Local Briefs CU TO REVIEW CONTROLS ON ACCOUNTS
BOULDER» The University of Colorado is reviewing some of its auxiliary accounts in the wake of revelations that a professor used funds from a federal research contract for personal expenses.
Oleg Viktorovich Vasilyev, 50, pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to mail fraud and charges of aiding and abetting related to a contract he obtained with Los Alamos National Laboratory. He used the majority of the $234,000 contract between 2007 and 2012 for unallowable personal expenses, including 23 international trips, subscriptions and conference fees, according to his plea agreement.
He avoided university scrutiny by signing the contract himself — rather than going through the appropriate channels in CU’s Office of Contracts and Grants.
Court reinstates lawsuit against city.
GRAND JUNCTION»
The state Court of Appeals has reinstated a lawsuit by the victims of a house explosion after ruling that a governmental entity is not immune from lawsuits alleging negligence by agents hired by it.
Three Colorado Mesa University students filed a lawsuit against the city and its private contractors after they were injured in the 2013 explosion that resulted from a natural gas leak.
A city contractor is believed to have cut into a natural gas line accidentally. The negligence lawsuit will go back to district court for trial.
Man’s body found on ridge at Flatirons.
Climbers found the body of a 32-year-old male on a ridge northwest of the First Flatiron on Thursday morning, according to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff closed access to the iconic Boulder County landmark while the coroner’s office and other officials processed the scene.
Foul play isn’t suspected. A 17-year-old Saudi Arabian boy fell from a rocky slope on the First Flatiron this month. He was hurt, but not seriously injured.
If the man found Thursday morning died while climbing, it would be the first death on the Flatirons in 2018.
Two people fell to their deaths in 2017. Before that, however, there were no fatal accidental falls on the Flatirons since 2008.
City to pay $600,000 to family of man killed by police.
PUEBLO» The city has agreed to a $600,000 settlement to the family of a man killed by police last year. Attorneys announced the settlement Thursday to the family of 33-year-old Andrew Byrd, who was shot and killed by Pueblo officers in February 2017. Authorities say Byrd backed into a patrol car then accelerated toward officers, resulting in the officers opening fire. Prosecutors determined the shooting was justified.
Sculpture in honor of shooting victims completed.
A sculpture has been installed in honor of the victims of the Aurora theater shooting nearly six years ago.
Artist Douwe Blumberg finished installing the piece at the Reflection Garden on Sunday, less than two weeks before the 2012 shooting’s anniversary.
Heather Dearman, vice chairwoman of the 7-20 Memorial Foundation, said the sculpture features 83 cranes that represent the people that were injured and killed during the shooting.
Seventy white cranes represent survivors. Thirteen cranes with clear wings represent those that did not make it.
She said canisters filled with notes from the community and loved ones are inside each crane.
Brush fire sparked by illegal fireworks, investigators determine.
CASTLE
After determining a Thursday night brush fire was started by fireworks, fire investigators would like to remind residents that the devices are illegal.
The brush fire burned 2 acres near Meadows Boulevard and Cherokee Drive around 9:30 p.m., according to town officials.
Firefighters put out the blaze that left people and property unscathed, although the fire came within 50 feet of the back fence of nearby homes.
Fire investigators found remnants of an illegal aerial firework Friday near the area where the fire started and decided the blaze was human-caused.