Posted inClimate, Environment, Growth, News, Water

Aurora may ban sprawling lawns, new golf courses to save water. Other Denver-area cities could follow.

The climate-conscious, first-in-Colorado edicts proposed by the City of Aurora are clear: No new golf courses flooding grass with precious water. No grass in medians or decorative spots near offices. No home lawns sprawling out front and back — turf in backyards would max out at 750 square feet. But get ready, metropolitan water users […]

Posted inCrime and Courts, Equity, Health, Housing, News, Politics and Government, Social Services

As Aurora passes camping ban, some say enforcement money would be better spent on affordable housing

The Aurora City Council passed Mayor Mike Coffman’s urban camping ban, which could take effect as soon as April 28. The unauthorized-camping ordinance passed in a 6-5 vote. The ban will prohibit camping on public property in Aurora. Supporters of the measure have said it is inhumane to allow people who are homeless to live […]

Posted inCrime and Courts, News, Politics and Government

Gun control groups are investing millions in Colorado as gun rights spending has dramatically waned

Gun rights and gun control groups spent $15 million on congressional and state-level races in Colorado from  2012 to 2020, according to a Colorado Sun analysis.  Gun-issue groups dropped an additional $2 million to lobby state lawmakers.  The big spending is expected to continue this year following the shooting deaths of 10 people last month […]

Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns

Opinion: Mayor Coffman’s conclusions about homelessness are unfounded and troubling

While his intentions might have been noble, Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman’s decision to spend time living on the streets recently did not bring him any closer to the truth when it comes to understanding the complex and multifaceted challenges facing our unhoused neighbors.  To the contrary, the mayor’s week of voluntary poverty appears to have […]

Posted inNews, Politics and Government

Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman tests positive for coronavirus; Gov. Jared Polis not at risk despite event

Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman on Sunday announced that he has tested positive for COVID-19, becoming one of the highest profile Coloradans to fall ill with the disease. “I came home from work late Thursday morning not feeling well, but thought I had just a very mild cold with a cough,” Coffman said on Twitter Sunday. […]

Posted inColoradans, Crime and Courts, Health, News

Colorado medics may have misdiagnosed “excited delirium” hundreds of times when dosing people with ketamine

Paramedics unnecessarily sedated hundreds of people with ketamine during confrontations with police officers in Colorado, exposing them to potentially life-threatening complications associated with the drug. That’s according to an estimate from Dr. Mark DeBard, a professor emeritus of emergency medicine at Ohio State University and expert in cases of “excited delirium.” “It may represent a […]

Posted inCrime and Courts, News

Vanessa Wilson named Aurora’s new police chief as department continues facing scrutiny over Elijah McClain’s death

The interim chief of a suburban Denver police department has become the first woman to permanently lead the agency that’s looking to regain public trust following a tumultuous year since the death of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man officers stopped on the street and put into a chokehold. The City Council chose Vanessa Wilson […]