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Denver City Council Blocks Proposal to Cut Police Budget for Homeless Services
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Denver City Council Blocks Proposal to Cut Police Budget for Homeless Services

By Deborah Grigsby | The Denver Gazette A push to shift millions of dollars away from the Denver Police Department to pay for homeless families’ shelter failed on Monday night, when councilmembers waded through more than two dozen amendments. The council voted against a pair of amendments, sponsored independently by Councilmember Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez and At-large Councilmember Sarah Parady, both of which proposed a one-time budget reallocation of $9 million from the police department to Denver’s Department of Housing Stability (HOST) to pay for the needs of approximately 240 homeless families. The two amendments would have taken funding from DPD’s recruiting program, as well as from its service and supply budget line. When asked how HOST might use the additional cash infus...
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Polis Sounds Alarm on Medicaid Spending: “We Can’t Fund Everything”
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Polis Sounds Alarm on Medicaid Spending: “We Can’t Fund Everything”

By Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado Gov. Jared Polis released his budget request for next year, and Medicaid will take a big hit. The governor says the health insurance program for low-income Coloradans is growing at nearly twice the rate of the state government overall. Polis says, if the state doesn't slow the rate of growth, the program will crowd out everything but funding for schools in the next few years. In the state, 1.2 million Coloradans rely on Medicaid. The governor says none of them will lose coverage, but what that coverage looks like will change.  "There's two levers on Medicaid," Polis said during a press conference. "One is how many people you cover, and two is what you cover." Polis' budget request hones in on what services Medicaid covers. "There have bee...
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Modern-Day “Bonnie and Clyde” Busted with Cat After Violent Colorado Liquor Store Theft
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Outkick, Approved, Local

Modern-Day “Bonnie and Clyde” Busted with Cat After Violent Colorado Liquor Store Theft

By: Sean Joseph | OutKick Shoplifting, pepper spray, biting, and a cat. Colorado’s liquor store chaos has it all. There's a certain amount of perseverance required to get caught shoplifting from a liquor store and refuse to go down without a fight. I'm not saying it's a form of determination that should be admired. I'm simply pointing out that there is more than one path from shoplifting to being arrested, and these two chose the path that includes pepper spray and biting while brawling with employees. A man and woman in Colorado had, according to the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office, shoplifted several items from a liquor store and tried to leave. Two employees of the fine establishment followed them out into the parking lot and attempted to sto...
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Colorado Parental Rights Group Pushes to Repeal Controversial Competency Law
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Parental Rights Group Pushes to Repeal Controversial Competency Law

By Marissa Ventrulli | Colorado Politics A group of parental rights advocates and Republican lawmakers is urging the Colorado legislature to repeal a 2024 law that made changes to the state’s competency procedures. Established over the summer, the group called “We The Parents” includes members of the Colorado Parental Advocacy Network and legislators from the more conservative wing of the Republican Party: Reps. Brandi Bradley of Littleton, Stephanie Luck of Penrose, and Ken DeGraaf of Colorado Springs. On its website, the organization describes itself as a group of parents and community leaders “who are done watching politicians ignore the voices of families.” “We’ve watched lawmakers strip away parental rights behind closed doors,” the group’s website says. “That ends now. We...
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Aurora Police Arrest Man Deported Three Times After I-225 Shooting
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Aurora Police Arrest Man Deported Three Times After I-225 Shooting

By Kyla Pearce | The Denver Gazette Aurora police officers arrested a suspect in connection with a shooting on I-225 last weekend in what officials described as a case in which camera technology and cooperation with federal immigration agents played a major role. The case also illustrated the stark differences between the cities of Denver and Aurora in how they approach the use of surveillance videos and working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Police on Thursday apprehended Celin Villeda Orellana, 38, on charges of attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault, menacing and illegal discharge of a firearm, all felonies, according to Acting Assistant Chief Mark Hildebrand in a news conference on Friday. Orellana has been deported three times since 2007. Th...
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“Everything Was Gone”: Colorado Victims Speak Out After Crime Ring Arrests
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

