Author: Pam Zubeck
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DA office waits for needed repairs
The only thing professional about the Robert L. Russel Professional Building is the people working in it.Balky computers, wild temperature swings, temperamental lights and elevators, sewer gases, even bugs are all in a day’s work at 105 E. Vermijo Ave. for the 200 people working for 4th Judicial District Attorney Dan May.“I’m pretty busy,” said…
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Laid-off city employees keep working thanks to stimulus bill
Money from President Barack Obama’s stimulus bill will keep a handful of laid-off Colorado Springs government workers on the city payroll for at least a year. El Paso County commissioners voted 3-1 Thursday to approve an agreement that allows the Pikes Peak Workforce Center to pay six city workers with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act…
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Calls about strays, animal cruelty a low priority in county
One place to gauge the effect of El Paso County’s cutback in animal control is Saint Animal Rescue in Calhan. Rescue operator Jerry Rineck said calls for strays and abandoned animals have doubled this year compared to last. “We’re having to turn away 15 to 20 animals a month,” he said. “We never used to…
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AUDIO: DA’s plea for more money turns emotional
Invoking the memory of two slain police officers and the notorious kidnapping and murder of college student Jacine Gielinski, 4th Judicial District Attorney Dan May choked up in pleading recently with El Paso County commissioners to give him the resources to convict the worst criminals. “Those are the type cases, they do take up resources.…
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El Paso County: $35m needed to make salaries competitive
Some El Paso County workers are paid so little they qualified for food stamps, county officials say. For a family of four, the cutoff for being eligible for food stamps is $27,564, Ironically, county workers who determine applicants’ eligibility for social services make less than that — $23,742 to $27,511, about 18 percent less than…
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County residents might have to foot bill for fire protection
Thousands of El Paso County residents who’ve gotten free fire service for years might have to pony up. The Colorado Springs Fire Department next month will propose that roughly 800 tracts that border the city or are surrounded by it be charged an annual fee or be billed if firefighters respond to a fire. In…
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County predicting no recovery in tax revenues through 2010
El Paso County’s budgeting for 2010 kicked off Thursday with the budget director forecasting “no recovery” in sales tax collections for at least 18 months. “We believe we are being very conservative but also realistic,” said Nicola Sapp. “We will continue to decline even further and sometime in 2010 we will stabilize. We have not…
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Democrat sets sights on clerk and recorder’s office
El Paso County Public Trustee Tom Mowle will announce his candidacy for clerk and recorder on Thursday, assuring competition for the seat being vacated by Bob Balink, who is barred from running again by term limits. Mowle, a Democrat, said he wants to offer voters a choice, noting Republicans have held all of El Paso…
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Public kept in the loop when NORAD jets in the air
Fighter jets over Chicago. Fighter jets over D.C. Fighter jets over South Carolina. It seems like NORAD is everywhere these days. What’s up? Business as usual, says Mike Kucharek, spokesman for the Colordo Springs-based North American Aerospace Defense Command. NORAD-dispatched jets routinely patrol cities during drills. What’s new is the notification given to the media…
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Falcon breaking ground on fire station
After 34 years of firefighting, Falcon Fire Protection District will build its first taxpayer-funded fire station. Groundbreaking will be at 9 a.m. Friday, July 31, at the corner of Stapleton Drive and Meridian Ranch Boulevard. The station is slated to open in February. The $1.6 million, 15,000-square-foot station will be 2.5 times larger than the…