Free Republic

The Mile High City was jammed with pot revelers Sunday for the annual 4/20 festival, but the mood was far from celebratory Monday as state legislators moved to tighten rules on marijuana products in the wake of two tragic deaths. The Colorado House passed unanimously bills to set possession limits for concentrated forms of marijuana such as hash oil, and to make cookies, candy and other foods infused with pot more easily identifiable. ... But industry officials aren’t thrilled with the edibles bill, which will require the state Department of Revenue to adopt rules by Jan. 1, 2016, that require...

Prosecutors have filed a first-degree murder charge against a 47-year-old Observatory Park man accused of killing his wife while she pleaded for help on a call with a 911 operator. Richard Kirk purchased marijuana candy about 6:40 p.m. Monday and is accused of shooting his wife to death about three hours later. ... The 44-year-old woman spent 13 minutes on the phone with the 911 operator. According to dispatch recordings, it took officers more than 15 minutes to arrive at the brick Tudor home. ...

Americans for Prosperity has reserved nearly $850,000 in airtime for TV ads that will begin Monday. A source tracking media buys told POLITICO that about $500,000 in time has been reserved in Denver and $340,000 has been reserved in Colorado Springs. The money is spread over three weeks. Continue Reading The Koch brothers-backed group is making the buy in the wake of Republican Rep. Cory Gardner’s decision to challenge Democratic Sen. Mark Udall. This is the first outside group to make a major play in the Rocky Mountain State. ... more

.... But amid the post-rollout political backlash, last week the agency created a new category: Now all you need to do is fill out a form attesting that your plan was cancelled and that you "believe that the plan options available in the [ObamaCare] Marketplace in your area are more expensive than your cancelled health insurance policy" or "you consider other available policies unaffordable." This lax standard—no formula or hard test beyond a person's belief—at least ostensibly requires proof such as an insurer termination notice. But people can also qualify for hardships for the unspecified nonreason that "you experienced another...

A Broomfield [Colorado]man who was rescued from his submerged car during the September floods has filed papers indicating he might sue his rescuers and first responders. Roy Ortiz was rescued by North Metro Fire Rescue District and others who responded to the scene after his car was washed off the road on Sept. 12. He says crews took too long to respond to the accident after he became trapped in his upside-down car near the intersection of U.S. 287 and Dillon Road in Lafayette. He also claims the road should have been closed, thus the accident that left him trapped...

Check this out.

The bank issued a statement (below) this morning defending their actions - it's for your own good - but rescinding the decision - "following feedback, we are immediately updating guidance to our customer facing staff to reiterate that it is not mandatory for customers to provide documentary evidence for large cash withdrawals."

This nauseating ad must be airing hundreds of times per day as it seems like it's on a few times for every show or televised sports event being shown. I can't imagine the amount of money B & N must be spending on this ad campaign. My question though is what segment and the size of that segment B & N thinks they are appealing to? I buy online and don't go to bookstores, but have watched with interest as many FREEPers have posted here about the type of people employed by these bookstore chains and how awfully they've been...

... Neighbors have helped each other weather many storms, including Hurricane Sandy’s devastation and the loss of dozens of its residents on 9/11. However, this time residents can do nothing to stop the emotional and financial distress hundreds of fellow residents are enduring as a result of Obamacare. ...

It took paramount arrogance for U.S. President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats to believe they could write an Affordable Care Act that would replace free markets across a healthcare sector as large as the economy of France. Among the results include 5 million Americans with private insurance are getting cancellation letters for policies the president promised they could keep. As Obama claims, some had substandard coverage but many had perfectly good policies. ...

Digital First Media, the second-largest newspaper company in the United States, is adopting an all-access subscription model for its newspapers, including the Daily Camera in Boulder, the Longmont Times-Call and the Loveland Reporter-Herald. ...

In October, some of the first tangible aspects of the Affordable Care Act made their debut, allowing millions of Americans to start signing up for new health insurance options, Times journalists covering the rollout would like to hear how you have been affected by it. If you have shopped for insurance through one of the new state-run insurance exchanges — online markets where people can browse health plans and see if they qualify for federal subsidies — please tell us about your experience by answering the questions below. Your comments and contact information will not be published, but a reporter...

DENVER - Colorado went live with its health insurance marketplace website Tuesday, but there was glitch that prevented some users from creating new accounts. After more than 1,000 people created new accounts between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., a technical problem caused the system for creating new accounts to go down. ...

DENVER - A CALL7 hidden-camera investigation finds the discounts at one major national retailer may not be as significant as shoppers would think, after finding prices on tags were marked up so the item can then be placed on "sale." ...

The homeowner pointed the gun at Carter and told him to "hit the ground" several times, police reported. Carter instead attempted to back out of the house and made it out the back door onto the patio, but the homeowner again demanded that he lie down and fired a single shot into the ground. Carter then complied, according to reports. Longmont Police Cmdr. Jeff Satur said Tuesday that the investigation remains open and he cannot comment about additional details. He said the Boulder District Attorney's Office is reviewing the case to make sure the homeowner did not violate any laws...

.... "Participation of young consumers is central to the success of the new state healthcare exchanges, and Obama's reform law, because the young tend to have little need for medical services and are cheaper to insure. That will compensate for older, sicker people who are expected to sign up in droves because the law bans discriminatory pricing and treatment for those with preexisting conditions." ...

LONGMONT -- In the space of one minute and three seconds, a Longmont man and a Longmont police officer exchanged 35 rounds of ammunition on May 22 during an early morning shootout that started as a routine traffic stop, according to an investigative report. Longmont Police Officer Brent Cairns was uninjured during the volley, but he was able to strike suspect Jonathan Shank three times during the encounter. He fired 12 shots from his 9 mm Glock 17. Shank, who reportedly had a blood alcohol level of .311 -- nearly four times the legal threshold for driving .......

James Holmes wants to plead not guilty by reason of insanity to the killing of 12 people and the injuring of 70 others in the Aurora movie theater attack. In a one-page court filing Tuesday, Holmes' lawyers wrote they intend to "tender a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity." ...

Under clear skies and a snowy landscape, the temperature plunged to 14 degrees at Vance Brand Airport at 6:30 a.m. Thursday morning, smashing the previous record low for the date of 24, set in 1989. The morning low is the lowest temperature ever recorded in Longmont during the month of May, according to Times-Call weather consultant Dave Larison. Previously, the lowest reading for the month was 18 degrees, set on May 1, 1989, and May 5, 1917. ... (Read rest of article via link.)

Microsoft's Windows 8 software appears to be driving buyers away from PCs and toward smartphones and tablets, research firm IDC said Wednesday. That's leading to the fastest drop in PC sales the firm has ever seen. Global shipments of PCs fell 14 percent in the first three months this year, IDC said. That's the sharpest plunge since the firm started tracking the industry in 1994. ...