Many sunrises ago – in 461 or 493, depending on the source – St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, died in Saul.

On a day when “everyone is Irish,” we hope you’re wearing a bit of green and offer these tips to help you celebrate:

Enjoy corned beef and cabbage or an Irish stew and a Guinness.  There are plenty of places around town to enjoy a St. Patrick’s Day-themed meal.  Here are 17 local restaurants offering special meals or deals!

If you’re feeling the luck of the Irish, be on the lookout for the “Progressive Guy” from Progressive Insurance. (You may remember him from the new Progressive Insurance commercials on TV: He looks like he stepped out of a ’70s cop drama.) He’ll be in town today, giving away pancakes, parking and laundry cleaning services. Why? Because he’s just that kinda guy and he’s all about savin’ o’ the green.

If you find you’ve celebrated too much this evening and don’t have a designated driver, please take a cab home. McDivitt Law Firm is subsidizing rides through the Yellow Cab Co.

And if you need a good laugh, check out this selection of oddball Irish dance videos, including a classic “Lord of the Dance: routine by Ozzy Osbourne.

 

Jury to get case of rap concert murderClosing arguments are scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Thursday in the first-degree murder trial of Terry Lamaire Gaines, who is accused of killing another man following a rap concert in Colorado Springs.

Gaines, 24, told jurors Wednesday that he shot and killed Michael Allen Davis, 27, in self-defense, thinking that Davis was reaching for a gun.

But prosecutors contend the shooting was an unjustified, cold-blooded murder in which Gaines fired nine shots at Davis, four of them fatal.

Read more about Wednesday’s court testimony.

Gazette Legal Affairs reporter John C. Ensslin will be live blogging from the courtroom. For updates, visit “The Sidebar” blog at http://thesidebar.freedomblogging.com.

 

WEATHER

The National Weather Service is calling for another sunny day Thursday in the Colorado Springs area with highs around 70 degrees. Warm, dry conditions combined with winds of 15 to 20 mph have prompted the weather service to issue another red-flag warning for the region. The warning begins at 11 a.m. and runs until 8 p.m.

 

AROUND COLORADO

‘Blue Alert’ to nab police attackers coming to Colorado(AP) — A new “blue alert” advisory system to help nab people accused of hurting police officers is among bills Gov. John Hickenlooper plans to sign into law Thursday.

Blue Alerts have been adopted in several states and work similarly to Amber Alerts for missing children.

The Democratic governor also plans to make a new requirement for an informative statement to accompany ballot initiatives.

Hickenlooper also planned to sign a bill allowing child care facilities with common owners to share fingerprint-based criminal history checks for employees.

When the Legislature is in session, Colorado’s governor has just 10 days to sign or veto bills after lawmakers send them to him.

Columbine dad joins push for national gun bill(AP) — The father of a Columbine shooting victim who has since become a prominent gun-control advocate planned to be at the Capitol on Thursday to push for increased background checks for guns.

Tom Mauser, the father of Daniel Mauser, planned to join Senate Democratic Leader John Morse Thursday to call for Congress to tighten rules for background checks for gun purchases.

Gun-control advocates planned to drive a mobile billboard calling for congressional action before delivering signatures to the Denver office of Colorado Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet.

Prominent big-city mayors have joined the effort, including New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Denver Mayor Bill Vidal.

New rule may allow more docs to prescribe pot(AP) — More Colorado doctors could be eligible to recommend pot under revised physician rules adopted by the state Board of Health on Wednesday.

The board backed off a proposed suggestion to ban doctors with conditions on their licenses to recommend medical marijuana. Some 2,000 would-be Colorado medical pot patients are in limbo because their recommendations came from such doctors.

Medical marijuana patients complained that some doctors with conditional licenses simply have a disability that may preclude them from performing surgery but it shouldn’t ban them from recommending pot.

Instead, the Board of Health adopted a rule allowing those doctors to seek permission from a separate licensing board to recommend pot.

The board also defined a “bona fide” doctor-patient relationship as requiring doctors to physically examine people before recommending pot.

Adams County schools may slash $30 million(AP) — A suburban school district is the latest to announce deep cuts because of anticipated state budget cuts.

The Denver Post reports that the Adams 12 Five Star school district plans to slash spending by $30 million, which could result in the loss of 185 jobs. Officials with the Thornton-based district say it will also mean larger classes and fewer student activities.

The district, the state’s fifth-largest, eliminated 188 full-time positions last year.

The proposed reductions are spurred in part by Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper’s proposed budget, which includes a $332 million decrease in funding for kindergarten through 12th grade.

The state faces a budget shortfall of about $1 billion. Last week, Colorado’s largest school district unveiled plans to cut spending by nearly $40 million.

BLM taking another look at Elk Creek mine decision(AP) — The Bureau of Land Management is revisiting a decision allowing an expansion of the Elk Creek coal mine near Somerset in western Colorado, but it’s not certain the decision will be overturned.

The Sierra Club and WildEarth Guardians contend the BLM didn’t adequately consider how expanded mining and the combustion of the mined coal would affect air quality.

BLM spokesman Steven Hall said Wednesday the agency is looking at whether it can address the groups’ concerns in its environmental assessment of the expansion and whether its approval for the project would change.

The mine’s operator, Oxbow Mining, says the expansion would extend coal mining at current levels by a year and prevent layoffs among its 350 Elk Creek employees.

WildEarth Guardians has a history of challenging BLM decisions concerning coal.

Groups want to void oil, gas lease auction results(AP) — Three groups are asking the State Land Board to withdraw results of an auction last month of oil and gas leases in Park County.

The Rocky Mountain chapter of the Sierra Club, Be the Change and the South Park Coalition say the state didn’t receive fair market value for the leases, some of which went for the minimum bid of a $1.50 per acre for yearly rent and a filing fee.

The groups also are concerned about potential environmental effects of drilling.

Buyers at the auction have said higher prices were bid for leases with more potential.

The State Land Board manages the state’s mineral rights to generate money for public schools and other institutions.

Board spokeswoman Melissa Yoder said Wednesday the groups’ appeal request is under legal review.

 

HAPPENINGS

– Author Dindy Woodsmall, noon-1 p.m., Mardel, 5964 Barnes Road.

– “Teen Movie Night – Alice in Wonderland,” 4:30 p.m., Briargate Branch Library, 9475 Briar Village Point, free.

– “Showcase at Studio Bee,” 6 p.m. Muriel Shickman, 6:45 p.m. Genuwines, Studio Bee, east of Pikes Peak Center, 190 S. Cascade Ave., free.

– Book launch with Beth Groundwater, 7 p.m., Barnes and Noble, 795 Citadel Drive East.

– Black Forest Acoustic Society oldies singalong, 7-9 p.m., Rockrimmon Church, 4301 Forest Hills Road. Free; donations accepted.

– New Horizons Band’s annual spring concert, 7:30 p.m., Cheyenne Mountain High School Auditorium, 1200 Cresta Road, $2.