Rocky Mountain Voice

Menu

The Colorado Sun

The wine and brownies are gone: 50 women trapped on ski bus for 16 hours — and counting — after major Colorado snowstorm
No Comments
Approved, The Colorado Sun, Western Slope

The wine and brownies are gone: 50 women trapped on ski bus for 16 hours — and counting — after major Colorado snowstorm

By Jennifer Brown | Colorado Sun Amassive snowstorm that buried Colorado and shut down Interstate 70 stranded travelers overnight, including a ski bus filled with 50 women who were out of water and food after being stuck 16 hours and counting.  “We’re in good spirits,” Mary Wagner, one of the skiers on the bus, told The Colorado Sun on Thursday morning. “But we’re done now.”  For years, the women, many retired or moms with kids in school, have taken the ski bus on Wednesdays. This week, they spent the day at Vail, then got back on the bus at 3:30 p.m. for the ride home. Within 10 minutes, as the snow started to fall, they were stopped on Vail Pass because of a stalled car. When they were able to move again, the uphill climb overheated the transmission on the bus, so they...
Read More
Lauren Boebert won’t pursue special election nomination to replace Ken Buck after his abrupt resignation
No Comments
Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Lauren Boebert won’t pursue special election nomination to replace Ken Buck after his abrupt resignation

Boebert is still running, however, in the Republican primary to be the GOP nominee for the November election in the 4th Congressional District By Jesse Paul | Colorado Sun U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert said Wednesday that she will not pursue the Republican special election nomination to replace U.S. Rep. Ken Buck in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District after he departs Congress at the end of next week.  Boebert is still running, however, in the Republican primary to be the GOP nominee for the November election in the 4th District. In a written statement, Boebert called Buck’s resignation “a swampy backroom deal to try to rig an election” for her opponents. “Forcing an unnecessary special election on the same day as the primary election will confuse voters, result in a lame duck ...
Read More
Colorado rental car fee hike would raise money for Front Range and mountain passenger rail systems
No Comments
Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado rental car fee hike would raise money for Front Range and mountain passenger rail systems

By Jesse Paul | Colorado Sun Colorado’s state-imposed rental car fee would increase by as much as $3 per day under a soon-to-be-introduced bill in the legislature aimed at attracting federal investment in proposed Front Range and mountain passenger train systems. The fee increase would generate an estimated $50 million in revenue annually, money that would be used as a match to secure federal grants. Lawmakers are specifically hoping for a share of the $66 billion Congress set aside in 2021 for rail development in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.  “We have a short window to pull down this federal infrastructure money,” said Senate President Steve Fenberg, a Boulder Democrat and the lead sponsor of the forthcoming bill. “I really want to make sure Colorado...
Read More
1,400 patients of a Western Slope clinic still struggle to find care a month after its abrupt closure
No Comments
Approved, The Colorado Sun, Western Slope

1,400 patients of a Western Slope clinic still struggle to find care a month after its abrupt closure

By Tatiana Flowers | Colorado Sun Former clients of a Delta-based clinic that shut down early last month are still looking for mental and physical health care on the rural Western Slope. Sixty people were referred to Axis Health System last month and one former client said she has found better health care options since Integrated Insight Community Care closed last month.  But some of the 1,400 other clients said they fear they’re facing a crisis, because there are too few mental and physical health care providers available in their area who take Medicaid, and can care for people with complex and specialized needs. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
Read More
6 important things to know about Denver’s migrant crisis
No Comments
Approved, Denver Metro, The Colorado Sun

6 important things to know about Denver’s migrant crisis

By Jennifer Brown | Colorado Sun Almost 40,000 migrants have come to Denver in the past 15 months, a number that’s become hard to comprehend.  “To put that in context, that’s Coors Field on a Saturday night in July when the Dodgers are in town,” said Jon Ewing, spokesman for Denver Human Services, during this week’s Colorado Sun virtual event on the migrant crisis. “You look to your left, you look to your right, up and down, and almost every seat is full. That’s the number of people that we’ve cared for over the last year.” Here’s what you should know about how Denver is handling all this and what’s in store longer term. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN https://youtu.be/EzQCnkeZkEk?si=mVooQJ7q54CYoo1V
Read More
Ken Buck announces he will leave Congress on March 22, scrambling race to replace him that includes Lauren Boebert
No Comments
Approved, National, The Colorado Sun

