SandBoxBlogs: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel "No plea for Brit in slaying of wife"

The media wind-up this past week, to DA Beeson's comment in this article from Dennis Webb over on the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, can be found in the following links.  Keep in mind the wide deviations there are in the reporting off the Post Independent and Aspen Times that rarely, if ever, report unbiased, fairly and with fact when it comes to DA Beeson's and law enforcement news stories whereas the Sentinel covers, usually and for the most part with the higher standards and ethics good journalists follow:

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/articles/man-sentenced-for-email-harassing-of-bebbjones-son
http://www.postindependent.com/article/20120607/VALLEYNEWS/120609930/1083&ParentPr
http://www.postindependent.com/article/20120608/VALLEYNEWS/120609898/1001&parentpr

Dennis Webb:
"“I think it’s clear what we were all here for, and what we were here for, our expectations weren’t met,” a clearly disappointed 9th Judicial District Attorney Martin Beeson said after the arraignment.
Now, he said, “My hope is to achieve justice in this case. I have my idea of what justice is and I’m going to pursue that and I’m going to pursue it relentlessly.”

District Judge Dan Petre set a five-week trial that begins Nov. 5. That timing resolved Beeson’s concern that it might start later and carry into next year. Beeson, a Republican, believes prosecutors would have been left at a disadvantage if he lost in this fall’s election to Democratic challenger Sherry Caloia and there was a change in administration in the midst of a trial..."
(Read more?  Click title)

For relevant background on how media high-profile the 9th Judicial District Attorney's office has ratcheted up the Marcus Bebb-Jones accusation and to follow public commentary; click the links below and all links within those blog posts:

http://sandboxcommentators.blogspot.com/2012/03/sandboxblogs-daily-star-poker-champ.html
http://sandboxcommentators.blogspot.com/2012/05/sandboxblogs-kidderminster-shuttle-son.html

Disclaimer:
"Now that DA Beeson has thrown his hat in the ring for district attorney in the 9th, please take note that there will be no special treatment given to any news press surrounding his race. His articles, if they are SandBox worthy or chosen in the daily agg run-up; will be put up just like anyone else in a political race. What SandBox Commentators will continue to do, is heavily moderate his articles. We are the only news media that provides the courtesy of moderating commentary from the general public on 9th Judicial District and Mr. Beeson's articles. )"

SandBoxBlogs: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel "DA: No charges in case of alleged trooper bias"

Paul Shockley:
" former Colorado State Patrol trooper, under scrutiny for alleged bias in his handling of impaired driving cases over four years, will not face criminal charges following a three-month investigation, District Attorney Pete Hautzinger said Wednesday.

However, Hautzinger said he intends to throw out 10 convictions stemming from cases investigated by ex-State Trooper Donald Moseman between 2008 and 2011.

Hautzinger, who hired a retired FBI agent to investigate 382 closed cases involving Moseman, said he doesn’t feel he can prove the ex-trooper committed any crimes. Those crimes, potentially false imprisonment, perjury, or official misconduct, among others, would require proof Moseman acted “intentionally or knowingly,” Hautzinger said.

“There’s no evidence proving he knowingly or intentionally framed innocent people or was trying to manufacture evidence,” Hautzinger said. “He just tended to see a case when we didn’t see it and others didn’t.”

Hautzinger’s non-charging decision comes as his own investigation, undertaken by retired former FBI Special Agent Jane Quimby, highlighted new concerns about the trooper’s work.

Hired in 1991 in a career that saw a break in patrol duties before again being assigned to roadways in Mesa County in 2008, Moseman left the State Patrol last December after records obtained by The Daily Sentinel showed an internal State Patrol investigation found “bias” in DUI cases....."
(Read more?  Click title)

"Unapologetic pursuit and tracking of patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel "Ex-DA Serra released from state prison"

Paul Shockley:
"Former 7th Judicial District Attorney and convicted sex offender Myrl Serra walked out of the Colorado state prison system on Friday, four days before a previously scheduled release date.

Serra was released to the custody of the Montrose County Sheriff’s Department, according to Colorado Department of Corrections spokeswoman Katherine Sanguinetti.

The Department of Corrections earlier this month had moved Serra’s release date up to May 29, which was a full six weeks ahead of Serra’s mandatory release date. The time reduction was credit for good behavior, Sanguinetti said.

