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Letters: I’m tired of Denver’s dirty streets, and we can’t only blame the homeless

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:45:56 GMT

Elected officials could really clean upTo our elected representatives, including Gov. Jared Polis and the 17 individuals who believe they are best qualified to lead the great city of Denver as our next mayor:What has happened to our once-beautiful city and the municipalities that make up the greater Denver metropolitan area? Garbage and debris are overtaking our streets, highways and neighborhoods.The candidates say they have “a plan” to fix homelessness, affordable housing, and the dramatic increase in crime in our once beautiful city. Still, no one is talking about how our once beautiful metropolitan area is, well, not so beautiful anymore. It’s not just an eyesore; it’s a safety issue.The amount of garbage on our streets and highways is overwhelming. Our streets are littered with large, dangerous obstacles like fenders, bumpers, tires and furniture.The people sleeping on the streets are a contributing factor, but certainly not the primary cause of the problem. This is not a Democ...

Colorado judge hit with “intimidating” admonishment over judicial reform work, attorney says

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:45:56 GMT

A Colorado judge cried foul this week after he was admonished by the leader of the state office that disciplines attorneys for professional misconduct, while the leader defended her actions.El Paso County District Court Judge David Prince was reprimanded not because of actual wrongdoing but because he is a member of the Commission on Judicial Discipline, the group responsible for disciplining the state’s judges, Prince’s attorney David Kaplan claimed in a letter last week.But Attorney Regulation Counsel Jessica Yates, who sent the critical letter to Prince, said she was simply acting on her professional responsibilities.“Despite all my privilege and all my ability to fight… when I received that letter, my wife is in tears for a couple of nights, my blood pressure hit a 15-year high,” Prince told the House Judiciary Committee in a hearing at the state Capitol on Wednesday. “…I feared for my career. I effectively have to give up what were my p...

Colorado could be latest state to allow automated pharmacy machines as bill passes House

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:45:56 GMT

Coloradans may soon be able to fill prescriptions via a video screen and a pre-loaded dispensing machine, thanks to a bipartisan bill that sailed through the House earlier this month.Just don’t call them vending machines.“We call them automated kiosks, rather than vending machines,” said Amy Gutierrez, the chief pharmacy officer for UCHealth. She was the president of California’s pharmacy board when that state signed off on the kiosks several years ago. “From a professional standpoint, they’re connected to a pharmacist.”Pitched as a way to improve access to medications at odd hours and in underserved areas, HB23-1195 would allow these kiosks to open across Colorado. The machines, which look like refrigerators with a large screen and opening, would be pre-loaded with prescriptions, already counted and filled. A live human pharmacist, connected via video link, would consult with the patient and clear the way for the medicine to be dispensed. C...

Strong cast, familiar tropes give “Champions” winning formula

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:45:56 GMT

The Farrelly brothers — Peter and Bobby — reigned supreme over comedies of questionable taste in the 1990s and 2000s (“Dumb and Dumber,” “There’s Something About Mary,” “Shallow Hal,” “Stuck on You”), but while brother Peter has gone on to the industry’s highest success, picking up best original screenplay and best picture Oscars for his film “Green Book,” Bobby hasn’t directed a film in awhile. He makes his comeback with his “Kingpin” star Woody Harrelson in the sports comedy “Champions,” an English-language remake of the 2018 Spanish smash hit, the Goya Award-winning, “Campeones.”Given the Farrelly track record of dabbling in more outre or offensive comedy, one might be bracing for what “Champions” may potentially deliver, given that it follows a minor league basketball coach, Marcus (Harrelson) who is sentenced to community service after a drunk driving accident, which is how he finds himself coaching a team of intellectually disabled adults at a local community center in D...

Avoid prison by paying up? Judge’s ire in Steve Bachar case spotlights plea deals contingent on money upfront

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:45:56 GMT

When Denver District Court Judge Eric Johnson rejected a plea agreement in a white-collar crime case last week, he gave a very specific reason for throwing out the deal.“Justice in this society cannot be seen as buying oneself out of a felony conviction,” the judge told defendant Steve Bachar, who’d accepted an offer from the Denver District Attorney’s Office that would have allowed him to avoid jail time and have a felony theft conviction wiped from his record if he pleaded guilty and met certain conditions, including paying $174,000 upfront to the victim in the case.Johnson called the deal “contrary to justice” during the hearing Friday and noted that people have gone to prison for stealing much less money. His refusal to accept the deal put a spotlight on plea bargains in which prosecutors require defendants to pay upfront restitution as part of the agreement, a practice seen on occasion in Colorado’s courts.Critics like Johnson say the d...

