The trial began yesterday. Monday.Melanie Mirbaba, an attorney for Secretary of State Scott Gessler, told U.S. District Court Judge Philip Brimmer that they will present evidence during the eight-day trial that refutes that claim. The law is not in effect because Brimmer in 2010 granted a request for a preliminary injunction, saying he had seen no evidence that restricting per-signature payment prevents fraud.
When citizens want to put an issue on the ballot, they must collect a set number of signatures from registered voters. Signature collection is most commonly done by petition circulators paid per signature.
In 2009, legislators concerned about fraud that they said occurred during the 2008 election cycle banned payment strictly on a per-signature basis. Instead, petition circulators would be paid by the hour or through a "hybrid" system in which no more than 20 percent of compensation is per signature.
The boat rode up over the side of the Jet Ski and hit the passenger on the arm and leg. With the Jet Ski on the shore, investigators could see damage to the left side with the fiberglass peeled forward as if the boat slid along the side of the Jet Ski, police report.
In 2007, Salem police arrested a 53-year-old Danvers man for attempted murder and other charges after a bizarre boat attack at the Kernwood Marina. The owner of a pontoon boat was accused of ramming a smaller speedboat in an attempt to kill a 45-year-old Salem man.
The most important advice is that boaters should be aware of and have respect for others on the waterways, including but not limited to swimmers, motorized and nonmotor-vessel traffic. Boaters should also take a boater-safety class to better understand the rules of the waterways.
Judge Michael Romero denied the request on Tuesday. The petitioners said their request was based on a number of transactions a few years ago that transferred ownership of the property from Tom Martino to Holly Martino. As such, Tom Martino's bankruptcy estate no longer owned the asset.
Court-appointed Trustee Simon Rodriguez, however, successfully argued that the transfer -- a complicated mix of moves that happened in 2009 -- occurred within the four-year window before a bankruptcy case is filed that can later be examined and included in the estate.
Early in the bankruptcy case, some creditors accused Tom Martino of wrongly transferring assets to his wife's name in order to avoid their liquidation, charges he has denied strongly. But business registration documents filed in March 2011 with the Colorado Secretary of State show Tom Martino is the registered agent for Sherman Properties and lists the Martino home in Cherry Hills Village as its principal place of business.
Each restaurant in the county is subjected to random inspections by the health department twice a year by a team of 10 inspectors. Common violations include improper hand washing, glove violations, not keeping foods hot (above 130 degrees) or cold foods below 41 degrees. Other infractions include raw chicken stored in a container above foods that are served uncooked or an area might not be properly sanitized with bleach. Such problems are addresses by the online class. And although the food safety classes are voluntary and not required by the county, proving their employees have the certification is an advantage for restaurant owners.
The online and classroom classes cost $10 per person and participants receive a certificate upon passing a quiz. For more information or to register for classes, go to jeffco.us/health or call 303-271-5700.
Parents are urged to be aware of the product, and if possible, to use foam hand sanitizers instead of the gels, to deter teens.
The dog owner came home with her 6-year-old daughter to find the dog dead under her table. No one had taken the dog to a vet or notified the owner that there had been an accident, according to her lawyer. She immediately called Pallone and asked what happened. Pallone told her that Ruthie darted out of the house and was hit by a car. Ruthie was "whimpering a little" when they left.
While Pallone admits that Ruthie ran out of the home as the maids were leaving, she said the dog ran back into the house and started growling and acting aggressively toward the maids. At that point, they followed company policy concerning aggressive animals and left the house. Neither of the maids ever touched the dog, Pallone said.
Traditionally, pet owners have been restricted to the replacement value for their loss of a pet. The ruling in this trial sets a damages precedent that animals are worth more than their replacement value, recognizing the growing status many pets have with their owners.
Twenty-one-year-olds also would get to carry concealed handguns -- without a permit -- under Initiative 74, which would bar concealed weapons from school grounds, law enforcement agencies, prisons, jails, mental- health facilities, courthouses and government agency buildings. The measure, though, would still allow state and local governments "to limit the carrying of firearms."
Initiative 77 aims to end property taxes by 2017. The initiative provides that if voters by the end of 2016 didn't approve different taxes to offset the elimination of property tax revenue, there would have to be "equivalent cuts in spending that shall not affect primary and secondary education, local law enforcement agencies or fire protection." Funny, the initiative fails to detail how that feat might be accomplished.
Initiative 75 would create an open primary and allow Colorado voters to cast ballots for any candidate in a primary election without regard to the voter's party affiliation.
