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Man who shot at four Pueblo police officers in 2021 sentenced to 96 years
KXRM-TV, Local

Man who shot at four Pueblo police officers in 2021 sentenced to 96 years

By Ashley Eberhardt | Fox 21 News A man has been sentenced to almost a century behind bars for a 2021 incident in which he shot at four Pueblo Police officers as they were responding to a menacing call. 44-year-old James Justice was found guilty in July of several charges, including four counts of attempted first-degree murder after he fired shots at officers in January of 2021 on the northside of Pueblo near Elizabeth Street. According to the Pueblo Police Department (PPD), Justice initially shot at one officer and then ran from police to a nearby mobile home park where he shot at three more officers. None of the officers were injured. Justice was eventually taken into custody inside the mobile home park. PPD said he has been in the Pueblo County Jail since his arrest in January ...
Balloon over Johnstown, Metro Denver was ‘more sophisticated’ weather balloon
kdvr.com, Local

Balloon over Johnstown, Metro Denver was ‘more sophisticated’ weather balloon

By Maddie Rhodes | Fox 31 News An odd-looking balloon is floating across the Denver metro area on Friday morning. While it may look mysterious, the odd shaped white-clear orb in the sky isn’t a mystery – it’s a piece of technology similar to a weather balloon. On Friday morning, FOX31 viewers reported a strange balloon in Johnstown. Around 7:20 a.m., SkyFOX tracked it down in Longmont. Here’s a close-up of the balloon, taken from a FOX31 viewer’s telescope: According to World View Enterprises, a space exploration and technology company, the balloon is one of their Stratollite balloons, which is similar to a weather balloon. However, Phil Wocken with World View said weather balloons pop at high altitudes. READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX 31 NEWS
Steve Redfearn, serving in interim since January, named as new Boulder police chief
Boulder Reporting Lab, Local

Steve Redfearn, serving in interim since January, named as new Boulder police chief

By John Herrick | Boulder Reporting Lab Boulder’s city manager has appointed Steve Redfearn as the city’s next police chief, marking the latest change to the department as it faces demands for reform. Redfearn, who has served as interim chief since January 2024, joined the city’s police department in 2021. He has pledged to make policing more “equitable and effective.” “We’ll do this through a re-evaluation of our policies, best-practices training, a focus on employee well-being, and absolutely, a renewed commitment to engaging with community. That is what policing is about,” Redfearn said in a statement on Friday, Sept 6.  READ THE FULL STORY AT BOULDER REPORTING LAB
Over 700 people are homeless in Boulder — fewer than last year, but higher than in the past six
Boulder Reporting Lab, Local

Over 700 people are homeless in Boulder — fewer than last year, but higher than in the past six

By Brooke Stephensen | Boulder Reporting Lab In January, volunteers counted 727 people experiencing homelessness in Boulder County. While this is a decrease from last year’s count of 839, it is still the second-highest figure recorded since the count began in 2017. The Point-in-Time report, published on Aug. 13, is a count of the number of homeless people on Jan. 22, 2024. Mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and conducted by the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative, the data provides some of the most reliable indicators of homelessness trends in Boulder County and across the Denver metro area, despite year-to-year variations due to weather, methodology and volunteer turnout. Of the 727 people counted, at least 193 — over a quarter — were uns...
Testimony begins in Boulder grocery store shooting trial
CBS Colorado, Local

Testimony begins in Boulder grocery store shooting trial

By Scott Weiser | CBS Colorado More than three difficult years later, the people who lived through the infamy of the mass murder at a Colorado King Soopers grocery store on March 22, 2021, dutifully recalled what happened in a Boulder courtroom Thursday. Seven people took the stand, the first to testify in the case against Ahmad Alissa for the killings of 10 people. Prosecutor Michael Dougherty began to try to show that Ahmad Alissa had clarity of mission that day; that actions were planned, deliberate and intentional, while defense attorney Sam Dunn is hoping the jury will find Ahmad Alissa not guilty by reason of insanity. "This guy was not just moving just shooting randomly, he was pointing and aiming," said Kevin Slay, one of the first witnesses for the prosecution."...
Castle Rock exploring legal action over Denver’s ‘failed’ immigrant policy
coloradopolitics.com, Local