“It was a scheduling, transport logistical issue,” Sanguinetti said of the decision to release Serra on Friday, as opposed to waiting until May 29...."  (Read more?  Click title)

"Unapologetic pursuit and tracking of patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel "Bark beetles take bite out of air quality, study says"

Matthew Berger:
"It appears that bark beetles are attacking more than just the trees.

Research conducted outside Steamboat Springs has found that the beetles that have decimated pine and spruce forests throughout the western United States have also inadvertently contributed to the air quality problems that plague much of the region.

Lodgepole pines infested with bark beetles can release 5 to 20 times the amount of gases that can contribute to haze and airborne particulate matter than non-infested trees, according to a study published last week in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

“When thinking about bark beetle infestations maybe we need to think about not just the forest but what is it going to do to air quality and climate change,” said Kara Huff Hartz, one of the study’s authors, from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where she is an assistant professor.

The gases released by the infested trees, called volatile organic compounds, can contribute to the formation of particulate matter air pollution, which can cause human health problems and affect climate change.

Why exactly the infestations result in higher emissions of these volatile organic compounds is still not clear, said Huff Hartz.

One of several possibilities is that when the beetles bore into the bark they are creating a sort of pipeline for the compounds in the tree’s resin to escape into the atmosphere, she said...."  (Read more?  Click title)

"Unapologetic pursuit and tracking of patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel "Colorado immigrant advocates plan driver’s license push"

Absolutely!

Finally, there is a CIRC campaign everyone should be able to embrace with eager, open arms!

Drivers licenses for everyone!  Including illegal foreign nationals on american soil.

Just walk into any drivers license bureau, tell them you have no ID and are here illegally.  Let's then issue a drivers license that is electronically flagged the minute it goes into the system for any reason (just like legal folks DL's....).

Want to cash a check?  Get a job?  Admit yourself to the ER? Drive a car?  Register a child in school?

Just pull out your handy drivers license that is electronically coded and the United States of America will know exactly where you are.  Just like they know where every legal American is.

This.....is an excellent idea.

Now all liberal supporters of illegal foreign nationals, we've just documented so let's stop inhumane human smuggling, secure the borders and sit down at the table for a conversation on humane immigration reforms.

via Grand Junction Daily Sentinel:
"DENVER — Immigrant advocates in Colorado want public support for allowing illegal immigrants to seek licenses to drive.

The activists say they will seek a ballot measure to change a law that requires proof of legal residency to be issued a Colorado driver’s license. They say illegal immigrants are driving anyway, and that the public would be safer if those drivers could seek licenses and auto insurance.

Critics say granting driving privileges to illegal immigrants creates an incentive to violate immigration laws.

New Mexico and Washington are the only states that allow illegal immigrants to obtain the same driver’s license as a U.S. citizen. Utah grants immigrants a driving permit that can’t be used for identification, unlike a driver’s license that helps people open bank accounts or board a commercial airliner..."
(Read more?  Click title)

"Unapologetic pursuit and tracking of patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel "Cop hit on her as teen, woman says"

Paul Shockley:
"A Grand Junction Police Department officer in 2000 struck up a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old girl whom he met investigating a runaway case, which led to trysts in the officer’s patrol cruiser and at police facilities at then-Mesa State College, among other locations, according to court records made public.

The affair continued another 11 years, the records allege.

Eric Janusz, 42, of Fruita, is charged with four counts of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust, and another count alleging a pattern of abuse.

The arrest affidavit — authorities redacted the name of the accuser victim and identifying information — was unsealed by court order on May 15.

Daniel Shaffer, Janusz’s attorney, could not be reached for comment.

Grand Junction police in August 2011 opened an investigation into Janusz’s activities after the woman filed a report. She alleged they had an off and on sexual relationship ending in August 2011, the affidavit said.

She said it started in July 2000 when she was 16, when Janusz was assigned to investigate a runaway case involving the girl’s brother. Janusz at the time worked at the department’s substation at Mesa State.

Janusz was in uniform conducting official police business when they met, the affidavit said...."
(Read more?  Click title.  Comment ability on this post is blocked)

"Unapologetic pursuit and tracking of patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel "Federal agents seize 56 pounds of meth in Utah"

via Grand Junction Daily Sentinel:
"SALT LAKE CITY — Authorities say they believe a 56-pound methamphetamine bust in Salt Lake County over the weekend marks the largest meth seizure in Utah history.

A spokeswoman for the federal Drug Enforcement Agency says the drugs were found in a car at about 10 p.m. Sunday. The Salt Lake Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/KhCoiR ) the bust came as part of a year-long investigation into the Sinaloa cartel, one of Mexico’s dominant drug cartels.

