“A Colorado Springs man facing the death penalty hurled a laptop across the courtroom Monday before opening remarks at his trial, disrupting the start of El Paso County’s first capital case in 10 years,” reports The Gazette in Colorado Springs. “The outburst by Glen Law Galloway, 46, occurred during a closed session, outside the presence of the jury and the public, and led the judge to temporarily eject the defendant from his own trial. Galloway, an ex-Fort Carson soldier accused in back-to-back slayings in May 2016, missed the prosecution’s opening statement but was permitted to return for the defense’s remarks – this time wearing restraints. ‘No one’s gonna talk to me now, or what?’ he said as he settled back in at the defense table amid stony silence from his court-appointed public defenders.”
“Wildlife officers are confident the male bear they shot and killed Sunday night is the same bear that mauled a 5-year-old girl in East Orchard Mesa early that morning,” reports The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. “The girl — whose name hasn’t been released by authorities — is in fair condition and St. Mary’s Medical Center staff are monitoring her wounds after she underwent surgery and received 77 external stitches for bite marks.”
“The city of Steamboat Springs is advertising for a new Parks and Recreation Department director after the resignation of John Overstreet, who held the position for a little more than four years,” reports The Steamboat Pilot. “The news was made public May 9 when Parks and Recreation Commission Chairman Alan Koermer shared the news with his fellow commissioners.”
“Former Colorado state Rep. Diane Mitsch Bush, Glenwood Springs attorney Karl Hanlon and ex-Eagle County Commissioner Arn Menconi bashed President Trump and his cabinet members and made their political agendas known at a recent Glenwood Springs Democratic debate,” reports The Glenwood Springs Post-Independent. “The three are vying to win the nod in the June 26 primary to face Republican 3rd District Congressman Scott Tipton, the four-term incumbent from Cortez. Before any of the blue candidates get their shot at taking on the president’s policies, one of them must first unseat Tipton, who has served Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2010. It’s a district which, according to ballotpedia.org and the Colorado Secretary of State’s website, Tipton won by a 4.3 percent margin in 2010, a 12.3 percent margin in 2012, a 22.3 percent margin in 2014, and a 14.3 percent margin in 2016.”
“The intense thunderstorm that Loveland experienced Sunday evening left at least one casualty in its wake: a large blue spruce tree that was splintered by lightning in Derby Hill Park,” reports The Loveland Reporter-Herald. “On Monday afternoon, two employees of Asplundh Tree Expert Co. arrived at the park to begin removing the tree, which is just off South Garfield Avenue. “It’s pretty straightforward,” Asplundh employee Zach Smith said. “The tree blew up.” The city contracts with Asplundh to trim and remove trees, and Smith said it was the only downed tree the city had contacted the company to look into Monday.”
“Longmont’s top priority for future city budget spending should be programs and projects that provide ‘housing, services, amenities and opportunities for all,’ according to a survey of 1,737 people who participated in a recent budget-setting exercise,” reports The Longmont Times-Call. “Coming in second in the survey’s priority-based choices were city programs and services to ensure that Longmont is “a safe, healthy and adaptable community” — one that supports “healthy and active life styles” while minimizing “risks to property, infrastructure, and lives” due to natural disasters or man-made hazards.”
“Two companies have recently expressed interest in exploring building a pump-back hydroelectric power facility at McPhee Reservoir,” reports The Cortez Journal. “Pump-back storage systems utilize two reservoirs at different elevations. To generate power, water is released from the upper reservoir to the lower, powering a turbine on the way down that is connected to the grid. In 2014, the Dolores Water Conservancy District released an investor’s memorandum on the potential for a project at Plateau Creek to inform energy companies and investors of the opportunity. The canyon’s steep vertical drop in a short distance makes it a good location.”
“A new apprenticeship program in Colorado hasn’t graduated its first participants yet, but interest is building,” reports Vail Daily. “That interest was apparent at a Monday, May 14, meeting hosted by state and local representatives of CareerWise Colorado. The program, modeled after apprenticeship programs in Switzerland and Germany, takes students starting in 11th grade and then combines job training and education to set those students on a career path. In Switzerland, as many as 70 percent of all high school students participate in some kind of apprenticeship program.”
“The city of Fort Collins is facing a second lawsuit filed this month over a proposed student housing project,” reports The Coloradoan in Fort Collins. “Community activist Eric Sutherland and Brian Dwyer of Fort Collins Muffler and Automotive filed the lawsuit in Fort Collins Municipal Court, claiming City Council erred when it upheld the planning board’s approval of Johnson Drive apartments. The 195 apartments are planned north of Whole Foods and sit roughly behind the Dog Pawlour, Dwyer’s shop, and Elevations Credit Union on College Avenue and Johnson Drive.”
“A University of Colorado police officer accused of stalking a Boulder campus dispatcher pleaded guilty to first-degree official misconduct on Monday, a conviction that will prevent him from remaining a police officer in Colorado,” reports The Boulder Daily Camera. “Sgt. Michael Dodson, 60, was sentenced to 18 months of probation and 100 hours of community service as part of the deal, according to Catherine Olguin, spokeswoman for the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office. Dodson had been scheduled to stand trial next month on one count of felony stalking, but that charge was dismissed as part of the plea deal and his trial was canceled. Interim CU police Chief Paula Balafas released a statement saying the department was still reviewing the matter.”
“At Monday’s school board meeting, the Cañon City School District approved a proposed district calendar for the 2018-2019 school year that will keep the five-day school week model,” reports The Cañon City Daily Record. “The deadline to inform the Colorado Department of Education that the district would move to a four-day school week was May 11. Superintendent George Welsh said the district ‘didn’t feel like we could do such a process justice in terms of being able to allow people to come up and comment.’ Instead, the board will move to an ‘interest-based approach’ to figure out how to ‘attract and retain high-quality staff members.’ If moving to a four-day school week would help do that then the school board said they would be open to further discussion.”
“Thornton, facing projections that its population will grow by well more than half over the next 50 years, is ready to claim the water it bought in the Cache la Poudre River three decades ago,” reports The Denver Post. “But this Denver suburb’s proposed 70-mile pipeline — skirting the north end of Fort Collins and running down the east side of Interstate 25 through fast-growing towns like Windsor, Johnstown and Frederick — is running up against stiff opposition.”
