Colorado
Woman and girl found dead inside home in Highlands Ranch; woman identified
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. – A woman and a girl were found dead inside a Highlands Ranch home Monday morning, and authorities have spent the day investigating their deaths.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office says Cristi Benavides, 39, and a “juvenile female” were found dead at a home on Crestmore Way around 7:30 a.m. Monday.
Authorities said they believe Benavides was only living temporarily at the home.
The sheriff’s office says it does not believe there is a threat to the community, but has not released further information at this time.
But neighbors told Denver7 that the girl was Benavides‘ daughter and that the incident was a murder-suicide.
Northridge Elementary Principal James Hamilton sent a letter home to parents, students and staff of the school to inform them of the girl’s death. She was a fifth-grader at the school.
In part, the letter states the following:
The Northridge and Douglas County School District communities are saddened for this loss. Please keep the Benavides family in your thoughts.
We recognize that this information is hard to process and will impact everyone differently. There are resources available to help during this difficult time, but the most important thing is that we are here to support one other.
Our District Crisis Team is working with school mental health professionals at our school to ensure that both students and staff have the support needed during this sad time. Northridge staff will not be announcing this information to our students at school. However, we do anticipate that there may be discussion among some of our students in the next few days and our staff is prepared to address their questions and support them as needed.
As parents, you are the very best support system in meeting your child’s needs. Knowing what to say to your child is often difficult. When no other words come to mind, a hug and saying, “This is really hard for all of us,” may provide comfort. You can provide the best explanation that fits with your values and beliefs, knowing that other parents may share this information with their children and informal discussions may take place in and outside of school. You may wish to have a family discussion to talk briefly about loss of life and to acknowledge any feelings that may surface. If you need additional guidance in discussing this situation with your child, please see the attached suggestions from our District Crisis Team.
Please feel free to contact us directly if you have concerns about your child, or if you need any assistance in addressing this tragedy in our community.
For the Colorado Crisis Services reference guide click here .
For Tips for Kids please click here
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Colorado extends deadline to sign up for health insurance on state exchange to Friday
DENVER – Colorado’s health insurance exchange extended its enrollment deadline by three days Tuesday evening in response to a late surge in people trying to sign up for coverage.
Connect For Health Colorado, which operates the state exchange under the federal Affordable Care Act, extended the deadline for people to sign up to 6 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 3. The deadline had been set for Tuesday evening.
Colorado’s exchange said enrollment on Monday was running 12 percent ahead of 2016 enrollment figures. A spokesman for the exchange said 200,000 people obtained coverage on the exchange last year.
Connect For Health Colorado plans will go into effect March 1, so anyone in the process of enrolling over the phone, in-person at an enrollment center, or online at Friday’s deadline will be able to complete their enrollment.
The spike in enrollment comes as Republicans in Washington say they are working to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, and as Republicans in Colorado’s Legislature work to dismantle the state exchange as well.
Tuesday is the deadline for people in states that do not have their own exchanges to sign up for coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
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Denver college student from Libya sues Trump administration over executive order
DENVER – A Muslim Colorado college student on Tuesday joined a growing list of people in various states who are suing the Trump administration over an executive order that temporarily restricts refugees and other immigrants from the U.S.
Zakaria Hagig, 24, who is originally from Libya but is legally studying business full time at Community College of Denver, had the suit filed on his behalf in U.S. District Court of Colorado Tuesday morning. Continue reading
Hundreds of potential Colorado refugees, immigrants affected by Pres. Trump’s executive order
DENVER – Hundreds of people projected to come to Colorado this year will be affected by President Trump’s executive order barring refugees and people with visas from certain predominantly-Muslim countries.
The Colorado Department of Human Services projected in a report released in the past few months that a total of 2,195 refugees will arrive to Colorado in Fiscal Year 2017, which runs from October 2016 through September 2017. Continue reading
Veterans Affairs: Aurora VA hospital will be exempt from federal hiring freeze
DENVER – The new Veterans Affairs hospital in Aurora will be exempt from the federal hiring freeze ordered by the new administration, allaying fears that the controversial hospital would not be staffed once it finally opens.
The Department of Veterans Affairs announced Friday it would exempt “certain positions,” most of which are related to direct patient care, from the hiring freeze ordered by the Trump administration “because they are necessary to meet [VA] public safety responsibilities.” Continue reading
FBI joins investigation into threats left at Aurora immigration and refugee center
AURORA, Colo. – The Federal Bureau of Investigations on Friday joined an investigation into signs left at an Aurora community center Thursday morning that threatened to “blow up” refugees.
A spokesman for the Aurora Police Department confirmed Friday afternoon the FBI had joined the case, after the typewritten notes saying, “We’re gonna blow up all of you refugees,” were left at Mango House.
The community center helps refugees with medical and dental care, and provides citizenship classes to get them on the path toward citizenship and integration in American society.
One of the notes was left in the Mango House’s parking lot; another was left in a stairwell.
Employees at the center told Denver7 Thursday they were shocked by the notes.
“It makes me want to stand up stronger and say no. These people are kind and loving, and if you get to know them, you will get to love them, just like I do,” said Carolyn Anello, who founded the dental clinic at Mango House.
Aurora police said Thursday they were investigating the incident as a bias-motivated crime.
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Colorado ‘Hamilton electors’ lawsuits cost taxpayers nearly $40K in legal fees
DENVER – Colorado taxpayers paid nearly $40,000 in lawyers’ fees in the court battles that surrounded two Democratic Colorado electors who unsuccessfully fought the state law that required them to vote for Hillary Clinton.
Electors Polly Baca and Robert Nemanich fought the state law, which requires electors to cast their electoral ballot for the candidate that won the state’s popular vote, in federal court – first in U.S. District Court of Colorado, then in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals once their initial request for an injunction was denied.
