Former Edgewater police officer McKinzie Rees hopes to serve and protect again, but first she must get her name removed from a so-called “bad cops list” maintained by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office. It landed there, she said, as retaliation after she reported sexual assaults by a supervising sergeant. That sergeant went on to work for another police department until this year, when he pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual contact and misconduct and was sentenced, more than four years after the assaults and retaliation against Rees. She testified to the state’s House Judiciary Committee thi ..read more

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and DAVE COLLINS (Associated Press) NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein ’s 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era. The court found the trial judge had improperly allowed testimony against the ex-movie mogul based on allegations that weren’t part of the case. Weinstein, 72, will remain in prison because he was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of another rape. But the New York ruling reopens a painful chapter in America’s reckoning with sexual misconduct by powerful figures — an era that began in 2017 w ..read more

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump was expected to return to court Thursday morning as witness testimony in his hush money trial enters a third day. The trial resumes at the same time that the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in Washington over whether he should be immune from prosecution for actions he took during his time as president. At his trial in Manhattan, veteran tabloid publisher David Pecker took the stand earlier in the week, testifying about his longtime friendship with the former president and a pledge he made to be the “eyes and ears” of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Pecker, t ..read more

Parents of students at Black Forest Hills Elementary School in Aurora are demanding an independent investigation into the school’s response to the attempted kidnapping of a child last week. A group of parents penned a letter to the Cherry Creek School District superintendent and board members calling for an immediate review of the incident that they wrote, “raised serious concerns about the safety of our children while under school care.” Aurora police arrested Solomon Galligan, a 33-year-old man and registered sex offender, about three hours after he allegedly went to the school on Friday, an ..read more

The world of Asian cuisine in metro Denver has become deeper, larger and more complex over the past few years as chefs and restaurants have begun focusing on regional cooking styles, elevated fare and fusion dishes that combine multiple kitchen traditions. Local diners, national food media and restaurant critics have taken notice, which has resulted in quite a bit of recognition recently. Want to get a taste? The second annual Mile High Asian Food Week runs from April 28 to May 4, offering specials, events, secret menu items and other perks from more than 100 businesses. The event is a celebra ..read more

At this time last year, Colorado lawmakers were preparing to gut Gov. Jared Polis’ massive and marquee land-use bill that would have reshaped zoning across the state, spurring a stalemate that preceded the proposal’s death. Now, after reviving most of that proposal in smaller pieces as part of a new strategy, reform supporters see a finish line in sight. Hurdles remain, but backers hope to avoid brick walls like the one that doomed last year’s effort. One measure, a ban on most occupancy limits, has already being signed into law. Other legislation has crossed between chambers, including bills ..read more

Denver’s ascendant Asian food scene Sunday-May 4. Many of the metro area’s best new restaurants offer creative takes on traditional Chinese, Vietnamese and other diverse Asian cuisines, which makes the 2nd annual Mile High Asian Food Week an idea worth bringing back. More than 100 participating kitchens — from roving trucks and street-food vendors to upscale names such as Hop Alley and sắp sửa — will take part in the event, which is timed to May’s Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month. Look especially for a delectable offering of pastries, coffees, teas an ..read more

Denver has always been happy to flaunt its most visible artistic assets, given that they’ve helped reshape the city into a walkable playground of sculptures, murals and interactive installations. Our 400-piece public art collection contains wildly diverse works, from Denver International Airport’s infamous “Mustang” (a.k.a. Blucifer) and the Colorado Convention Center’s “I See What You Mean” (unofficially: the Big Blue Bear) to the towering “Dancers” outside Denver Performing Arts Complex. But there are hundreds more, ranging from pioneering Latino murals to historic placards and poetry. “We h ..read more

Recycling will expand across Colorado over the next six years through new curbside programs funded by corporations that create the garbage the state wants to see diverted from landfills. Colorado’s recycling expansion was formalized this month after the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee approved a plan to be funded by fees charged to the companies that use boxes, plastic containers and shrink wrap to sell their products. About 1 million households statewide now have access to curbside recycling, said Henry Stiles, an advocate with Environment Colorado. Through the expansion, curbside recycl ..read more

Somebody give the Democratic majority in the Colorado General Assembly a copy of the Bill of Rights, large print if available, and underline the First Amendment with a sharpie. For the second time this year, they have forgotten they cannot prohibit speech or coerce it from their peers, constituents, or anyone else. This week, Democrats handed Republicans a memo with words they could no longer use when debating immigration policy (e.g., illegal, alien, invader(s), interloper, squatter) and a list of acceptable replacements (e.g., migrant, applicant, undocumented immigrant, immigrant without aut ..read more