Colorado police oversight bill advances, propelled by whistleblowers

Former Edgewater police officer McKinzie Rees hopes to serve and protect again, but first she must get her name removed from a so-called “bad cops list” maintained by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office. It landed there, she said, as retaliation after she reported sexual assaults by a supervising sergeant. That sergeant went on to work … Read more

More Colorado county canvass officials refuse to sign off on elections

Colorado election officials from both major parties say a typically innocuous step in the certification of vote totals has increasingly been seized upon by activists to cast doubt over state elections. Since 2020, a small but growing number of county canvass boards have had Republican members refuse to sign off on vote tallies, according to … Read more

Pet facility owners want clarity in bill targeting disease outbreaks

A canine respiratory disease outbreak that sickened Colorado dogs last fall is motivating state lawmakers to find a legislative fix, but some pet care facilities say the proposed bill needs a lot more clarification to work. The bill, House Bill 24-1354, would require licensed pet facilities to “make every reasonable attempt to notify” pet owners … Read more

There are 16 dog parks in Denver. That’s not enough for canine owers.

Every day, Andrea Cunningham drives Grover, her 3-year-old wirehaired pointing griffon, four miles roundtrip to Fuller Dog Park in northeast Denver — even though she lives just blocks from Cheesman Park. She makes the trek to avoid getting ticketed for an unleashed dog, but she hopes Denver will expand its offerings of dog-friendly outdoor spaces. … Read more

Colorado lawmakers’ push for more high-density housing irks cities

Colorado cities are ready for a legal fight if necessary to stop a state push to overhaul local housing density rules and allow more tightly packed development along train and bus routes. While many local governments support the goal of concentrating people in apartments around transit hubs so they drive less, mayors have objected to … Read more

Colorado lawmakers scramble to shore up free school meals program

Colorado’s new voter-approved universal free school meals program is already tens of millions of dollars short, jeopardizing some of the auxiliary programs tied to the ballot measure as lawmakers scramble to keep the initiative solvent and meals paid for. The state faces a combined shortfall of about $50 million to pay for students’ food under … Read more

Douglas County plans to sue over state laws protecting immigrants

Douglas County plans to launch a legal challenge of recent state laws that bar local law enforcement in Colorado from closely cooperating with federal immigration officials on the detention and incarceration of immigrants. Leaders of the conservative south metro county have characterized the legal challenge and a proposed ordinance aimed at preventing the busing of … Read more

Westminster’s housing crisis faces local opposition, state demands

Jodi Lovejoy can look out the window of her Westminster apartment and see the mountains of the Front Range. She can track the rolling clouds and watch the weather change over the peaks, something she used to do with her children. The neighborhood is quiet, dotted by mature trees. She doesn’t own the two bedrooms … Read more

Westminster faces outcry over plan to downsize off-leash dog park

Metro Denver’s largest off-leash dog park could be cut to less than a tenth of its size as Westminster city officials look for ways to reduce the strain of a million visits a year on protected prairie land. The prospect of drawing down the off-leash area at Westminster Hills Open Space from 420 acres — … Read more

Lookout Mountain Road may close at night to stop partying

Robberies, felony assaults, overdose deaths, stolen vehicles, sex assaults, pass-outs behind the wheel, minors in possession, suicides — these are among the calls law enforcement responded to last year alone on Lookout Mountain Road, west of Golden. Then there’s the gunfire — bullets shot from up high raining down on the Beverly Heights neighborhood below, … Read more