Author: Nicole C. Brambila The Denver Gazette
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As measles cases rise nationally, Colorado braces for imported infections
Colorado has had just one measles case this year, but that doesn’t mean Dr. Michelle Barron sleeps well at night. With spring break around the corner, Barron worries out-of-state travelers will bring more than their luggage to the Centennial State. “My big worry right now is DIA (Denver International Airport), said Barron, senior medical director…
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Parent group accuses DPS of racketeering in challenge to school financing structure
The parent advocacy group that previously accused Denver Public Schools of financial misconduct in court documents has escalated its claims, alleging the district engaged in racketeering through its bond and lease-financing structures. Mamás de DPS filed a complaint in Denver District Court on Tuesday, accusing district officials of violating the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act.…
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Colorado Medicaid spending doubled over the past decade, study finds
Spending by Colorado’s Department of Health Care Policy and Financing reached $16 billion in 2025 — a 101% increase from 2015 — while Medicaid enrollment has returned to nearly its 2015 level, according to an analysis by a think tank. Pointing to 182 health care bills Colorado lawmakers enacted since 2019, the report from the…
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Colorado Medicaid probe uncovers millions of dollars in alleged transport fraud ring
Colorado Medicaid officials detected $25 million in abnormal billing over just four months two years ago — a surge that prompted a new state law and the suspension of dozens of providers in what authorities now describe as an organized fraud ring. State and federal prosecutors have since charged two transportation providers in separate indictments,…
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DPS board extends Kaiser health contract one year, restarts bidding process
Denver Public Schools Superintendent Alex Marrero declined to endorse his staff’s recommendation to award Motiv Health and UnitedHealthcare a three-year contract during Thursday’s board meeting. The staff recommendation came after Kaiser Permanente — which has held the contract for more than five decades — was outbid last year by three other insurers. Marrero cited “interference”…
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Will Denver see stepped-up immigration enforcement next? | ANALYSIS
Two years ago — as Denver grappled with a sharp influx of immigrants, many who arrived in the city after illegally crossing America’s borders — Mayor Mike Johnston joined the mayors of Chicago and New York City in criticizing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s busing campaign and called for a national strategy to address the crisis.…
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DEA, FBI refuse to confirm or deny existence of warrants for Denver raids
Federal agents are refusing to release the warrants they used to breach doors at a southeast Denver apartment complex. Both the DEA and FBI issued what’s known as a “Glomar” denial — a response that allows agencies to neither confirm nor deny the records exist. Angela C. Davis, unit chief within the DEA’s Freedom of…
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ICE sued over plans to expand detention capacity in Colorado
The ACLU of Colorado filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) seeking records on the government’s plans for expanding its detention capacity in the state. “Already, our previous requests and subsequent lawsuit have revealed how ICE may spend some of its record $45 billion budget intended for immigration detention,” said Tim Macdonald,…
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Denver school board weighs hiring its own attorney
After the Denver school board filtered the contract language to the district’s general counsel, who answers to Superintendent Alex Marrero, the board of education is now considering a policy that would allow them to retain independent legal services. The Denver Public Schools Board of Education is expected to vote on a first reading of the…
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Colorado’s unauthorized immigrant population jumps by 40,000 in 2 years, Pew reports
The population of immigrants illegally staying in America rose by more than 40,000 in just two years in Colorado, a new report has found. In 2021, this population in Colorado was estimated to be 160,000. Just two years later, that figure had ballooned to more than 200,000, according to the Pew Research Center’s most recent…