Headlines — December 8, 2022

December 8, 2022

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Bus Of Migrants Arrive In Denver

The City and County of Denver will activate its Emergency Operations Center and Joint Information Center today in response to the unexpected arrival of busloads of migrants from the southern border in recent days.

Some of these migrants arrived at Union Station without clear instructions of where to find shelter. They found their way to the Denver Rescue Mission. City officials activated an emergency shelter plan using a city recreation center. The Joint Information Center which opens today is part of an emergency plan which usually comes in response to natural disasters to relay information to the media and to the public at large. As of last night, the Denver Office of Emergency Management reported housing around 110 migrants in emergency shelters.

LEAP Sees Record Number of Applications

The Low-Income Energy Assistance Program  – or LEAP – has seen a record number of applications for financial assistance with energy bills this season. 

LEAP is a state run program that allows Coloradans to apply for public aid to help pay for heating bills. The state makes a one-time payment directly to the utility company on behalf of the household of approved applicants. According to the Colorado Department of Human Services, almost 60,000 Coloradans have applied for LEAP since November 1st. 

The National Energy Assistance Directors Association estimates the cost of heating bills is up 18 percent this season, adding onto the 17 percent increase last winter. To be eligible for LEAP residents may have an income up to 60 percent of the state median income level and pay home heating costs directly to a utility company or landlord as part of their rent. LEAP recipients must also have at least one U.S. citizen or permanent resident of the U.S. living in the household. 

BVSD Prepares to Transition to Full Day Preschool

School districts across Colorado are preparing to ramp up their preschool offerings in accordance with a new law. Legislators passed a bill this past session that requires the state to create universal preschool programs, which will allow all four year olds in Colorado to receive 15 hours a week of instruction free of charge.

Boulder Valley School District has announced it will fulfill these requirements by offering two full days of education per week.. Fifteen BVSD schools will offer an additional two full days of tuition-based enrichment. More information is available at bvsd.org/universal-preschool. The Colorado Universal Preschool Program will open enrollment proceedings online January 17th 2023.

White River National Forest’s Plan For Affordable Housing

A plan to add more affordable housing in Colorado’s high country is in place. According to the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service, the plan proposed is to lease the 10.89-acre Dillion Work Center administrative site to develop up to 177 affordable housing rental units. The proposal would be under the authority of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018. 

Managers of the White River National Forest are allowing the Town of Dillon and Summit County to build on its land in Dillon provided that the municipalities finance the cost of building and agree to house some U.S. Forest Service employees in the new units. 

This project has been underway for years. The land Conveyance program manager told CBS News she feels hopeful this could be the pass that gets more homes for everyone living in the resort communities. She said the latest housing crisis numbers show a need for 700 more units in Summit County. 

The plan is still open for public comment before it goes through its final reviews. The public can attend an in-person meeting today December 8, in Dillon to comment or learn more. 

FBI was Informed of a Possible Suspect in the Colorado Springs Shooting Prior to Arrest

The FBI disclosed earlier in the week they considered the Club Q suspect as a person of interest prior to last month’s shooting. According to the Associated Press, an FBI spokesperson said they received information on June 17th last year concerning the Club Q suspect, Anderson Alrich.

As part of their assessment, the FBI said they coordinated with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, who arrested Alrich a day later. The arrest stemmed from Aldrich allegedly threatening to kill family members. The report by the FBI creates a new timeline for when law enforcement was first alerted to the Club Q shooting suspect as a potential shooter.

This isn’t the first time that a suspected mass shooter has shown up on law enforcement’s radar prior to a shooting.

A month before Nikolas Cruz killed 17 people at a Florida high school, the FBI received a tip before the Parkland shooting.

Internal Audit Discovers Officer Misconduct Press Release

The Boulder Police Department conducted an investigation process that resulted in a determination of officer misconduct in the Investigations Unit, according to a news release from the city. 

Police Chief Maris Herold requested the department review its case management system. Department officials discovered uninvestigated cases allocated to a detective between 2019 and the present. Chief Harold discovered the issue in July 2022 and contacted the Professional Standards Unit and the Independent Police Monitor with allegations of different rule violations against five officers: a detective and four others within his chain of command. In August of this year, the PSU investigation was sent to the Office of the Independent Monitor and the Police Oversight Panel for review before the chief made a final disciplinary determination. 

Kwame Williams, formerly a detective, has been reassigned to an officer’s position and was suspended for five days without pay, according to the news release. Four supervisors have been disciplined after the Investigations Unit’s findings determined officer misconduct. The department has also taken significant measures to address the situation and prevent it from reoccurring, including changing its policy regrding investigatos’ caseloads and how they are supervised. 

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