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Today's News

  • Our future: the journalism of hope

    “For suddenly he was thinking … that if he was not a writer, he was not real, that he did not exist.”

    — Robert Penn Warren, in “Flood”

    As Coloradans listen to the echoes of a great voice gone suddenly silent, the words of Robert Penn Warren ring quietly and persistently for me in the void.

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  • Coffman puts ideology before economic recovery

    Editor:

    After a decade of choosing to be represented by Tom Tancredo, the most rabid hate-monger in the U.S. government since Joe McCarthy, Congressional District 6 seems determined to continue to embarrass itself and injure the nation by choosing as its congressional delegate the ethically and intellectually challenged partisan hack Mike Coffman.

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  • In tough times, newspaper and readers can help each other

    We’ve been hearing every day for months now about the bad economy. Every night we go home to the news of more layoffs and cutbacks. We have all been impacted in some way. I know the Courier has. We have reduced staffing through attrition; as employees have resigned for different opportunities, we have restructured and asked our current employees to take on additional duties.

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  • A senator in the house: Bennet makes appearance at South Jeffco house party

    Wine and beer. Cheese. Mini pizza rolls.

    Standard fare at many house parties, but the gathering at Paula Noonan’s house Feb. 27 had a little something extra that went a long way in explaining why her South Jeffco home was packed that night: Michael Bennet, Colorado’s newest U.S. senator.

    Bennet, a Democrat from Denver, was selected by Gov. Bill Ritter on Jan. 3 to fill the void left when Sen. Ken Salazar was named secretary of the interior. The appointment became official Jan. 20.

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  • Jeffco way behind in processing food stamp applications

    Jeffco leads the state in failing to process applications for food stamps on time, and officials are blaming the situation on a soaring number of applicants and inadequate employee training.

    Federal law mandates that counties are responsible for processing food assistance applications within 30 days, and states must achieve at least 90 percent compliance or face sanctions. Colorado currently processes just 74 percent of applications on time and could face more than $1 million in fines from the federal government.

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  • Sixteen not so sweet for Chargers

    COLORADO SPRINGS — The Chatfield Chargers’ Sweet 16 turned out to be a surprise party. Just not the kind of surprise they had hoped for.

    Facing second-seeded Doherty on March 5 for the right to advance to the Class 5A Elite 8, the third-seeded Chargers got a whiff of their fate on the opening tip-off at the World Arena.

    The Spartans tipped the ball to guard Bryse Velasquez, who took a few dribbles before nailing a fadeaway 3-pointer from the right wing. The Chargers would chase Velasquez and the Spartans for the next 32 minutes.

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  • Forecaster takes dim view of economy

    Now that the economy has been blown out of the water by reckless real-estate lending and a massive $800 billion stimulus plan is in the works, don’t expect things to get much better in the next few years.

    The downturn that began in the fourth quarter of 2007 gathered momentum in 2008 and landed full blast in 2009, and it will continue into 2010 and beyond, said Keith Hembre, chief economist with U.S. Bancorp of Minneapolis.

    Hembre’s credentials include being designated one of “the top five economic forecasters for 2008” by Business Week magazine.

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  • Bouncing back from despair

    The warm-up run did not go well.

    Kaitie Vanatta desperately wanted to join her Dakota Ridge cross-country teammates at the starting line of the 2008 Class 5A state cross-country meet at Fossil Ridge High School in Fort Collins, but her legs wouldn’t comply.

    The senior had been trying to run through the pain for close to two years now. Some days, her legs felt good and didn’t send waves of pain rushing through her body. But, when they were hurting, there was little Vanatta could do to alleviate the discomfort.

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  • Loss of Rocky affects us all

    I don’t like Bob Dylan, but I can’t help but repeat one of his most famous song titles over-and-over in my mind.

    “The Times They Are A-Changin.”

    Last week saw the end of an era in Colorado as the Rocky Mountain News closed after nearly 150 years of publishing newspapers.

    With its closing, prep sports coverage as we’ve grown to know it, will forever be different.

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  • Seeds of hope: Area woman hopes to create community fruit orchard, with church’s help

    A seed planted with Littleton resident Shirl Smith in 2005 is about to bear fruit.

    Smith’s dream is to create a community fruit orchard to provide food for those less fortunate and to teach people how to live off the land. She wants to spread the idea across the country but hopes to lay the groundwork close to home.

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