September 16th, 2009 |
Published in
The Denver Post
DENVER — U.S. Forest Service officials apologized again Tuesday for what they called “regrettable references” about Latinos during a news conference last month.
“We sincerely apologize to the Hispanic community and anyone else we may have offended.” Rick Cables, a forester with the Rocky Mountain Region of the Forest Service, said in a statement. “That was not our intent.”
This was the second time the Forest Service apologized for an Aug. 26 incident during which Gil Quintana, special agent in charge of law enforcement in the Rocky Mountain Region, briefed reporters, the public and drug enforcement officers about pot-growing operations in the Pike National Forest.
Forest rangers have said that the growing operations could be a safety hazard for hikers who may stumble upon armed farmers in the woods.
Quintana used PowerPoint slides to discuss warning signs of drug-related activity. The slides said hikers should be aware of food wrappers on the trail, including “tortilla packaging, beer cans, Spam, tuna, Tecate beer cans, etc.” — and campers playing Spanish music, among other signs.
The presentation also noted the warning signs “may or may not represent criminal activities, but are indicators.”
Latino leaders quickly condemned the remarks, calling them discriminatory and saying they could put Latino campers in danger. The Forest Service apologized and retracted the warnings soon thereafter.
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August 16th, 2009 |
Published in
The Denver Post
FRISCO, Colo. — Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet swung through the western slope on Friday, pitching President Barack Obama’s health care plan to Coloradans. He spoke to packed town halls in Frisco and Edwards before heading to Grand Junction for Obama’s speech on Saturday.
August 16th, 2009 |
Published in
The Denver Post
LEADVILLE, Colo. — Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong defeated Gunnison, Colo., native David Wiens in the Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike Race. Armstrong’s victory — a course record — snapped Wiens’ streak of six consecutive titles.
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August 7th, 2009 |
Published in
The Denver Post
DENVER — Coordinated Internet attacks on Twitter, Facebook and other social networking websites shut down and slowed the services to a crawl Thursday, leaving local social media aficionados unable to conduct business, converse with friends and contacts or check news, even late into the evening.
“When you’re doing things like launching a blog for a day, a marketing initiative or telling people what you’re doing tonight, it’s really hard to get the news out because that’s your network,” said Erika Napoletano, director of communications for InvestorLoft.com, speaking about the Twitter outage. The company is a Denver-based website where investors search for real estate property.
Napoletano and about 75 other local social media enthusiasts — branded with nametags that also included their Twitter handles — gathered Thursday night for a conference hosted downtown by social media blog Mashable, one of the most popular blogs worldwide, according to the site Technorati.com.
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July 27th, 2009 |
Published in
The Denver Post
DENVER — The 2009 Underground Music Showcase featured more than 200 local bands, inlcuding Everything Absent or Distorted, a group playing its final outdoor concert together and penultimate show.
July 20th, 2009 |
Published in
The Denver Post
CENTENNIAL, Colo. — Incubus bassist Ben Kenney talks about music festivals and performing at altitude at the Mile High Music Festival.
July 15th, 2009 |
Published in
The Denver Post
A woman's blue Mitsubishi Eclipse sits in the middle of 14th Avenue and Pearl Street after hitting a signal pole on Wednesday, July 15, 2009. (Daniel Petty, The Denver Post)
DENVER — A woman is in serious but stable condition tonight after her car careened into a curb near 14th Avenue and Pearl Street, then smashed into a traffic signal pole and spun into oncoming traffic.
Officers and witnesses offered conflicting reports about whether another car was involved in triggering the crash.
Several witnesses said that the woman’s car, a sky blue Mitsubishi Eclipse, was in the far left lane at about 7:45 p.m. when a second car clipped her, sending her into a storm drain on the curb, which popped at least one of her tires.
She tried swerving to regain control, but slammed into the pole, and the second car apparently drove away, according to these witnesses.
However, Sgt. Brian J. Conover of the Denver Police Department’s traffic investigations bureau said none of the witnesses that officers had interviewed said another vehicle was involved.
“All the damage seems to be from what she did to it,” he said. “We don’t see what looks like any other car touching it or pushing it in any way.”
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July 15th, 2009 |
Published in
The Denver Post
MORRISON, Colo. — Ashley Force Hood, who a year ago became the first female to win an NHRA funny car race, entered 2009 NHRA the Mopar Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway atop the funny car standings. On Sunday, she finished second behind the team of Ron Capps.
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July 11th, 2009 |
Published in
The Denver Post
DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — The Sheriff’s Office is looking for a burglar who entered the second-story window of a Stonegate home and apparently fondled an 8-year-old girl as she slept.
The girl’s father said he was showering around 5 a.m. Friday before leaving for work, when his daughter burst into the bathroom, panicked and scared, saying a strange man had just fled her room.
He said he jumped from the shower, yelled for his wife to call police and headed into his daughter’s bedroom, expecting to confront the man, but instead found her window screen cast onto the roof at the foot of her window. Investigators later found the screen had been sliced, he said.
The girl said she was awakened by an unknown male who was touching her inappropriately, the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. She described him as a white male with brown hair and weighing about 140 to 180 pounds.
“We do believe that an unknown person entered the house through an open window and fondled this girl,” said Cocha Heyden, a spokeswoman for the Sheriff’s Office.
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July 9th, 2009 |
Published in
The Denver Post
DENVER — Denver’s police and fire departments reported that fireworks citations and seizures dropped by nearly half this Fourth of July weekend, compared with last year.
Police issued 34 citations and made 123 fireworks confiscations this year, said Sonny Jackson, spokesman for the Denver Police Department. That’s down from the 56 citations and 225 seizures in 2008.
Even during the days leading up to the holiday — not just on the Fourth — Jackson said complaints and reports were down by about half.
Authorities couldn’t peg the declines on a specific initiative or reason, but Jackson credited his agency’s continued fireworks-safety education and enforcement for playing a part, even though this year’s campaign was less extensive than in years past.
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