DEA spokeswoman Sue Thomas says the meth had a street value of up to $5 million.
She tells the newspaper that the drugs were smuggled across the U.S. border packed in PVC pipe and in the ceiling of a car.

U.S. Attorney spokeswoman Melodie Rydalch, in Salt Lake City, would not disclose the number of people being charged but expects charges to be filed Tuesday....." (Read more?  Click title)

"Unapologetic pursuit and tracking of patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel "Monument-to-park issue reveals fear of feds"

Gary Harmon:
"Proposed as a way to make the most of a federally recognized treasure, the potential upgrade of Colorado National Monument to a national park is morphing into a new form: a tool to keep the federal government at bay.

And make a few bucks at the same time.

“There’s no question a park has more branding value than a monument,” Owen O’Fallon, chairman of the Colorado Canyons Association, said of the value of park designation.

Legislation, however, must be couched with protections against the “many fears” of federal government that were revealed in the committee’s online survey and four open houses, O’Fallon said. Committee members have largely ruled out fears that a park could threaten state control of the Colorado River, or that a change would invite greater federal control of air quality and lighting on the Grand Valley floor....."
(Read more? Click title)

"Unapologetic pursuit and tracking of patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel "Two oil shale research deals clear fed hurdle"

Very well done report from Dennis Webb.  Down and over on the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.

Dennis Webb:
".....Both companies have proposed in-situ projects in which kerogen would be heated in place underground to produce oil. The processes would take place deeper than freshwater aquifers, in formations isolated from them, to minimize groundwater impacts.

“RD&D leases provide the opportunity for industry to test and develop technologies to determine whether they can be viable on a commercial scale,” Kent Walter, field manager of the BLM’s White River Field Office, said in a news release. “This critical research, development and demonstration work will also help us answer important questions about the water demands and potential impacts of commercial-scale development, so that we can forge a responsible and orderly path forward if the technology proves viable.”

The environmental review’s release follows the BLM’s recent proposal to sharply reduce overall acreage available for potential oil shale leasing in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. Under that proposal, it also would consider issuing only RD&D leases first, with the potential to issue commercial leases later depending on the success and impacts of initial projects....."
(Read more?  Click title)

"Unapologetic pursuit and tracking of patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel "Garfield sheriff: Hikers shouldn’t be deterred by exposure cases"

(See related SandBox post here)

It's with both dismay and a troubled awareness, that no matter how far over the line the same individuals go when commenting online and/or in their Letters to the Editor, authorities do absolutely nothing about the Anita Sherman's (see her comments today on Sheriff Vallrio's meeting here) aka 'JustAnita' aka 'MomMakingChange' who appear to be willfully hurting others to the point where there really is intimidation out here that prevents people from coming to public meetings and expressing themselves openly.  

There are only about a dozen or so of those types of bullies in our area communities, yet from the serious protection authorities and news media give them, one would think they were a majority.

As always, Sheriff Vallario's reaching out to the public over any issue is appreciated.

With that said, sooner or later regional law enforcement is going to have to address the problem that they just simply do not seem to want to admit to.

In Garfield, Pitkin and this side of Eagle county they really do have a widespread problem of anonymous voices that look to themselves for protective needs and who will not risk their way of life falling into the hands of the mentality of gang bullies by showing themselves publicly except in ways that don't tie them to their avatars and LTE's. 

Until that problem is addressed with more presence and more action, terrific meetings like this one will go largely unattended.  In very much the same as what took place publicly over the Strawberry  Days 2011 bust and the free reign of a "40 year old" drug culture in Aspen.

With the above said a shout out of thanks to GarCo Sheriff for the meeting and the cameras.    

We'll once again thank the few law enforcement we have in the Valley that don't put up with the extremes some go to and also rely on the trusted and respected pen of investigative journalist Dennis Webb for this story. 

Over on the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.

Dennis Webb:
"CARBONDALE—Recreationists shouldn’t let reports of naked men and indecent exposures stop them from enjoying local trails, Garfield County Lou Vallario assured some Carbondale-area residents Tuesday night.

“Be a little more prepared, be a little more aware, take some precautions, but you need to do what you enjoy in life,” Vallario said at a meeting designed to update people on the incidents and cover means of self-protection.

.....Vallario told those at the meeting, “You shouldn’t be afraid to do things in your life. You shouldn’t be afraid to do things in Garfield County.”.....

