As the festival starts its new life this weekend, will Visit Estes Park’s mission to “professionalize it” improve it or ruin it?
Nederland
Mountain lions killed 15 dogs in 30 days near a Colorado town. Attacks continued and now a lion is dead.
People living in neighborhoods around Nederland questioned Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s efforts to stop a rash of dog killings and were told their only recourse was adaptation and protecting their pets. Right as the killings started to slow, one lion was shot.
Colorado shuts down “illegal” mining operation upstream from Jeffco communities
Colorado officials have shut down what they call an illegal mining and milling operation south of Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge and above Jefferson County communities, saying uncontained chemicals like cyanide for gold processing are a hazard to the public and environment. Rocky Flats Environmental Solutions, which says it is not a mining operation but […]
Colorado fines Boulder County gold mine $17,000 for water quality violations
The state Mined Land Reclamation Board imposed a $17,000 fine on owners of the Cross and Caribou mines for water quality violations, but suspended all but $5,000 of the penalty as long as Grand Island Resources continues “good faith” efforts to install containment and cleanup equipment. The state agency’s staff largely endorsed the mining company’s […]
Zornio: Mine operators offer no proof in lawsuit threat against Nederland officials, but plenty of intimidation
Roughly two months after Cross and Caribou mine operators were issued a cease-and-desist order for alleged heavy metal water pollution, the company responded by slapping Nederland town officials with a cease-and-desist order of their own. The unorthodox move came as tensions flared between concerned locals and Grand Island Resources, the company that owns the Cross […]
Owners of gold mine above Nederland warn town officials to stop defaming it for water quality violations
Owners of the Cross and Caribou mine above Nederland have warned town officials to stop disparaging the longtime gold operation for water quality violations or face $500 million in slander damages. The mine owners’ claims of disparagement by Nederland come as state reclamation officials hold a hearing Wednesday to decide fines and cleanup steps for […]
Colorado issues cease-and-desist order for Nederland-area mine that’s leaking heavy metals into water
State water quality officials have issued a cease and desist order and threatened substantial fines against owners of the Caribou gold mine above Nederland because of heavy metals leaking into drinking water sources, hammering Grand Island Resources over repeated violations. The dripping heavy metals are not a current threat to Middle Boulder Creek, Barker Reservoir […]
Colorado public land managers rely on education, then enforcement to deal with a crush of long-term campers
One man dashed out of the dilapidated camper trailer as police cruisers rolled up to his encampment in the Arapaho Roosevelt National Forest. The site was trashed, with a newer — and likely stolen — catalytic converter sitting next to a fire pit filled with long stems of a marijuana plant. Happens that way all […]
16-year-old boy is second fatality in two days at Eldora Mountain ski resort
NEDERLAND — Authorities say a 16-year-old skier died Monday at Eldora Mountain Resort after striking a tree — the second fatality at the resort in two days. The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that first responders were unable to save the male skier, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. The […]
30 years after passage of Americans with Disabilities Act, key inequities remain in Colorado
During high school and early in college, the record of Naomi Morrow’s schools or employers doing much of anything to accommodate her impaired vision was spotty at best. Morrow, now 42, worked in a hospital laundry running the washing machines, and managers let her put colored Braille bump dots on various controls. Her parents mainstreamed […]