Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Colorado News

Colorado Medicaid Freezes Payments to Home Health Agency Facing Fraud Investigation
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Medicaid Freezes Payments to Home Health Agency Facing Fraud Investigation

By: David Migoya | Colorado Politics The agency overseeing Colorado’s federal Medicaid program has suspended an Aurora home-health agency that is the focus of an investigation into an enterprise that lured dozens of homeless people with promises of free housing and cash and reaped tens of millions of dollars in Medicaid reimbursements. Officials said it has stopped paying Medicaid claims filed by On Going Home Health Care pending the outcome of its inquiry into “The Program,” an elaborate and intertwined confederation of businesses that provided shelter, money and prescriptions to homeless participants in return for billing the federal program for administering the drugs. The Program was the center of a Denver Gazette investigation last month that exposed how On Going ...
Ex Jeffco Schools Security Guard Faces Dozens of Child Sex Abuse and Exploitation Charges
The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Ex Jeffco Schools Security Guard Faces Dozens of Child Sex Abuse and Exploitation Charges

By Matt Kyle | The Denver Gazette A former security guard for Jeffco Public Schools was arrested Monday over charges of child sexual abuse. Brian C. Richie, 67, was arrested by Longmont police and booked into the Boulder County jail. He faces several charges, including sexual assault of a child by a person in a position of trust, 12 counts of sexual exploitation of a child by possessing videos, 16 counts of sexual exploitation of a child by possessing photos, invasion of privacy for sexual gratification of a person under 15 and invasion of privacy for sexual gratification, according to the jail log and Richie’s arrest affidavit. Richie’s LinkedIn and Facebook pages showed he was employed by Jeffco as a “patrol sergeant” from April 2015 to February 2026, when he ...
Colorado’s July Laws Reshape Firearm Sales and Wildfire Insurance Rules
kdvr.com, Approved, State

Colorado’s July Laws Reshape Firearm Sales and Wildfire Insurance Rules

By Maddie Rhodes | KDVR DENVER (KDVR) — Several Colorado laws are set to go into effect starting in July. While Colorado laws get passed all the time, the effective date is sometimes delayed to make sure people have time to comply with the law before there are penalties. Usually, several laws go into effect in January at the start of the year and in July, just past the halfway point of the year. In January, laws surrounding gun show requirements and deceptive pricing practices went into effect. Now, laws including the sale of firearm ammunition and property insurance policies are going into effect on July 1. Colorado laws going into effect Here are some of the laws going into effect: New requirements for sale of firearm ammunition House...
Colorado Seniors Feel Heat as Xcel Seeks Double-Digit Rate Increase
DENVER7, Approved, State

Colorado Seniors Feel Heat as Xcel Seeks Double-Digit Rate Increase

By: Maggie Bryan | Denver7 Xcel Energy is proposing electric and gas rate increases that would raise the average customer's bill by about 10% as early as August. DENVER — Some Coloradans are facing tough decisions as they try to stay cool during this week's heat wave, especially those on fixed incomes. Jimmy Cano and his wife, who live in Aurora, received a free portable air conditioning unit Tuesday night thanks to local nonprofit Bright Leaf, an organization that provides food assistance and other resources for seniors in the City and County of Denver. "Usually right at this time, I would probably be sitting here dripping sweat," Cano said. He said the portable AC unit has been a game changer for them as their home does not have a central AC system. B...
Questions Grow Over Weiser’s Role in Boulder Climate Lawsuit
Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Questions Grow Over Weiser’s Role in Boulder Climate Lawsuit

By Kyle Kohli | Complete Colorado For years, City and County of Boulder officials have defended their ongoing climate lawsuit against energy companies by pointing to its outside counsel arrangement, where lawyers work on a contingency fee agreement along with repeated assurances that local taxpayers would not be paying for the arrangement. However, new comments from Boulder District Attorney and Democrat state attorney general candidate Michael Dougherty raise serious questions about whether Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser – and potentially Colorado taxpayers – helped support that legal operation from behind the scenes. If so, it would represent a clear flip flop from Weiser, who has long voiced skepticism about the legal merits o...
DU Restructures as Enrollment Falls 19 Percent From Pandemic Peak
The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