.....Sheriff officials say a spate of cases of indecent exposure on trails around Carbondale and in Glenwood Canyon began back in 2008. Several have been reported this spring on three Carbondale-area trails.
Authorities believe several men are involved, and are trying to determine if any of them are involved in multiple cases.....

....Vallario noted that none to date have involved crimes any worse than public indecency or indecent exposure.

“Right now we have no other reason to feel that we have anything more aggressive,” he said.
The sheriff’s office has been sending plain-clothed deputies on trails and using remote cameras as part of their investigation.....

....One camera produced a photo of an unclothed man and investigators released to the public an edited version showing him from the shoulders up. They since have identified him and have arranged to interview him.

The man, who also was seen walking, clothed, around Carbondale Tuesday, is only a suspect at this point and his name hasn’t been released.

.....Vallario said authorities aren’t ruling out the possibility that some of the incidents might involve some sort of ritualistic activity involving nakedness that hikers stumbled upon, but an indecency charge still would apply.... (Read more?  Click title)

"Unapologetic pursuit and tracking of patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel "Job of relocating coaster to Glenwood filled with twists, turns"

(See related story and local public commentary here)

A 'well done' shout out goes to the area's avatars in commentary who not only were strong enough to raise their voices in protest of the 'free pass' style that Garfield County Commissioners gave to Steve Beckley and Glenwood Adventure Park's latest expansion; they have been courageous enough to go direct to source and express concerns about safety.

From their comments, most then opted to give Beckley another chance.  See what he would do. 

Buy a deeply discounted roller coaster, haul it in and install it  without engaging all the channels of government entities that have authority over that kind of endeavor?  Or be the Steve Beckley they all know and respect and do things the right way.

Looks like Steve stepped up. 

Leaving, after another estimated million dollars out of pocket,  the need to meet his obligations to answer the concerns over wildlife, vibration related to rock slides over the canyon highway and noise impact with a roller coaster that pumps out an "80-second, 1,600-foot-long trip with speeds up to 34 mph".  

Dennis Webb:
"....Glenwood Caverns started out with cave tours in 1999......

.....But its biggest addition is the former Windstorm coaster, which it is renaming the Cliffhanger because of its location. Perched near the top of Iron Mountain and on the edge of Glenwood Canyon, it will offer breathtaking views of the canyon and the Roaring Fork and Colorado river valleys as riders experience thrilling drop-offs and tight curves during an 80-second, 1,600-foot-long trip with speeds up to 34 mph. At 7,160 feet high, it’s the highest-elevation adult roller coaster in the world, Heard said.

Getting the coaster to the mountains first involved shipping the coaster cars to Florida to be tested, and their wheels and bearings replaced. The disassembled track likewise has undergone testing, refurbishing and sandblasting and will be repainted......

.....Now the parts and pieces are being shipped to Glenwood Springs in what is expected to take about a dozen trips by semi trucks.....

...Although the coaster came with operating and maintenance manuals, that wasn’t the case when it came to assembly instructions. And that’s where Litts comes in.....

“The ability to find someone like that is huge,” she said.....

.....Heard said the coaster purchase and installation probably will cost about $1 million when all is said and done.

“We’ll probably spend $50,000 just in bolts, in hardware,” she said.

Old bolts and fasteners—about 2,000 of them—must be replaced with new ones in order to properly meet specifications for torque, or tightness.....

....Glenwood Caverns had a concrete base installed for the coaster, but included drains into underlying gravel. That way, the concrete won’t keep precipitation from feeding into the extensive caverns system beneath Iron Mountain and continuing to contribute to the underground ecosystem and growth of other-worldly formations...."
(Read more?  Click title)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel/Breaking News "Hickenlooper calls for special session on civil unions"

Charles Ashby:
"DENVER — Gov. John Hickenlooper called state lawmakers into a special session starting as early as Friday in an effort try again on passing a civil unions law for same-sex couples.

The governor, near tears in making the announcement, said the time has come for the state to provide the same legal rights to same-sex couples that married couples have, and he means to help them get it.

“I think it’s an issue about people and their rights,” Hickenlooper said at a well attended press conference, which was attended by numerous supporters of a civil union law. “We can’t control the final resolution, but there is an overwhelming need, not just among Democrats, it’s among independents and Republicans, to have an opportunity to discuss this issue.”

