Free Republic

Two environmentalist groups filed suit Tuesday seeking stronger protection for a bird found only in Colorado and Utah ... The Center for Biological Diversity and the Western Watersheds Project said in court papers that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should go back and produce an “adequate finding” on the status of the Gunnison sage grouse ... The threatened designation could result in restrictions on oil and gas drilling, agriculture, recreational and other land uses. ... both camps will be watching litigation closely, in part to see how it might influence policy on the more common greater sage grouse. The...

It was only a matter of time before it actually happened. In Colorado, where Masterpiece Cakeshop has been cited by the state for refusing to make wedding cakes for gay couples, a man has filed a complaint with the state that a different bakery has refused to make him a cake, violating public accommodation laws. In this case, though, the man claims religious discrimination for a bakery's refusal to make a cake that's not quite so love-affirming. ...."He wanted us to write God hates …" she trails. "Just really radical stuff against gays." "He wouldn't allow me to make a...

Expert says western yellow-billed cuckoo may be more prevalent than first thought. Paonia ornithologist Jason Beason likes to say that there are a lot of cuckoos out there. The line is good for laughs at presentations like the talks he gave in the Roaring Fork Valley last week, and it accurately reflects the fact that dozens of species of cuckoos populate the Earth in both the Old and New Worlds. These include birds people might not immediately think of as being cuckoos, such as the greater roadrunner in the southwestern United States. But in the case of the cuckoo of...

When Colorado legalized marijuana two years ago, nobody was quite ready for the problem of exploding houses. But that is exactly what firefighters, courts and lawmakers across the state are confronting these days: amateur marijuana alchemists who are turning their kitchens and basements into “Breaking Bad”-style laboratories, using flammable chemicals to extract potent drops of a marijuana concentrate commonly called hash oil, and sometimes accidentally blowing up their homes and lighting themselves on fire in the process.

Two men have been arrested and charged in what Boulder police said was a bias-motivated assault against a Jewish man at a bar on the Pearl Street Mall last month. According to police a 22-year-old man said he was at the Sundown Saloon, 1136 Pearl St., at 12:30 a.m. Dec. 19 when three males approached him and told him to remove his yarmulke, a skullcap traditionally worn by Jewish men. The man refused to remove the yarmulke, stating that he was Jewish. One of the three men then struck the victim in the side of his head with a glass,...

The sign out front said "Saddam Hussein's Nuclear Mastermind." Inside, Mahdi Obeidi, former head of Iraq's centrifuge program for uranium enrichment, told more than 200 people, including Department of Energy employees, that he wants to help stop one of humanity's greatest nightmares - global weapons of mass destruction. "We cannot afford one mistake," Obeidi said. "Everybody should be concerned." Obeidi, who emigrated to the United States in 2003, spoke on Wednesday morning at the Pollard Auditorium at Oak Ridge Associated Universities. His visit was sponsored by the Oak Ridge Office of Counterintelligence and funded by the U.S. State Department, according...

LA JUNTA, Colo. - A judge ruled Thursday that there is probable cause for Rocky Ford Police Officer James Ashby to stand trial for second-degree murder in the on-duty shooting death of a 27-year-old man. Ashby will be arraigned on Feb. 12 at 11:30 a.m. in La Junta. He is currently free on $150,000 bond. Ashby is accused of killing Jack Jacquez, Jr. on Oct. 12, 2014. Relatives say Ashby followed Jacquez to his home and shot him in the back after a struggle over a skateboard on Oct. 12. Authorities had not released the circumstances surrounding the shooting and...

Colorado’s state congress is taking another stab at banning red light cameras at intersections, according to the Denver Post today. The measure is the second one of its type in as many years, with last year’s attempt failing to gain traction. Red light cameras have been proven time and time again to be not only ineffective at making intersections safer, but have actually been demonstrated to increase the number of accidents in many places where they are used. However, they are huge revenue raisers for many states and municipalities. Opposition to the measure comes from misguided types that are unaware...

Pueblo City Councilwoman Ami Nawrocki submitted her resignation letter to City Manager Sam Azad Tuesday (1/13/15). Nawrocki said she's calling it quits after 2 1/2 years on City Council because the recall election is hurting her family. ... Nawrocki became the target of a recall last year after she was accused of breaking state law by keeping the public out of the loop when she discussed public business over email. Former council members Sandy Daff and Chris Kaufman resigned after facing the same accusations. ... City Clerk Gina Dutcher estimates the recall will cost city taxpayers between $35,000-$50,000. That expense...

DENVER — Again reversing course, health officials announced late Monday that a Denver Health patient under observation for possible Ebola virus exposure will in fact be tested for the virus, state health department officials said. Early Monday morning, a spokesman for Denver Health Medical Center said the patient had recently returned from areas of Africa where the Ebola virus was present and was being monitored.

