Month in Review

A Boulder company made up of former NASA employees announced plans to fly tourists to the moon for $750 million each. Coloradans can now break out the Cheetos and Goldfish: Gov. John Hickenlooper officially made recreational marijuana use legal by certifying the election results nearly a month sooner than expected. He made the move the day after two CU students were arrested for serving pot brownies to their history professor and classmates without telling them what they contained; they face felony charges. Two Boulder police officers were arrested for DUI in separate incidents and the CU Buffs got a new head football coach after Jon Embree was fired; former San Jose State coach Mike MacIntyre accepted the job. The Bureau of Reclamation suggested piping water from the Missouri River to Denver, a plan that would require 600 miles of pipeline across Kansas. A Colorado Springs-based doctor was captured by insurgent forces in Afghanistan and subsequently freed after a raid by coalition forces, which resulted in six deaths, including that of a U.S. Navy SEAL. A 17-year-old was arrested at a Boulder movie theater for wearing a Joker mask and causing a panic; and CU failed to segregate gun-toting students in “gun-friendly” dorms when no one signed up to live in them. The world was expected to end when the Mayan calendar expired on Dec. 21.

By The Numbers

$1
The amount, in billions, CU president Bruce Benson warned the university might lose because of legal pot.

2.1
The number of Coloradans, in millions, who don’t have access to dental care.

$2.75
The amount, in millions, Aurora is willing to pay for abandoned property appraised for $77,000, for reasons unknown.

70
The number of roosters
seized from a Denver cockfighting ring, along with cocaine, meth and cash.

Small Talk

“When the numbers don’t add up, people get very discouraged and wonder if the election integrity process is really there.”

— Pueblo GOP chief Becky Mizel, who is requesting a recount of the city’s election results.

“I hereby request a recount of the House District 11 contest for which I was a candidate in the 2012 General Election.”

—Losing candidate Ellyn Hilliard, a Republican, who lost by more than 5,000 votes to Jonathan Singer, in a letter to the secretary of state.

“(P)eople who breathe with their mouths wide open, shake your hand awkwardly and don’t look you in the eye.”

—Black Cat and Bramble & Hare chef Josh Monopoli, on his pet peeves.

“We will be creating a security plan for future hearings to ensure that everyone is made to feel welcome for taking the time to let his or her voice be heard.”

—Boulder County Commissioners in a statement after Encana Oil & Gas spokeswoman Wendy Wiedenbeck was allegedly harassed by anti-fracking protesters on her way to her car after testifying at a hearing.

Sources: Westword, Examiner.com, Denver Post, Daily Camera