Victim of van fire may been living inside vehicle
BOULDER — A man whose body was found in the burned out shell of a Chevrolet van may have been living there when it caught fire early Saturday.
Authorities have not yet been able to identify the man, said Sarah Huntley, Boulder police spokeswoman.
The body was found after firefighters were called to the 2700 block of Glenwood Drive. The vehicle was engulfed in flames when they arrived just after 5:30 a.m., Huntley said.
Officials do not yet know whether the man died of injuries from the fire or whether something else caused his death before the fire started.
It is also unclear whether the fire was intentional or accidental, she said.
Two accused of raping woman, 80
A man in his 20s and a teen friend have been charged with raping an 80-year-old woman in her Denver home.
George Bloom 21, and the unnamed juvenile were charged Friday with sexual assault of an elderly person, two counts of second-degree kidnapping, first-degree burglary, assault and robbery, according to the Denver district attorney’s office.
Police said the two forced their way into a home Feb. 2, then sexually assaulted and robbed the woman. They were arrested that afternoon.
Journalist Bill Hosokawa to be honored
DENVER — The late Bill Hosokawa, noted Colorado journalist and author, will be honored with a Living Memorial this week.
Gov. Bill Ritter and other dignitaries will speak at the ceremony from 2 to 4 p.m. Feb. 16 at the Gates Concert Hall in the Newman Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Denver. The public is invited.
Hosokawa was a longtime editor at The Denver Post, honorary consul general for Japan in Colorado and author of books including “Nisei: The Quiet Americans.”
He died Nov. 9 at the age of 97.
Forbes.com again ranks Boulder as the smartest city
BOULDER — For the second straight year, has ranked Boulder as the smartest city in the USA.
Other Colorado cities may deride Boulder as the place that banned couches from porches and required landowners to get a permit to kill a prairie dog. Not Forbes.
“Boulder is one of the greenest cities in the United States, and the residents take advantage of the many outdoor recreational activities available to the students, professors and overwhelmingly young adult population,” the magazine raved.
The rankings were based on the percentage of adults 25 and older with at least a bachelor’s degree.
Fort Collins, home to Colorado State University, was ranked 12th.
Store worker shot by rifle that was being repaired
GRAND JUNCTION — An employee of a Mesa County sporting goods store was critically injured Saturday when a rifle accidentally discharged in the store.
A customer had brought the rifle to Jerry’s Sporting Goods for repairs, and “there was a bullet in the chamber,” said Heather Benjamin, a spokeswoman for the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office.
The rifle apparently fired while one employee was handling it, and the bullet struck another employee in the abdomen, she said.
The wounded man was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction for surgery and remained in critical condition Saturday night. The Sheriff’s Office has not released his name.
