The Home Front: Dirty campaigns in Boulder as ‘councilwoman claims poop was left on her front step’

“Reports of stolen campaign signs are pouring in from around the city, and one councilwoman claims poop was left on her front step,” reports The Boulder Daily Camera. “These incidents are part of a Boulder campaign season that many feel has featured an unusually high level of foulness, fueled in part by widespread misinformation. On Monday morning, Councilwoman Jan Burton, who hopes to be re-elected in November, shared a photo on Twitter of a pile of poop. “Guess what I found on my step this morning?” she wrote. “I guess politics has degenerated to child’s play.” Burton said she found her campaign sign left in the bushes, while her neighbors’ signs had been “stolen.” She ended her post by tagging Together4Boulder, a citizen group opposing her campaign, as the source of “all the lies I’ve seen about me,” according to Burton.”

“All the progress that legalized marijuana has made in Colorado is nothing compared to what is about to happen on Wednesday,” reports The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. “That’s when the marijuana industry will hold a political fundraiser for Republicans, many of whom opposed the legalization of personal use and retail sales of the drug five years ago. Just like any industry that operates in the state, from oil and gas to home builders, those who run retail marijuana stores have banded together and learned the value of maintaining good relationships with elected officials. For the industry, it marks an evolving sophistication of political realities and a point of pride that they are a business force to be reckoned with, one that pumps billions of dollars into the Colorado economy and provides thousands of jobs in the state, said Chuck Smith, board president of Colorado Leads, a newly formed coalition of Colorado cannabis business leaders.”

“A Summit County man hiking one of the state’s 14,000-foot mountains in a nearby northwestern county was reported missing early Sunday morning when he failed to make it home the day before,” reports Summit Daily News. “Shuei Kato, 36, of Silverthorne, was believed to have summited Missouri Mountain in the Collegiate Peaks near the town of Buena Vista by himself around noon on Saturday, according to his wife Valerie who lodged the report, and was expected back later that afternoon. She called the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office at approximately 2 a.m. after her husband ultimately didn’t return.”

“Jen Willard was leaving the hospital after the surgery that took her breasts when a nurse handed her a heart-shaped pillow,” reports The Greeley Tribune. “She celebrates the day now. It was the day she got rid of her cancer. But at the time, on Feb. 3, 2016, she admits to being afraid, scared and a little sad. The pillow was a small gesture, but it meant a lot that it was handmade, and that it had a strip of Velcro, so she could slide a seat belt through it and wear the it on her chest, making those car trips back and forth to the Littleton hospital a little less painful. That pillow also made her feel a little less lonely.”

“From the banks of the Elk River to the shores of Steamboat Lake, residents trying to make phone calls in North Routt County are noticing a disturbing trend,” reports The Steamboat Pilot. “Their Verizon Wireless cell phone service is reportedly fading away, and they’re having trouble getting anyone to hear them now. The service has become so unreliable in places, the local fire chief is reporting some callers can’t make 911 calls despite being close to a cell tower.”

“Fort Collins police are investigating an incident involving an off-duty police officer who pinned a woman to the ground,” reports The Coloradoan in Fort Collins. “A bystander captured a portion of the arrest on video. Fort Collins Police Services spokeswoman Kate Kimble said in a news release Sunday night that the officer was on his way to an assignment Friday when he saw a car speeding in traffic, so the officer followed the car until it parked. Kimble said in an interview that the incident began around 3 p.m. when the officer was driving northbound on South Shields near Centre Avenue where he first observed ‘concerning’ driving.”

“Three people have sued the U.S. government claiming the federal Bureau of Reclamation’s sudden and belated release of torrents of water from floodgates at Olympus Dam without proper warning during September 2013 flooding caused a deluge of water to destroy their homes,” reports The Loveland Reporter-Herald. “A lawsuit was filed Friday in Denver U.S. District court on behalf of Elizabeth Orr; and Howard and Lena Carman, whose homes were destroyed when the bureau opened Olympus Dam flood gates on Lake Estes causing devastating flooding down the Big Thompson River. The lawsuit filed by Englewood attorney Brian Matise seeks compensation for property lost and attorneys fees. The great floods of 2013 killed 10 and caused nearly $4 billion in damage across 24 counties.”

“Two things that typically don’t go hand in hand: romance and beer. Wibby Brewing, however, was awarded with wins on both fronts this weekend,” reports The Longmont Times-Call. “Ryan Wibby, the co-founder of the Longmont craft brewery, dropped to one knee on Saturday to propose to his girlfriend, Robin Brower — she said yes — while his team accepted a silver medal at the 2017 Great American Beer Festival award ceremony. Wibby had been planning the epic proposal since April, letting no one in on the surprise. The hard part was securing a win at the GABF — the rest is history.”

“Plans to expand leisure and recreational opportunities in and along the Arkansas River were debuted during an open house Monday at John D. Havens City Hall,” reports The Cañon City Daily Record. “The plan focuses on the whitewater park between First and Fourth streets, which is a small part of the overall Arkansas River Corridor Master Plan, which also meshes with the Centennial Park Master Plan. The overall goal is river beautification by removing concrete debris and other hazardous materials from the site and then recreational and habitat enhancements, said Nathan Werner, a designer and engineer with S2O Design.”

“‘It’s just crazy,’ a mother muttered Monday while walking into Sabin Middle School, a gifted magnet school of about 800 students in the Village Seven neighborhood of Colorado Springs,” reports The Gazette in Colorado Springs. Teachers, students and parents learned early Monday that two 13-year-old students had been arrested over the weekend and face felony charges. The boys are suspected of compiling a ‘kill list’ of individuals they planned to ‘punish,’ police said. ‘I don’t know what’s going on with these kids,’ said Gloria Gomez, whose daughter attends Sabin. ‘They have too much time on their hands and not enough supervision.'”

“For a brief moment last month, it appeared Target was on track to change the course of cannabidiol sales in the United States,” reports The Cannabist at The Denver Post. “But it turns out plucky Lucky’s Market is the national retailer disrupting the status quo. The Colorado-based natural foods chain backed by grocery giant Kroger Co. is now selling nearly a dozen brands of hemp-derived extracts rich in the cannabis compound known as CBD at its 25 stores across the nation. ‘We’re not afraid to be disruptive and pave the path and be pioneers,” said Sindy Wise, Lucky’s director of apothecary.'”