The Happy Stranger Who Killed Himself

Colorado has the ninth highest suicide rate in the United States, with approximately twenty out of every 100,000 people in the state ending their own lives annually. Yet somehow, it’s always a shock when someone we know takes this drastic step. Or in my case yesterday, shortly after the end of National Suicide Prevention Week, someone I barely knew: a young man who made my life, and the lives of many others in my neighborhood, better simply because of his presence.

Why One Colorado County Took Its Sex-Offender List Offline

Montrose County, on Colorado’s Western Slope, has pulled its sex offender list offline, reportedly because of a recent court ruling in which U.S. District Court Judge Richard Matsch found that such registries constituted cruel and unusual punishment in the case of three plaintiffs. The action was taken despite the fact that the ruling is specific to the complainants in question, rather than everyone on the roster, and Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman has announced her intention to appeal.

Eric Ashby Disappearance: “How to Get Away With Murder Legally”

At this writing, human remains found in Fremont County have yet to be officially identified as Eric Ashby, who vanished June 28 while searching for a $2 million treasure allegedly hidden by author Forrest Fenn. But his presumed death has inspired separate efforts to create “Eric’s Law,” a proposal intended to address individuals who don’t try to offer assistance to those in life-threatening situations, including four people who allegedly stood idly by as Ashby went under the surface of the Arkansas River for the last time.

New Shooting Shows Gentrification Hasn’t Stopped Violence Near RiNo

Just shy of 4:30 a.m. today, September 20, the Denver Police Department tweeted about a shooting near the intersection of 31st and Marion Street. The condition of the victim, who was transported to a local hospital after reportedly being found in a car, isn’t known at this time. But the incident is one more indication that gentrification in the RiNo, Cole and Whittier neighborhoods hasn’t stopped the violence that has afflicted the area in the recent past.

Chicken “Rescue” Involved Awful Music, Lying to 8-Year-Old, Farm Owner Says

On Sunday, September 17, as we’ve reported, the local animal activist group Denver Baby Animal Save posted a video about what it characterizes as a rescue of three chickens from Long Shadow Farm in Berthoud. Larry and Kristin Ramey, the co-owners of the farm, call it something else: theft that involved a demonstration they believe was staged as a diversion, “terrible” music, undercover operatives, lies and taking advantage of an eight-year-old.

Fighting Back Against Plan to Trash Campus Sexual-Assault Rules

Controversial Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has called for sweeping changes in how sexual assault accusations are handled on college campuses. Now, against the backdrop of numerous lawsuits filed against universities in Colorado on behalf of men accused in such cases, who maintain that the process treats them unfairly, a group of officials, including many affiliated with colleges in the state, have combined forces to argue in favor a more thoughtful approach to the issue.

Denver’s Latest Strategy to Kill the Denver 420 Rally

Organizers of the Denver 420 Rally have been prohibited from applying for a Denver event permit for three years as a result of complaints about security and cleanup issues at this year’s edition, and their priority status with the city was rescinded. Attorney Rob Corry, representing lead planner Miguel Lopez and his team, will formally appeal the decision at a hearing scheduled at 9 a.m. today, Tuesday, September 19, and he says the city’s pre-hearing statement, accessible below, includes a new and suspect tactic to justify actions that he sees as totally unreasonable.

“Secretariat Was a Ham”: Remembering Penny Chenery, Famed Horse’s Owner

Penny Chenery, who owned Secretariat, a horse that won the Triple Crown in 1973, died Saturday in Boulder at age 95. She’s being remembered as an ambassador for the sport, which she helped promote long after her most famous thoroughbred retired from the track, notably by way of the 2010’s Secretariat, a Disney film in which she was portrayed by Diane Lane and made a cameo appearance.

Mile High-Five! Inside the Stadium for Broncos’ Ass-Whupping of the Cowboys

As we noted in our post about the top tweets tweaking Cowboys fans after Denver dismantled Dallas 42-17, the stands at Mile High Stadium definitely weren’t pure orange during the game yesterday, September 17. Cowboys boosters in the thousands turned out to witness their heroes get their ten-gallon hats handed to them by an inspired Broncos defense that rendered star running back Ezekiel Elliott impotent and a Trevor Siemian-led offense whose efficiency and effectiveness definitely raised expectations for the still-young season. The photos shared here, mostly captured by Lora Roberts, my daughter, provide a Snap-story-like look at the thrilling scene.

Denver Animal Group’s “Rescue” of 3 Chickens Causes Social-Media Frenzy

Yesterday, September 17, Denver Baby Animal Save posted a Facebook video detailing what the activist group characterizes as the rescue of three chickens from a local business identified elsewhere online as Long Shadow Farm in Berthoud. The clip, on view below, has resulted in an explosion of responses on social media, prompting a debate about whether this action constituted a bold gesture on behalf of respect for all living creatures or criminal behavior.

