“Colorado’s economy is flush and so are expected revenues to the state, economic forecasters told legislators Wednesday,” reports The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. “Even though state forecasters said months ago that Colorado was at near full employment because of the 2.9 percent statewide unemployment rate, more people have gotten jobs this year from people who left the labor market after the Great Recession, the economists said.”
“The secretary of an oversight board for Weld County’s elected officials said she filed a complaint against a board member with the Colorado Division of Civil Rights, citing more than a year of alleged harassment and inappropriate conduct during meetings, among other accusations,” reports The Greeley Tribune. “Linda Kane, who has worked as the secretary for the Weld County Council for nearly two years, addressed the council publicly during its regular meeting Monday, speaking out against a proposal by council members to form a whistleblower program independent from the Board of Weld County Commissioners. Among a list of complaints, Kane alleged Councilman Michael Grillos swears and becomes hostile during meetings and “has said lewd, sexually vulgar things to me about one of our assistant county attorneys. Since filing this complaint in February, Mr. Grillos has continued retaliation efforts against me,” she said, pointing to those incidents as reasons why she doesn’t think the council should be in charge of a whistleblower program.”
“Crestone Peak Resources would like to keep its drilling operations in place despite concerns over flooding on Boulder County’s Wheeler open space,” reports The Longmont Times-Call. “In a new plan filed last week and scheduled to be made public Wednesday, the Denver-based extraction company is suggesting that its easternmost wellpads stay put, even as that area is being re-designated as a floodway, which puts the site more at risk of damage than under its previous floodplain classification. The dual-pad site, on 10 square miles between Longmont and Lafayette, would accommodate up to 56 wells. Spokesman Jason Oates said Crestone can ensure the safety of the pads by tweaking the design of the structures. The Wheeler site remains the best option, because moving the pads will put them closer to people or wildlife.”
“Residents are being reminded to lock their car doors after a black bear broke into a Subaru Outback and destroyed it,” reports The Steamboat Pilot. “It’s the worst one we’ve ever seen,” said Custom Color owner Dave Mihaich, who, over the years, has done work on cars that were damaged by bears. Cate Potyen, who lives in the Tree Haus neighborhood just outside Steamboat Springs, got a text message Monday morning from a neighbor who wanted to know if her Subaru was OK.”
“One man is dead and another was hospitalized after a suspected accidental heroin overdose at a downtown Glenwood Springs residence Wednesday afternoon,” reports The Glenwood Springs Post-Independent. “According to a Glenwood Springs Police Department news release, emergency responders were called at 2:29 p.m. to the 800 block of Bennett Avenue where they found two men in their 20s unconscious, with friends and neighbors performing CPR.”
“A young baseball player baking in the hot sun over Andenucio Field at the Runyon Sports Complex Wednesday let out a brand new call in the Steel City — one that was appropriate for the ceremony he was attending,” reports The Pueblo Chieftain. “‘Hoot, hoo’” the boy chanted over loud speakers. “Hoot, hoo,” he repeated rapidly to cheers from the more than 300 people gathered at the diamond on the field. It may just be the new battle cry for a Minor League Baseball team moving to Pueblo.”
“Thompson School District students will pay 25 cents more per school lunch or breakfast next year after school board members unanimously approved a price increase at Wednesday’s board meeting,” reports The Loveland Reporter-Herald. “The hike is across the board for all meals and all school levels, but does not apply to students who buy their lunches at a reduced rate.”
“A six-person jury ruled Wednesday, June 20, that Vail Resorts had closed the upper Prima Cornice run on Vail Mountain’s front side before an in-bounds avalanche killed 13-year-old Taft Conlin on Jan. 22, 2012,” reports Vail Daily. “Taft’s parents, Dr. Louise Ingalls and Dr. Stephen Conlin, had sued the ski company for negligence, saying the company did not close the run properly and violated Colorado’s Skier Safety Act.”
“Developers who plug and abandon oil wells — with testing and monitoring for safety — could be rewarded with additional developable land in Fort Collins,” reports The Coloradoan in Fort Collins. “The City Council generally supported extending buffers for development around oil and gas wells, along with a new incentive that significantly cuts the buffer if a well is capped. The discussion happened at a work session Tuesday, where no formal decisions are made.”
“The arrest affidavit remains sealed in the case involving a Fremont County Sheriff’s deputy who is facing several felony and misdemeanor charges,” reports The Cañon City Daily Record. “Christopher Pape made his initial court appearance Wednesday in District Court. Prosecutors requested more time to file formal charges. Pape, 30, Cañon City, who is free on a $1,000 personal recognizance bond, is scheduled to return to court July 9 for formal filing of charges. He was arrested June 8 on charges of attempting to influence a public servant, a class 4 felony; forgery of a public record, a class 5 felony; tampering with physical evidence – destruction, a class 6 felony; theft – $5,000 – $20,000, a class 5 felony; and two charges of first-degree official misconduct and abuse of public records – false entry, all misdemeanors.”
“The two most notorious chemicals in the Widefield aquifer are seven to 10 times more toxic than previously suggested by the Environmental Protection Agency, a different federal agency reported Wednesday,” reports The Gazette in Colorado Springs. “The chemicals’ heightened toxicity highlighted an 852-page draft report by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, which it posted for public comment amid concerns by Capitol Hill lawmakers that the report would be suppressed by the White House.”
“Denver was supposed to be on the shortlist to host the 2020 Democratic National Convention, but the group that made the bid withdrew the application because the July dates don’t work with the city’s schedule,” reports The Denver Post. “Amber Miller, a Denver city spokeswoman, and multiple Democratic sources confirmed the situation. Miller said the Democratic National Committee set the July 13-16 dates for the 2020 convention after the deadline for cities to submit their host bids. She said Denver believed the timeline to be more open-ended.”
