Tag: covid-19
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Colorado Springs man convicted of taking over $500,000 in COVID-19 relief funds
A Colorado Springs man was found guilty of financial crimes in federal court for receiving more than $500,000 in COVID-19 relief funds, according to a press release from United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado. On Monday, Charles Lacona Jr., 67, was convicted of two counts of wire fraud and one count of money…
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Former Sierra Stallion Elijah Smith could earn competitive UFC contract
Elijah Smith has waited four years for this moment. It’s late August and days prior, he received a call from his father, Gilbert, who informed the 22-year-old that Smith might fight on Dana White’s Contender Series in September, but they had to wait for more details. Two days passed. Nothing. The next day, Smith received…
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Federal judge refuses to dismiss lawsuit against Denver Health for jail detainee’s death
A federal judge last week declined to dismiss a lawsuit against Denver Health and several employees for their alleged roles in the death of a 71-year-old jail detainee. Leroy “Nicky” Taylor died on Feb. 9, 2022 at the Van Cise-Simonet Detention Center, where he was serving a 90-day sentence. Taylor’s son subsequently filed suit against Denver…
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Colorado schools see improvement in student attendance, drop in chronic absenteeism
One of the larger hindrances of public education after the COVID-19 pandemic was a dramatic rise in chronic student absenteeism. However, new state data released Thursday indicates schools are continuing to recover from this. According to the Colorado Department of Education (CDE), student attendance increased by 0.7 percentage points, up to 91.5%, while chronic absenteeism…
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10th Circuit upholds COVID fraud convictions of Colorado Springs-based doctor
The federal appeals court based in Denver agreed on Monday that jurors heard sufficient evidence to convict a doctor of fraudulently obtaining COVID-19 aid from the government and spending it on himself, not on his medical practice headquartered in Colorado Springs. Francis Joseph, the founder of Springs Medical Associates, argued prosecutors failed to prove he…
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Peering over the ESSER cliff: where do local schools stand after historic funding expires?
As the COVID-19 pandemic becomes a distant memory to public schools, access to the one-time federal funding stemming from it will soon follow. After four years of historic funding into public education, the Elementary & Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) are set to expire this fall. Districts…
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Colorado Supreme Court takes up cases on Title IX investigations, COVID campus closure
The Colorado Supreme Court recently agreed to hear multiple cases implicating a witness’ immunity for making defamatory statements in a school sex assault investigation, whether a university can be sued for closing its campus early in the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether a man should receive a new trial for his numerous securities fraud convictions. At…
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Appeals court finds no constitutional violation from hard-to-hear livestream during trial
Colorado’s second-highest court last week ruled that problems with livestreaming technology during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic did not violate a defendant’s constitutional right to a public trial if observers were still free to watch in the physical courtroom. The Sixth Amendment guarantees the criminally accused the right to a public trial. In…
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‘Hostile and discriminatory’: 10th Circuit slams CU for treatment of religious vaccine exemptions
In a fiery opinion on Tuesday, the federal appeals court based in Denver tore into a pair of COVID-19 vaccination policies the University of Colorado imposed on medical staff in late 2021, concluding they discriminated against certain religions and affected plaintiffs were consequently entitled to exemptions. By 2-1, the all-Republican panel of the U.S. Court…
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COVID-19 an ‘occupational disease’ triggering workers’ comp benefits, appeals court rules
Colorado’s second-highest court ruled for the first time on Thursday that COVID-19 is an “occupational disease” that entitled the widow of a deceased nursing home employee to workers’ compensation benefits. Vincent Gaines was a floor technician at the University Park Care Center in Pueblo County, operated by Life Care Centers of America. Although there was no evidence…