Acquaintance kills man at service station
A 19-year-old man was shot and killed Friday at a gas station in Centennial, and authorities arrested an 18-year-old man in connection with the shooting, Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson said.
A motive for the shooting had not been determined, but authorities said the two men knew each other.
The suspect and the victim were not identified.
Authorities were called to a report of shots fired at 5:30 p.m, at the Conoco Breakplace, 19965 East Smoky Hill Road, Robinson said.
The victim was rushed to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the sheriff said.
New America School gets OK for campus
The New America School received approval from the Jefferson County Board of Education last week to open a new campus in Jefferson County.
New America has two campuses – one each in the Denver and Adams 14 school districts. The school targets immigrant students between the ages of 16 and 20 who are learning English and want to earn a high school education.
The school was founded by Jared Polis, a member of the State Board of Education.
The New America School was the only charter school approved by the Jefferson County Board of Education this year. Charter schools that were not approved include the College Preparatory High School, Madison High School, Pathway to Success Charter School and Teddy Roosevelt Academy.
Owner charged after 45 cats found in RV
Forty-five cats living in what police said was a filthy motor home were seized Thursday night in a store parking lot.
The cats’ owner, Alexis Binns, 44, of New Mexico was charged with 45 counts of animal cruelty and released with a summons to appear in Jefferson County Court on Dec. 19.
Police spokesman Ryan Custer said the cats were taken to the Table Mountain Animal Center. Center officials said the cats are inbred, unsocial and suffer from various medical conditions.
Custer said a veterinarian for Petco, 17132 W. Colfax Ave., contacted police after getting permission from Binns to look inside the RV at the cats, which she had brought to the store for vaccinations.
The vet discovered many of the cats were in poor health and living in unsanitary conditions, Custer said. Police said they could smell animal waste 50 feet from the RV and asked Binns if they could look inside the RV.
Binns refused, and a search warrant was obtained.
BOULDER
Combined CU office taking bias reports
The University of Colorado’s newly created Office of Discrimination and Harassment has seen 14 cases since it was created in August by the consolidation of previously separate counseling and investigative units, officials said Thursday.
Director Candice Bowen said she wasn’t sure how many reports were coming in when there were separate offices to look into claims of discrimination or sexual harassment.
“I think it’s a good sign when people are coming forward because it signals that they know there is a way they can work with someone to get the behavior to stop so they can continue to work in a healthy and productive work environment,” she said.
The new policy and other changes have been under consideration for at least three years, but may have been sped by a rash of bias-motivated incidents in the past year, Bowen said.
The office, which opened Aug. 15, handles complaints by students, staff and faculty, except for complaints involving allegations against a student, which are handled by the university’s Judicial Affairs Office, Bowen said. Previously, allegations of discrimination were handled in an office separate from the Office of Sexual Harassment.
“(Consolidation) will help ensure there is consistency in the way all allegations of harassment and discrimination are handled,” Bowen said.
Study request delays federal agency’s move
The Interior Department said Friday it is postponing plans to move its federal mapping agency office from Rolla, Mo., to Denver, pending a review of the decision.
Earlier this month, Missouri Rep. Jo Ann Emerson and Sens. Kit Bond and Jim Talent, all Republicans, asked the agency’s inspector general to launch a formal probe of a decision they say was made without proper justification.
In a statement Friday, the agency said Assistant Interior Secretary Mark Limbaugh “has directed a review of the decision process in light of questions raised about that process.”
The federal agency announced plans in September to consolidate operations from Rolla; Menlo Park, Calif.; and Res ton, Va., into the National Geospatial Technical Operations Center in Denver. The move would force 187 Rolla employees out of their jobs within a year.
Missouri lawmakers complained the decision ignored the recommendation of an internal committee that found Rolla was the best choice for consolidation based on wages and operating costs.
Power failure closes Human Services HQ
A power failure forced the state Department of Human Services to close its Denver headquarters Friday and send about 500 employees home.
Department spokeswoman Liz McDonough said no one’s benefits should be interrupted.
Employees were sent home before noon when officials determined the repairs would take some time.
McDonough said the blackout was probably related to a water leak Thursday that doused computer equipment.
