Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Public safety

Denver Neighborhood Blindsided by Plans for 400 Bed Homeless Shelter
Denverite, Approved, Local

Denver Neighborhood Blindsided by Plans for 400 Bed Homeless Shelter

By Kyle Harris | Denverite Neighbors wonder why they had to find out online. Northeast Denver residents of Clayton learned online that the city wants to build its second-largest homeless shelter in their neighborhood. Then they gathered on Tuesday night to blast city officials for failing to tell them about the city’s plans.  “It feels kind of disingenuous to say we need more shelter space over here,” said Jes Driscoll, who sits on the board of the registered neighborhood group Clayton United. “That space is prime. It’s such a great spot for housing options. Shelter is not a housing option. It’s a place to stay.” The Department of Housing Stability (HOST) submitted plans in August to build two larger homeless shelter buildings in the working-class ...
Boebert Sounds Alarm Over Growing License Plate Surveillance Networks
The Daily Caller, Approved, Commentary, National

Boebert Sounds Alarm Over Growing License Plate Surveillance Networks

By Rep. Lauren Boebert | Commentary, Daily Caller As we near the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001, I write in defense of freedom not as a politician seeking applause, but as a Coloradan, a mother, a grandmother, and a fierce defender of the liberties that define this nation. Fixed license plate reader cameras are quietly turning American streets into zones of constant monitoring. These systems continuously scan and record vehicle plates, logging time, location, and travel patterns. In community after community, this infrastructure has often expanded without explicit statutory authorization, clear democratic limits, or the individualized suspicion that a warrant typically requires. It is simply happening. The result is a growing database of everyday movements — where people wor...
Colorado Trucking School Faces Shutdown as Feds Tighten CDL Standards
CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Trucking School Faces Shutdown as Feds Tighten CDL Standards

By Sarah Horbacewicz | CBS Colorado A federal agency coalition called for at least 270 commercial truck-driving training schools across the country to shut down on Monday, amid reports of fraud. The U.S. Department of Transportation announced that 110 CDL training schools were being ordered to shut down over a lack of English proficiency.  The agency also recommended shutting down more than 160 additional schools over unsafe training practices. At least one Colorado school was among those. As the founder of truck rescue company Mountain Recovery, Charlie Stubblefield says some of the drivers he encounters have trouble understanding basic instructions about their trucks, raising questions about how well some commercial drivers are being trained before getting behin...
Poll Finds Socialists Now Outnumber Republicans Among Denver Voters
The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Poll Finds Socialists Now Outnumber Republicans Among Denver Voters

By Nicole C. Brambila | The Denver Gazette More Denver voters identify as socialists than Republicans, continuing a three-year rise that comes on the heels of Democratic Socialist Melat Kiros’ upset primary victory over longtime U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette. Seventeen percent of Denver voters now identify as socialists, up from 12% last year and 11% two years ago, according to a new Colorado Polling Institute (CPI) poll. Just 15% of voters identify as Republican. The shift follows Kiros’ June victory over DeGette, a 15-term incumbent, by 13.4 percentage points or more than 21,100 votes, in the Democratic primary. The poll also depicts an electorate broadly positive about Denver: Most voters believe the city is headed in the right direction and nearly f...
Aurora Council Members Split Over Statewide Fentanyl Felony Proposal
DENVER7, Approved, Local

Aurora Council Members Split Over Statewide Fentanyl Felony Proposal

By Adria Iraheta | Denver7 Initiative 85 would make possession of any amount of fentanyl a felony in Colorado, but Aurora city leaders say increased incarceration isn't the answer. AURORA, Colo. — Aurora's Government Relations Committee approved a resolution this week opposing Colorado's Initiative 85, a statewide ballot initiative which would make possession of any amount of fentanyl — even under one gram — a felony offense. Under current Colorado law, a felony possession charge only applies to amounts over one gram. The resolution opposing the measure now heads to a full vote at the next Aurora City Council meeting. Initiative 85 would also require court-ordered treatment for users and expand habitual criminal classifications for drug possession charg...
Colorado’s weirdest race is safe: Manitou Springs funds the coffin races for 2026
ScottKJames.com, Approved, Commentary, Local

Colorado’s weirdest race is safe: Manitou Springs funds the coffin races for 2026

By Scott K. James | Commentary, ScottKJames.com Manitou Springs found a practical way to protect its coffin races without burying a beloved Colorado tradition. In my rounds as a county commissioner, I get to talk to a lot of people. Different towns. Different politics. Different backgrounds. But I hear the same uneasy sentence in a hundred different forms: Things just ain’t what they used to be. Then, almost immediately, we apologize for saying it. Because somebody is always standing nearby ready to explain that this is called “progress,” and apparently progress means you’re supposed to smile politely while the thing you loved gets turned into luxury apartments and a parking app. Every small town has a big day. In my beloved Johnstown, it’s BBQ Daze. Milliken ha...
New Colorado Gun Restrictions Slow Sales and Frustrate Lawful Buyers
DENVER7, Approved, State

New Colorado Gun Restrictions Slow Sales and Frustrate Lawful Buyers

By: Danielle Kreutter | Denver7 Denver7's South Metro reporter Danielle Kreutter spoke to the manager at Englewood's The Shootist about the business impact of SB25-003. ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Gun stores in Colorado are already seeing the impact of a new gun law that places new limits on certain semi-automatic weapons that went into effect at the beginning of this month. Business has been slow at The Shootist Gun Range in Englewood. It's a stark change compared to the record breaking sales they saw in the last few weeks. The new law makes it illegal to sell certain semi-automatic guns without the buyer first getting an eligibility card from a sheriff, then taking additional safety and education courses. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT DENVER7
He posted $250,000 in cash and fled. Colorado released him on a promise.
Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

He posted $250,000 in cash and fled. Colorado released him on a promise.

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Do Colorado courts ignore fugitive warrants for sex offenders just like they do ICE detainers? I wrote a bit back about Colorado’s sanctuary policy and ICE detainers. To see that earlier op ed, click the first link below. The second link below, a Cowboy State Daily (WY) article about a sex offender being released on a PR bond, struck me as a good follow up to the earlier one about ICE. Not so much because the sex offender was here illegally, but because it touches on some of the same things: being released on bond, confusion about detaining someone, and/or Colorado’s seeming unwillingness to honor some warrants/hold requests. Let’s talk the story first. In my earlier op ed, I outlined the process that happ...
Former Weld County IT Worker Sentenced After Downloading Child Abuse Videos From Police
CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Former Weld County IT Worker Sentenced After Downloading Child Abuse Videos From Police

By: Logan Smith | CBS Colorado A former employee with the City of Greeley's Information Technology Department was sentenced Wednesday to 14 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections after he removed hard drives from the Greeley Police Department.  The hard drives contained child sexual abuse material, also known as CSAM, which Jacob Schmidt downloaded to his phone, according to a press release from the Weld County District Attorney's Office. The videos were police department evidence which Schmidt was not authorized to access.  Schmidt was arrested on June 11, 2025, after investigators with the Weld County Sheriff's Office received several tips about Schmidt having CSAM on his phone, according to the DA's press release. Those investigators were able to ...