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Tag: Boulder

‘Just chaos’: Survivors of King Soopers shooting take the stand in trial
CBS Colorado, State

‘Just chaos’: Survivors of King Soopers shooting take the stand in trial

By  Karen Morfitt | CBS Colorado Three years after the shooting at the Boulder King Soopers, those who were inside the store shared how they remember that day in court. Hayden Steele was at a checkout stand when the gunman entered. "Just chaos, people screaming, running, gunshots, people mobbing toward the back exits to get away," he told the court. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
Over 700 people are homeless in Boulder — fewer than last year, but higher than in the past six
Boulder Reporting Lab, Local

Over 700 people are homeless in Boulder — fewer than last year, but higher than in the past six

By Brooke Stephensen | Boulder Reporting Lab In January, volunteers counted 727 people experiencing homelessness in Boulder County. While this is a decrease from last year’s count of 839, it is still the second-highest figure recorded since the count began in 2017. The Point-in-Time report, published on Aug. 13, is a count of the number of homeless people on Jan. 22, 2024. Mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and conducted by the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative, the data provides some of the most reliable indicators of homelessness trends in Boulder County and across the Denver metro area, despite year-to-year variations due to weather, methodology and volunteer turnout. Of the 727 people counted, at least 193 — over a quarter — were uns...
Testimony begins in Boulder grocery store shooting trial
CBS Colorado, Local

Testimony begins in Boulder grocery store shooting trial

By Scott Weiser | CBS Colorado More than three difficult years later, the people who lived through the infamy of the mass murder at a Colorado King Soopers grocery store on March 22, 2021, dutifully recalled what happened in a Boulder courtroom Thursday. Seven people took the stand, the first to testify in the case against Ahmad Alissa for the killings of 10 people. Prosecutor Michael Dougherty began to try to show that Ahmad Alissa had clarity of mission that day; that actions were planned, deliberate and intentional, while defense attorney Sam Dunn is hoping the jury will find Ahmad Alissa not guilty by reason of insanity. "This guy was not just moving just shooting randomly, he was pointing and aiming," said Kevin Slay, one of the first witnesses for the prosecution."...
In Boulder, ballot measure seeking to close airport withdrawn amid FAA lawsuit to keep it open
Boulder Reporting Lab, Local

In Boulder, ballot measure seeking to close airport withdrawn amid FAA lawsuit to keep it open

By Tim Drugan | Boulder Reporting Lab Boulder’s 2024 local election just became much less contentious. Organizers with the ballot measure committee Airport Neighborhood Campaign announced Aug. 27 that they have withdrawn their controversial measure to decommission the Boulder Municipal Airport from the November ballot. A separate but related measure to redevelop the land into affordable housing, which had also qualified for the ballot, is also being withdrawn. It would have been the first time in the airport’s nearly 100-year history that voters decided whether to close the municipal airport. The measures were shaping up to be the most controversial local issues of this election season. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE BOULDER REPORTING LAB
Boulder dentist arrested in Florida as suspect in DHS child sex sting
CBS Colorado, Local

Boulder dentist arrested in Florida as suspect in DHS child sex sting

By Austen Erblat | CBS Colorado A Colorado dentist is facing charges of trying to entice a mother and her underaged daughter into having unlawful sex, federal prosecutors say. Jason Atha, a dentist who practiced in Boulder, is accused of speaking to a woman to arrange to have sex with her and her 9-year-old daughter. The person he was allegedly talking to was an undercover federal agent and he was arrested in West Palm Beach after flying there last week. Atha, 49, didn't know he was messaging with an undercover Department of Homeland Security Homeland Security Investigations agent on a chatroom centered around "taboo" sex acts, according to a 27-page indictment. In those messages, Atha allegedly talked to the agent who he thought was a single mom about having sex with her and her ...
In advance of election, Boulder City Council to weigh long-term plan for closing municipal airport by 2041
Boulder Reporting Lab, Local