Top 20 Tweets to Annoying Dallas Cowboys Fans After Broncos’ Big Win

The Denver Broncos’ 42-17 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, September 17, has to be one of the most satisfying victories for the squad since Peyton Manning hung up his spurs. After all, perhaps as much as 30 percent of the sold-out crowd at Mile High Stadium yesterday was decked out in Cowboys regalia, and many of those in attendance lived up to Dallas fans’ rep for being the NFL’s most annoying. They were plenty boastful before the kickoff and mighty humble after the final whistle.

Stephen Hamper’s Alleged War on Cops Continues — Times Three

Earlier this year, Stephen Hamper was found guilty on multiple counts in the beating of a Denver police officer who he said he would have killed if only he’d been able to get hold of her gun. Since that ruling, he’s allegedly attacked two more law enforcers while in custody awaiting a hearing to determine if he’s a habitual criminal.

The Politics of Defending the Sex-Offender Registry

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Matsch recently ruled that Colorado’s sex-offender registry violates the due-process rights of three plaintiffs, thereby amounting to cruel and unusual punishment. Boulder attorney Alison Ruttenberg, who’s kept the case going for the past four years, lauded this decision because it acknowledged that treating every person on the registry like a violent child predator was patently unfair. But she’s not surprised Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman has announced her intention to appeal the decision, especially given rumors that she’s weighing a run for Colorado governor in 2018.

Hyperloop Names Denver Route a Winner, Announces CDOT Partnership

Moments ago, after months of anticipation, Hyperloop One, whose high-tech tube transportation concept is central to a firm affiliated with billionaire Elon Musk, of Tesla Motors and SolarCity fame, has named the ten winners of its Hyperloop One Global Challenge, a contest intended to “identify the strongest new Hyperloop routes in the world.” And not only did the Rocky Mountain Hyperloop proposal make the grade, but Hyperloop One has announced that it will enter into a public-private partnership with the Colorado Department of Transportation to launch a feasibility study here.

Jurassic Pets Horror Story: The Next Chapter

According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Ken and Lynn Kubic are facing 72 charges of cruelty to animals after authorities discovered that the conditions in their Adams County home were every bit as shocking as those that caused Jurassic Pets, their former business in Thornton, to be shuttered. This claim is supported by photos and a video on view here that makes the couple’s residence look like the set of a horror movie.

Alt-Right Impersonating Antifa in Disinformation Campaign, Activist Says

A member of the Colorado Springs Anti-Fascists says alt-right individuals or organizations are impersonating her group and others like it in order to falsely portray the antifa movement in general as ultra-violent and morally bankrupt. She adds that the fields of battle include the Internet, where a bogus Colorado Springs Antifa Facebook page remains online at this writing, and the streets, via methods such as fake fliers, bogus letters and dubious graffiti intended to rile up and confuse both the mainstream media and the citizenry as a whole.

Colorado to Trump: We’re Joining the Lawsuit Against DACA Repeal

Today, September 13, the State of Colorado announced that it will join a lawsuit originally filed by New York challenging President Trump’s plan to pull the plug on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, shorthanded as DACA. In a statement about his reasons for taking this action, Governor John Hickenlooper said, “President Trump’s decision to end the DACA program is outrageous and risks the futures of more than 17,000 Coloradans.”

Why Pamela Fine Is Using Her Name in Assault Suit Against Ex-Coach, CU

As we’ve reported, former University of Colorado Boulder assistant coach Joe Tumpkin was charged with five felony second-degree assault counts and three misdemeanor third-degree assault beefs earlier this year related to allegations from his onetime significant other, who says he abused her more than 100 times. Now, however, the woman in question, Pamela Fine, has filed a lawsuit against Tumpkin and several powerful figures at the university under her own name for reasons her attorney says were both personal and outward-looking.

Priciest Metro Denver Places to Rent a Two-Bedroom Apartment Right Now

As we’ve reported, rent prices in many metro Denver communities are falling on a month-to-month basis even as they continue to show a substantial increase over the same period in 2016. This same phenomenon can be seen in Zumper’s September report for the metro area, with the cost of renting a two-bedroom apartment varying by nearly $500 from community to community.

Operation Black Rhino’s Final Scorecard — and Meth Dealing From a Taco Truck

After more than two years, the prosecution of a massive federal drug investigation dubbed Operation Black Rhino is nearly over thanks to the conviction of Jorge Loya-Ramirez, a Mexican citizen living in Denver who allegedly used a taco truck as cover to deal nearly 200 pounds of methamphetamine and cocaine in kilogram quantities. And he wasn’t the only Black Rhino target to earn punishment. The U.S. Attorney’s Office reveals that of the 38 others named in one of four federal grand jury indictments related to the inquiry, only one had his case dismissed. Find out what happened to all the defendants below.

My Predominantly Orange Broncos 2017 Home Opener Photo Diary

As I noted in our roundup of the top twenty tweets about the Broncos breaking crybaby Philip Rivers’s heart again, I was fortunate enough to attend the team’s September 11 home opener versus the Los Angeles Chargers. Accompanying me was my daughter Lora, who not only purchased the tickets as the best Father’s Day gift ever but also helped me photo-document the scene.