-
play_arrow
06_11_24_am_headlines Greta Kerkhoff
State GOP Moves To Oust Dave Williams
State Republican Party leaders are expected to deliver an official letter today to State Party Chair Dave Williams, calling for a special meeting aimed at removing Williams from his leadership role.
Once he receives the letter it will be up to Williams, as party chair, to choose the date, time, and place of the special meeting. That’s according to KOAA, a Colorado Springs TV station.
State Republicans want Dave Williams removed in the aftermath of an anti-Pride Month mass email, which Williams signed. That email, sent out last week, attacked gay people as “godless groomers” who want to harm children. The same day, the State GOP tweeted out a call to burn all Pride flags.
Jefferson County GOP chair Nancy Pallozzi, who is leading the effort to oust Williams, said Williams crossed a line with attacks on Pride Month, and that he does not speak on behalf of the Republican Party.
Williams insists he will not resign, and has not backed away from his position.
The letter to be delivered to Williams today reportedly contains the signatures of more than 25% of the Colorado State Central Committee. Sixty percent of the committee’s four hundred members must vote in favor of Williams’s removal in order for it to succeed.
KOAA says the Republican leaders hope to schedule the meeting to oust Williams before the Republican National Committee and National Convention begins in July.
No Venue Change in King Soopers Trial
There will be no change of venue in the trial of the man charged with killing ten people at a Boulder Kings Soopers more than three years ago.
Judge Ingrid Bakke denied the motion yesterday to move the trial out of Boulder.
She said the defense failed to establish that pretrial publicity in the case had made it impossible to seat an impartial jury, according to the Daily Camera.
The judge also denied defense motions to close the courtroom to the public, and to sequester the jury.
The lawyer defending Amad Alssia argued last week that there are reminders of the March 2021 mass murder all over town. He said between the work of support groups, Boulder Strong, numerous memorials, social media, and traditional media, it would be impossible for the accused to receive a fair and impartial jury.
Last October, the defendant was deemed legally competent to stand trial. He had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to ten counts of first-degree murder, 47 counts of attempted first degree murder, and numerous other felonies.
The trial is scheduled to begin on September 3rd, and is set to last for three weeks.
Denver Youth Jobs Program Funded
The Denver City Council has approved a $1.7 million dollar state grant to fund the city’s YouthWorks Initiative Program.
The grant, approved last night, fully funds the program. The Denver Gazette says the program will provide up to one thousand summer jobs to students between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one.
The $1.7 million grant comes from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief, a COVID-era federal program.
Denver Schools Enrollment Decline
Enrollment in Denver Public Schools is expected to decline by more than six thousand students over the next five years.
The school district, which is Colorado’s largest, had 76,157 K-through-12 students enrolled in the just-completed school year. The District projects that will drop to just under 70,000 69,819 students in the 2028-29 school year, an 8.3% decline.
One reason for the falling enrollment is a corresponding drop in the number of Americans having babies, according to the Denver Post. Another is gentrification, since rent hikes and types of housing have shifted the city’s demographics.shifting demographics.
Enrollment in public schools in Colorado was at its lowest point in ten years at the start of the 2023-24 school year. The Post says that declining enrollment has Denver and other districts considering closing some of their schools.
New Eating Disorder Clinics Law
Eating disorder clinics in Colorado will be operating under new guidelines, due to a new law signed by Governor Jared Polis last Thursday.
The newly-signed law will require the state Behavioral Health Administration to issue new rules for eating disorder treatment clinics.
According to The Denver Post, new rules include private and clothed medical exams; specific accommodations for transgender and nonbinary patients; guidance for the use of restraints on patients; and an emphasis on obtaining consent before using feeding tubes.
The new rules are a direct response to complaints from patients at the Eating Recovery Center, a national eating disorder treatment provider with its headquarters in Denver.
Some say they experienced a threatening and invasive environment at the Center, traumatizing them further and making them resistant to seeking out future care.
The Behavioral Health Administration has until Jan. 1 2026 to implement these changes.
Royal Arch Trail Closures
Boulder’s Royal Arch Trail will be closed Mondays through Thursdays until early September.
The closure began yesterday, to allow maintenance on the trail.
The city said in a press release that during the maintenance period, Royal Arch Trail will be open Fridays through Sundays.
The work includes rebuilding the area along Sentinel Pass near the top of the Royal Trail, which leads to the Royal Arch formation.
The Hall Ranch trailhead will also be closed, but for a much shorter duration.
All nearby trails, and the Antelope Trailhead, will remain open.
