1-70 CRASH KILLS TWO
Two people died and several others were injured Sunday morning when a pickup veered into eastbound traffic on Interstate 70 near Morrison, according to the State Patrol. The truck was heading west when it strayed into the eastbound lanes and hit several vehicles, Trooper Nate Reid said. The driver of that truck and a woman in an eastbound vehicle died at the scene, and six others were taken to a hospital. The accident happened at mile marker 259. Troopers say it’s not clear why the truck crossed into wrongway traffic.
23-year-old man arrested for homicide at bar.
Police on Sunday arrested a 23-year-old man in connection with a shooting that left one person dead outside the Tierra Maya Sports Bar and Grill at 455 Havana St.
Miguel Angel Licona-Ortega is being held in the Aurora Detention Center, facing a charge of first-degree murder. Police haven’t identified the victim.
Police responded to the bar, at 455 Havana Street in northwest Aurora, at 7:06 p.m. Saturday.
When they arrived they found the victim outside the front door.
The man, who was in his 20s, was taken to a hospital, where he died.
Investigators from the homicide unit are following leads and interviewing witnesses to determine what events led to the shooting.
The identity of the victim will be released by the Arapahoe County coroner’s office once he has been identified and relatives have been notified.
Air Force officials say service has no authority to reimburse for Widefield contamination.
Despite a new study’s conclusion that toxic firefighting foam at Peterson Air Force Base potentially fouled drinking water in Security, Widefield and Fountain, Air Force officials have no plans to reimburse those communities for $6 million spent responding to the crisis.
More than 70 percent of those checks issued by those water districts to deal with toxic chemicals contaminating the Widefield Aquifer probably will not be reimbursed, Air Force officials signaled last week. And those uncompensated costs are expected to balloon, with the districts probably on the hook for $11 million of their $12.7 million response tab by the end of 2018.
Cornell Long, a chemist with the Air Force Civil Engineer Center, disputed the center’s ability to reimburse communities for their costs, saying, “We don’t back-pay. We cannot reimburse.”
A follow-up request by The Gazette for clarification on reimbursement was forwarded to Air Force lawyers, who had not responded Friday.
However, an email Friday from the center said, “The Air Force does not have the authority to reimburse communities for costs incurred in dealing with environmental contamination issues.”
The assertion highlighted a singular theme accompanying the Air Force’s new report on its role in the contamination. Despite more than a year having passed since the discovery, real answers about the toxic chemicals — their origin, their effect on residents’ health and who should pay to remove them — are likely years away.
City will allow jury trials for minor cases after complaint.
DURANGO» City officials will allow jury trials for minor offenses after a civil-liberties organization said denying defendants the right to trial violates the state’s constitution.
The Durango Herald reports that city officials agreed to rewrite its municipal codes after receiving a letter from the ACLU.
The organization represented Fort Lewis College assistant professor Anthony Nocella, who was accused of obstructing streets and parading without a permit.
Nocella had demanded a jury trial, but the city said he wasn’t entitled to one because the prosecutor wasn’t seeking jail time. The city has since dropped the charges. Mark Silverstein of the Colorado ACLU says that even when a defendant is not facing jail time, that person has a right to a jury trial.
City officially listed to national historical registry.
FLORENCE» On July 14, a corridor of Florence was recognized to be on the National Register of Historic Places.
For months the city’s Historical Preservation Committee and the City Planner have been working to earn the historical designation.
City Planner Wade Broadhead said the designation is mostly honorific.
“Obviously, we can put a sign on the highway,” Broadhead said, adding the city has been in contact with the Colorado Department of Transportation about installing a sign on U.S. 50.