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Prairie Middle School teacher is sexual assault suspect, believed to have ‘multiple victims’
AURORA, Colo. – A social studies teacher at Prairie Middle School, which is part of the Cherry Creek Schools system, was arrested Tuesday on multiple felony counts of child sexual assault and exploitation.
Brian C. Vasquez, 34, faces three counts of sexual assault by a person in a position of trust, and five counts of sexual exploitation of a child.
Vasquez has worked at the school for seven years as a social studies teacher and a coach in the “Destination Imagination” program at Prairie MS, an after-school program. Continue reading
Colorado AG won’t prosecute ‘faithless elector’ Micheal Baca; Williams says he’s ‘disappointed’
DENVER – Colorado’s attorney general won’t prosecute the so-called “faithless elector,” Micheal Baca, who broke state law last December when he wrote John Kasich’s name on his elector ballot instead of Hillary Clinton’s as was required.
Baca was a Democratic elector for Colorado and was one of three so-called “Hamilton electors” from Colorado who had threatened to try and upend President Donald Trump’s victory by voting for another candidate on the electoral ballot. Continue reading
Ed Perlmutter will seek re-election to Congress after taking time to ‘regroup and recharge’
DENVER – U.S. Congressman Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo., says he’s taken time to “regroup and recharge” and will again seek re-election to Colorado’s 7th Congressional District in 2018.
It’s been a back-and-forth few months for the Congressman from Denver, who is currently in the midst of his sixth term.
In April, he announced he would be running for governor of Colorado in 2018 in an effort to replace John Hickenlooper, who will be term-limited. Continue reading
DeGette, House Dems introduce resolution to censure Trump over ‘both sides’ Charlottesville comments
DENVER – U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., is co-sponsoring a resolution with three other Democratic members of Congress to censure President Donald Trump for his repeated condemnation of “both sides” at Charlottesville, in which white supremacists held a large rally and one of them allegedly killed a 32-year-old counter-protester.
DeGette is just one of more than 79 co-sponsors of the resolution, which was introduced at a Friday pro forma session in the House of Representatives. Its original sponsors are Reps. Jerrold Nadler of New York, Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey and Pramila Jayapal of Washington—all Democrats. Continue reading
Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne files to run for governor of Colorado in 2018
DENVER – Colorado Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne filed last week to run for governor in 2018 after months of speculation over whether she would aim to take the office after her current superior, John Hickenlooper, leaves office due to term limits.
The “Lynne for Colorado” campaign committee for a possible run filed with the Secretary of State’s Office on Aug. 1, and Lynne made her candidacy official by filing with the office on Aug. 11. Continue reading
Anthem staying in Colorado health insurance marketplace next year, a boon to market stabilization
DENVER – Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Colorado is definitely staying in the state’s health insurance marketplace in 2018, the state Division of Insurance confirmed Wednesday.
The company had already tentatively committed to offering plans in Colorado next year when it submitted a rate request to the state in June, but Division of Insurance spokesman Vince Plymell told Denver7 Thursday the final commitment “actually came in the last week or so.” Continue reading
VDARE conference planned in Colorado Springs canceled amid uproar over white supremacists
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – A conference of white supremacists and their sympathizers scheduled for April 2018 at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort has been canceled, the organization and resort confirmed Wednesday.
The cancelation came a day after Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers denounced white supremacy and said the city wouldn’t “provide any support or resources” to the event. Continue reading
Denver mayor, city council reach compromise with new immigrants’ rights ordinance proposal
DENVER – Denver’s mayor and city council have reached a compromise of sorts on an ordinance aimed at memorializing city policies they say are aimed at protecting immigrants and refugees in the city.
Mayor Michael Hancock and councilors Paul Lopez and Robin Kniech announced at a Wednesday afternoon news conference that they will be introducing the new ordinance directly to the full city council on Aug. 21—bypassing committee. The proposed ordinance is called the Denver Public Safety Enforcement Priorities Act. Watch the full news conference in the player below. Continue reading
White supremacy in the headlines: A look back at the time the KKK ruled Colorado
DENVER – As white supremacist organizations and the Ku Klux Klan are again in the news across the U.S. due to their emboldened resurgence over the past couple of years, we are taking a look back at the history of the Klan in Colorado—one of several western states that saw among the largest population of members in the early 1920s.
According to a 1965 article by James H. Davis published in Colorado Magazine called “Colorado Under the Klan,” John Galen Locke became the first Grand Dragon of the Klan in Colorado after it was founded in 1922. Other historians have written that Klansmen started organizing in Colorado in 1920. Continue reading
Ex-CU student convicted of rape, who prosecutors said got light sentence, released 1 year early
BOULDER, Colo. – A man convicted of raping a woman while he was a student at the University of Colorado has been released from the Boulder County jail after serving one of two years of in-house work release, jail records show.
Prosecutors and others had already been critical of the judge in Austin Wilkerson’s case. He received a 2-year work release sentence with 20 years-to-life of supervised sex offender probation after he was convicted of raping another CU student after a party in 2014. Continue reading