The call for a special session comes on the final day of the 2012 session, a day after GOP leaders in the Colorado House blocked a vote on civil unions even though there was more than enough votes to get it passed....." (Read more? Click title)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel/Breaking News "Retired prof arrested for alleged sex assault on child"

Dennis Webb:
"Authorities in Chaffee County have arrested an 81-year-old author and retired Cornell University professor now living outside Carbondale for alleged sexual assault on a child.

Detectives from the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office and the 11th Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Salida took Paul Eugene Breer into custody at his Eagle County home Monday after obtaining an arrest warrant.

He faces felony charges including sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust.

Eagle County deputies assisted in the arrest and Breer was being held in lieu of $100,000 bond in the Eagle County jail pending transfer to Chaffee County....."
(Read more? Click title)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel "Affidavit: 8 pounds of meth hidden in Jeep’s oil pan"

Paul Shockley:
"A California woman faces possible drug-related charges after a search of her Jeep on Tuesday allegedly turned up 8.8 pounds of packaged methamphetamine hidden under the Jeep’s oil pan, according to an arrest affidavit.

Dayana Gutierrez, 21, of Lynwood, Calif., was stopped by a Mesa County Sheriff’s deputy just before 2 p.m. Tuesday headed east on Interstate 70, near milepost 3. A deputy allegedly observed “glare” from a suspected crack in the windshield of Gutierrez’s Jeep, which had Nebraska license plates, according to the affidavit. The deputy also wrote in the affidavit that a GPS unit was in front of the driver, allegedly obstructing vision.

The affidavit alleged Gutierrez said she was coming from a town in Utah, possibly named “Senor,” which she explained is near Moab, where she had been visiting her boyfriend. The deputy was unfamiliar with the town.

A check of records showed Gutierrez crossed the Mexico border around 10:30 p.m. last Friday at the San Yisidro crossing, the affidavit said....." (Read more? Click title)


"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel "DA drops case against CSP Trooper in Kemp death"

(See related stories here and here)

Paul Shockley:
"Eric Fenster, Lawyer’s attorney, said he expects his client will be called to testify against Firko. Lawyer would take the stand, although reluctantly, Fenster said.

“(Lawyer) wants this whole case to go away and has no desire to see Firko go to prison,” he said...."
(Read more?  Click title.  Comment ability out of consideration for Trooper Lawyer's family, is blocked.)

"Truth goes through three stages. First it is ridiculed. Then it is violently opposed. Finally, it is accepted as self-evident."

SandBoxBlogs: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel "Roadless rule for Colorado released"

The Sentinel gets the nod this morning on the 'Colorado Roadless Rules' story.

The Aspen Times is trying to once again ineffectively "pound their liberal chest" alongside the Real sites attempting to wage eco-pen jihad.  Our favorite and the area's most trusted environmental reports off the Summit County Citizens Voice has the most reference resources and is always a good read; but it is the Sentinel that nails the facts without the emotion.

There are only four print  newspapers in Colorado that are held in respect and at a standard that is worthy of being held up to the true meaning of journalistic integrity.  They are the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel since under the ownership of the Seaton family, the Pueblo Chieftain, Steamboat Today and the Aspen Daily News.

Let's hope that the 'Roadless saga' is over for now and all trade, commerce and general enjoyment of life for the folks when they head out to the hills can move forward.  

win win.  Who knew?

(On a side note that is complete political snark and antagonistic on my part:....(yes...this is a "whispering campaign"..)...hey!...how about that 'fracking is inherently safe'...takes campaign donations from Oxbow/Koch  and Corzine....Sen. Mark Udall (D)??...he's like...well...the conservatives idea of a secret weapon on 'their' side.....hooah....save a gas rig...vote Sonja Linman (D) for balanced representation for GarCo in the never-ending quest to have neither side completely get their way...hooah..) 

Matthew Berger:
"The final version of a long-awaited rule governing roadless areas in Colorado’s national forest lands was released Wednesday.

When finalized a month from now, the rule will exempt Colorado from the federal roadless rule released in 2001 and allow exemptions from roadless protections in some locations in the state for activities such as ski-resort and coal-mine expansions and the thinning of bark-beetle-damaged trees.

It would set a larger acreage than previously expected under protections that exceed those of the federal rule.

Wednesday’s announcement is the culmination of seven years of work on various drafts, and in Denver on Wednesday,  the theme from state and federal officials was self-congratulation for a collaborative rule-making process and a victory in which Colorado’s independent spirit was seen as winning out against federal “one-size-fits-all” regulations.

