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Headlines – April 11, 2023 Alexis Kenyon
Weiser Joins Effort To Block Anti-Abortion Ruling
Colorado is joining 22 other states and the District of Columbia to challenge a ruling that could restrict access to medication abortion in the United States.
A coalition of state attorneys general filed an amicus brief Monday in the US Court of Appeals in the Fifth Circuit, urging the court to stay a Texas judge’s ruling pending an appeal.
That ruling by a federal judge in Texas last week ordered the FDA to roll back its more than two-decades old approval of mifepristone. That ruling would go into effect at the end of this week. Also last Friday, a federal judge in Washington State ordered the FDA to not roll back its approval of the drug.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser called the Texas judge’s ruling a “flagrant attempt to deny women the right to make decisions about their own reproductive health care.” He added that mifepristone has been shown overwhelmingly to be safe and effective.
Medication abortions account for more than half of all abortions in the United States.
Denver School Board VP Censure
Denver’s School Board Vice President is facing possible censure for allegedly leaking confidential information in the wake of a shooting at East High School last month.
Board President Xóchitl Gaytan has accused Auon’tai Anderson of giving the confidential information to the media after a closed-door executive session.
Anderson says the information was shared outside of the executive session.
The Board has been under pressure since the shooting, when two East High administrators were wounded by a student who later took his own life. School board members voted the next day to put armed police officers back in Denver schools. The move reverses a policy won after a years-long fight to remove so-called school resource officers. In a press conference a few days after that, Vice President Anderson said Mayor Michael Hancock forced the school board’s decision.
According to The Denverite, Anderson had previously led the effort to get police out of city schools.
JAMA Study: Homeless Sweeps Decrease Life Expectancy
The forced removal of homeless encampments, known as “sweeps,” have the potential to decrease life expectancy. That’s according to a new study by the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The JAMA study was led by Joshua Barocas, an infectious disease doctor at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, and includes data gathered by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.
Dr. Barocas said that homeless sweeps contribute to deaths because those affected are no longer close to familiar resources. As a result, they are more likely to discontinue medications, and those addicted to drugs are more likely to overdose, or share needles and syringes.
Dr. Barocas told The Denverite that ongoing homeless sweeps are likely to contribute to up to 25 percent of all homeless deaths over a 10 year period.
The JAMA study also looked at information gathered in Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Airport Community Conversation Open House
The first of three open houses on the future of the Boulder Municipal Airport is scheduled for later today.
The meeting is open to the public. It begins at four o’clock and runs until seven. It’s designed to gather information on the community’s vision on the airport’s future.
Organizers say they’ll introduce the city’s Airport Community Conversation engagement project, and describe the airport’s current uses and plans for future use. Attendees will have a chance to provide feedback.
It’s taking place at Brookdale North Boulder, at 3350 30th Street.
Anyone interested can drop in anytime. Children are welcome, and information will be available in English and Spanish.
Tina Peters Avoids Jail
Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters is appealing her sentence following a misdemeanor conviction for obstruction of governmental operations. Peters still faces felony criminal charges stemming from the 2020 presidential election.
A Mesa County jury sentenced Peters to four months of house arrest on Monday following her conviction last month. Peters was charged with a misdemeanor for illegally using an iPad to record a court hearing.
Peters is appealing the sentence, which is now on hold until the appeal is settled.
In addition to the house arrest, Peters was also ordered to perform 120 hours of community service and pay a fine of $750. She avoided a possible six months in jail.
Harvey Steinberg, Peters’ attorney, told The Denver Post that Peters “should not go to jail since it was her first conviction and because she was exercising her rights to question the government.”
Peters has gained notoriety as a denier of the 2020 presidential election. Monday’s sentencing is separate from the seven felonies and four misdemeanor charges she faces for her alleged involvement in a security breach in Mesa County’s election equipment. That case is scheduled to go to trial in the fall.
Boulder Canyon Climbing Areas Reopen
Four climbing areas in Boulder Canyon are open to the public again, now that the golden eagle nesting season is over.
Blob Rock, East Blob Rock, Bitty Buttress, and Security Risk have reopened to climbers. They close temporarily every year, as the birds look for nesting sites.
Eagle Rock is still closed to the public, and will remain closed through July.
