Long-form news stories about local, state and national policies with a specific emphasis on human migration, socio-economic disparities and perceptions, and the criminal justice system
Tribal leaders engage Colorado Senator Bennet to ensure universal access to clean water on reservations
Lorelei Cloud grew up in a house without running water. Every week, her family would travel to her uncle’s place and haul water from his garden house back to their house. Eventually they moved and did have a water line coming in, but even then, it wasn’t drinkable due to naturally occurring methane in the…
The other DAPL protest
Landowners in Iowa fight controversial pipeline over claims of eminent domain Protesters in North Dakota claimed victory in their fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) on Sunday, following the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ refusal to issue an easement to drill under the Missouri River at Lake Oahe. But the issue is far from…
Hitting on all cylinders
New agrivoltaics farm can power 300 homes “But aren’t all farms solar?,” Lynne Wesenberg asked herself as she and her husband, Dave Dell, drove by a sign for a solar farm on North 95th Street one day. It’s a route they often take, having lived in Niwot for decades. Then they saw an ad in…
Trade war bounty
Though harming farmers, Chinese tariffs have increased food supplies to struggling families Tariffs on U.S. goods have skyrocketed in the past year as the Trump administration has engaged in an escalating trade war with China. According to the BBC, more than $110 billion of U.S. products are being hit with Chinese tariffs, ranging anywhere from 5-25%.…
Pressure points
High HOA fees are a challenge for affordable homeowners In the seven years Adam Perry has owned his affordable unit at Iris Hollow, there have been times when his monthly homeowner association (HOA) fees have exceeded his monthly mortgage payments. First the outdoor stairs needed repair. Then the roof needed replacing, and instead of paying…
A first step
BVSD updates its discipline policy and looks at ending its relationship with police departments In one of the first moves following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers in late May, Minneapolis public schools moved to cut ties with law enforcement on June 2. Supported by thousands of letters from students…
Skin in the game
New Colorado police reform law nullifies qualified immunity, though the doctrine still stands at the federal level As Ryan Partridge was held in the Boulder County Jail over the course of nine months in 2016, his mental health quickly deteriorated. Previously diagnosed with schizophrenia, he was admittedly paranoid and delusional, distrustful of the jail deputies…
A lot of moving parts
A rundown on affordable housing in Boulder County Known as a desirable place to live, with its high quality of life, progressive values and natural landscape, Boulder County has become increasingly unaffordable over the last several decades. For many workers — teachers, firefighters, civil servants and those in the service industry — rent and home…
‘In the interest of justice’
ICE detaining and deporting those with pending criminal charges harms victims and the accused When Boulder County Deputy District Attorney Christina Rinke found out that Jose Lopez-Gutierrez had been deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), she petitioned the district court in Boulder to revoke his bond and issue a warrant for his arrest should…
Only the 11th state
Why was the gay/trans panic defense, recently banned by state law, ever even a thing? As protesters called for racial justice outside of the Capitol in early June, one chant stood out in particular to Rep. Breanna Titone (D-Arvada). “Black trans lives matter,” she heard over and over again. And it’s one she could not…
Angela K. Evans 