Meanwhile, three initiatives, 67, 68 and 69 -- which are essentially variants of one another -- all would make it harder for lawmakers to repeal statutory initiatives. The trio of initiatives would require lawmakers to muster a three-fourths vote in each house to repeal or amend statutory initiatives, which lawmakers now can do with just a simple majority vote.
Other initiatives filed include yet another attempt at a "personhood" amendment and a measure that would require "proof of lawful presence" to obtain a Colorado driver's license. We would all be better off leaving off the minutiae when considering our state constitution - but if we are sincere about more regulations for driver's license, how about proof of insurance?
It takes 86,105 valid signatures of Colorado voters to put a measure on the ballot, and that usually means effective petition circulators gather about twice that number of signatures. The process can easily cost six figures, which is why most initiatives never make the ballot. And of course, campaign funds used in support or opposition of an initiative can run in the millions. Each proposed initiative must have its title approved by the state's Title Setting Review Board, the three-member panel makes sure initiatives comply with the state's single-subject rule.
The lawsuit didn't come as a surprise for Gessler, who fired back, calling the organizations "the same secretive, unaccountable, taxpayer-subsidized groups" that have sued him before. Why me makes the status "taxpayer-subsidized group" a pejorative is unclear.
Among the new rules challenged in the lawsuit is one which would effectively repeal Colorado's reporting statute for political groups known as 527s. Another rule raises the contribution-and-expenditure threshold for issue-committee reporting to $5,000, from the previous threshold of $200. It is hard to see how these increases, which essentially raise the curtain of secrecy for these political activists, helps shine the light on election spending.
The lawsuit is not the only jab made at Gessler in the last few weeks. During the final week of March, State Democratic Party chairman Rick Palacio called on voters to "consider all avenues necessary" to remove Gessler from office, saying he has put his political agenda above Coloradans' right to vote.
The statement came hours after the secretary of state testified against a bipartisan bill that would have ensured more than 300,000 inactive voters receive a mail ballot for the November election. Gessler argues that the bill would cause "massive confusion" months before a presidential election, and he disputed supporters' arguments it would cut costs. A Republican-controlled House committee then killed the bill.
Saunders was charged with speeding and driving under the influence after his breath alcohol tested at 0.089 (the legal limit is 0.08). He was sentenced to five days in jail, a $300 fine and 100 hours of community service in the Arapahoe County case.
This was not Saunders first stint on the other side of the law. In 2009, he faced felony menacing and weapons charges based on an allegation that he pointed a pistol to speed up his order at an Aurora McDonald's in May. An employee at the McDonald's at 18181 E. Hampden Ave. told investigators that two officers were waiting for their order at the drive-through window in the early morning hours when Derrick Curtis Saunders, 29, grew impatient and pulled a weapon.
In addition to the menacing and weapons charges, Saunders also is charged with prohibited use of a weapon, reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct. He ultimately was acquitted by a jury.
Denver police spokesman Sonny Jackson said Saunders has been suspended with pay during the investigation of his DUI charge, but he would be put on unpaid leave once the department is formally notified of the charges. Saunders attorney argues that the wrong disciplinary code section was applied to Saunders in the administrative termination case, leading him to be more harshly punished than the norm over the drunken driving incident.
Excuse me, but what is the norm for punishing a law enforcement officer for a drunken driving incident? He did not kill anyone, but is that because he was being extra special careful driving at 143 mph?
Colorado has not required assignments -- the legal term for when a mortgage or note exchanges hands -- to be recorded for years, a critical part of the problem in determining who actually owns a note during a foreclosure, proponents of the initiative say. Colorado law allows a foreclosure to continue even if the lawyer gets it wrong -- and doesn't hold anyone accountable for the mistake.
Not deterred, backers of the failed proposal have filed it as a ballot initiative which provides that foreclosures are prohibited until all loan papers are properly recorded with the county. That would mean anytime a lender sells or transfers a note, as has been the practice for several years in the mortgage-backed securities business, the holder must file it with the county recorder of deeds.
The ballot initiative -- called the Foreclosure Due Process and Fraud Prevention Initiative -- squarely takes on Colorado law that uniquely allows for "no-doc" foreclosures, where lenders can take a home without ever having to prove they have that right.
The proposed initiative is scheduled for a hearing at the Legislative Council on April 6, the first step to reaching November's ballot. The proposal would need more than 87,100 validated signatures to get on the ballot, according to the Colorado secretary of state's office.
SaferBus provides access to safety records on nearly 6,000 interstate commercial passenger carriers operating in the United States today, which includes privately owned motorcoach, school- bus and tour-bus companies.
