Coors Field today. It’s part of an effort by a new community group to deter crime, offer services and clean up an area where baseball stadium crowds and thousands of residents mingle among many of the city's homeless facilities. The ambassadors will patrol dozens of blocks near the stadium from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week. The project is funded by the Ballpark District, a community organization that recently activated a seven-figure budget for services like this. “The focus is … crime prevention and trying to stay on top of the issues down here,” said Jamie Giellis, who works with Ballpark and other communities around the country as they organize and f...
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Does Denver’s ‘affordable’ housing goal align with today’s market needs? Experts weigh in
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Approved, denvergazette.com, Local

Does Denver’s ‘affordable’ housing goal align with today’s market needs? Experts weigh in

By Noah Festenstein | Denver Gazette As Denver pushes for more "affordable" housing, experts wonder if the city's approach is sustainable and question whether it aligns with today's market needs. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston's goal for 2025 to "preserve" or help in the development of more than 3,000 such units. Denver worked with developers last year to build 1,695 new units, preserve 649 existing ones and create 678 others through rental subsidies “to ensure affordability,” according to Department of Housing Stability (HOST) spokesperson Julia Marvin. “The challenge this year,” Marvin said, “lies in being creative with the funding we have. It’s important that we get creative in our solutions, both for funding and for execution.” READ FULL ARTICLE AT THE DENVER GAZETTE...
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Strip clubs Diamond Cabaret and Rick’s Cabaret sue Denver Labor over wage theft investigation
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Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Strip clubs Diamond Cabaret and Rick’s Cabaret sue Denver Labor over wage theft investigation

By Christa Swanson | CBS Colorado Two Denver strip clubs accused of widespread wage theft are suing Denver Labor after they were ordered to pay back millions to their employees. Diamond Cabaret Denver and Rick's Cabaret Denver have filed a lawsuit to stop Denver Labor from enforcing its order demanding the businesses pay back more than 200 employees of the strip clubs. They also requested a gag order against Denver Labor due to what they say is the "dissemination of falsehoods against the clubs." READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
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Judge to decide whether Twitter missed rent in spat with Boulder landlord
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Approved, Courthouse News Service, Local

Judge to decide whether Twitter missed rent in spat with Boulder landlord

By Amanda Pampuro  | Courthouse News Following five days of trial over a lease dispute between Twitter and a Colorado landlord, a Boulder judge requested the parties provide additional briefing before she determines who breached the agreement with the other. “If the rent was due on Dec. 1st, then Lot 2 prevails. If the rent was not due, X Corp. prevails,” summarized attorney Damien Zumbrennen on behalf of X, formerly known as Twitter. READ THE FULL STORY AT COURTHOUSE NEWS
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10 months after hailstorm closed it, Rep. Boebert is demanding reopening of Yuma post office
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Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

10 months after hailstorm closed it, Rep. Boebert is demanding reopening of Yuma post office

By Brian Porter | Rocky Mountain Voice On the Eastern Plains of Colorado, tornadic storms delivering high wind, hail and damage can be commonplace. Property can be damaged by multiple storms a year. While Adams and Weld counties are known to be the state's top targets for tornadoes, all of Eastern Colorado sits within "Tornado Alley," so coined by U.S. Air Force meteorologists. One of those storms about 10 months ago delivered large hail to Yuma, Colo., and resulted in the closure of the local post office. Some in Yuma recall hail being larger than a baseball and up to the size of a softball. U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Windsor, is pleading to get the post office reopened. "I am writing to address the ongoing closure of the Yuma Post Office, which has remainedinoperable due ...
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Former City Councilman argues for greater transparency in Grand Junction’s election filing process
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Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

Former City Councilman argues for greater transparency in Grand Junction’s election filing process

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Three days. That’s all the time a Grand Junction resident has to challenge a candidate’s petition. But there’s one problem: the public doesn’t even know when the clock starts ticking. The City of Grand Junction claims that residents can challenge election petitions, yet the necessary documents aren’t posted publicly and CORA requests take as long as the objection window itself.  Former Grand Junction City Councilman Kraig Andrews learned this firsthand after reading a Rocky Mountain Voice article that included redacted candidate filing petitions.  With his experience in local government and an eye for detail, Andrews noticed discrepancies that raised concerns about how the city reviews and certifies election ...
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