Aspen's GOP DA Colleen Truden's problems were kinda funny before, but they are now getting downright scary. The court date of a convicted murderer who is now on trial for child molestation (of his step-grandchildren) comes up on May 31st and there is only one experienced prosecutor in the office. The assistant DA handling the case, Jeff Cheney, resigned last month but offered to stay on to take care of this case. Instead, Truden had him excorted out of the office.
"One thing that runs through cases of this nature
is that you have an inherent lack of physical evidence," [former assistant DA Jim Wilson] said
Thursday. "You have a lot of statements, and then you have other things
which are more esoteric evidence. Sexual assault on children cases are
crimes with secrecy. So you've really got your work cut out to go ahead
and look for the things that corroborate the statements."
Wilson, who specialized in investigating sex crimes on children in his
prior career as a detective, said he had many conversations with Owens'
alleged victims during the arduous process of gaining the victims'
trust.
"On top of talking about sexual experiences, imagine
what that is like for them to have to deal with and have to testify,"
Wilson said.
Another hearing will be held on the potential release of a sexual preditor who twice escape from a Pueblo mental health facility in Glenwood. Two HUGE cases, one day. One experienced prosecutor. Truden had BETTER win both of them.
Up the creek without a paddle.
Prayers go out to the family of Sgt. Jacob Simpson, based out of Ft. Carson. Sgt. Simpson was killed Wednesday in Iraq.
Prayers go out to the family and firefighting colleagues of Todd Venette, a former Marine and Louisville firefighter who was killed in Iraq two weeks ago.
Welcome home, to Ft. Carson's 43rd Area Support Group, returning from Iraq.
Oops, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians now says that Churchill can trace his ancestry back to the tribe.
Some people may not believe me when I talk about how bad the Colorado media is, or how good the Colorado Springs Independent is, but CS Indy won all the top prizes for investigative journalism from the Society of Professional Journalists' Best of Colorado Excellence in Journalism.
Con-Agra's Longmont plant will stay union, after a vote yesterday. Fifty-five percent of employees voted to stay a union shop.
If you see a bunch of little wiseacres in Boulder this weekend, its for the world championships of Odyssey of the Mind.
Denver's Juneteenth celebration is in trouble. Money trouble, of course.
Native Texan Governor Bill Owens is asking Great Outdoors Colorado to come up with a database of public lands in Colorado so he knows where he can take his girlfriend now that he's moved back in with his wife.
A Denver Principal is using a loophole to pay college tuition for some of his students. Republicans are already crying foul.
Wayne Allard is co-sponsoring legislation on Oil Shale. He's also concerned about unfunded mandates in the Valley.
A crucial stem cell breakthrough, combined with polling that shows that potential cures from stem cell research, has driven Republicans to introduce a counterproposal to Diana DeGette's (D-Denver) legislation in the US House that Republican leadership concedes it cannot stop.
State Rep. Mark Larson (R-Cortez) is HOT about the Forest Service icing him out of a meeting on expansion of the Wolf Creek Ski area. Larson sent former State Rep. Jim Dyer (D-Durango) to a USFS meeting on the expansion because he was in session, but Dyer was kept out.
The Telluride Daily Planet has this editorial on freedom of the press and Newsweek. Ralph loves the ending:
Shame on the Bush administration for putting its bullseye on the messenger. The motto for the Aspen Times says it best: "If you don't want to see it in print, don't let it happen."
Denver is hosting a Diversity in Business conference next week.
Boulder is hosting a Naked Bicycle protest against global warming next week.
Dillon reservoir is expected to fill this year, which is good news for Denver and Dillon.
Thismatters.org is looking for volunteers for tomorrow's event with George Lakoff at the Denver Convention Center. Ralph will be at the walkathon for the Boulder County Safehouse.