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Released, rearrested and now accused again: Roybal-Smith case ignites parole reform debate
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Top Stories, Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Released, rearrested and now accused again: Roybal-Smith case ignites parole reform debate

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Denver Police arrested 38-year-old Ricky Lee Roybal-Smith early Monday morning, July 1, following the death of his cellmate at the Downtown Denver Detention Center. The alleged homicide came just hours after Roybal-Smith was jailed on unrelated charges—less than a day after two Aurora stabbings. Roybal-Smith’s criminal history spans nearly two decades and includes convictions for assault, felony menacing, DUI-related vehicular assault, and obtaining controlled substances by fraud. He’s also faced repeated parole violations and multiple arrests involving weapons. Despite this record, he was granted early release in 2023. Denver Police said deputies found an unresponsive man in a shared jail cell around 2:15 a.m. Monday. Off...
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Polis’ $28M Capitol bridge project proposal advances with 8–4 vote from state advisory committee
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denvergazette.com, Approved, State

Polis’ $28M Capitol bridge project proposal advances with 8–4 vote from state advisory committee

By Marianne Goodland | Denver Gazette One of the major steps in approving a pedestrian walkway linking the state Capitol to Lincoln Park won an 8-4 vote on Thursday from a building advisory committee. The vote by the General Assembly's Capitol Building Advisory Committee followed testimony from neighborhoods groups and local residents opposed to the project, as well as from supporters, including a group advocating for people with disabilities.  One of those four "no" votes came from Sen. Matt Ball, D-Denver, whose Senate district includes the state Capitol. The pedestrian walkway bridge, which Gov. Jared Polis is pushing, could come at a cost of $28.5 million, according to an analysis by 9News. That's as much as 60% higher than the original forecast. Under the plan, the br...
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Who’s controlling the signs? Denver traffic boards hacked with anti-ICE F-bomb
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Westword, Approved, Local

Who’s controlling the signs? Denver traffic boards hacked with anti-ICE F-bomb

By Bennito L. Kelty | Westword "I know Denver is holding firm, but this was another f-word altogether." Denver drivers noticed a surprising message yesterday on electronic message boards near Broadway and Interstate 25: "Bring the Heat F*** ICE." The Denver Department of Transportation (DOTI) first noticed "the non-project related message" at 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 22, according to DOTI spokesperson Nancy Kuhn. The day the message went up, Denver's weather had started cooling down after a hot spell, setting up the clever jab at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the federal agency responsible for arrests and deportations. The message boards belong to a contractor working with DOTI to install safer ramps between Broadway and Interstate 25, Kuhn says, ...
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‘The last straw’: Residents sound alarm after Father’s Day murder rattles Denver’s Ballpark District
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Westword, Approved, Local

‘The last straw’: Residents sound alarm after Father’s Day murder rattles Denver’s Ballpark District

By Bennito L. Kelty | Westword Businesses and residents in Denver's Ballpark District around Coors Field worry that crime is worsening in their neighborhood. Business owners and residents in downtown Denver's Ballpark District want police and city officials to make their area safer after a shooting in the area on Father's Day left a 23-year-old man dead and witnesses traumatized. "Crime in this neighborhood is horrible," said Justin Lloyd, the owner of Star Bar at 2137 Larimer Street, during a community meeting on Wednesday, June 18. "In certain areas of town at certain points throughout the day, just put police back on the streets, and whether that's on foot, on a motorcycle, or on a bicycle or on a horse, or whatever, I think it would make a big difference."About thirt...
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$6 billion wish list, $800 million budget: Denver’s bond scramble is heating up
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Denverite, Local

$6 billion wish list, $800 million budget: Denver’s bond scramble is heating up

By Paolo Zialcita | Denverite Everyone wants a piece of the Vibrant Denver Bond pie. Denver has a rare opportunity to fund $800 million of capital projects in one fell swoop later this year — and everyone is clamoring for a piece of the pie.  If voters approve the measure this November the city will take out debt for a wide range of capital projects. But while $800 million may sound like a lot, it isn’t nearly enough to pay for everything city officials and residents want to build.  More than 220 projects appeared on an initial list the city is considering. Building all those projects would cost $6 billion, far more than what the city can afford. And whittling down the list hasn’t been easy.   The city’s cultural institutions — like the Boettcher Con...
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Downtown Denver businesses hit with hefty signage fines: “Just trying to keep this place going”
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DENVER7, Local

