DECLINING BIGHORN SHEEP IN MAROON BELLS-SNOWMASS
ASPEN (AP) – The population of Colorado’s bighorn sheep herds in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness has plummeted over the past 15 years and wildlife officials want to know why. The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Division captured 10 bighorn rams last week and outfitted them with tracking collars. Officials are worried because bighorn sheep are dying from respiratory disease possibly caused by bacterial pneumonia. Two of the three herds in the wilderness area have been hit hard. Little is known about a third herd.
GARCO MAN GETS 10 YEAR PRISON SENTENCE FOR INVESTOR FRAUD
GLENWOOD SPRINGS – A former finance company executive from Silt has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for bilking investors. 62 year old Craig Davis was sentenced in Garfield County District Court after pleading guilty to stealing close to $665,000. Davis was president and founder of Americor Funding Corp. when he stole the money. The company was set up in 1993 as a local investment brokerage for land development projects. Prosecutors say Davis took money from investors from the local area and out of state and use it to pay for construction projects. Things began to unravel however when Davis began using investor’s money for personal reasons.
IN-STATE TUITION CLOSER TO REALITY FOR COLORADO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
DENVER (AP) – A bill allowing illegal immigrant students to pay lower college tuition rates is expected to get final approval in the Colorado House. The measure would allow students who graduate from Colorado high schools attend college at the in-state rate regardless of their immigration status. Currently, students in the country illegally must pay the nonresident tuition rate, which can be more than three times higher than the in-state rate. The bill and others like it have been debated at the Colorado Legislature for a decade. Both parties have voted to defeat the bills in the past.
GUN CONTROL BILLS MOVING FORWARD AT STATE CAPITOL
DENVER (AP) – Colorado Democrats are attempting to move ahead Friday with some gun-control proposals. The debate is being watched closely because some see it as a testing ground to see how far the nation is willing to go with new gun laws in the wake of mass shootings in a suburban Denver movie theater and a Connecticut elementary school. The Democratic are pushing for tougher measures, including more background checks and limits on the size of ammunition magazines. They face powerful opposition from gun-rights advocates. Some bills may be on shaky ground. Republicans need only three Democrats to vote no to defeat a bill, and two Democrats have already expressed opposition to some of the measures including a bill to end Colorado’s practice of allowing concealed weapons on public college campuses. Another would set liability standards for sellers and owners of assault weapons for crimes.
