Glenwood Springs–The city council got into a debate last night over medical marijuana after a citizen brought up concerns about the message it’s sending to local kids. Once things settled down, the council voted to make a minor change in the wording of the recently passed ordinance.
Glenwood Springs–The Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association is urging local businesses to observe a moment of silence on September 11th at 9:11 am. It’s the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
Aspen–An unflattering sculpture depicting the owners of the Aspen Skiing Company getting rammed by an old mountain bike will stay put. City officials say Lee Mulcahy’s sculpture should remain on public property because of free speech rights. It was built for next week’s USA Pro Cycling Challenge.
Craig–The Sawmill Fire near the town of Maybell has grown to nearly 80 acres. The fire is being managed to burn up old growth of pinion and juniper trees and to improve habitat. The fire was started by lightning on Tuesday.
In other news…
DENVER (AP) – Former Congressman Tom Tancredo says he is looking
for a way to challenge an announcement by the Obama administration
that deportation cases will be dismissed for undocumented students
and other low-priority immigration offenders.
Tancredo says he believes it’s illegal, but it may be up to a
judge to decide. There is no estimate of how many of the more than 300,000 deportation cases currently being reviewed involve immigrants in Colorado. There are an estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants in the United
States. Supporters say the decision is welcome news to kids who know no
other home than this country and their families who are worrying
every day about the possibility of being deported.
AFGHANISTAN-COLORADO
Family, comrades honor fallen Colorado pilot
AURORA, Colo. (AP) – Family and friends are saying goodbye to a
Colorado National Guard pilot who was among 38 people killed in a
helicopter crash in Afghanistan. Forty-seven-year-old David Carter was one of two pilots aboard a Chinook chopper that crashed Aug. 6, apparently when it was shot down by insurgents. Family members, friends and comrades gathered at a church in Aurora on Friday to honor Carter. He will be buried in Fort Collins Friday afternoon. Carter was a chief warrant officer 4 and a full-time Army National Guardsman. He lived in Aurora.
He is survived by his wife, Laura, and two children, Kyle and
Kaitlen. The dead included 30 U.S. personnel, making it the single
deadliest loss for U.S. forces in the nearly decade-long war.
LAMBORN-TAR BABY
Lamborn to meet with civil rights activists
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) – Civil rights groups are hoping to
meet with Republican Rep.Doug Lamborn over his recent comments
about President Barack Obama. Leaders of the Southern Colorado Ministers Union and the Colorado Springs branch of the NAACP hope to meet with Lamborn on Friday after he was criticized for comparing Obama’s policies to a “tar baby,” a term considered a racial slur. Lamborn apologized
to the president, but that hasn’t stopped outraged constituents
from holding rallies outside his office.
UNEMPLOYMENT-COLORADO
Colorado unemployment rate steady at 8.5 percent
DENVER (AP) – Colorado’s unemployment rate is holding steady at
8.5 percent. The 8.5 percent jobless rate for July is down from 8.8 percent
in July 2010, according to seasonally adjusted figures released
Friday by the state labor department. The national unemployment
rate for the month was 9.1 percent. The largest private sector job gains in the last year were in the leisure and hospitality category. The largest declines were in construction. The state labor department says the labor force has fallen by about 8,500 people since July 2010 to around 2.67 million. About 2.4 million people have jobs, which is roughly even with July 2010.
The department says over the year, the average hourly earnings
for employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased from $23.70 to
$23.77.
