Curbs set for teen drivers to be retroactive, state says
A law restricting the number of young passengers in vehicles driven by newly licensed teen drivers, which goes into effect July 1, will be retroactive, state officials said Friday.
On Wednesday, officials said the law would apply only to those teens who got their licenses after June 30. But Friday, state revenue department spokeswoman Sandra Lowman said officials have decided there will be no waivers for teens with existing licenses.
Gov. Bill Owens signed the bill into law Thursday. It prohibits a new teen driver from transporting any non-family member who is younger than 21 in the first six months the driver holds a minor’s license, unless an adult is in the vehicle. For the second six months, the teen driver can have one passenger younger than 21 in the vehicle.
Teens and their parents can call the revenue department’s hotline at 303-205-8400 to get more information on the new law, Lowman said. According to the taped message, teens who received a license in March will have to comply with the restriction on transporting other young passengers for up to nine months after July 1.
BLM-actor land swap to open more of trail
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has approved a land swap with actor Rick Schroder that will open a half-mile of a popular trail to the public.
The BLM would exchange 773 acres of landlocked public property on the Uncompahgre Plateau in western Colorado for 331 acres owned by Schroder. The agency will accept public comments on the deal.
“It’s a good thing for the public and all the user groups,” Schroder said.
He will give up land along the Tabeguache Trail and other scattered chunks. The land he will get has little public use because it is surrounded by private property. That makes the public land hard to manage, said Steven Hall of the BLM’s Grand Junction office.
The BLM will acquire two parcels along the Gunnison River totaling 130 acres. The other pieces are 40 acres in Rough Canyon considered an area of critical environmental concern and a 160-acre inholding that includes part of the Tabeguache Trail.
Free mammograms set for May, June
The Tri-County Health Department is offering mammograms and other cancer screenings May 12, 19 and 27 and June 9, 16 and 24 to women who qualify.
Women who are Colorado residents between 40 and 64 years old and have no insurance to cover the screening tests and meet income guidelines are eligible.
Appointments can be made by calling 303-761-1340. Information is also available at www.tchd.org.
Colo. man gets life in prison for slaying
A Colorado man was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the shooting death of a companion last year.
Emilio Teniente, 22, of Greeley was ordered Friday to serve two life sentences without parole for his murder and conspiracy convictions. Teniente was convicted in January for providing the handgun that was used to kill 19-year-old Joseph Lopez, also of Greeley.
Teniente, Lopez and three others left a party in Greeley on Jan. 18, 2000, but apparently began fighting in the car after Lopez allegedly insulted the mother of one of the other passengers.
Authorities said the driver pulled over in Cheyenne, where Teniente gave Eddie Magallanes, 25, of North Platte, Neb., a .25-caliber handgun and ordered him to shoot Lopez. Magallanes was convicted in September and sentenced to life in prison.
Inquiry: Teen careless in motorcycle deaths
A Questa teen was not driving recklessly, but was careless when he caused a crash that killed two Colorado motorcyclists, according to a second inquiry completed by state police.
A special prosecutor appointed to the case will make the final determination on whether 16-year-old Gerald Bailon can be charged in the Memorial Day weekend crash that killed Les lie Walker, 59, and Tim Serles, 41, both of Pueblo.
The report prepared by accident reconstructionist John Collins has been turned over to special prosecutor Matthew Chandler, state police Chief Carlos Maldonado said Friday.
“Based upon the case file and evidence collected from the scene, it is my opinion that Gerald Bailon was not driving in a reckless manner but was inexperienced and careless in his operation of the pickup,” Collins wrote in the report.
Bailon, who was 15 at the time, did not have a driver’s license or a supervising adult along.
The crash occurred on N.M. 38 between Questa and Red River, the site of a big bike rally each Memorial Day weekend.
The case has prompted Colorado motorcycle groups to call for a boycott of the rally.
New Mexico officials have pleaded with motorcycle clubs not to boycott the rally because of the incident.
Vandals attack statue of slain rights figure
Vandals damaged the only known statue of slain civil rights figure Emmett Till.
The right arm of Till, who in 1955 was lynched in Mississippi at the age of 14 after a white woman accused him of whistling at her, was nearly severed.
“A lot of people give Rosa Parks credit for starting the civil rights movement, but it was really this kid. When they killed that child, (Parks) said that was foremost in her mind when she refused to give up her seat and move to the back of the bus,” said Ruth Steele, executive director of the Dr. Martin Luther King Holiday Commission and Cultural Center in Pueblo.
The statue of Till is at the King Center and depicts him walking with King. It came to the King Center in August 2002 after 27 years in Denver’s City Park, Steele said.
The incident is the latest in an increasing number of hate crimes that have targeted the King Center, she said.
“They’ve come here and done terrible things, like putting grocery carts on the heads of Martin Luther King and Emmett Till,” Steele said.
Police seek suspects in 2 LoDo stabbings
Denver police were searching for several people believed to be involved in two stabbings that occurred early Saturday morning outside LoDo bars.
Police believe the stabbings, which happened about 1:10 a.m., near 18th and Market streets and 17th and Blake streets, were connected, police Detective John White said.
The identities of the victims were unavailable, as was the severity of their wounds, White said.
“We have not seen anything during the course of the investigation that points to any type of gang-related activity,” White said.
