Politics & Government

The bombing of the airfield in Syria has essentially muzzled members of the Colorado Congressional delegation who have been critical of Trump thus far, energized his backers and left Democratic Senator Michael Bennet searching for middle ground, as usual. In a statement, Bennet essentially validates the military response, with the minor caveat of suggesting that Trump consult with Congress, as he didn’t do in this case, if he’d like to take such action down the line.

Three people who were contesting Denver’s urban-camping ban were found guilty on Wednesday, April 5, at the Lindsey-Flanigan courthouse. The defendants — Jerry Burton, Randy Russell and Terese Howard — were determined to have unlawfully camped on November 28, 2016, and to have interfered with police operations at one location…

The man behind FuckCoryGardner.org, a website that’s attracted a sizable cult audience since launching on March 30, one week ago today, laughs frequently when describing his creation. But even though the name of the page and the graphics on it are funny, Denver’s Trevor Rawls makes it clear that the project is no joke.

Five potential jurors were immediately dismissed when they said they couldn’t remain impartial; each expressed thoughts that the camping ban ordinance, which prevents people from shielding themselves from the elements with anything in addition to the clothes on their body, was unethical.

Proponents of a new bill designed to combat juvenile sexting, including a University of Colorado Denver professor who literally wrote the book on the subject, believe the measure lays out proportional penalties for those who deserve them without punishing victims. In addition, the legislation allows individuals who unwittingly receive a photo that could technically constitute child pornography a way to avoid sanction, but only if they get rid of it in a finite amount of time rather than hanging on to the image.

On April 12, a Colorado House committee will vote on a bill that would remove a stipulation that drivers for ride-share companies like Uber and Lyft get medically cleared to drive in Colorado. SB17-043 passed the Republican-controlled Senate in late January. Currently, medical exams are performed by a driver’s doctor or…

Last year, Denver Police and other city departments conducted multiple sweeps of homeless encampments. The operations proved controversial, especially given allegations by individuals experiencing homelessness that at some of the sweeps, their personal belongings were thrown away by the city without a means to retrieve them — a potential violation of the…

A bill makings its way through the Colorado Legislature would create a task force to support child-welfare caseworkers in Colorado — especially in the area of mental health. Caseworkers face numerous challenges in their work, and child-welfare departments see high rates of burnout and turnover. Nationwide, most caseworkers don’t stay on the job more…

A string of hate crimes that followed the election of President Trump have sparked a citizens response. Five Denverites have founded Brave Coalition in the wake of vandalism that hit particularly close to home; in November of 2016, a swastika was painted on the doors of Isabella Bird…

President Donald Trump has been threatening to pull federal funding from cities that aren’t participating in federal immigration enforcement — otherwise known as sanctuary cities — ever since he issued a January 25 executive order on immigration. On Monday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions doubled down on that threat at a press conference…

The Senate should be voting on Judge Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court next week. That gives us time to mull over the testimony that the Colorado native made during his three-day confirmation hearing last week, at which everything from Wyoming blizzards to fishing to mutton-busting was discussed. Speaking of which….

Reports that incentive money to attract film and television productions to Colorado could be a victim of budget cuts arrived in close proximity to news that this very fund had convinced producers of Bravo’s Top Chef to film the show’s upcoming fifteenth season in Colorado, specifically Denver, Boulder and Telluride. Colorado Film Commissioner Donald Zuckerman, who shared his arguments for why the incentives should be increased from their current level of $3 million (far less than in states such as New Mexico, Utah and Georgia) for a Westword post published last October, says the Top Chef deal would never have happened without this monetary lure and fears significant harm to the burgeoning local film-and-TV industry if the budget blade chops off the resource.

Ken Salazar, a former Colorado Senator and Secretary of the Interior under President Barack Obama, has revealed that he will not run for governor in 2018. This announcement would seem to be good news for Mike Johnston, a former state senator who is currently the best known Democrat to have announced his gubernatorial candidacy. But Johnston’s response to the development is more about saluting Salazar than celebrating this turn of events.

The American Health Care Act, the measure intended to replace Obamacare, has been the target of criticism aplenty since its introduction in part because of predictions that it would disproportionately hurt the poor and elderly in Denver and beyond. This reception, not to mention President Donald Trump’s threat to unseat any Republican who votes against the bill, has put GOP members of Congress in a difficult position, and those from Colorado have reacted with varying degrees of support and obfuscation.

Dezy Saint-Nolde, better known by her activism name, Queen Phoenix, has emerged as a prominent organizer of protests and demonstrations in recent months. These included the thousands-strong November 10 protest against Donald Trump’s election, the February 18 Defend our Constitution march, a health-care rally on February 25, and a Demand Russia-Trump…

When President Trump issued an executive order on January 25 threatening to pull federal funding from so-called sanctuary jurisdictions, the order mentioned that the Department of Homeland Security would start publishing a weekly report calling out jurisdictions with jails that refuse to honor Immigration and Custom Enforcement “detainer requests,” wherein ICE…

For evidence that the 2017 Libertarian Party of Colorado State Convention, which takes place March 24-26 in Westminster, is very different from the annual gatherings sponsored by Democrats and Republicans, look no further than the prominent speaking role reserved for Sarah “Daggers” Stewart, a prominent advocate for the decriminalization of prostitution.

A protest outside the Turning Points USA conference on March 18 resulted in arrests, and that demonstration was just the start of the political action the week of March 20 through March 26, 2017. Keep reading for details on how you can get involved.

As if there was any doubt about conservative John Elway’s position on Neil Gorsuch becoming the next Supreme Court Justice, he made things clear by sending a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee with the official Broncos letterhead. “Niel is a big Denver Bronco’s fan, and I can tell you…

When Sandra Hermans was selected as one of the residents for a proposed tiny-home village at 38th and Walnut streets in RiNo, she was thrilled. The 27-year-old has been homeless since January, when she had to leave a friend’s place where she’d been staying. Suddenly, Hermans found herself having to…