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09_03_24_am_headlines John Kelin
Boulder Budget Released
Boulder City officials have unveiled their recommended budget for 2025, and are calling it leaner than in previous years.
City Manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde said that the nearly $400 million spending plan recognizes the city’s financial limitations, but still provides for modest and strategic funding in certain areas.
Those areas include allocations to advance objectives in the city’s Sustainability, Resilience, and Equity Framework; City Council priorities; an d the recently-adopted Citywide Strategic Plan, according to a press release.
They also include investments in affordable housing; in efforts to meet the needs of low-income community members; and in the creation of an Immigration Legal Defense Fund.
City Council will discuss the budget proposal on September 12th. Public hearings are scheduled for October 3rd and October 17th. Online sign-up forms for anyone interested in speaking at those hearings will open the Friday before the hearing date.
Rocky Flats/Greenway Construction
The oversight council designed to monitor former nuclear weapons manufacturing site Rocky Flats is disbanding.
Always put the latest info at the top, then context after
Broomfield pulled out of the Rocky Flats Stewardship Council last week, joining Boulder County, Golden, Superior, Thornton, and Northglenn in abandoning the council. Local officials will hold a final meeting this fall and dissolve by early next year.
The oversight council has existed for 25 years now, made up of 10 city and county governments. They’ve met regularly to monitor the site, for contaminants and other hazards.
The group’s continued demise comes as construction could begin this week on two access points to a proposed multi-use trail through Rocky Flats, just south of Boulder.
Last January critics of the proposed multi-use trail, known as the Rocky Mountain Greenway, filed a lawsuit in federal court to stop construction. They argue that opening the area to the public threatens “irreparable harm” to those that live in the area, due to the presence of highly toxic substances like plutonium. A ruling on that suit is pending.
Last spring, air monitoring at Rocky Flats revealed the presence of plutonium isotopes.
Now designated a wildlife refuge, Rocky Flats was home to a nuclear weapons facility from 1952 until 1989, when the FBI raided the plant for suspected environmental crimes.
Boulder County Commissioners voted 2-1 last month to continue the Rocky Mountain Greenway project. If you have concerns, Boulder County has public comment this Thursday, 9/5, at 9am.
Boulder Commissioners Public Comment
King Soopers Murder Trial
Jury selection continues today in the trial of the man accused of killing ten people in a Boulder King Soopers grocery store three-and-a-half years ago.
The process began last week with some 1,500 prospective jurors filling out questionnaires, according to Colorado Public Radio. In-person selection at the Boulder Justice Center begins today.
Twenty-five-year-old Ahmad Alissa is facing ten counts of first-degree murder, forty-seven counts of attempted first-degree murder, and numerous other felonies. He has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, and remains in custody on a $100 million bond.
Former Denver Chief Deputy District Attorney Craig Silverman, who is not involved with prosecuting the case, said that regardless of the outcome of the trial, it is unlikely the defendant will ever be released from custody.
State court officials, meanwhile, said that opening statements in the case could happen by the end of this week.
Kilyn Lewis Rally
Community members rallied in Denver on Saturday to mark 100 days since 37-year-old Kilyn Lewis was fatally shot by Aurora police.
Lewis was unarmed and had his hands in the air, holding a cellphone, when an officer shot and killed him. That’s based on edited body camera footage released by Aurora Police, and cited by 9News. Police were reportedly trying to arrest Lewis in connection with an attempted homicide.
At Saturday’s rally at the State Capitol Building in Denver, Kilyn Lewis’s mother, LaRonda Jones, vowed to continue fighting for justice.
Since the fatal shooting of Kilyn Lewis last May, Jones and her supporters have pressured the Aurora City Council, demanding more information on the incident and justice for her son.
Dave Williams Retained
Supporters of embattled state Republican Party Chair Dave Williams have voted to keep him in his leadership role. KGNU’s Steve Miller has the story.
On Saturday, members of the party’s central committee voted overwhelmingly to retain Dave Williams as Chair of the Colorado GOP. Colorado Politics says there were nearly two hundred votes for Williams, and only ten against him.
Saturday’s meeting in Castle Rock was reportedly closed to the media, although it was live-streamed on Facebook.
Meanwhile, another faction of the Republican party has sought to remove Williams
A week before Saturday’s vote, a separate faction of the Republican party voted decisively to remove Williams, and to replace him with El Paso County Republican Eli Bremer. Their decision was based on a series of controversial episodes, including Williams joining in attacks last June on the LGBTQ+ community and calling for the burning of all PRIDE flags.
Bremer said Saturday’s vote to keep Williams was not legal, and that the issue will probably wind up in court.
The Colorado Sun reports that the decision over William’s fate may have to be settled by the Republican National Committee or in court, if the dispute isn’t resolved internally.
Second Hottest Summer
Denver has just wrapped up its second-hottest summer ever.
The National Weather Service says that the period from June through August averaged 75 degrees. The average is usually around 72.
Denver’s hottest-ever summer was 2012, when the average temperature was 76.3 degrees.
The temperature topped 100 degrees in Denver six times this summer, which is fairly uncommon. KDVR says in some summers, Denver doesn’t reach triple digits at all. They also say that we aren’t likely to see steadily cooler weather for a few more weeks.
