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Best and Worst Colorado Community Colleges, According to New Study

By Michael Roberts

Over the years, Colorado colleges in general, and public colleges in particular, have performed weakly in national rankings. Unfortunately, the same scenario has played out in a new study of the best community colleges in the state. Nine Colorado institutions were analyzed among 728 nationwide, with only one school from here landing in the top half of the rankings and the lowest-rated facility finishing only fifteen slots away from dead last. And the latter’s location is mighty close to home.

Eric Bolling Jr. 2nd Celebrity Son to Die of Overdose in Colorado in 41 Days

By Michael Roberts

In Colorado, worries have been rising about the number of opioid-related fatalities here. Now, the deaths of two celebrity offspring in the state have put these local concerns on the national agenda. Eric Bolling Jr., the nineteen-year-old son of recently ousted Fox News anchor Eric Bolling, died on September 8 of an apparent overdose at CU Boulder, where he was a student. His death took place just 41 days after the July 29 passing of Max Barry, 22-year-old son of Nashville mayor Megan Barry, in Littleton.

Reader: We Already Won; Sessions Is a Fact-Denying Dinosaur

By Westword Staff

Late on September 6, the U.S. House of Representatives’ rules committee blocked floor consideration of an amendment that would have prevented the Department of Justice and Attorney General Jeff Sessions from interfering with state-legal medical marijuana. Many in the House opposed the move, as do many readers.

Pot Shots: Jeff Hunt Will Debate Rob Corry on October 6

By Westword Staff

At the end of April, Jeff Hunt, director of the Centennial Institute, launched a campaign to end Denver’s 4/20 rally. In response, rally attorney and activist Rob Corry challenged Hunt to a debate. The two will finally meet up to discuss marijuana on October 6.

Supermarkets Won’t Build in Montbello: How Residents Are Fighting Back

By Michael Roberts

In September 2016, we told you about attempts to convince a national grocery chain to build in Montbello, a diverse Denver neighborhood that qualifies as a food desert because it doesn’t have a single full-service supermarket. A year later, every major retailer approached by the community has declined to launch such an effort, even though Montbello was named America’s fastest growing “suburb” in a survey released earlier this year.

Trump Team Backs Baker Who Refused to Make Wedding Cake for Gay Couple

By Michael Roberts

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would consider whether Denver’s Masterpiece Cakeshop discriminated against a gay couple, Charlie Craig and David Mullins, by refusing to make them a wedding cake just over a year after the case was rejected by the Colorado Supreme Court. Now, the administration of President Donald Trump, as represented by the Department of Justice, has weighed in, filing an amicus brief that sides with baker Jack Phillips, who says the denial was based on his religious beliefs.

SMH! Here’s How Much Priciest House and Condo in Denver Cost Last Month

By Michael Roberts

According to the latest Denver Metro Real Estate Trend Market Report, accessible below, the average price of a home in the area came in at $434,478 for the month of August 2017. That represents a 2.75 percent decline from the previous month but was more than 8 percent higher than the same time last year. And speaking of higher, the prices for the most expensive home and condo sold in metro Denver last month were absolutely eye-popping.

Congressional Medical Pot Biz Threat: From “Nothingburger” to “Alarming”

By Michael Roberts

Last night, September 6, the U.S. House of Representatives’ rules committee blocked floor consideration of an amendment that would have prevented the Department of Justice, headed by pot-hating Attorney General Jeff Sessions, from interfering with state-legal medical marijuana. When something similar happened this past June, the Marijuana Majority’s Tom Angell, a major national voice for progressive cannabis policies, branded the development a “gigantic nothingburger” despite claims to the contrary by Smart Approaches to Marijuana, an anti-legalization group headed by recent Westword profile subject Kevin Sabet. But to Angell, the latest development is reason for much more concern.

How Joseph Seeds Nearly Became Sixth to Die on Capitol Peak This Year

By Michael Roberts

Yesterday, September 6, Joseph Seeds Jr. was rescued by helicopter from Capitol Peak, a fourteener in the Elk Mountains range, where five climbers died over a 43 day period between July 15 and August 26. He avoided becoming the sixth casualty on what has been described as Colorado’s most dangerous fourteener thanks to terrific work by extremely busy rescue crews located in the area in and around Aspen and his tremendous experience when it comes to scaling the biggest peaks in the state.

Threesome on Video Leads to School of Mines Sexual-Conduct Lawsuit

By Michael Roberts

Shortly after a former first-year student sued the University of Denver over what his complaint describes as “false allegations of non-consensual sexual contact” with a fellow DU freshman that led to his expulsion, the law firm representing him has filed a similar suit against the Colorado School of Mines. The Mines student in question says he was never given a chance to properly defend himself against inaccurate claims that he’d taken advantage of a drunk female student during a threesome and captured and distributed a video of the encounter.

Why Shawn Geerdes Got 144 Years for Pot Murder/Arson

By Michael Roberts

Shawn Geerdes has been ordered to spend 144 years in prison for murder and arson in the death of Jason Dosa, his partner in a cannabis business. The length of the sentence speaks to the brutality of the crime, Geerdes’s hefty previous criminal history and the determination of the 18th Judicial District DA’s office, headed by 2018 gubernatorial candidate George Brauchler, who maintained in a recent Westword op-ed that at least eleven marijuana-related homicides have taken place in his jurisdiction since limited legalization of recreational pot in January 2014.

Jeffco School Threat Mishandled, Parents Say

By Alan Prendergast

A Jefferson County Public Schools investigation has concluded that a principal and a psychologist at Governor’s Ranch Elementary School violated district policies in their response to one student’s alleged threat to shoot another.