Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Aurora

UCHealth Under Fire After Inspectors Discover Contaminated Surgical Equipment
The Independent, Approved, Local

UCHealth Under Fire After Inspectors Discover Contaminated Surgical Equipment

By: Erin Keller | The Independent The hospital had to take drastic steps after the incident State inspectors have revealed that UCHealth’s University of Colorado Hospital’s week-long shutdown of nonemergency surgeries came after they found dozens of contaminated surgical instruments caked with dried blood and tissue around the facility. In July, inspectors uncovered a massive backlog of uncleaned tools, prompting the hospital to halt all nonemergency surgeries from July 16 to July 25 while safety violations were addressed. The inspection, triggered by a formal complaint, found 17 stainless steel carts in the hospital’s sterile processing department (SPD) bearing between 11 and 30 trays of dirty surgical instruments each. Additional carts we...
Aurora Pushes Back on Polis’ Power Play Over Local Housing
The Denver Gazette, Approved, Commentary, Local

Aurora Pushes Back on Polis’ Power Play Over Local Housing

By: Michael A. Hancock | Commentary, The Denver Gazette Aurora has experienced rapid growth in recent decades. With new neighborhoods, transit corridors and shifting demographics come tough land-use choices: where to build housing, protect open space, manage traffic, and preserve neighborhood character. We understand our communities better than distant state bureaucrats ever could. That’s what home rule is meant to guarantee. But today, Gov. Jared Polis and the Colorado legislature are challenging that guarantee – not with persuasion, but with edicts and threats of financial punishment. Aurora can’t stand silent. Colorado’s Constitution enshrines home rule in Article XX, Section 6, which grants municipalities the right to govern “matters of local concern,” including planning, zoni...
Aurora Voters Face Packed Ballot with Proposal for New Downtown Authority
Complete Colorado, Approved, Local

Aurora Voters Face Packed Ballot with Proposal for New Downtown Authority

By Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado AURORA–Voters in the the City of Aurora will decide on multiple charter amendments and city council seats this November, along with a referred measure asking residents to create a new tax-financed Downtown Development Authority (DDA). Aurora, which borders Denver to the east, is Colorado’s third most populous city at a little over 414,000 residents, made up of portions of Arapahoe, Adams and Douglas counties.    The DDA is a government entity whose purpose is to revitalize the downtown-area including businesses, infrastructure, and events. A governing board appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the city council would include one council member and 4-10 residents within the district.   Aurora City Council approv...
No Signatures, No Recall: Aurora DA Stays in Office
kdvr.com, Approved, Local

No Signatures, No Recall: Aurora DA Stays in Office

By Heather Willard | KDVR Fox31 DENVER (KDVR) — An effort to recall a Colorado district attorney whose office prosecuted an attempted kidnapping case at an elementary school that ended with the suspect walking free due to competency issues has failed. The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office and 18th Judicial District Attorney Amy Padden both confirmed that as of Tuesday night’s deadline, no signatures on the petition to recall Padden from office had been turned in. The petition needed 75,875 registered Arapahoe County voters to trigger the recall election, Padden said. In July, Aurora City Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky announced she was launching a campaign to try and remove Padden from office after registered sex offender Carmen Galligan walked free. Galligan was charged in con...
Teen arrested after violent attack leaves Aurora youth injured
Fox31, Approved, Local

Teen arrested after violent attack leaves Aurora youth injured

By Jacob Factor | Fox 31 DENVER (KDVR) — A 15-year-old who attends Lester Arnold High School was arrested after he allegedly “viciously and randomly” attacked an Adams City High School student, Commerce City police said. Police in a press release Monday morning said the “violent attack” happened off school grounds on Thursday. The alleged attacker followed the victim to the 7400 block of Quebec Street, a few blocks from both schools, where the assault happened. “The victim courageously fought off the attacker but sustained serious injuries in the process,” police said. The suspect then left the scene on foot. Adams County School District 14 provided video surveillance of the suspect approaching the victim and fleeing the scene, and school staff immediately recognized the sus...
Former sheriff: Aurora officers faced dangerous chaos over weekend
Fox31, Approved, Local