Downtown Denver businesses hit with hefty signage fines: “Just trying to keep this place going”

By Maggy Wolanske | Denver7 Denver7 heard the concerns from restaurant owners in downtown Denver after the city took action to enforce signage rules. DENVER — Vacant buildings and for lease signs fill Blake Street by the newly renovated 16th Street. Now, some businesses in the area are left without signage after they say the city recently cited the block to enforce the zoning code. A flag that once greeted customers outside Jovanina's Broken Italian is now taken down. It had been up for the past five years, with the owner, Jake Linzinmeir, explaining it helped with the busy construction in the area and brought awareness to the restaurant. "Flag was up. No problem. No comment. All of a sudden, we got cited, all of our neighbors got cited for the signage to various...
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Graffiti, assaults and street blockades: Denver ‘ICE Out’ protest leads to 17 arrests
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Approved, DENVER7, Local

Graffiti, assaults and street blockades: Denver ‘ICE Out’ protest leads to 17 arrests

By Allie Jennerjahn | Denver7 DENVER — 17 people were arrested during protests in Denver Tuesday. "I want to be present and stand up to what I think is really wrong," Bonnie Lloyd from Broomfield said. Crowds gathered to protest against federal immigration enforcement and ICE raids, joining protests across the country — namely Los Angeles — to call for an end to detentions and deportations. "I'm doing my part as an American citizen and someone who loves our country to do what I can," Ellen Keckler from Conifer said. Denver police released the number of arrests and what they were for: Graffiti (3) Interference with Police Authority (1) Unlawful Throwing of Projectiles, Failure to Obey a Lawful Order (1) Obstruction of Streets, Failure to Obey a Lawful Order (7) ...
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Denver City Council considering plan to fix voter disconnect in at-large races
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Approved, denvergazette.com, Local

Denver City Council considering plan to fix voter disconnect in at-large races

By Deborah Grigsby | Denver Gazette Citing concerns of voter confusion and wasted votes, five Denver City Council members are proposing the city change how it elects its two citywide at-large council seats by splitting them into two separate races. They say the move will also increase voter participation. Currently, the at-large members are elected on a single ballot, with the top two vote-getters declared the winners, District 2 Councilmember Kevin Flynn said. Every elected official in Denver, except for the at-large candidates, must be elected by greater than 50% of the vote, city officials said during Monday’s City Budget and Policy Committee meeting. However, since 1991, nearly a third of votes in the at-large races have been left blank, more than 12 times the amount of ...
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Denver Schools say lease-financing is lawful, critics say it skirts voter oversight
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Approved, denvergazette.com, Local

Denver Schools say lease-financing is lawful, critics say it skirts voter oversight

By Nicole C. Brambila | Denver Gazette In a motion to dismiss filed Friday in response to a lawsuit, Denver Public Schools (DPS) defended its use of lease-purchase agreements — a financing method critics say sidesteps required voter approval for public debt that could leave students without access to their schools if the district defaults. “This allegedly unlawful ‘scheme’ is actually a common and completely legal method of financing projects for public entities in a manner that is authorized by statute and has been repeatedly ratified by Colorado courts,” DPS officials said in their filing. As previously reported by The Denver Gazette, DPS has quietly taken on hundreds of millions of dollars in long-term debt through a controversial financing tactic that sidesteps the state’s con...
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Denver’s not just going to the dogs—it’s leaving children behind
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Approved, Local, Westword

Denver’s not just going to the dogs—it’s leaving children behind

By Thomas Mitchell | Westword About 50 percent of this city's residents have a dog. Only 20 percent have children under eighteen. Denver is no longer a cowtown. It's a dog city. Long known as a hub for livestock, Denver has corraled several more amenities over the years. Outdoor sports, craft beer, legal weed, live music and a wave of tech jobs have attracted travelers and transplants alike. But those who stay in this city must acknowledge its four-legged rulers, whether you own one or not. Around 50 percent of Denver's residents have a dog, with 68 percent reporting that they own at least one pet, according to a 2024 survey by the Colorado Polling Institute. In the same poll, just 20 percent of Denver residents said they had children under eighteen. Population n...
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