Ken Buck announces he will leave Congress on March 22, scrambling race to replace him that includes Lauren Boebert

By Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun U.S. Rep. Ken Buck will leave Congress on March 22, the Windsor Republican announced Tuesday in a decision that’s sure to scramble the already highly contentious and competitive race to replace him that includes Lauren Boebert. “It has been an honor to serve the people of Colorado’s 4th District in Congress for the past nine years,” Buck said in a written statement. “I want to thank them for their support and encouragement throughout the years. Today, I am announcing that I will depart Congress at the end of next week. I look forward to staying involved in our political process, as well as spending more time in Colorado and with my family.” Buck, who was already planning to retire after his current term ends in January 2025, didn’t p...
Read More
Polis’ environmental justice plans are in limbo at the Colorado state Capitol. Here’s why.
No Comments
Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Polis’ environmental justice plans are in limbo at the Colorado state Capitol. Here’s why.

By Brian Eason | Colorado Sun Gov. Jared Polis’ plans to bolster pollution enforcement in disadvantaged communities are in limbo after the Joint Budget Committee earlier this month voted down the administration’s request for eight new employees. In rejecting the $900,000 request for the 2024-25 budget year, which starts July 1, the JBC sided with a recommendation from its staff that raised questions about the Department of Public Health and Environment’s commitment to meeting its own goals. At first glance, the preliminary vote fit a recent pattern of Democratic lawmakers pushing the administration further to the left on environmental justice issues than it’s willing to go. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
Read More
Former CBI scientist intentionally manipulated data, casting doubt on 652 cases, investigation reveals
No Comments
Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Former CBI scientist intentionally manipulated data, casting doubt on 652 cases, investigation reveals

By Olivia Prentzel | Colorado Sun Aformer forensic scientist intentionally manipulated DNA evidence during her 29-year career at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, casting doubt on at least 652 criminal cases she handled, including some of the most high-profile trials, according to investigation findings released by the agency Friday. That number could grow as outside investigators continue to review DNA testing done by Yvonne “Missy” Woods, after a probe revealed she manipulated data in the testing process and in some cases, posted incomplete test results, in the cases she handled between 2008 and 2023. The discovery is putting all of Woods’ work into question and CBI is also looking at her work dating to 1994, when she started working for CBI. The agency launched the investig...
Read More
How a friend’s death turned Colorado teens into anti-overdose activists
No Comments
Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

How a friend’s death turned Colorado teens into anti-overdose activists

By Rae Ellen Bichell | Colorado Sun Gavinn McKinney loved Nike shoes, fireworks, and sushi. He was studying Potawatomi, one of the languages of his Native American heritage. He loved holding his niece and smelling her baby smell. On his 15th birthday, the Durango teen spent a cold December afternoon chopping wood to help neighbors who couldn’t afford to heat their homes. McKinney almost made it to his 16th birthday. He died of fentanyl poisoning at a friend’s house in December 2021. His friends say it was the first time he tried hard drugs. The memorial service was so packed people had to stand outside the funeral home. Now, his peers are trying to cement their friend’s legacy in state law. They recently testified to state lawmakers in support of House Bill 1003, a piece of legisl...
Read More
Pueblo’s new Fuel & Iron food hall accused in lawsuit of shorting its builders as construction lagged, costs soared
No Comments
Approved, Southern Colorado, The Colorado Sun

Pueblo’s new Fuel & Iron food hall accused in lawsuit of shorting its builders as construction lagged, costs soared

By Jennifer Brown and Tamara Chuang | Colorado Sun One of the coolest endeavors to open in Pueblo in recent years is tangled up in a court battle after being accused of not paying its builders for the full cost of the project.  Fuel & Iron, the historic hardware store transformed into affordable housing and a trendy food hall where visitors can find cocktails and beer, pizza and fried chicken, opened in April. It was sued in May, its contractor claiming it was shorted more than $2.4 million.  The dispute is a black eye on a project heralded as the perfect mix of private investment and public dollars, a $16 million plan cobbled together from 17 sources, including grants and local, state and federal government investments. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
Read More