Legislative leaders approve resolution on Israel defense
Colorado legislative leaders Tuesday waded into the debate over the conflict between Israel and Lebanon by signing a resolution that supports Israel’s right to “defend itself against acts of war by Hezbollah and Hamas.”
Republican and Democratic leaders held a news conference at the state Capitol to announce the resolution, which also mourns the loss of civilian lives and calls for the disarming of Hezbollah.
The resolution drew protests from members of the Front Range Coalition for Peace with Justice in the Middle East, who complained that only pro-Israel groups were asked for input by lawmakers.
They said peace advocates and members of other religions also should have been given the chance to weigh in on the resolution.
The resolution sparked a brief shouting match between supporters and opponents.
Bob Beauprez and Bill Ritter, the Republican and Democratic gubernatorial candidates, respectively, support the resolution.
BOULDER
Man hurt worked for criticized company
The man who was injured when a construction beam fell on him in Boulder last week was working for the same company that helped install the girder that collapsed onto Interstate 70 in 2004 and killed three people, according to a statement from the laboratory where he was working.
The worker, whose name has not been released, was taken to St. Anthony Central Hospital with head injuries, according to the statement from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
He worked for Ridge Erection Co. of Arvada, the structural- steel contractor that installed a beam that collapsed above the freeway and killed a family of three, including a 2-year-old girl.
Ridge Erection was criticized for its sloppiness in a scathing report by the National Transportation Safety Board last month that said poor planning and workmanship led to the girder’s collapse. Ridge Erection officials could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
ARAPAHOE COUNTY
Motorist hits man on bike, sheriff says
A bicyclist narrowly escaped serious injury Tuesday when an angry motorist allegedly rammed her car into his bike at an intersection in Arapahoe County, authorities said.
The motorist, Patricia Cardy, 56, was arrested and charged with criminal mischief, a Class 4 felony, and misdemeanor reckless endangerment, Sheriff Grayson Robinson said in a news release. She was being held at the county’s detention center on $6,000 bail, he added.
Investigators were trying to determine why the motorist drove into the 47-year-old man’s bicycle at 9200 East Dry Creek Road, which destroyed the bicycle, causing more than $1,000 in damage, Robinson said.
While Robinson said the car hit the bike at less than 5 mph, the man still suffered some scrapes and bruises.
COLORADO
Two district court judges to step aside
District Court Judges Steven E. Shinn and Leland Anderson announced Tuesday they will not stand for retention, leaving vacancies effective Jan. 9 in the 1st and 13th Judicial Districts.
Nominating commissions are scheduled to meet Aug. 29 to select nominees for appointment by the governor. The 1st Judicial District includes Jefferson and Gilpin counties. The 13th includes Kit Carson, Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington and Yuma counties.
To be eligible for the $113,232- per-year positions, applicants must live in the district and must have practiced law in Colorado for five years.
LONGMONT
Worker killed placing beam in basement
A Denver construction worker was killed Tuesday morning near Longmont when he and a co-worker were pinned under a metal beam, police said in a statement.
The man, whose identity has not been released, and his co- worker were working at a home on Woodridge Drive and were placing the beam in the basement when it slipped and fell shortly after 9 a.m., police said.
Others working at the site removed the beam, estimated to weigh several tons, and the man was taken to Denver General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after 10 a.m.
His co-worker, Jose Ortega, 22, was taken to Longmont United Hospital, where he was in stable condition.
The incident is being investigated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
FARMINGTON, N.M.
Man killed by cop was intoxicated, test shows
A toxicology test shows that a Navajo man who was shot to death by a Farmington police officer during a confrontation was intoxicated, authorities said.
The test showed that Clint John had no illegal drugs in his system at the time, but his lung fluid registered a blood-alcohol content of 0.21 percent and his urine measured 0.26 percent – more than three times the legal limit of 0.08 percent to be considered intoxicated, said San Juan County Sheriff’s Sgt. Tyler Truby.
Officer Shawn Scott shot and killed John, 21, of Kirtland, on June 10 at a Wal-Mart parking lot. The officer had responded to a report that John was beating his girlfriend.
An investigation by the San Juan County Sheriff’s Department found that the shooting was justified. Navajo tribal officials have questioned the results of the investigation and have said the shooting has strained racial relations.
OKLAHOMA CITY
Senate names first black judge to court
The U.S. Senate confirmed Oklahoma City lawyer Jerome Holmes on Tuesday for a seat on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Holmes, 44, becomes the first black judge to serve on the Denver-based federal appeals court. Holmes is a director of Crowe & Dunlevy, a prominent Oklahoma law firm with offices in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Norman.
The Senate voted 67-30 to confirm Holmes in spite of opposition over Holmes’ previous writings that criticized affirmative action and questioned whether juries should be racially diverse.
A Washington native who got his law degree at Georgetown University, Holmes spent 11 years as a federal prosecutor in Oklahoma City and occasionally contributed columns to The Oklahoman, including two on the topic of affirmative action.
In a 2003 column, written after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld race as a consideration for entry into the University of Michigan law school, Holmes wrote that the court “missed an important opportunity to drive the final nail in the coffin of affirmative action.”
