Rocky Mountain Voice

Menu

Tag: Mesa County

Mesa County Sues Polis and Weiser Over ICE Detainment Fallout
No Comments
Local, Approved, CBS News

Mesa County Sues Polis and Weiser Over ICE Detainment Fallout

By Jennifer McRae and Anna Alejo | CBS News The sheriff of Mesa County in Western Colorado has filed a counter-lawsuit against Gov. Jared Polis and Attorney General Phil Weiser after the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainment of a 19-year-old Utah college student following a traffic stop earlier this summer. She was detained by ICE in Aurora for 15 days. Mesa County Sheriff Todd Rowell, Mesa County Undersheriff Matthew King, and Mesa County Sheriff's Office Investigations and Special Teams Captain Curtis Brammer are plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Rowell et al. v. Weiser et al., which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado on Aug. 7. They claim state immigration law is too vague. Lawrence Pacheco, spokesman for the Colorado Attorney General's Office, ...
Read More
Colorado’s Top Lawyer Is Breaking the Law He Swore to Uphold
No Comments
Fox News, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado’s Top Lawyer Is Breaking the Law He Swore to Uphold

By Hans A. von Spakovsky | Commentary, Fox News Mesa County sheriff removes two deputies from drug task force over information sharing with ICE. By suing Mesa County Deputy Sheriff Alexander Zwink for sharing information about an illegal alien with federal authorities, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser is blatantly violating federal law. The Justice Department has already filed a lawsuit to go after the state law he was enforcing, which violates a specific provision of federal immigration law and the U.S. Constitution. Not only should that state law be declared null and void by a federal court, but the two Colorado deputies and their supervisors who’ve been disciplined for this should be immediately reinstated and commended for their work. All of this arises out of Zwink...
Read More
VanWinkle Ranch Vows to Rebuild and Stay Put After Wildfire
No Comments
Local, Approved, The Daily Sentinel

VanWinkle Ranch Vows to Rebuild and Stay Put After Wildfire

By Jace DiCola | The Daily Sentinel Less than two weeks ago, Colorado Politics reported that the VanWinkle family, known for their local cattle ranch and statewide agricultural advocacy, was considering selling their operation. VanWinkle Ranch co-owner Janie Van-Winkle told The Daily Sentinel this week that a full exit from the industry was never a consideration. Rather, the family was considering a move to more “ag-friendly” states, like Kansas or Nebraska. Then, the Turner Gulch Fire sparked. Just a few days after, it spread onto nearly half of the VanWinkle’s land leased through the U.S. Forest Service — a 39,000-acre parcel the family has cared for since Van-Winkle’s great-grandfather.“ The fire has made us realize that we need to be here, and we need to be a part of puttin...
Read More
Daniel: Colorado’s political ruling class has turned common sense upside down
No Comments
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Daniel: Colorado’s political ruling class has turned common sense upside down

By Bobbie Daniel | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice There was a time when Colorado ran on common sense. We valued hard work, local control, and the idea that if you played by the rules, you’d get a fair shake. But somewhere along the way, the folks running this state traded those values for political theater and personal ambition. Today, agriculture, coal mining, oil and gas, small businesses, and law enforcement — the very things that help keep our state running — are treated like the enemy. The latest example proves just how upside‑down things have gotten: the Attorney General of Colorado is suing a Mesa County deputy… for doing his job. Now, I don’t know about you, but where I come from, you don’t punish the people who keep you safe. Yet here we are — living in a state wh...
Read More
Grand Junction says no to climate strings: City declines Urban Trails grant
No Comments
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...
Read More
Tina Peters Launches Legal Fight for Freedom in Colorado Courtroom
No Comments
Local, Approved, National File

Tina Peters Launches Legal Fight for Freedom in Colorado Courtroom

By Ally Rose | National File Tina Peters’ Latest Bid For Freedom Began in Colorado Courthouse Last Week. Last Tuesday, the Tina Peters saga continued in a Colorado courthouse as lawyers went before the United States Tenth Circuit District Court of Colorado Chief Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak. In front of a packed courtroom, the lawyers for the former Mesa County Clerk were poised to argue for the release of Ms. Peters at the habeas corpus hearing. Readers will remember that last year, Tina Peters was convicted of seven of the ten charges she faced, with the most serious convictions being three counts of attempting to influence a public servant and one count of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation. Her sentence by District Judge Matthew Barrett raised eyebrows thr...
Read More
State Targets Law Enforcement for Cooperating with Federal Immigration Agents
No Comments
Fox News, Approved, State

State Targets Law Enforcement for Cooperating with Federal Immigration Agents

By Landon Mion | Fox News Mesa County deputies Alexander Zwinck and Erik Olson were placed on unpaid leave after sharing information with ICE following traffic stops. Two Colorado deputies have been disciplined for sharing information with federal immigration agents, which is a violation of state law enacted a few months ago. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser sued Mesa County Sheriff's Deputy Alexander Zwinck last week after his cooperation with federal immigration agents on a drug task force was exposed during a Brazilian college student's arrest for an expired visa, according to The Associated Press. While addressing the incident on Thursday, Mesa County Sheriff Todd Rowell said Caroline Dias-Goncalves, a 19-year-old nursing student, was pulled over by Zwinck for a traffi...
Read More
Daniel: Colorado’s Budget Crisis Wasn’t an Accident — It Was a Choice
No Comments
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Daniel: Colorado’s Budget Crisis Wasn’t an Accident — It Was a Choice

By Bobbie Daniel | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado’s budget isn’t just strained — it’s revealing the true priorities of our state’s leadership. While seniors and disabled veterans wait to see if Colorado will uphold a constitutionally guaranteed property tax exemption, Governor Polis was busy polling Coloradans about spending $28 million on a pedestrian bridge in downtown Denver. The result? Over 87,000 people participated in just five days — 93.9% voted “no” and only 3.8% said yes. That kind of public input is rare in state spending these days. If more of our budget decisions had that level of transparency, we might not be staring at another billion-dollar deficit. The crisis we’re in today wasn’t caused by bad luck or global economics. It was the result of del...
Read More
Mesa County Sheriff Blasts Phil Weiser for Politicized Lawsuit Against Deputy
No Comments
Local, Approved, denvergazette.com

Mesa County Sheriff Blasts Phil Weiser for Politicized Lawsuit Against Deputy

By Luige del Puerto and Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette The decision by the Colorado Attorney General's Office to sue a deputy is "demoralizing," Mesa County's sheriff said on Wednesday, arguing it sends the message that the state's top law enforcement office is selectively enforcing a state law barring cooperation with federal immigration agents — and for "maximum political effect." Sheriff Todd Rowell said Attorney General Phil Weiser knew of officers from another law enforcement agency who also shared information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and faced no consequences, while his deputy is the subject of a lawsuit from Weiser's office. "As it stands, the lawsuit filed by the Attorney General’s Office sends a demoralizing message to law enforcemen...
Read More