Evangelical policy activists raise ‘God’s army’ at Colorado Springs conference
Fear, persecution and self-defense dominated the message this week as hundreds of evangelicals gathered in Colorado Springs for a national conference on Christian political strategy. The four-day...
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Denver painters fight toxic labor practices
In February, commercial painter Juan Deras asked his boss Betty Henry at Craftsman Painting and Decorators Inc. for a respirator mask to protect him from the toxic chemicals he worked with daily. She...
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“What was done in the dark”
“I really don’t know what to say to you,” began the letter, written in neat script on prison-issue loose leaf paper. “But let’s start by bringing what was done in the dark into the light. I have a lot...
View ArticleNew investigation: VA hospital’s “chaotic care” failed to save Vietnam veteran
A Vietnam veteran who died late last year of severe liver disease complications was a victim of substandard care at the Grand Junction Veterans Affairs Medical Center, according to an investigation by...
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Reasonable Doubts
A convicted rapist has confessed in a 1987 sex assault case for which an apparently innocent man is spending his 28th year behind bars. In light of the confession and other new evidence, Denver...
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Bad Water: Locals blame Animas River disaster on the “Environmental Pollution...
The alarming French’s mustard color of southwest Colorado’s Animas River is now running somewhere between orange Kool-Aid and the yellowish hue of Mountain Dew. But anger over the Environmental...
View ArticleDoes Colorado’s death penalty have a race problem?
James Holmes killed more people during his movie theater massacre than Nathan Dunlap, Sir Mario Owens and Robert Ray combined. Dunlap, Owens and Ray, all of whom are black, are on death row. Holmes,...
View ArticleWHAT’S THE PLAN? Second draft of state water plan lacks actionable solutions...
Colorado needs a mother lode of water by 2050 – as much, in fact, as it takes to serve about 2 million people. As our climate changes and population keeps soaring, the future looks scary dry. That’s...
View ArticleMissing sidewalks, dangerous intersections make Front Range public transit...
What good is a $4.7 billion transit system in Colorado if passengers can’t reach their bus stops and light rail stations safely? In many areas around Denver, sidewalks have seemingly gone missing. From...
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The Hill: A historic Jewish cemetery in Lakewood goes forsaken
There are 800 Jews buried on a scraggly hill on the outskirts of Lakewood, their graves unmarked, unkempt and vandalized. Most years, the Hill, as the old cemetery is known, doesn’t get mowed more than...
View ArticleLibertarians, Latino activists, sheriffs union members unite: Elect Denver’s...
The Denver Sheriff Department has long been a mess. Some of its deputies have kicked and clobbered inmates without provocation. Other deputies have booked the wrong people – confusing black people for...
View ArticleTies bind conservative school boards’ anti-union attacks
The most recent battle in the conservative attack on teachers’ unions erupted in Loveland’s Thompson School District. The fight comes in the wake of similar — and perhaps politically connected —...
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How a gay hipster became a right-wing smearmeister
“Flat-out deranged.” That’s how The Denver Post’s editorial board described 26-year-old libertarian politico Jonathan Lockwood’s comments last month about Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet’s vote in favor...
View ArticleDark money, lies and disclosure in the JeffCo school board race
Groups opposed to the recall of three conservative Jefferson County Board of Education members are doing their best to keep under wraps how much they’re spending on opposition mailers or TV time. And...
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PHOTOS: Clarence Moses-EL celebrates freedom
After 28 years in prison for a crime all evidence suggests he did not commit, Clarence Moses-EL walked out of jail, saw his family and tasted freedom. Read Colorado Independent editor Susan Greene’s...
View ArticleConfused about the Colorado caucuses? Here’s the deal.
Don’t expect to walk into a voting machine and pull a lever to participate in Colorado’s early voting process. Let The Colorado Independent walk you through what you need to do to help choose the next...
View ArticleWondering what’s going on in Colorado’s Statehouse in 2016?
Next week begins another legislative session in Colorado where Republicans who control the Senate and Democrats who control the House will hash out bills under the gold dome of the Capitol all while...
View ArticleWhat you need to know about Colorado’s biggest political battle
Even before lawmakers gaveled the 2016 session into order on Wednesday, three words have dominated debate at the Capitol: Hospital Provider Fee. Understanding the issue, why it’s an issue, and the...
View ArticleWhy death penalty abolitionists hit the snooze button in Colorado this year
Activists working to put a stop to Colorado’s death penalty have decided not to push a legislative agenda this year. Capital punishment advocates are moving forward to make it easier for prosecutors to...
View ArticleCaucuses were chaos. Should Colorado have a primary instead?
Now that Colorado’s Super Tuesday caucuses are over, attention is shifting away from the candidates and onto something else: the process. Enthusiasm for Bernie Sanders fueled record-breaking turnout...
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