What Tobacco-Free Aurora lacks in longevity and membership, it makes up for in ambition. Founded a little more than a year ago with a rotating volunteer staff of twelve to thirty, the group recently pushed the entirety of its efforts toward creating a city ordinance regulating the sale of tobacco…
Occupy the Courts supporters met on the west steps of the Colorado State Capitol at 10 a.m. holding signs that read “Corporations Are Not People” and “Restore Democracy” — step one in their two-part protest of corporate personhood under the umbrella title Move to Amend. CleanSlateNow.org, Colorado Common Cause and…
Update: Secretary of State Scott Gessler has been named a possible suspect regarding flaws in the Colorado Independent Spending Report released by the National Institute on Money in State Politics; the report showed a total expenditure for 2006-2010 much larger then was actually the case. However, Gessler’s spokesman says the…
Preliminary numbers show that about 15 percent of the 7,923 immigrants whose cases were reviewed as part of a Department of Homeland Security pilot project in Denver will be allowed to stay in the country, says Laura Lichter, the president-elect of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Those include local student…
Even though Rick Santorum kinda won the Iowa caucuses, he’s a long shot to pass Mitt Romney and become the Republican pick for president. His last chance appears to be a strong showing in South Carolina tomorrow — one that’ll require evangelicals to get behind him (and not sinful Newt…
On Sunday, at 2 p.m. in the Bemis Public Library, five people gathered to launch the first general assembly of Occupy Littleton. If the idea that democracy takes time ever needed proof, this would be it. One person shy of a round half-dozen, the group appeared dwarfed in the city…
In 2010, Colorado welcomed 2,367 refugees from around the world. That’s more than in 2009, when 2,157 refugees were resettled here, but fewer than in 1980, when 4,200 refugees made Colorado their new home. So where do these refugees come from — and why? As explained in the cover story…
Colorado Republicans are the Guardians of Liberty, according to Liberty Watch, an organization holding elected officials accountable for the organization’s proposed “Principles of Liberty.” Early this morning, Liberty Watch held an awards ceromony honoring ten Republicans from the Colorado Legislature, deeming each a Guardian…
Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler is a controversy magnet, with many progressive figures taking his name in vain. Example: a blistering October critique by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow. But today, NPR, a news outfit frequently accused of liberal bias, sent the mega-conservative Gessler an audio love letter in which he’s…
If Occupy Boulder and Occupy Denver weren’t fully supportive sister occupations located roughly an hour from each other, it would occasionally be tough to tell that they’re even struggling against the same system. Comparisons between the two movements often end at opposite sides of the activism spectrum. Case in point:…
Colorado Democratic leaders are applauding the Obama Administration’s newly proposed immigration policy, a measure that would permit undocumented spouses and children of United States citizens to remain in the country during the legal immigration process. Under current law, undocumented family members of United States citizens must leave the country while…
Last March, Senator Pat Steadman told us he believed the civil unions bill he sponsored would pass the Colorado House, as it had the state senate, if not blocked by extremists. In the end, however, it fell one vote short in committee, with all six of the panel’s GOP members…
Yesterday afternoon, RedLine art gallery housed hundreds of Occupy movement supporters from Colorado and beyond as they reflected on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy and how to translate it to protesting inequality between the 99 percent and the 1 percent. But in recent weeks, the local movement has made…
As we wrote about earlier today, Broncos fans could use chalk on the streets, but not Occupy Denver. And did they ever. Led by Denver mayor and one-time Broncos mascot Michael Hancock, fans used blue and orange sidewalk chalk to “transform Bannock Street into ‘Broncos Boulevard!'” (Just look how far…
Violeta Pando couldn’t sleep last night. After all, today is the last for a six-week pilot program to review the deportation cases of all non-detained immigrants in Baltimore and Denver — including the case of her wife, Sujey Pando. “The hours that I did sleep, which were very few, I…
This afternoon, residents are invited to participate in something referred to as a “spirit rally:” Come down to Bannock between 14th and Colfax sometime between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., hang out with the cheerleaders and Mayor Michael Hancock and use blue, white and orange chalk to transform the street…
This week’s cover story, “A World Away,” tells the story of Drucie Bathin, a 46-year-old refugee from Burma who has made it her life’s work to help other, newer refugees. She has a soft spot for the teenagers. To help them connect to their heritage, and stay out of trouble,…
In the past four years, more than 2,000 Burmese refugees have arrived in Colorado. Though the state provides support, some of them struggle to navigate language, laws and customs of their new home. But Drucie Bathin, who came to the U.S. in 1999, can help. She heads the Colorado Rangers…
Update: Peter John Jentsch, current Occupy Boulder protester and bodyguard of Occupy Denver’s canine leader, Shelby, was released from jail last night after he was arrested early Sunday morning for third-degree trespassing. For now, a newly approved restraining order keeps him from returning to Occupy Boulder’s current home. Although Jentsch…
It was the sixteenth anniversary of the Million Man March, October 16, 2011, and thousands gathered in Washington for a ceremony dedicating the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. Steve Justino, co-chair of Colorado’s Move to Amend, remembers sitting by his computer in Colorado losing sleep — he and his colleagues…
Colorado Congressman Jared Polis has called for a government investigation into alleged abuse suffered by gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender immigrants detained by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “Here we have people who are at their most vulnerable — many without access to any legal assistance — who are being…
Colorado House Democrats and representatives from CU, CSU and Colorado Technology Association met with the press to introduce “Start-Up Colorado.” The package brings together three jobs bills focusing on promoting small business growth…
