SAFER upset with language in voter guide on pot effort
Marijuana-legalization supporters threatened legal action Tuesday to temporarily halt production of the 2006 Colorado voter information booklet because they said it contains misleading information about the Alcohol-Marijuana Equalization Initiative.
The guide says if the initiative passes, it would be legal for adults to give less than an ounce of marijuana to anyone over the age of 15.
Mason Tvert, campaign manager of SAFER (Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation) said Amendment 44 would allow only those age 21 and over to possess up to an ounce of marijuana.
Amendment 44 doesn’t address a loophole that does not penalize adults who give marijuana to anyone younger than 21. But Tvert said the existing law of contributing to the delinquency of a minor already bars adults from providing marijuana to anyone younger than 18.
Tvert accused the Colorado Legislative Council of bending to political pressure from federal drug enforcement agencies in crafting the guide’s language.
Kirk Mlinek, director of the Legislative Council, said the guide is crafted to explain the measure in plain language without speculating about what other laws might apply.
DENVER
Man held in shooting of woman at home
A woman was shot and killed Tuesday evening at a west Denver home, and police arrested a man they believe was involved in the shooting.
The identities of the victim and the suspected shooter were not available.
Officers responded just after 5 p.m. to 970 Utica St. and found a woman with a gunshot wound, police said. The suspect in the shooting also was still at the home, police said.
The woman was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
The shooting was still under investigation, and police did not reveal a motive in the shooting or how the suspect and victim knew each other.
COLORADO
Eight whiz kids make perfect score on ACT
Eight students in Colorado attained a perfect ACT score of 36 this year.
One of them, Jessica Hennesy, a senior at Lakewood High School, took the test as a sixth- grader and got a 29, so she knew she would do well.
Hennesy plans to attend either the University of Colorado at Boulder or Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn., and major in economics.
More than 74,000 students in Colorado took the ACT during the 2005-06 school year, and they got an average score of 20.3, trailing the national average of 21.1. Nationally, 256 students earned a perfect score. Each school year, 2.1 million students take the test.
DENVER
Mayoral staff raises outlined to council
Twelve members of Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper’s Cabinet had their pay raises presented to City Council members Tuesday.
The 12 are singled out because the positions they hold are described in the city charter.
Human Services director Roxane White received the largest increase in the group, with a $10,121 increase on her $110,016 salary.
Deputy Chief of Staff Kelly Brough told council members White’s raise was large because her “performance has been incredible” and “her salary was extremely low.”
Manager of Revenue David Hart did not receive a raise because he is a recent appointee, Brough said. The other 10 appointees received raises between 2.25 percent and 6.9 percent.
COMMERCE CITY
Ex-city manager getting DA review
Prosecutors are reviewing alleged hit-and-run accidents involving former Commerce City Manager Perry VanDeventer for possible criminal charges, said Adams County District Attorney Don Quick.
His office received the reports on the hit-and-runs Tuesday. Quick declined to set a deadline for a decision on whether he would pursue charges.
Quick also said his office will not review the actions of Police Chief Brian Hebbard unless an internal investigation of the Police Department turns up any criminal allegations.
Hebbard, who has said he will be cleared, was recently placed on administrative leave while the city looks into allegations he gave VanDeventer preferential treatment while investigating the driving incidents.
FRISCO
Ex-state legislator ID’d as body in lake
Authorities on Tuesday identified a body recovered from Dillon Reservoir as former state legislator Bryan Sullivant, 51.
The cause of death won’t be available until later in the week, but it appears that Sullivant may have drowned after falling overboard from his dinghy Saturday night while trying to board his 28-foot sailboat, according to Summit County coroner Joanne Richardson.
The Republican served three terms as state representative and one as state senator before resigning in a cloud of financial scandal.
CARBONDALE
Illegal immigration roundup nabs 34
Immigration officers rounded up 34 alleged illegal immigrants in a two-day raid throughout the Roaring Fork Valley.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers carried people away in handcuffs from homes and businesses from Aspen to Rifle in an operation targeted at immigrants who stayed in the country despite orders by an immigration judge to leave.
The arrests were part of Operation Return to Sender, a nationwide initiative that began in June, said ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok. The arrests Monday and Tuesday targeted workers from Mexico, El Salvador and Honduras.
DURANGO
Trial set for bar owner
cited in smoking ban
A La Plata County judge on Tuesday set an Oct. 16 jury trial for a bar owner cited for violating the statewide smoking ban, despite his claims of exemption from the law.
Robert Orio said his bar, Orio’s Roadhouse, is exempt because tobacco sales equal or exceed 5 percent of its gross revenues. Orio’s attorney, Joel Fry, said he filed a motion Tuesday raising this affirmative defense.
“All I must do is provide a scintilla of evidence that tobacco sales are 5 percent of revenues and, at that point, the burden of proof shifts to the district attorney,” Fry said.
District Attorney Craig Westberg has said he simply must show that a person was smoking in the bar, and the bar must prove it qualifies for the exemption.
