Sentinel Colorado 1.22.26

POLICING THE POLICE

After years of failed attempts, city lawmakers work toward creating independent oversight of Aurora cops

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Trump

2.0: Our year of living dangerously was far worse than everyone warned everyone about

Like most Americans, as Donald Trump re-assumed the role of president one year ago, I never imagined it would be this bad. I’m far from alone in clearly seeing that Trump’s return to the White House has been somewhere between a ghastly failure to a wholesale disaster for the United States, and the world.

Last week, a poll commissioned by CNN revealed that about 60% of Americans see Trump’s first year back in the White House as a failure. Even Republican voters gave Trump crappy reviews, including on his handling of the economy and immigration, which pundits say got him elected.

The unfathomable Top 100 list of really dangerous, stupid, corrupt and outright monstrous things Trump has done and said reads like human history’s most extensive collection of “you can’t make this stuff up.”

While I might still harbor a smidge of naivete in my news-cycle-weary body, I still believe, or want to believe, that it will take years, probably decades, and maybe even generations, to repair the damage that Trump and his acolytes have inflicted on the nation, and all of us, but somehow America will survive and prevail.

And probably the most unfair part of “Trump Part Deux: The Reign of Terror” is being robbed of endless days of gleeful schadenfreude scolding those who supported and voted for him, gloating frequent told ya so’s. It’s because we are now all desperate victims of what happens by electing an unfettered man suffering from acute Narcissistic Personality Disorder as the most powerful person in the country, and the world.

“What could go wrong?” too many voters asked. You’re watching it unfold as you read this. No doubt, just one news story from yesterday sums up the serious trouble we’re all in right now.

In the heat of Trump’s irrational and perilous obsession with taking over Greenland, Trump got busted sending a text to the prime minister of Norway that would have been begrudgingly funny if it were produced by satirists at The Onion and not Trump himself.

DAVE PERRY Editor

“Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace,” Trump told Norway Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

Twenty years ago, either Trump’s creepy obsession to invade and annex any nation, especially a fellow NATO nation, would prompt a bipartisan push for impeachment or invocation of the 25th Amendment. The obsession, coupled with the clearly unhinged and threatening and fallacious text to a world leader, calls for immediate intervention and probably medication.

Back to, you can’t make this shit up, the White House staff actually, and repeatedly, defends Trump’s clearly unhinged behavior.

Hey, I was right there with probably most of America questioning the wisdom of electing a president like Biden, who seemed frequently to have problems with his train of thought. Now we have a commander in chief whose thoughts are pretty much all deadly train wrecks.

After a year of not sleeping much and unable to keep a mental catalog of all the egregious gaffes — like Dealin’ Don’s Blanket Tariff Bingo Bust, killing Medicaid for children, firing and rehiring thousands of federal workers, accepting a $400 million jet from Qatar royals, endless Department of Justice lawsuits filed against his political enemies, and an air-craft carrier sized boatload of lies and misstatements — I’ve come to three observations that help me keep this all straight.

First, how is it, when Trump’s malfeasance, corruption and prevarication are not just painfully obvious, but regularly substantiated and publicly documented, do many Americans, albeit fewer every day, support this guy?

It turns out, everyone knows that he’s lying. Bella DePaulo, Ph.D., writing for Psychology Today in 2017, was among the experts who analyzed Trump’s lying. As your instincts may have told you, Trump is a prolific and documented pathological liar.

Lies are, essentially, grouped into two categories: “white” lies, which are told for someone’s considered benefit, “no, really, you look great in bright orange;” and self-serving lies, for the sole benefit of the liar.

DePaulo found that Trump is not only the variety of liar who makes crap up or misleads his audience for his personal benefit, he’s unusual in that a large number of his self-serving lies are also cruel in nature, denigrating someone with a lie.

Research by DePaulo and others shows that, outside of soap operas, real people lie like that very rarely, as little as 1%-2%, she wrote.

“Now let me tell you what I found when I tallied Trump’s cruel lies...they accounted for 50 percent,” DePaulo wrote. “When I first saw that number appear on my screen, I gasped.”

I didn’t gasp at all. I wasn’t even marginally surprised.

But it absolutely leads to another big mystery about Trump. Given his undeniable deceits, flagrant narcissism, toxic personality, and increasingly demented political stunts — like Greenland and tariffs for every meal — why haven’t more Congressional Republicans dumped his lunacy?

I’m old enough to remember being fixated on the Nixon Watergate hearings. Every day, Republicans would push back from Nixon as his own mental illness and corruption spilled out, until they all went running for the impeachment switch.

Jack Bacon, a legendary UPI wire reporter and metro-area editor, once told me how easy it was to sort the Republicans in the 1970s who were genuinely horrified by what Nixon did, and those who were horrified that their political careers might be nuked by not telling the public how horrified they were by what Nixon did.

While there are a few Republicans pushing back at Trump, or at least looking the other way, it’s just consistently crickets from their side of the aisle at the Capitol when it comes to pointing out that Emperor Trump not only has no clothes, but it’s pretty scary and gross.

It isn’t like the polling hasn’t already cast a pall over the mid-term elections.