DU Restructures as Enrollment Falls 19 Percent From Pandemic Peak

By Nicole C. Brambila | The Denver Gazette Odifure Udegbe walked the stage Friday to chorus of whoops and hollers as he received his Master’s in Science degree from the University of Denver. Originally from Nigeria, Udegbe said he enrolled at DU to make himself more competitive in a tough job market. “I think whoever is going to take a chance on me has everything to win,” Udegbe said. The new grad was among the more than 3,400 undergrad and graduate students who accepted their diplomas last weekend at DU — marking what Provost Elizabeth Loboa called the end of the university’s pandemic-era enrollment boom. Peaking at 14,130 students in the fall of 2021, DU enrollment has declined for four consecutive years, falling to 11,499 students in 2025, according to...
Roan Plateau Acreage Included In Potential December Oil and Gas Lease Auction
Grand Junction Sentinel, Approved, Local

Roan Plateau Acreage Included In Potential December Oil and Gas Lease Auction

By: Dan West | Grand Junction Daily Sentinel This screenshot shows acreage on the Roan Plateau being considered by the Bureau of Land Management for a December lease sale.Source: BLM This week, the Bureau of Land Management opened a 30-day public scoping period on a proposed oil and gas lease sale of up to 126,744 acres, including acreage on the Roan Plateau between De Beque and Rifle. The BLM is seeking public input on 114 oil and gas parcels in Colorado that could be included in a December 2026 lease sale. Several parcels included are on the Roan Plateau north of Parachute, an area that has been the focus of past legal battles over oil and gas development. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT GRAND JUNCTION DAILY SENTINEL
Suspect Arrested in Alleged Sexual Assault of 13-Year-Old Just Three Hours After Release
CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Suspect Arrested in Alleged Sexual Assault of 13-Year-Old Just Three Hours After Release

By Christa Swanson | CBS Colorado A man in northeast Colorado was arrested after police say he lured a 13-year-old into an alley and sexually assaulted the child, just hours after he was released from jail. The Fort Morgan Police Department says he has a history of arrests involving sex crime investigations. The most recent arrest stems from an incident on June 9 after a 13-year-old called 911. Investigators determined that 39-year-old Abdikadir Abade had lured the teen into an alley, picked them up and carried them behind a dumpster, then sexually assaulted them. Officers arrested him shortly after the assault. He is facing charges of second-degree kidnapping, sexual assault on a child, enticement of a child and harassment in connection with this investigation. ...
Aurora ICE Facility Operator Says Colorado Overstepped Authority With New ICE Inspection Law
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Aurora ICE Facility Operator Says Colorado Overstepped Authority With New ICE Inspection Law

By: Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics The private prison company that operates the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement center in Aurora has filed a lawsuit against Colorado to stop the enforcement of a new law requiring additional health and safety inspections of immigration detention facilities. The lawsuit from Geo Group, filed Monday in Denver District Court, lists Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser as the plaintiff, along with Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment executive director Jill Hunsaker Ryan, the department’s environmental health and sustainability director Jeff Lawrence, and Adams County Health Department executive director Kelly Weidenbach. Earlier this year, the Adams County Health Department conducted an on-site investigatio...
Denver Schools Approve Full-Day Cell Phone Ban Beginning Next Year
DENVER7, Approved, Local

Denver Schools Approve Full-Day Cell Phone Ban Beginning Next Year

By: Maggie Bryan | Denver7 Denver Public Schools adopted a new policy banning student use of cell phones and other personal communication devices during school hours. DENVER — Denver Public Schools will ban student cell phones and other communication devices for the entire school day starting next school year, after the DPS Board of Education voted unanimously to adopt the new policy Monday night. The ban covers the use of cell phones, smart or electronic watches, wireless earbuds, personal tablets, laptops, and any other personally owned portable electronic communication devices. The policy was drafted in response to a state law requiring school districts to implement a policy by July 1 concerning student device use during the school day. A DPS survey sent to...

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