Listen:
-
play_arrow
As student protests over Gaza continue, Auroria school officials cancel in-person classes for rest of semester; Andrew Buen faces retrial Alexis Kenyon
In-person classes canceled for the rest of the semester as Aurora protests continue
Community College of Denver has canceled in-person classes after five days of student antiwar demonstrations on its Auraria campus.
College officials cited safety concerns and said students will need to attend classes remotely for the rest of its spring semester, which ends May 6, according to 9News. The announcement made no direct reference to anti-war demonstrations on the campus that have gone on there since last week. Community College of Denver shares the Auraria campus with CU-Denver and Metropolitan State University.
More than 40 protestors were arrested on the campus last Friday. Campus officials said that was because an encampment they set up there violated a camping ban. The Denver Post says the encampment has doubled in size since Thursday, when campers set up tents.
Yesterday, pro-Palestinian activists on the campus began urging students to walk out of their classes and join them in protesting the Israel-Hamas conflict. The demonstrators have demanded that the universities cut all financial ties with Israel, because of the war in Gaza. They also want a meeting with CU Denver Chancellor Michelle Marks.
In a statement yesterday, Chancellor Marks said while she supports the students’ right to free speech and assembly, the encampments were, in her words, “a different matter.” Her statement did not address demonstrator demands. The other two colleges sharing the Auraria campus have not said whether they will switch to remote learning.
After deadlocked jury, Clear Creek County Sherrif’s Deputy in Christian Glass case faces retrial
A former Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Deputy, whose jury deadlocked on the second-degree murder charge against him, is facing a second trial on that charge.
Andrew Buen was convicted of misdemeanor reckless endangerment in the shooting death of Christian Glass, of Boulder, nearly two years earlier. Prosecutors requested the second trial yesterday, and the judge scheduled it for this coming August. Buen is the only one of eight officers involved in the death of Christian Glass to face trial. One other was fined and given two years of probation, while the remaining six are still going through the legal system.
On Sunday, the foreperson of Andrew Buen’s jury told 9News and the Denver Gazette that she believed the sole juror to hold out against conviction was predisposed against finding Buen guilty. She said the juror called the fatal shooting of Glass by Buen a “mistake,” for which he should not go to jail.
The foreperson also said that the jury saw the body cam video of the shooting five times during the trial, which convinced eleven of the twelve of Buen’s guilt.
Governor Polis signs budget; House approves two gun bills
Governor Jared Polis has signed a $40 billion-plus budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. According to Joint Budget Vice-Chair Rachel Zenzinger and Colorado Politics, it includes $737 more per student statewide.
Also, yesterday, as the legislature nears the end of its current session, the state House passed two gun measures and sent them back to the Senate, where they were first introduced. The House amended the original version of Senate Bill 131 to limit the number of so-called “sensitive places” in which firearms would be prohibited. According to Colorado Politics, those include polling places, schools, public college and university campuses, and local government offices and courthouses.
Senate Bill 131 allows the state Bureau of Investigation to investigate firearms crimes. Those would include gun purchases, where someone buys a gun for someone else who has been prohibited from buying one. Investigations would also include untraceable weapons known as ghost guns and illegal firearm components or accessories.
The bill includes a provision allowing citizens to challenge it once the governor has signed. If that happens, the bill could go before voters in November. Both bills were opposed by House Republicans and by some House Democrats.
Read more on Colorado Politics
State lawmakers make moves to protect same-sex marriage
The State Senate has approved a measure that would help ensure that same-sex couples in Colorado have the right to be married, even if the US Supreme Court overturns its landmark same-sex marriage ruling.
According to the Denver Post, the state Senate passed the measure yesterday, but it still needs approval in the state House. If it passes there, the question of removing it from the state constitution will go before voters.
Colorado’s current legislative session ends on May 8 at the close of the day.
Gray wolf confirmation
State wildlife officials have confirmed that the lethal attack on livestock in Grand County this past weekend was caused by a gray wolf.
Sunday’s attack was the fourth by a gray wolf in Grand County this month, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. This incident involved the death of one calf. The Middle Park Stock Growers Board asked Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials last week to kill two wolves suspected in these attacks.The agency denied that request, saying one wolf is likely in the process of breeding. But officials say that as the state’s wolf population grows, their position on this issue could change.
Asked yesterday about the wolf attacks, Governor Jared Polis said that any loss to a business is terrible, acknowledging that re-introducing gray wolves to Colorado had the approval of voters.
Ten gray wolves were re-introduced to Colorado late last year as part of a voter-approved initiative. One of those wolves was found dead in Larimer County earlier this month, reportedly from natural causes.
Boulder bike theft ring
Boulder Police have arrested two men in connection with a bicycle theft ring.
The arrests are part of an ongoing investigation into a larger bike theft ring, according to the Daily Camera. So far, police have served ten warrants and recovered nearly $30,000 worth of property, including bikes and bike parts. They also seized two firearms, among hundreds of other items. Police said in a social media post that they also found a lab making MDMA, commonly known as Ecstasy. That discovery required a hazardous materials team response. One of the two suspects arrested also has ongoing kidnapping and assault cases in Boulder County.
The next round of Denver e-bike rebates opens this morning
In Denver, the next round of the city’s E-bike rebate program starts this morning at 11:30. The program gives participants a rebate for buying an e-bike at a participating bike shop. It’s part of the city’s voter-approved Climate Protection Fund. The Denver e-bike rebates cannot be combined with Colorado’s e-bike voucher, which went into effect on April 1st.
To apply for a Denver rebate, visit DenverClimateRebates.com. The portal opens this morning at 11 a.m.