The Colorado Secretary of State also filed suit against Baca and Nemanich in Denver District Court in order to have a judge clarify the legal ramifications the electors would face should they either not take the oath of office for electors or fail to follow state rules in casting their votes.
Baca and Nemanich were among a group of so-called “Hamilton Electors” across the country who argued that state laws telling electors who to vote for were unconstitutional. The movement was aimed at getting Republican electors not to vote for Donald Trump and electors in states without binding rules to cast their vote for someone else as well.
In the end, fewer than 10 electoral votes nationally were cast for a candidate not named Trump or Clinton.
One of them was from Micheal Baca of Denver, who took the oath of office but “wrote in” John Kasich’s name on the ballot, thus invalidating it and opening the door for his possible prosecution. He was replaced after failing to adhere to his oath, and all of Colorado’s votes ended up going to Clinton as mandated by the state law.
LAWYERS’ FEES ADD UP, BUT NOT OUT OF ORDINARY
Some readers had asked how much lawyers’ fees for the state would cost because of the court fights. The state’s attorneys were provided through the Attorney General’s Office and were used by the attorney general, Gov. John Hickenlooper and Secretary of State Wayne Williams in the cases. Williams was the only plaintiff in the suit asking Denver District Court for guidance.
Attorneys’ fees for various cases each office appears in court for are tabulated at the end of each month. The Secretary of State’s Office provided the figures to Denver7 Thursday after they were requested in December.
In both cases, the attorneys billed the state at $98.26 an hour.
Defense fees in the federal case amounted to a total of $9,213.44 in December for the federal case for the Secretary of State’s Office, which said its fees were one-third of the total fees. The Attorney General’s Office and Governor’s Office were both billed the same amount, leading to a total of $27,640.32 charged to taxpayers for 93.77 hours of attorneys’ work.
In the Denver case in which the Secretary of State’s Office was the only plaintiff, the office was billed for 107.7 hours at $98.26 an hour, equaling $10,582.59. It was also billed $23.12 for paralegal and investigator services, bringing the total bill for that case to $10,605.71.
Those two figures combined mean taxpayers paid $38,246.03 in December for the elector court cases.
To put that in context, the Secretary of State’s Office was billed a total of $136,955.55 in December alone, meaning state taxpayers likely pay millions in attorneys’ fees for various agencies and offices each year.
There are likely to be some minimal additional fees in January as well, as the federal case remains open in the U.S. District Court of Colorado pending the resolution of a motion filed Jan. 12 by the state to stay discovery and disclosures in the case.
Lawyers for Baca and Nemanich were granted an unopposed motion to dismiss their appeal in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals two days earlier.
The investigation into Micheal Baca’s actions also remains pending, though there are few instances of “faithless electors” who violated state elector law ever being prosecuted in the U.S.
Messages sent Friday to the Colorado Attorney General’s Office asking whether Baca would be prosecuted went unreturned.
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Denver Public Schools, educators denounce Trump’s immigration orders
DENVER – The backlash against President Donald Trump’s executive orders on immigration and refugees continued Thursday, as Denver Public Schools and other Colorado education and teachers associations publicly opposed the actions.
DPS, the Denver Classroom Teachers Association, Padres & Jovenes Unidos and the Colorado Education Association issued a joint public statement Thursday morning saying they would protect immigrants and refugees in the Denver school system.
“We stand together – as a school district, educators, students and families – to oppose the actions President Trump has taken through his executive orders today. Immigrant and refugee students, families, educators, and staff are precious members of our Denver school communities and we greatly value them for the contributions they make to our schools and communities,” the joint statement said.
“We will do everything in our individual and collective power to protect them from deportation, criminalization, intimidation and harassment.”
The letter was signed by Padres & Jovenes Unidos co-executive directors Elsa Oliva Rocha, Pam Martinez and Ricardo Martinez; Denver Public Schools Superintendent Tom Boasberg; Denver Classroom Teachers Association Henry Roman and Colorado Education Association President Kerrie Dallman, who is also a teacher at Jefferson County High School.
Denver Public Schools is the state’s largest school district, and the Colorado Education Association is an organization comprised of tens of thousands of public educators in the state.
Likewise, the Denver Classroom Teachers Association has almost 3,000 members comprised of public educators, and Padres & Jovenes Unidos is an organization that fights for education equity and immigrant rights, among other social issues.
They join several Denver city council members and Democratic lawmakers and members of Congress to publicly denounce Trump’s actions, which would strip federal funding from any so-called “sanctuary city” that does not aid federal agents in identifying and deporting suspected undocumented immigrants, and would limit visas from certain predominantly-Muslim countries.
Several Colorado officials publicly called the orders unconstitutional Wednesday and called for their judicial review.
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Denver Post Editorial Board editor discusses ‘Lying Trump’ editorial
DENVER – “Lying Donald Trump can’t be trusted, and that needs to stop now.”
That headline screamed from the editorial page of the Denver Post Thursday morning, as The Post’s Editorial Board took a firm stance early in Donald Trump’s presidency that it would not tolerate the lies and “alternative facts” he and his spokesman have propagated in their first week in the White House. Continue reading
Colorado officials say they’ll stand up to Trump’s immigration orders, but some Coloradans fearful
DENVER – President Donald Trump issued an executive order Wednesday that would strip all federal funding from cities and counties, including several in Colorado, that do not help federal agents target and deport people specifically for living in the U.S. illegally.
Another order signed Wednesday will affect visas and immigration from a handful of predominantly-Muslim nations in Africa and the Middle East that have large immigrant populations in the Denver area, and is causing further concern and questions among those groups. Continue reading