Castle Rock exploring legal action over Denver’s ‘failed’ immigrant policy

By Noah Festenstein | Colorado Politics Castle Rock's Town Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a motion to lay the groundwork to sue Colorado's most populous city over its immigration policies. A councilmember said Castle Rock needs to address the crisis in Denver that he said is spilling over into neighboring counties and cities. "I would like to direct (the) town attorney to begin conversations with Douglas County, the Douglas County attorney, and then also other municipalities around the Front Range that feel that they have been impacted negatively because of Denver's failed migrant policy," said Castle Rock Councilmember Max Brooks. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
In Arapahoe County, more Republicans needed as election judges among 800 being hired
CBS Colorado, Local

In Arapahoe County, more Republicans needed as election judges among 800 being hired

By Ashley Portillo | CBS Colorado County election offices are ramping up as we get closer to counting ballots for the November election. In Arapahoe County, they're hoping more community members will sign up for vital jobs to help with the process. The county is hiring 700 to 800 people to work as temporary election judges. Election judges are hired on a bipartisan basis, but the county is actively looking for more Republican election judges. Depending on your needs and schedule, the county will offer a position that works best for you. It's a paid job, and those employed will be temporary employees of Arapahoe County. It's a job that many election judges take seriously. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
In Pueblo, city is cleaning up homeless camps over concerns from some community members
KXRM-TV, Local

In Pueblo, city is cleaning up homeless camps over concerns from some community members

By Carolynn Felling | Fox 21 News The City of Pueblo, along with Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad, is currently cleaning up homeless camps along Fountain Creek, as of Wednesday, Sept. 4, but not everyone is on board. Some people are worried the cleanup could displace around one hundred people, but Pueblo Mayor Heather Graham argues she only saw around five people camped in these areas when she walked through the camps last week. “[What] the city is doing, is using this as an excuse to displace unhoused people from their homes,” says Dr. Xan Kellogg a volunteer with Project Apollo. READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX 21 NEWS
In Boulder, ballot measure seeking to close airport withdrawn amid FAA lawsuit to keep it open
Boulder Reporting Lab, Local

In Boulder, ballot measure seeking to close airport withdrawn amid FAA lawsuit to keep it open

By Tim Drugan | Boulder Reporting Lab Boulder’s 2024 local election just became much less contentious. Organizers with the ballot measure committee Airport Neighborhood Campaign announced Aug. 27 that they have withdrawn their controversial measure to decommission the Boulder Municipal Airport from the November ballot. A separate but related measure to redevelop the land into affordable housing, which had also qualified for the ballot, is also being withdrawn. It would have been the first time in the airport’s nearly 100-year history that voters decided whether to close the municipal airport. The measures were shaping up to be the most controversial local issues of this election season. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE BOULDER REPORTING LAB
Jury selected, opening statements set in King Soopers shooting trial
Boulder Reporting Lab, Local

Jury selected, opening statements set in King Soopers shooting trial

By Jenna Sampson | Boulder Reporting Lab Editor's note: The Boulder Reporting Lab is providing daily updates from the courtroom. This is from the Wednesday, Sept. 4, report. The jury pool was narrowed today from the initial 1,500 summoned to the final 16, including four alternates who won’t be identified as such until deliberation. The jurors’ identities will remain private for their protection, likely due to the high-profile nature of the case. Many of the jurors’ clarifying questions have revolved around how exactly they are supposed to decide whether Alissa was insane at the moment of the shooting. They discussed, for instance, if he wasn’t diagnosed as schizophrenic beforehand, does that place less weight on the later diagnosis as a factor that day? Did the incident itself con...