Democrats will enter the 2019 legislative session in complete control at the state Capitol. But despite the issue of tightening gun controls taking top billing in the midterm campaign, party leaders are so far signaling that their agenda will focus on just one measure: the so-called red flag bill. That measure, which would allow Colorado […]
Jesse Paul
The Colorado Sun — jesse@coloradosun.com
Desk: 720-432-2229
Jesse Paul is a political reporter and editor at The Colorado Sun, covering the state legislature, Congress and local politics. He is the author of The Unaffiliated newsletter and also occasionally fills in on breaking news coverage.
A Colorado College graduate, Jesse worked at The Denver Post from June 2014 until July 2018, when he joined The Sun. He was also an intern at The Gazette in Colorado Springs and The News Journal in Wilmington, Delaware, his hometown.
Jesse has won awards for long form feature writing, public service reporting, sustained coverage and deadline news reporting.
Email: jesse@coloradosun.com Twitter: @jesseapaul
Posted inBusiness, Crime and Courts, News, Politics and Government, Transportation
Two Iranians indicted in hacking scheme that held CDOT computers hostage and cost Colorado up to $2 million
A federal grand jury has indicted two Iranian men accused of holding the Colorado Department of Transportation’s computer system hostage earlier this year as part of a wide-reaching international computer hacking and extortion scheme. The malware infected critical systems nationwide, including hospitals, and extorted more than 200 victims who paid the attackers $6 million, according […]
Posted inColoradans, Culture, News
“This just does not happen”: A Garden of the Gods garbage heap is revealing big clues about the founder of Colorado Springs
COLORADO SPRINGS — Trash in this city’s iconic Garden of the Gods Park is usually nothing to get excited about. It’s a regular blemish on a revered place. But along the park’s northern edge, a heap of buried refuse — discovered during work to build a retention pond to control runoff after a wildfire swept […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News, Politics and Government
“It revealed to me this is what I can do”: Tom Sullivan’s son was killed in the Aurora theater shooting — and now he’ll be a state representative
After Tom Sullivan’s son, Alex, was murdered in the 2012 Aurora theater shooting, he left his job with the U.S. Postal Service and threw himself into fighting for tighter gun regulations, a journey that frequently took him to the Colorado Capitol. “I’ve got a stack at home of all my testimonies I’ve ever given on […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News
Cellphones made it harder for Denver’s 911 call takers to track people down. Finally, that’s starting to change.
Before cellphones became ubiquitous, tracking down people who dialed 911 was one of the easier parts of an emergency-call taker’s hectic job. Infrastructure built into landlines allowed first responders to know exactly where someone in distress was ringing from, down to the unit in an apartment building. A police officer, fire crew or EMT was […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Gov. Hickenlooper criticizes Colorado ethics commission in response to travel complaint, denies wrongdoing
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper on Wednesday sternly criticized the state’s Independent Ethics Commission for advancing a complaint against him about travel costs, saying that he covered the expenses himself. Specifically, in a legal response to the complaint, Hickenlooper’s attorney argues the travel costs were allowed under the rules either because they were for official business […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Colorado Republicans, reeling from 2018 losses, wonder: Is it us or is it Trump?
It took only an hour after the first election results posted for Colorado Republicans to start seeing the disaster ahead. The party trailed in every statewide race, five-term U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman lost his job and the state Senate majority was rapidly evaporating. “It’s tough to put lipstick on this pig,” GOP Chairman Jeff Hays […]
Posted inEnvironment, News, Water
Colorado’s snow season is starting off strong. These satellite photos tell the story.
Colorado’s snow season is starting off strong, giving the state’s drought-parched agricultural industry high hopes for a quenching runoff come spring. “Definitely been a good start here,” said Russell Danielson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boulder. “Overall, the state has seen pretty healthy precipitation, snowpack so far this fall.” Compared with last […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Colorado’s final election 2018 results are even worse for Republicans
The unofficial final election report from the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office shows even worse news for Republicans than initially thought. Democrat Jared Polis defeated Republican Walker Stapleton in the governor’s race by 10.7 percentage points, well above the 7-point margin touted on election night. The late boost in Democratic votes was expected because the […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News
District attorney calls for updated laws after Colorado appeals court overturns man’s conviction of sexually assaulting foster child
The following story contains graphic details from a child sexual assault case and may not be appropriate for all readers. Adams County District Attorney Dave Young on Thursday urged the Colorado legislature to update the state’s laws after a court overturned a man’s conviction in a graphic child sexual assault case on grounds that his […]