Yosemite National Park makes list of ‘world’s greatest places’ of 2023

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:45:56 GMT

Gather round, some hot new travel inspo just dropped. TIME magazine has just released its annual list of the World’s Greatest Places, and we’re here to tell you the where, the why and the what behind its picks.The nominations came from TIME’s international network of correspondents and contributors, which were then vetted by the publication’s editors who also “combed through local news from the Arctic Circle to Brisbane, Australia, to find the most-buzzed-about openings,” Emma Barker Bonomo, senior editor at TIME, tells CNN Travel.“The list we selected reflects a couple big trends in travel right now: sustainability, and authenticity. Many locations on this list are finding ways to let tourists visit with a more limited environmental impact. And many have responded to travelers’ desire to have unique, local experiences by offering indigenous-led tours or curated home stays.”Here’s our pick of their picks — and you can...

San Jose church site owner works with city, seeks housing tower sales

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:45:56 GMT

SAN JOSE — A China-based real estate firm whose top executive is snarled in legal thickets is cooperating with city officials to rescue a storm-bashed San Jose historic church — even as it seeks to sell other choice downtown housing sites.Recently, a top San Jose city official went inside the downtown San Jose First Church of Christ Scientist, currently shrouded by a tattered tarp. City staffers and local observers became alarmed about the church’s condition after rains and winds tore through the coverings this winter.The church is in “surprisingly” good condition, according to Nanci Klein, the city’s director of economic development and cultural affairs, after the parcel’s owner, Z&L Properties, granted city officials access to the site.Z&L Properties, a unit of a China-based real estate firm, is attempting to unwind its holdings in downtown San Jose through previously completed sales and current attempts to sell properties.Here are...

Borenstein: California’s population boom is over, plan accordingly

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:45:56 GMT

California’s years of major population growth have ended, and a state forecast suggests that the numbers might peak by as early as 2030 and then start to decline.At the turn of the century, when the population was about 34 million, state forecasters were predicting 45 million by 2020 and 59 million by 2040. That isn’t happening.Instead, California’s population hit 39.5 million in 2020, dipped down to 39.0 million in the first two years of the pandemic and, according to data published by the California Department of Transportation, will max out at about 40.5 million by the end of the decade.Whether it’s talk of a new BART transbay tube, keeping underutilized schools open or continuing to sink billions into high-speed rail, it’s time for local and state government officials to recalibrate. Projects that were conceived based on the assumption of an expanding California population will no longer make sense. We shouldn’t keep planning and budgeting as if the state’s numbers w...

FBI’s Los Angeles office offers $20,000 reward in case of missing American woman who was kidnapped from her home in Mexico

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:45:56 GMT

By Taylor Romine and Karol Suarez | CNNMore than a month after a 63-year-old US citizen was kidnapped from her home in Mexico, the FBI has announced a $20,000 reward for information leading to her whereabouts.Maria del Carmen Lopez was kidnapped February 9 in Pueblo Nuevo, a municipality in the southwestern Mexican state of Colima, the FBI’s Los Angeles field office said in a release Thursday.Lopez is also a Mexican citizen, according to a statement from the Colima Attorney General’s office, which said it is working with the FBI on the investigation.Though the FBI did not share details on the case, it described Lopez as having blonde hair, brown eyes and tattooed eyeliner.The FBI’s announcement comes nearly two weeks after the violent kidnapping of four Americans in the Mexican border city of Matamoros, two of whom were killed, and three weeks after the disappearance of three women who crossed into Mexico to sell clothes at a flea market.The investigation into Lope...

Bay Area News Group girls high school athlete of the week: Jenna Balousek and Morgan Overton

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:45:56 GMT

Because of a production error, the athlete of the week poll was not taken down Wednesday at 5 p.m. So this week, the top two finishers in the boys and girls polls have been named athletes of the week.Carondelet lacrosse player Jenna Balousek and Dublin lacrosse player Morgan Overton are the Bay Area News Group’s girls high school athlete of the week for March 5-11.Balousek, also a junior, scored three goals and had one assist in the Cougars’ matchup against Campolindo. In the previous game against Dublin, she put in four goals and dished out two assists.Overton, a junior, scored four goals, had five draw controls and contributed an assist in Dublin’s 15-4 victory over Foothill. The junior scored a goal against Marin Catholic a few days later.Congratulations to all the candidates for this week’s recognition.To nominate an athlete for next week’s poll, email [email protected] by Monday, March 20, at 11 a.m. Please include stats and team results.We also review stat...