The data, which covers up to 24 months of a bus company's safety record, provides insight into a bus company's performance in five areas: unsafe driving, fatigued driving, driver fitness, controlled substances/alcohol and vehicle maintenance. Percentiles in any area can range from 0 (best) to 100 (worst) and are based on the company's compliance with federal safety standards.
For those who arrange transportation for long trips to athletic and other school events in Colorado, the application will be a significant resource.
Colorado's fire season typically occurs May through September, but the lack of snowfall, coupled with higher-than-normal temperatures and high winds, lead experts to predict that Colorado's wildfire season will be early, active and potentially dangerous.
In 2011, Colorado witnessed over 1,200 fires that scorched more than 160,000 acres, and in September 2010, 167 homes in the Boulder area were burned in the Fourmile Canyon Fire. But many local residents have already taken steps to reduce their wildfire risk. Using proven principles for wildfire safety, 35 Colorado communities have participated for several years in the national Firewise Communities/USA® Recognition Program, which emphasizes community involvement and helps residents learn how to do their part to keep their homes and property safer from wildfire.
Participating communities include numerous homeowner associations in Colorado Springs and Breckenridge, as well as two of the very first recognized Firewise communities in the nation -- the Perry Park Metro District in Larkspur and Genesee in Golden. From Windcliff in Estes Park in the north central part of the state on the Front Range, to Santa Fe Trail Ranch in Trinidad, near the New Mexico border, communities all over the state are using Firewise principles to become safer. A list of all Colorado Firewise-recognized sites can be found on the Firewise website, www.firewise.org.
Wildfire doesn't have to burn everything in its path. In fact, cleaning your property of debris and maintaining your landscaping may save your home. Below are additional actions you can take to reduce the risk of your home and property becoming fuel for a wildfire:
Judge Michael Romero said Martino should have filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code if he wanted to control how his assets were dispersed. Instead, Martino filed for Chapter 7 protection on Sept. 2, which leaves to a court-appointed trustee how to liquidate his assets.
Trustee Simon Rodriguez asked the court's permission to sell the hangar in Watkins, which Martino has fought to keep. The hangar, which Martino's lawyer says is worth about $180,000, is scheduled to be sold publicly on Jan. 18. Martino's lawyer told the court that Martino is settling many of his debts, deals that should free him from much of the $70 million he said he owes and remove any need to sell the hangar. Most of the debts were the result of real estate deals that tanked with the economy.
The bankruptcy trustee says the consumer advocate who has made a fortune from "shining a bright light" on bad players isn't at all happy with having it shone back on him. As a result, a new filing by the trustee accuses Martino of deliberately turning normally sedate bankruptcy proceedings into a tussle over control of the radio personality's affairs. Martino said the trustee and his attorneys are "milking the case," dragging their feet to run up their legal fees. Martino said he has cooperated at every turn.
The motion also seeks sanctions against Martino for filing the lawsuit that claims the trustee is meandering by investigating claims Martino said are false.
Martino, 58, blames his woes on the economic collapse that sent real estate values plummeting. Martino owed more than $40 million on several development deals in which he was the primary partner or signatory. Several of those deals have since gone into foreclosure.
Martino has denied any wrongdoing and frequently has taken issue with Rodriguez over questions Martino said were off-base, mostly because they delved into his personal and business deals outside the bankruptcy. Most personal bankruptcies are quick affairs, discharging a debtor within a few months, but Martino's case already has hearings scheduled for late spring.
In addition to the suit against Rodriguez, Martino has filed four lawsuits within the bankruptcy, known as adversary cases, each taking issue with a creditor's claim or effort to collect.
But Martino has also been sued, by a one-time friend for alleged "intentional infliction of emotional distress." Martino was served Wednesday with the lawsuit filed by Sheldon Chrysler.
In the lawsuit, Chrysler accuses Martino of a "pattern of extreme and outrageous conduct" that he claims was a deliberate effort to cause him long-term emotional problems.
Martino says the allegations are not true and that as a public person he is "powerless" to stop lawsuits against him.
The Summit Daily News reported that the victim was visiting friends in Denver and had been in Keystone to ski for the day. He was flown to St. Anthony's Hospital in Lakewood, where he was pronounced dead.
The Daily News also reported that the intersection has been a concern for residents and local and state officials because drivers rarely stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk, and that the Colorado Department of Transportation has been studying ways to make the crosswalk safer.
There are always drunk drivers out there, so if you are on foot at night remember to wear light colored clothing, preferably reflective. And proceed defensively, even if you have the right of way, don't assume the driver will respect it - especially drunk drivers.