Art courtesy of redtailridgelouisville.com

• 33-year-old male arrested for sexual exploitation of a child. The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office arrested the 33-year-old man known as Andreas Halusa on the charges of possession of child sexual abuse material in the 600 block of Pearl St. in the City of Boulder.

• A Denver Grand Jury has indicted 10 gang members for 114 felony counts against 47 people. Nine individuals have been arrested while one member of this gang remains at large.

• The U.S. has sent a combined total of 2.4 billion dollars to Ukraine. This number includes the cost of the military equipment that has been sent to bolster the Ukrainian army and the financial aid that has been approved by the U.S. Congress.

• It has been estimated that Colorado will be spending its 308 million dollars in COVID relief through 2026. Denver has collected 22 percent of all of the stimulus money given to the state of Colorado and will use these funds to invest in the recovery of the city.

• More than three months after the Marshall Fire, government-funded debris removal has begun in Boulder County. According to Jeffery Maxwell, Boulder County’s director of public works, the removal will take about four months to complete.

• Boulder Officials are considering authorizing a new student housing development to replace a former Best Western hotel. It would cost approximately 28 million dollars to turn the hotel at 770 28th St. into housing for college students.

• The United States Justice Department plans to appeal the lifting of mask mandates on planes and trains if the CDC deems it necessary. This appeal would go against the decision of a Florida district court that deemed mask mandates “unlawful.”

• Boulder County has launched the “Rebuilding Better” website for Marshall Fire-impacted residents. This website has been designed to help those impacted by the Marshall Fire rebuild their homes in affordable and environmentally friendly ways.

• Louisville citizens have voted against the Redtail Ridge 3 million sq. ft. commercial development. Brue Baukol Capital Partners have said they will continue to pursue redevelopment of the 389-acre site under a 2010 City Council-approved plan.

• Justin Brooks has been elected as the first black mayor of Erie. Christiaan van Woudenberg, Emily Baer, and Andrew Sawusch have been elected to the Board of Trustees, creating the most diverse city government in the history of Erie, Colorado.

• Dana Derichsweiler, owner of the Walnut Cafe, has retired. After over three decades, Derichsweiler has sold the Walnut Cafe to employees Ariel Cooke and Ashley Parzych. Cooke and Parzych plan to honor Derichsweiler’s legacy by continuing to make the Walnut Cafe a safe space for members of the LGBTQIA community.

• Boulder County citizens are continuing to debate the creation of a library district. Those in favor of the district consider its creation a necessary measure to ensure the survival of Boulder’s public libraries. Opponents of the library district are concerned about the increased property taxes that will be used to fund the development of the district.

• Protestors have received a 14 million dollar settlement from the Denver Police Department. A federal jury found that the Denver Police used excessive force against protestors during the Black Lives Matter protests in May 2020.

Small Talk

“We will continue to provide them (Ukraine) more ammunition, as we will provide them more military assistance.”

– Press Secretary Jen Psaki on the United States’ involvement in the Russian war against Ukraine.

“It’s hard to see everything hauled away, but at the same time, this will move us forward to accepting what happened.”

– Brenda Leighton on the Marshall Fire debris removal

“We believe these individuals are responsible for 14 separate incidents totaling 47 victims in the Denver metropolitan area – most of them drive-by shootings of rivals.”

– Denver District Attorney Beth McCann on the arrest of the 9 gang members

“The Department continues to believe that the order requiring masking in the transportation corridor is a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given CDC to protect the public health. That is an important authority the Department will continue to work to preserve.”

– The United States Justice Department’s statement on its decision to appeal the decision of the Florida Circuit Court to end mask mandates on public transportation