DENVER (AP) – Two Colorado cantaloupe farmers who pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a deadly listeria outbreak have been sentenced to five years of probation and six months of home detention. A federal magistrate in Denver today also ordered brothers Eric and Ryan Jensen to each pay $150,000 in restitution and perform 100 hours of community service. Relatives of seven of the 33 people killed in the outbreak testified during the hearing, with some asking for probation but others asking for prison time for the brothers.
BRECKENRIDGE (AP) – A Colorado Springs woman has been charged with child abuse negligence in the near drowning of an unsupervised child at a hot tub at the Grand Lodge in Breckenridge. Bianca Krakofsky is due in Summit County Court tomorrow. The Summit Daily reports a 5-year-old child was in Krakofsky’s care in October when the child was found unconscious in a hot tub.
DENVER (AP) – Auditors say Colorado’s school meal program forfeited $700,000 in federal dollars during four years because the money was never spent. The audit released to state lawmakers today said the federal funds were not spent from 2009 to 2012 and that the money could’ve been used for administrative expenses. The free and reduced school meals benefit children based on their family’s income.
DENVER (AP) – Colorado’s unemployment rate has dropped to its lowest rate in five years. State labor officials said today the 6.2 percent jobless rate for December is the lowest since it hit 6.1 percent in December 2008. The largest month-over-month job gains were in leisure and hospitality and professional and business services.