In advance of election, Boulder City Council to weigh long-term plan for closing municipal airport by 2041

By Boulder Reporting Lab City of Boulder officials are asking councilmembers to decide next week whether the city should begin the process of closing the Boulder Municipal Airport by 2041. According to a city staff memo published this week, 2041 is the date when the city estimates it will no longer be obligated to keep the airport operating under Federal Aviation Administration regulations. The decision will be part of a special meeting on July 25, when councilmembers return from their summer break. The discussion comes after a group of residents gathered enough signatures to place two measures on the November ballot dealing with the airport. One measure would close the airport “as soon as reasonably feasible,” while the other would repurpose the land to create a neighbo...
Chamber opposes closing of Boulder Airport, ‘red-herring’ argument that started effort
Boulder Reporting Lab, Local

Chamber opposes closing of Boulder Airport, ‘red-herring’ argument that started effort

By Boulder Reporting Lab The Boulder Chamber announced last week that it is “firmly opposed” to proposed ballot measures that would decommission the city’s airport and use the land to build housing. The organization, which represents businesses across Boulder County, is the latest to take a stance in a thorny debate that is shaping up to be the most contentious issue of this year’s local election. “There are significant economic vitality, transportation and public safety benefits of access to this community asset that far outweigh the red-herring argument for converting our municipal airport to future housing,” the chamber said in a statement. Earlier this month, organizers with the ballot measure committee, Airport Neighborhood Campaign, gathered enough signat...
Inflation leads to Boulder 2024 budget bump up to $530.7 million
Boulder Reporting Lab, Local

Inflation leads to Boulder 2024 budget bump up to $530.7 million

By Boulder Reporting Lab Councilmembers on Thursday approved a $46.4 million adjustment to the 2024 budget, using unspent money from the prior year, new grant money and additional revenue. Much of the money will be spent on existing programs and infrastructure projects, some of which have increased in cost due to inflation, according to city officials. The budget includes renovations for city facilities, a long-awaited respite care program for homeless people transitioning out of the hospital, two electric fire trucks, seven electric buses for the HOP route, cost escalations for an underpass and multi-modal changes at 19th Street and additional money for the North Boulder Library, which is slated to open as soon as this month. READ THE FULL STORY AT BOULDER REPORTING LAB
Measure to close Boulder’s airport qualifies for November 2024 ballot
Boulder Reporting Lab, Local

Measure to close Boulder’s airport qualifies for November 2024 ballot

By John Herrick | Boulder Reporting Lab City of Boulder voters may soon decide whether to close the municipal airport for the first time in the city’s history.  Organizers with the ballot measure committee, Airport Neighborhood Campaign, have gathered enough signatures to place a measure on the November ballot to decommission the Boulder Municipal Airport “as soon as reasonably feasible,” city officials confirmed on June 13. A separate but related measure to redevelop the land into a “sustainable, mixed-use neighborhood” also qualified for the ballot, officials said.  “It’s just a wonderful feeling that our hard work paid off,” Laura Kaplan, a member of the city’s Planning Board and organizer with the ballot measure committee, told Boulder Reporting Lab.  READ THE FUL...
A call to ban the sale of high-potency THC products in Boulder, amid rising teen mental health concerns
Boulder Reporting Lab, Local

A call to ban the sale of high-potency THC products in Boulder, amid rising teen mental health concerns

By Tim Drugan | Boulder Reporting Lab Avani Dilger, a licensed counselor specializing in addiction, has worked with young people in Boulder County for decades. She runs a private practice and Natural Highs, a nonprofit she founded to help teens choose alternatives to drugs and alcohol. Recently, she noticed a change in how local young people are affected by THC products as the potency of those products has risen.    Dilger has observed more Boulder teens developing dependencies on THC products, complete with withdrawal symptoms that manifest as mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. “We have never seen anything like this with people who use marijuana,” Dilger said. “I have worked for over 20 years with people who have used marijuana and who have g...