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Mesa County authorities arrest Caprock Academy employee for sexual exploitation of child charges
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KJCT-TV ABC 8, Approved, Local

Mesa County authorities arrest Caprock Academy employee for sexual exploitation of child charges

By Kacie Sinton | KJCT News 8 GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KJCT) - An employee of Caprock Academy is behind bars at the Mesa County Jail today after being arrested on the charge of sexual exploitation of a child. 45-year-old Shane Chatfield was reported to police on September 11, when the Grand Junction Police Department was informed that an adult man had allegedly sent inappropriate text messages to another adult man who had been pretending to be a child. Chatfield had also allegedly tried to arrange a meet-up, according to authorities. Chatfield appeared in custody over Zoom on September 17. The judge ordered a cash-only bond of $20,000. In addition to the bond, Chatfield is not allowed to use social media or dating apps or contact minors, and his electronic usage will be monitored. ...
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Grand Junction says no to climate strings: City declines Urban Trails grant
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The Business Times, Approved, Local

Grand Junction says no to climate strings: City declines Urban Trails grant

By Brandon Leuallen | The Business Times Despite support from the Urban Trails Committee, the City of Grand Junction confirmed it is not pursuing a state-run climate grant that could have required new local policies, including a potential “vehicle climate fee.” At its July 9 meeting, the Urban Trails Committee, chaired by City of Grand Junction Mobility Coordinator Henry Brown, listed “support for Local IMPACT Accelerators grant” as its No. 1 action item. The grant is funded through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program and administered by the Colorado Energy Office. The grant encourages local governments to adopt “transformative” policies that go beyond current state standards in areas such as transportation, building codes, l...
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Grand Junction Zip Line Project Fizzles Despite Lavish Public Subsidies
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Local, Approved, The Business Times

Grand Junction Zip Line Project Fizzles Despite Lavish Public Subsidies

By Brandon Leuallen | The Business Times The Las Colonias Riverfront Zip Adventures zip line, which was launched after initial delays in August 2023, then shut down partway through 2024, remains inactive in 2025. As an anchor business for the $30 million Riverfront development, Bonsai Design, a company that designs aerial-adventure courses and owns the zip line, secured $1.69 million in taxpayer-funded incentives, including payment of development fees, impact fees, land-lease discounts, property-tax breaks and grant support. Bonsai also was entrusted with operating the zip line, adding jobs and recruiting other outdoor businesses to fill the park. The online bookings page for the zip line states: “We are closed for the remainder of 2024. Thanks for a great season and we hope to se...
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Grand Junction quietly pursued $8.45M pedestrian bridge as auto dealer faced eminent domain
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The Business Times, Approved, Local

Grand Junction quietly pursued $8.45M pedestrian bridge as auto dealer faced eminent domain

By Brandon Leuallen | The Business Times Why was GJ Auto Sales selected as the site for the Colorado Department of Transportation’s Downtown Grand Junction Mobility Hub when other nearby options existed, including city and county-owned land? Neither CDOT nor the City of Grand Junction has answered that question, despite multiple requests by The Business Times. However, city records, planning documents, and emails reveal a longer story, one involving years of redevelopment planning, conceptual drawings, and a vision for linking downtown to Dos Rios via a pedestrian bridge and the 2nd Street Promenade.  City Maps and Early Planning City maps appearing to date from before 2021 show the GJ Auto Sales property — the future site of the mobility hub — being converted into park...
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Grand Junction officials question costs and business revenue loss from bike lane project
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The Business Times, Approved, Local

Grand Junction officials question costs and business revenue loss from bike lane project

By Brandon Leuallen | The Business Times Plans to finalize protected bike lanes on Fourth and Fifth Streets this summer could cost the City of Grand Junction additional money in curb cut work and remove more downtown parking spaces. That raises a broader conversation about the cost of implementation and the city’s downtown parking system, including the financial viability of potential changes. Curb Cuts and Parking Losses The vote to revert to two lanes with a protected bike lane may require cutting curbs at intersections where there is currently not enough space to fit both vehicle lanes and the bike lane. This cost was not included in the May 29 special meeting when the City Council reversed a prior decision to end the pilot project. Councilmember Anna Stout asked, “So ...
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State transportation project shutters 22-year-old Grand Junction auto sales business via eminent domain
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Approved, Local, The Business Times

State transportation project shutters 22-year-old Grand Junction auto sales business via eminent domain

By Brandon Leuallen | The Business Times For 22 years, GJ Auto Sales was a fixture in the Grand Junction community, a family-run business operated by Amber Colunga Martinez and Mike Martinez. But now, the lot at 320 S. First St. will be transformed into a state-led mobility hub, part of Colorado’s climate-focused transportation plan. Selling the property to the state of Colorado, the City of Grand Junction and Mesa County due to impending eminent domain has left the couple without enough to financially open up again in a viable location. The Martinezes said they first learned of the Colorado Department of Transportation’s plans not through official communication, but by reading a story in The Daily Sentinel. “We found out about it through the Sentinel posting an article about i...
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How will marijuana revenue shortfalls affect District 51?
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Approved, Local, The Business Times

How will marijuana revenue shortfalls affect District 51?

By The Business Times Amid reports that the city of Grand Junction’s marijuana revenue fell short of projections by $800,000 and that statewide marijuana revenue has declined by more than 41 percent since its peak in 2020-2021, The Business Times reached out to Melanie Trujillo, chief financial officer of Mesa County Valley School District 51, to understand how the shortfall might affect the district Trujillo said local marijuana-sales-tax revenue does not directly fund the district and addressed misconceptions about how much and how often marijuana revenue has been distributed to the district since legalization, despite public expectations. Since recreational marijuana was legalized, Trujillo noted funding from marijuana tax revenue has largely been supplemental, coming in the fo...
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This should be the easiest City Council vote you’ve ever cast
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Approved, Local, The Business Times

This should be the easiest City Council vote you’ve ever cast

By The Business Times Staff | The Business Times As we see it, the coming Grand Junction City Council election on April 8, 2025, provides some simple choices. Although in our fair city two problems tend to arise when it comes to our spring, City Council elections. The first is always most glaring and in the past few elections has probably caused the citizens the most problems. And that’s most folks registered to vote simply don’t vote in City Council elections, which lately has ended with a bunch of “do-gooder” progressives getting elected to our City Council. And while you can’t readily identify them by the (D) that should follow their names on the ballot – as City Council elections are “nonpartisan,” the second problem – you can tell them by the company they keep. After the p...
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