FORMER PIERCE BOARD MEMBER FOUND GUILTY OF MURDER
weld county» A former Pierce Town Board member was found guilty Monday of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison.
Daniel “D.J.” Meyer was convicted by jury in the 2015 disappearance and murder of Tera Lewandowski, according to the Weld County district attorney’s office. Lewandowski was murdered for “disrespecting” a biker “gang” of which Meyer was a member, prosecutors said.
“This crime is absolutely senseless,” assistant district attorney Robb Miller said. “I still can not fathom why they murdered her.”
Lewandowski was reported missing in September 2015. Her body was found in April 2016 in Laramie County, Wyo., nearly 100 miles from Pierce.
Meyer was arrested in October 2015, when he was a board member of the small town north of Greeley. He told police during an interrogation that he forced a hunting knife into Lewandowski’s chest after she was hit in the head.
Meyer and six co-defendants were members of a biker gang who conspired in Lewandowski’s disappearance and death, according to investigators.
Aspen Mountain will open for skiing Memorial Day weekend. Aspen
Mountain will reopen for skiing and riding this holiday weekend.
Aspen Skiing Co. announced Monday it will offer 130 acres of terrain at the mountaintop for skiing and riding Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
The upper intermediate or blue trails will be open as will the black runs such as Summit and Blondie’s.
The Ajax Express lift will spin from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Silver Queen Gondola will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for sightseeing. The gondola typically opens for summer operations on Memorial Day Weekend.
Mother Nature cooperated to make skiing an option. About 18 inches of snow fell during the past week.
Premier passes and 6and-under passes will be valid for skiing and summer operations. Pass extension days for flex, double flex, classic, club escape, school, Aspen Valley Ski Club and Mountain Collective passholders will be sold for $21 for skiing and $12 for just sightseeing per day.
Lift tickets will be sold for $42 per day. Sightseeing tickets are $21.
Summer operations will be held on weekends on Memorial Day Weekend, June 3-4, June 10-11, then go daily June 17 to September 4.
State revenue chief Brohl to step down in August.
Executive Director Barbara Brohl will resign her position with the Colorado Department of Revenue, Gov. John Hickenlooper announced Monday.
Brohl led the department for more than six years. According to a state news release, she’s credited with helping implement the state’s new recreational marijuana regulations after voters in 2012 agreed to legalize it. She has since consulted with governments across the world on regulation, licensing and taxation of the industry.
She also oversaw the divisions of lottery, taxation and motor vehicles.
Brohl officially steps down in August. Hickenlooper did not announce a successor.
Cops begin “Click It or Ticket” enforcement.
The State Patrol and local law enforcement are cracking down on seat belt violations during the Click It or Ticket campaign running through June 4.
Last year’s May campaign resulted in 5,983 seat belt citations, including 295 for unrestrained or improperly restrained children under age 15.
Fines for not buckling up start at $65, and parents or caregivers caught with an improperly restrained child can receive a minimum fine of $82.
With proclamation, Denver council voices support for local journalism amid pressures. The Denver
City Council on Monday voiced support for journalism at a time when local outlets have weathered repeated job cuts, partisan attacks and other pressures.
Its proclamation, approved 12-0, urges owners of local media organizations “to provide their journalists with all of the resources necessary to carrying out their essential role in civic debate and discourse.”
The document also says council members recognize the need “to be transparent in our conduct of the business of the people” and to be forthright with journalists.
Councilman Kevin Flynn, a former Rocky Mountain News reporter, drafted the proclamation.