Headlines – May 26, 2023

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United Airlines Pilots Picket In Denver

United Airlines pilots seeking better pay marched outside the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Denver Thursday, where their company’s board of directors was holding a meeting.

Contract negotiations between United and the United Air Line Pilots Association, which represents the pilots, began in 2019, but the two sides have not yet reached an agreement. In addition to better pay, pilots are asking for new rules that would limit how often the airline can make them work on their days off.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby announced Tuesday that the company will add 35 new flights, six new routes, 12 new gates and three new clubs at the Denver International Airport.

According to Denverite, Colorado-based United pilots are concerned about how the expansion will further affect their quality of life.

Kirby said Tuesday that United pilots deserve the best contract in the industry, and that he believed an agreement would be reached soon.  

Man Held At Gunpoint Sues Aurora Police

A man is suing Aurora police officers, saying they used excessive force against him during a traffic stop because he is Black.

Aurora Police officer Gabriel Nestor pulled over Preston Nunn in May 2021 because he said Nunn drove too close to an officer engaged in a traffic stop.

Body camera footage shows the exchange between the two men. When Nestor asked for a driver’s license, Nunn reached into his pocket to get his wallet. Nestor then aimed his gun at Nunn, shouting at him to “stop digging.”

More officers then arrived and Nunn stepped out of his car. As they aimed handguns towards him, Nunn yelled that he had his license and registration. According to the lawsuit, another officer, Cody Goetz tackled Nunn and applied an illegal chokehold. Then, Officer Nestor tased Nunn twice while he was pinned down. Afterwards, Nunn was bleeding from his nose and from a cut on his head.

Nunn’s lawyer told The Sentinel that his client was arrested on suspicion of obstruction, resisting arrest, failure to obey a lawful order, failure to yield right of way to an emergency vehicle and possession of an open container of alcohol.

Nunn says Adams County prosecutors never filed charges, but that he has been physically and emotionally traumatized by the event. Nunn is seeking money in damages to be determined in court, if he wins the case.

Brough Says Herod Sought Post In Exchange For Endorsement

Former Denver mayoral candidate Leslie Herod is denying a claim that she offered to endorse Kelly Brough in the June mayoral runoff, if Brough would give her a job in her administration if she won. 

The Denver Post reports that another person involved in the conversations backs up Kelly Brough’s allegation. Herod, however, told the Post that the charge is “absolutely not true.”

Herod placed fifth in the first round of Denver’s mayoral race, and went on to endorse Mike Johnston in the runoff. She said she has not been promised a job in a potential Johnston administration.

A spokesman for the Johnston campaign concurred, saying there is no such agreement with Herod or anyone else.

Herod is a Democrat representing District 8 in the State House of Representatives. She said she didn’t endorse Brough because their values don’t align. She also said she supports Mike Johnston’s hopeful vision for Denver’s future.

In the Denver mayoral election on April 4, Brough and Johnston were the two top vote-getters in a field of twenty-two candidates. Neither received enough votes to win outright, and face each other in a runoff on June 6.

High School Senior Sues District To Wear Mexican Flag At Graduation 

A student in Parachute, Colorado filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against her high school and school district Wednesday, because neither will allow her to wear a sash with Mexican and American flag symbols at her upcoming graduation ceremony. 

18-year-old senior Naomi Peña Villasano says the Garfield County school district is allowing other students to wear sashes that represent their heritage and that as a Mexican-American, she should be able to do the same.

According to The Colorado Sun, the school told Villasano she cannot graduate if she wears the sash. They said the symbols on her sash could potentially open the door for other students to wear offensive decorations such as Nazi symbols or Confederate flags.

Villasano, an honors student, claims the district is violating her 1st amendment rights to free speech. She is requesting that a judge order school officials to allow her to wear the sash during the graduation on May 27th.

Southern Ute Tribe Partners With CU Boulder In Scholarship Initiative

CU officials will help cover college tuition and fees for Southern Ute students as part of a partnership deal with the tribe.

Under the new initiative, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe Department of Education will nominate up to four students every year. Eligible students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and be full-time students at CU Boulder.

The partnership builds upon an existing scholarship program funded by the tribe’s Department of Education.

Paraprofessional Arrested For Hitting Kindergartener with Disabilities

Fort Collins police arrested a paraprofessional Thursday for hitting a Poudre School District kindergartener with disabilities multiple times. Surveillance footage from the Shepardson Elementary School bus showed Tyler Zanella hitting the student on three different days in April and May.

The school district put 36-year-old Zanella on paid administrative leave Tuesday when staff became aware of the videos. According to the Coloradoan, Zanella was fired Wednesday.

At Larimer County Court, Zanella was formally charged Thursday with three counts of third-degree assault against an at-risk juvenile, third-degree assault, and child abuse. The judge issued a protection order restricting Zanella from going to any elementary school, including his own children’s.

Boulder Creek Festival Starts Tonight

It’s the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend, and that means the annual Boulder Creek Festival starts tonight at 5 p.m. with free music at the Bandshell. For the rest of the weekend, live bands, a maker’s market, street food, and activities for kids will line the Boulder Creek Path from 9th Street to 14th Street between Canyon Boulevard and Arapahoe Avenue.