Author: Michael Braithwaite
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San Juan floodwaters hit 55-year high, forcing evacuations, schools closure in Pagosa Springs
Floodwaters in the San Juan River hit a 55-year high as heavy rains pummeled Archuleta County early on Tuesday morning, prompting both road and school closures in Pagosa Springs. The river’s 12.82-foot swell — reached around 5:15 a.m. Tuesday — is the highest water level the river has hit in the town since 1970, a…
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A jail death in Denver raises questions about intake policies — and how a man with a violent history kept getting released early
On June 30, deputies from the Denver Sheriff Department responded to an overnight call for help in the agency’s Downtown Detention Center. They found a man — later identified as 34-year-old Vincent Chacon — unresponsive in his cell, where he was pronounced dead, the police said in a news release. Police investigators later said the…
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Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives national response team deployed to Nederland in wake of fire
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives deployed its national response team to Nederland Friday in the wake of the fire that destroyed a shopping center along the town’s main street. The Caribou Village Shopping Center, home to an estimated 20 businesses in the small mountain town, was decimated by a structure fire that…
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Aurora police sergeant, school resource supervisor arrested on suspicion of exploiting a child online
An Aurora police sergeant and school resource officer supervisor was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of exploiting a child online. Sgt. Aaron Bunch was immediately placed on unpaid administrative leave for allegedly exchanging child exploitation material using the internet, according to a Wednesday night news release from the Aurora Police Department (APD). The FBI will handle…
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Fire at Nederland shopping center destroys ‘heart of town’
An early morning fire at a shopping center in Nederland destroyed more than a dozen businesses in what residents called a devastating blow to the heart of the town. The fire also prompted an evacuation order in Boulder County Business owners and residents said they worry about how long the recovery would take, and some…
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Secretary of State certifies 2025 election ballot
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold certified the 2025 election ballot Wednesday, with voters set to vote on two statewide measures in early November. The ballot measures include two propositions concerning the Healthy School Meals for All Program, which pays for public schools to offer free breakfast and lunch to all students in kindergarten through…
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Ombudsman: Colorado youth services staff conducted strip searches without proper documentation or oversight
The Colorado Child Protection Ombudsman released a report Tuesday detailing an apparent pattern of policy violations and lack of oversight by Division of Youth Services staff conducting strip searches of juveniles in their care. The report, which reviewed 1,009 strip searches conducted by DYS staff in centers across the state between 2023 and 2025, said…
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Xcel Energy reaches settlement agreement over Marshall fire
Colorado’s largest utility company said it has reached an agreement to settle all claims relating to the 2021 Marshall fire, which tore through a thousand homes and forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate. Xcel Energy said under the deal, it will pay north of $640 million to resolve all the pending litigation, about…