“Everything Was Gone”: Colorado Victims Speak Out After Crime Ring Arrests

By Sarah Horbacewicz | CBS Colorado Victims in Colorado are sharing their stories after the Boulder County Sheriff's Office announced arrests in a crime ring spanning at least 18 months. As CBS Colorado reported, the Boulder County Sheriff's Office executed several search warrants on Wednesday morning that are part of a grand jury investigation into an organized crime ring targeting the Front Range. Five arrests have been made, and one suspect remains at large. According to the 20th Judicial District Attorney's Office, they executed the search warrants as part of a criminal case. Boulder officials said a crime ring is responsible for 26 burglaries and 15 motor vehicle thefts, and many other offenses. Last July, Rich Caudill woke up to find his truck ransacked, at first not know...
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License Plate Readers Expand Across Colorado, Raising Privacy Concerns
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

License Plate Readers Expand Across Colorado, Raising Privacy Concerns

By: Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado Police across Colorado say they make communities safer, but privacy experts have a different opinion about license plate readers. While license plate readers have been around for decades, the cameras now capture, not just license plates, but vast troves of information. That information is fed into a national database, where it can be combined with other surveillance to develop detailed travel patterns of millions of people as they go to a political rally, or an abortion clinic, a house of worship, or a gay bar. The cameras are so prolific that it's difficult to avoid them in many cities. Boulder software engineer Will Freeman is the first to begin mapping them. A year ago, he didn't even know what license plate readers looked like, let alone w...
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Five Suspects Nabbed in Organized Crime Spree Across 25 Jurisdictions
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kdvr.com, Approved, State

Five Suspects Nabbed in Organized Crime Spree Across 25 Jurisdictions

By: Heather Willard, Jacob Factor | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office Wednesday morning executed nine search warrants after an 18-month investigation of an alleged criminal enterprise that committed crimes in 25 Colorado jurisdictions, resulting in the arrest of five people. One person remains at large. The 20th Judicial District Attorney’s Office said that the crime ring is responsible for over $828,880 in stolen property and $39,880 in damaged property, impacting more than 55 victims. County officials said on Wednesday morning that the nine search warrants were part of a “grand jury investigation,” and on Wednesday afternoon, officials said that a crime ring that targeted the Front Range had been brought to a “halt.” The Boulder County District At...
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In Aurora, Danielle Jurinsky doesn’t talk change—she works for it
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

In Aurora, Danielle Jurinsky doesn’t talk change—she works for it

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Since taking office in 2021, Danielle Jurinsky has thrown herself into Aurora’s challenges. She’s backed measures to curb crime and pushed to ease the load on small businesses and residents when it comes to local taxes. But Jurinsky’s work hasn’t stopped at city hall — she’s known for showing up at neighborhood cleanups, community events, and talking face-to-face with the people she represents. One of her biggest moments came when she raised the alarm about a violent gang terrorizing residents at local apartment complexes— while others looked the other way. -https://www.danielleforaurora.com/about Taking the risk to tell the truth about Tren de Aragua She made national headlines when she publicly ...
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Colorado’s car theft crisis: How policy mistakes fueled years of record losses
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Colorado’s car theft crisis: How policy mistakes fueled years of record losses

By Mike O’Donnell | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer website highlights that there were 95,564 fewer reported motor vehicle thefts across the United States in calendar year 2024 than there were in 2008, a decrease of around 10%. But not in Colorado where, due to policy choices by politicians and the court system, the number of motor vehicle thefts increased by 131%. The Colorado Crime Statistics website shows that the number of reported motor vehicle thefts in the state increased from 11,004 in 2008 to 25,424 in 2024. And 2024 was a much better year for Coloradans than in 2020 when 28,246 vehicles were stolen. It was also better than in 2021 when there were 37,249 thefts; 2022 saw a record 41,390 vehicles stolen (113 per day), and 2023 when t...
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