Rep. Dan Nordberg, the author of last year’s audit bill, had this to say in a statement: “With only a limited performance audit, the state auditor found Connect for Health Colorado committed numerous federal law violations, and nearly 40 percent of sampled contracts had problems totaling more than $32 million dollars. “Sadly, I am not surprised. I have had ongoing concerns about how Connect for Health Colorado was managing tax payers’ funds, which is why I pushed so hard last year to expand the auditor’s oversight of this organization. I hope Democrats will see the light and support my efforts...

Democratic vulnerabilities appear to be limited to just two states. Former Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Michael Bennet’s re-election in Colorado is rated as Leans Democratic. His home-state colleague, Democrat Mark Udall, was defeated in November. And Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid can expect a tough race in Nevada if he seeks re-election. His race is also rated Leans Democratic, as Republicans search for a challenger. ... Four of the nine seats Democrats lost in 2014 were listed as Tossups nearly two years before the election. In January 2013, Alaska, Montana and North Carolina were rated as Leans Democratic, and...

A world religions class is taking a field trip to a Denver mosque and the school is requiring girls to dress in what is described as a Sharia-complaint manner. KNUS radio host Peter Boyles reports the Douglas County school system issued these rules to students in a notification to parents: The world religions field trip is next Tuesday, January 13. We will be visiting the Denver Mosque, the Assumption Greek Orthodox Cathedral, and the Rodef-Shalom Synagogue. We will then eat lunch at Park Meadows Food Court. Students must either bring a sack lunch or money to purchase lunch at the food court. THERE IS...

DENVER - After a year of bitter contention over stricter gun laws, Colorado Republicans proposed bills on Wednesday that seek to repeal controversial legislation that was passed by Democrats in 2013. The laws, which bans the possession of large-capacity (more than 15 rounds) magazines and require background checks for all private gun sales, triggered at least one lawsuit against the state and played a part in recall elections that put two southern Colorado lawmakers out of office. HB 15-1009 would repeal the law banning possession and sale of large-capacity magazines. HB 15-1050, brought forward by Colorado Springs Republican Rep. Janak...

...for 'balding white man in his 40s' Federal investigators are on the ground at the scene where an 'improvised explosive device' detonated Tuesday next to the Colorado Springs chapter of the NAACP. The blast happened about 10:45am outside a barber shop next door to the group's building, which is about an hour south of Denver. Eyewitnesses said they heard a 'loud boom' as the improvised device, which was placed next to a can of gasoline, went off. The contents of the can didn't ignite, federal officials said. I was cutting somebody's hair and I heard the explosion,' Gene Southerland, who...

Gov. John Hickenlooper on Monday named Shailen Bhatt the next executive director for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT). He will assume the role in mid-February. Bhatt will replace Don Hunt, who will remain at CDOT through the end of February to transition with Bhatt ... Prior to serving at DelDOT, Bhatt was an associate administrator at the Federal Highway Administration ... "Don Hunt has been a remarkable executive director for the Colorado Department of Transportation. His ability to galvanize the Herculean efforts that so swiftly reopened the state's bridges and the hundreds of miles of roads damaged by the...

A man that has been convicted of three crimes sexually explicit in nature has moved into a northern Grand Junction group home. According to the Grand Junction Police Department, 55-year-old Julian Andrew Reyes is classified as a sexually violent predator and has moved into a residence on the 700 block of 29 Road. Reyes has a total of seven convictions for various crimes in Colorado, including first degree sexual assault, criminal attempt to commit sexual assault in the third degree, and third degree assault. His most recent sexual offense came in 2007, at which time he was convicted of a...

Exclusive: Tom Tancredo warns of scenario in which conservatives split their votes. Jeb Bush leads all other Republicans in early polls for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination. Without question, Bush is the anointed front-runner, and without question, the Republican establishment is ecstatic. The Republican Party should be happy about the prospect of Jeb Bush as its 2016 presidential candidate only if it has a death wish. Bush 41and Bush 43 dug a hole the party could not climb out of, so Bush 45 aims to fill it with the broken promises of the Republican platform: The Party of Lincoln, RIP....

Hospitals and medical centers in western Colorado are limiting visitors because of a serious flu outbreak. ... The Veterans Affairs Medical Center's community living center still is not accepting visitors after 11 patients showed signs of having the flu. All of those patients will remain in isolation until two or three days after the last one recovers. The Centers for Disease Control said influenza has reached epidemic proportions. There have been 15 pediatric deaths nationwide

A former South High School teacher who resigned last year over allegations of inappropriate behavior with students has found work as a grant coordinator with the regional homeland security agency. Larisa Oringdulph was named the South All-Hazards Regional Homeland Security Coordinator on Monday. The job pays $48,000. ... the job as an annual contract position with the South All-Hazards Region and, essentially, a conduit for the federal homeland security funds that get passed through the state and into counties to be used for various projects. ... She was never charged with any criminal act, but was accused of sending sexually...