“The new roadless rule represents a characteristically Colorado achievement,” said Gov. John Hickenlooper. “The rule enhances all that makes Colorado special while at the same time providing a measure of flexibility that supports local economies and ensures communities can take steps to protect themselves from threats of wildfire.”

In a letter last week urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to adopt the Colorado rule, Sen. Mark Udall described the proposed rule as “a compromise in which almost no party got everything it wanted, but nearly all have agreed is fair.....” (Read more?  Click title)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel "Powderhorn saw bump in business in 2011-12"

Congratulations to Andy Daly and company!  Well done.  It pays to be bolder.  We're looking forward to seeing what you have up your sleeves in the years to come.

Mike Wiggins:
"As most Colorado ski areas sloshed through a tough season of historically low snow levels, Powderhorn Mountain Resort received a boost in business this winter and is working to secure funding to enhance both winter and summer activities.

That was the positive report issued by Andy Daly, a member of Powderhorn’s new ownership group looking to build upon a series of upgrades it made upon acquiring the resort last August.

“The last two or three owners, their focus has been on real estate. Our team has a passion for skiing,” Daly told Mesa County commissioners Monday during a segment of their meeting when business owners are invited to share the status of their industry with the board.

Daly, one of four managing partners along with Ken, Tom and John Gart, told commissioners Powderhorn’s total skier days grew 7 percent during the 2011–12 season over the previous year. That bucked the statewide trend of a 7 percent decline, according to Colorado Ski Country USA.

Coming off that strong showing, Powderhorn has turned its focus to enhancing what it has to offer in the next year or so. The resort has received a Colorado Housing and Finance Authority grant and is contemplating other ways to obtain financing to expanding its snowmaking capabilities and upgrade its lifts....."
(Read more?  Click title)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel "Siblings sentenced for roles in Colorado shootout"

Next in line this afternoon we have the final segment of the 'Dougherty Gang' saga.  From the Associated Press via the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.

All three siblings being sentenced today ends Colorado trials and they will now be sent  to Georgia where they will stand trial again for firearms and other charges.

Read the story?  Click title)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel "Convicted killer who lived ‘down the street’ eyed in Taylor slaying"

(To read a nice May 1st update from the Sentinel to the Robert Dewey side of the story, click here.)

It has been a somewhat 'heavy' day in the world of Colorado crime news.  Tossing these stories up at the tail end of the day keeps the posting a little lighter tomorrow...maybe.

In this story, we've been following the path of Robert Dewey.  A free man, after 16 years wrongly accused, convicted, sentenced and imprisoned in the death of Jacie Taylor.  The Sentinel has put up the most detail and background on the story.  Good job by  Paul Shockley.  Over on the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.  Click link above.

Arrest warrant issued for Douglas Thames Jr. currently serving life in prison for the rape and murder of  Susan Doll in Fort Collins.  Identified by the DNA that cleared Dewey, Thames will now be placed on trial in Jacie Taylor's murder.

Again, Paul Shockly over on the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel covers the story best. 

(Read the story? Click title)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel/Dennis Webb "Black Sunday still reverberates 30 years later"

Dennis Webb:
"Thirty years ago this Wednesday, on /Sunday, May 2, 1982, the party ended — for O’Leary’s, for Parachute, for much of western Colorado. On what became known as Black Sunday, Exxon announced it was shutting down its Colony Project, putting its workforce of more than 2,000 people out of work, and spelling job losses for thousands more support workers.

O’Leary’s eventually shut down. But the reverberations spread far beyond Parachute.

Gary and Monica Miller had gone into the clothing business in Rifle just a year before Black Sunday.
“We had one year of incredible, very good, healthy business, and a complete, severe drop the day after Exxon left. You could tell the next day,” said Gary Miller, 65. “... It was really an exodus. It was here one day and literally gone the next day.”

The couple was in the process of buying a Rifle home that would end up losing two-thirds of its value. It took more than a decade to recover that value.

“That was a very, very difficult time,” said Herb Bacon, now 82, but at the time a senior vice president of United States Bank of Grand Junction, now part of Wells Fargo.

“... Overnight everything just stopped. We had 15,000 people move out of Grand Junction. Because of that we had all kinds of foreclosures and empty houses and people took a lot of stuff they weren’t supposed to.

It was a tough deal. We survived, but it took several years to pull out of it.”

Thirty years later, the memories of Black Sunday are still sharp for those who went through it. Many still can describe where they were and what they were doing when they first got the news...."
(Read more?  Click title)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."