Former sheriff: Aurora officers faced dangerous chaos over weekend

By: Gabrielle Franklin | FOX31 Denver AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) — Video of an officer-involved shooting was taken by someone nearby a traffic stop at the intersection of Interstate 225 and 6th Street in Aurora, Saturday night.   Rajon Belt, 37, is seen interacting with a police officer after getting out of a car that he allegedly crashed into two other vehicles during a DUI enforcement stop. “I noticed that it was a lot of chaos there because there was a wrecked car and there was some carnage in the road, and I also noticed that this suspect was continuously aggressive,” former Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock said. Police said there was a gun on the scene, and that Belt appeared to be walking toward it before turning to the officer. Police said Belt did not have ...
Aurora lands in top 5 worst-driving cities in America report
kdvr.com, Approved, Local

Aurora lands in top 5 worst-driving cities in America report

By Brooke Williams | DENVER (KDVR) DENVER (KDVR) — A recent report ranked Aurora among the top five cities with the worst drivers in the United States, and Colorado as a whole ranked in the top three states with the worst road rage. The report by finance website ConsumerAffairs looked into traffic fatality data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The administration estimates that 39,345 people were killed in crashes across the country last year, which is slightly down from 2023 and is the first time that the total fatalities have been below 40,000 since 2020. Some areas contributed to those deaths more than others, including Denver’s sister city, Aurora. The report ranked Aurora, Colorado, as the No. 4 state for the worst drivers in the nation....
DHS: Venezuelan gang member charged in Aurora killing entered U.S. illegally in 2023
Border Hawk, Approved, Local

DHS: Venezuelan gang member charged in Aurora killing entered U.S. illegally in 2023

By BorderHawkNews | BorderHawkNews An illegal alien with ties to Tren de Aragua who was released into the U.S. by the Biden regime has been charged with shooting his own wife and killing his sister-in-law in Colorado this week, according to authorities. The horrifying incident unfolded at around 3 a.m. on Sunday morning in Aurora, a Denver suburb flooded with Venezuelan gangbangers in recent years. Investigators believe Michel Jordan Castellano Fonseca, 30, became embroiled in a violent domestic dispute at an apartment before threatening to return with a firearm. Castellano Fonseca later forced his way back into the residence and shot two women believed to be his 30-year-old wife and her 26-year-old sister-in-law, the Aurora Police Department says. Five childr...
Six cities sue Colorado over zoning and parking laws as state stays silent
State, Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

Six cities sue Colorado over zoning and parking laws as state stays silent

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice “As of this writing we have not heard back from the State.” That’s how Greenwood Village Mayor George Lantz summed up the status of a lawsuit the six Front Range cities filed in May against the state of Colorado, Gov. Jared Polis, the Department of Local Affairs and its executive director, Maria De Cambra. The case targets two 2024 laws—HB 24-1313 and HB 24-1304—that, according to the cities, trample Colorado’s constitutional guarantee of Home Rule. The mayors say the fight is about constitutional rights, not political turf wars. “Contrary to some criticisms, the current fight is not based on party politics… Our residents deserve to have a voice about land use in their own communities and neighborhoods,” they wrote in a joint open July 14 let...
UCHealth cuts surgeries after sterilization staffing drops below safe levels
Becker's Hospital Review, Approved, Local

UCHealth cuts surgeries after sterilization staffing drops below safe levels

By Erica Carbajal | Becker's Hospital Review UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora is postponing some elective surgery cases amid staffing issues within its sterile processing department.  The department is currently operating at reduced capacity, a UCHealth spokesperson said in a statement shared with Becker’s.  “Until the SPD is at full capacity, some elective cases will be postponed to ensure we have the instruments needed to provide all urgent and emergent surgeries and procedures,” the statement said.  The hospital said it has increased staffing in the department, and sterilization levels are beginning to return to normal. “We sincerely apologize to the patients impacted by the elective case postponements, and we will reschedule their ca...