Prison riot revelations spark calls for transparency
The federal government needs to be more transparent in providing local communities with information about the violent incidents that occur in Colorado prisons. That's the message from public officials reacting to recent news that a prison in the state has been on lockdown status since August, just months after a violent yard riot in April left two inmates dead.
Liveblog: Barack Obama in Westminster
Barack Obama is in Colorado today making a campaign stop at Mountain Range High School in Westminster. The Colorado Independent is LiveBlogging the event that will include opening remarks by Colorado Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter.
Denver police ‘Beat the Crowds’ T-shirt no laughing matter, protesters charge
Protest groups are demanding Denver police halt the sale and disicpline anyone responsible for the creation of a "commemorative" DNC T-shirt distributed to officers featuring a baseball-bat wielding cop and the slogan "WE GET UP EARLY to BEAT the Crowds 2008 DNC."
Warden gets national award months after deadly Colorado prison riot
Three months after a deadly Florence penitentiary yard riot that left two inmates dead, prison warden Sara Revell was given an annual Excellence in Prison Management award by the the federal Bureau of Prisons.
The discovery comes after it was reported by The Colorado Independent on Thursday that the same high-security penitentiary has been on lockdown since early August due to a violent inmate-on-inmate assault.
Colorado prison on lockdown, months after deadly riot
U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar demanded this week that the federal Bureau of Prisons release details of its investigation into a Florence penitentiary yard riot that left two inmates dead more than five months ago, but the bureau is claiming that investigation is not yet completed. Meanwhile, the same prison has been on lockdown status since early August after an inmate-on-inmate assault.
Siegelman revs up contempt campaign against Rove
Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman stepped up his contempt campaign against former White House chief of staff Karl Rove this week, working the Hill and firing off a call to action to supporters asking them to put pressure on Congress to act before the end of the final 2008 session.
Ripple effects of Vilar fraud trial felt in Vail, Beaver Creek
Now-infamous philanthropist and investor Alberto Vilar’s fraud trial got under way in New York this week, even as Congress hotly debated a $700 billion bailout of the nation’s crumbling financial infrastructure and lawmakers balked at golden parachutes for bungling CEOs.
Salazar demands answers on Florence prison riot
Today U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar called for the federal Bureau of Prisons to publicly disclose the results of an investigation into a deadly April riot at a Florence penitentiary that left two inmates dead.
PepperBall firms merge into giant red hot ammo producer
Two warring riot-gear companies have declared a truce and decided to merge their fire power, according to the Denver Business Journal.
‘Super jail’ fiesta a prelude to Colorado’s new federal detention facility?
The for-profit prison firm the GEO Group celebrated the grand opening of its new, 1,500-bed federal detention center in Texas last week with a joyous bash featuring camouflage-clad guards and a mariachi band, providing a possible hint about a similar lockup that the corrections business is planning to open up in the Denver area by 2009.