The Home Front: Trump’s travel ban hits Colorado

The Coloradoan in Fort Collins localized Donald Trump’s executive order banning travel to the U.S. by refugees. “A federal change to immigration policy Friday sparked nationwide protests, drew commentary from lawmakers and left Northern Colorado residents stranded abroad,” the paper reported. “President of the Islamic Center of Fort Collins Tawfik AboEllail said at least two local members have been stranded abroad since President Donald Trump signed the new policy into law. Those stranded had been abroad for weddings and funerals, but are now unable to return to the United States, AboEllail said, despite their legal residency in the country.” “The sense everybody has is helplessness,” he told the paper. “This is not the America we know.”

“An Environmental Protection Agency media blackout won’t affect the Lincoln Park Superfund site, according to Colorado EPA officials,” reports The Cañon City Daily Record. “The national blackout, which was announced by President Donald Trump’s administration last week, planned to bar the EPA from talking to media, vet all events and freeze all grants and contracts. The ripple was felt all the way down to small towns, where the federal agency is involved in contaminated Superfund clean-ups, including Cañon City, which is part of the EPA’s National Priorities List of contaminated sites.”

The Longmont Times-Call reports felonies are on the rise in its coverage area. “Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett said his office has seen an increase in felony filings in the past two years that could put a strain on court resources, particularly the victim advocate’s office,” the paper reports. “Felony filing rates were steady between 2010 and 2014, with the Boulder District Attorney’s Office seeing between 1,812 to 1,868 felonies yearly. But in 2015, that number jumped to 1,979 and then jumped again in 2016 to 2,231.”

“Colorado Mountain College will modestly raise tuition rates in several areas for the 2017-18 school year following a vote by the college’s Board of Trustees last week,” reports The Steamboat Pilot & Today. “The board voted 4-2 in favor of a proposal to increase in-district, associate-level courses by $3 per credit, service area and in-state associate level courses by $20 per credit and non-resident associate- and bachelor’s-level courses by $11 per credit. Other bachelor’s tuition rates will not increase.”

“Almost half the calls made to a statewide child-protection hotline concerning children in Mesa County were from community members, not mandatory reporters, in 2016, a sign that concerned citizens have increased participation in reporting suspected abuse and neglect,” reports The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. “The hotline received 7,287 calls from concerned citizens regarding Mesa County children in 2016, which amounted to 45 percent of the calls concerning local children that year. The participation of members of the regular public represented an increase from 17 percent of the calls made the previous year. The remainder of the calls came primarily from mandatory reporters, such as teachers and medical professionals, who are required by law to report suspected child abuse or neglect.”

“Both sides scorn Trump,” reads a big headline on a wire story in The Greeley Tribune about criticism from Republicans and Democrats in Congress in the wake of the new president’s sweeping executive order to ban travel to the U.S. by certain people from around the world. In local coverage, the paper profiled a fire-spinning group.

The Boulder Daily Camera reports on a local “postcard party” where concerned residents gather to write their member of Congress. “Local residents packed Boulder’s Rayback Collective tonight night to fill out stacks of postcards addressed to Colorado’s elected officials, sharing their anger over President Donald Trump’s actions in his first week,” the paper reports. “There are so many reasons, human rights, women’s rights,” Superior’s Heidi Haas told the paper. “Just every day, another executive order goes in, and I get outraged all over again.” The paper says the the party, dubbed the “Aftermarch Aftermath Postcard Party,” was “organized by Boulder’s Kristin Fitzgerrell and Cindy Sepucha to capitalize on the momentum from the previous weekend’s Women’s March on Denver.”

“Recently released evaluations from the state outlined the shortfalls and strengths of the three La Plata County school districts,” The Durango Herald reports. “How students perform on state and college entrance tests, graduation rates and other factors are used to determine a district’s accreditation rating. Consistently low ratings can result in a takeover by the state, a shift to management by a charter school or closure. Durango School District 9-R and the Bayfield School District were rated accredited with low participation. This is the second-highest rating possible. The Ignacio School District was rated accredited with improvement plan, one step below accredited.”

The Denver Post asks “now what?” after 100,000 people marched in Denver to protest President Trump. “Since the election, multiple organizations … have popped up to guide people in their activism,” the paper reports. “Some give directions on civic engagement while others spread news about planned rallies, protests or existing organizations. Many mimicking the successful methods used by the Tea Party movement, including an intense focus on local governments, like school boards.”

In Colorado Springs, The Gazette profiled local crossing guards, a job that can be dangerous but full of purpose.

Denverite reported on people protesting at Denver International Airport in response to Trump’s travel ban.

ColoradoPolitics looked at how a bill to allow switchblades in the state peels back a statehouse strategy of using YouTube video channels to push out a message.

 

Correction: An earlier version of this story said 10,000 people marched in Denver. A typo. It was more than 100,000.

2 COMMENTS

  1. Alternate facts? 10,000 marching in Denver instead of 100,000. I know it’s a typo, but a distressing one. Also commented on this earlier, but now it says there are no comments.

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