It smells to me like some kind of mass Battered Person Syndrome. Just like battered spouses, GOP members of Congress know it’s coming, along with

the “don’t make me hit you again” behavior. Then comes the assault. Then the lies, the threats, and then the verbal assaults recede.

They’re too afraid to stay and too afraid to leave Trump.

Anyone who’s ever known anyone chained to an abusive relationship knows that it only ends badly, but this isn’t a bad marriage or a boss. This is someone destroying the nation, and actually lives, now.

And so why do so many Americans — yup, fewer every day — continually watch this and still defend or support Trump?

That one’s easy, but unnerving. Researchers show Trump supporters know Trump is a liar and a con man, but they don’t care because they believe they’re getting something out of it for themselves.

Mother Jones magazine’s Washington DC Bureau Chief David Corn was equally perplexed by all this and dove deep into the weird world of sociology and psychology in 2024 to uncover an understanding of how freaky this all is.

Corn cited a 2018 analysis by Oliver Hahl of the Carnegie Mellon University Tepper School of Business and Minjae Kim and Ezra Zuckerman Sivan of the MIT Sloan School of Management, showing that, essentially, people absolutely know Trump lies a lot, but he says what they believe, or what they want to believe.

The study revealed that, for whatever reason, Trump’s misogyny, racism, xenophobia and dislike for real expertise are admired, in part or parcel, by his avid fans.

So the thinking that if we could just help his supporters see how much of a liar or a cheat Trump is would provide a way out of this quagmire, it won’t work. They already know, and they don’t care.

“Trump voters like the lying,” Corn concluded. “Or, the lying is the point.”

Given all that, three years from now seems like an eternity. Looking for optimism, we’ve pretty much identified the problem: persuading Congressional Republicans to find the courage to rebuke their abuser, and persuading his supporters that they’re suffering his presidency right along with the rest of us.

Better get started.

Aurora officer acted lawfully in fatal shooting of teen feigning a handgun

THE OFFICER “REASONABLY BELIEVED THAT BALLE-MASON WAS IMMINENTLY ATTEMPTING TO USE DEADLY PHYSICAL FORCE BY CHARGING OFFICERS WHILE CONCEALING WHAT APPEARED TO BE A FIREARM.”

BY SENTINEL STAFF

Arapahoe County District Attorney

Amy Padden released a detailed report Jan. 16 concluding that Aurora police acted reasonably and lawfully when an officer fatally shot a 17-year-old boy who told a 911 dispatcher he planned to shoot police and then charged at officers while appearing to conceal a gun at an Aurora gas station.

The decision clears Aurora Police Officer Derek Paulson of any criminal wrongdoing in the Sept. 18, 2025, shooting death of an unarmed Blaze Balle-Mason outside a Conoco gas station at 290 S. Havana St.

Police training experts and some local officers said the incident unfolded as what police call a “suicide by cop” case, where people threaten mass shootings or other violent crimes with the intent of prompting police to kill them when they respond.

After a brief but intense interaction with police, where the unarmed boy pretended to have a concealed firearm, the boy was killed by police, who found a note on the boy’s body asking officers to “please call my dad,” according to the shooting investigation report.

In the Jan. 16 written determination based on an investigation by the 18th Judicial District’s Critical Incident Response Team, Padden said Paulson reasonably believed Balle-Mason posed an imminent threat of deadly force to officers and others and that firing his gun at the boy was justified under the circumstances.

The incident began shortly after 7:30 p.m., when Balle-Mason called 911 from inside the gas station, identifying himself by name and giving his date of birth. He told the dispatcher he was armed with a loaded gun concealed in the front

pocket of his hoodie and intended to use it.

“I’m actually in here with a 9-millimeter pistol. I’m about to shoot the place up and, uh, I think the cops need to come here right away,” Balle-Mason said, according to a 911 transcript included in the report.

When the dispatcher asked him to leave the building, he refused. Pressed about his intentions, he was explicit.

“Honestly, I’m waiting for the cops to show up so I can just shoot at ’em,” he said.

Asked why, Balle-Mason replied, “I’m just tired of cops.”

During the call, the dispatcher attempted to calm him and gather information for responding officers. Balle-Mason provided his physical description, confirmed the gun was loaded and said no shots had been fired, “not yet.”

He claimed his mother had been killed by police in California five or six years earlier, a statement investigators later said could not be verified.

“I really don’t want you to do anything to hurt anybody else,” the dispatcher told him, urging him to stay on the line. Balle-Mason agreed but ended the call shortly afterward.

The gas station clerk locked the store at police direction, and Balle-Mason went outside. Drone footage and nearby cameras showed him on the south side of the gas station with one hand inside his hoodie pocket. Police officers said he appeared to conceal an object consistent with his statements to dispatch, investigators said.

Four Aurora police officers converged on the scene and developed a plan to approach using the building for cover, police said just after the

shooting in September.

Paulson carried a 40mm “less-lethal launcher” while other officers were armed with live rounds, according to the investigative report.

When officers began issuing commands from the north side of the building, Balle-Mason stood up from near a gas pump and walked toward them, ignoring repeated orders to show his hands.

Paulson fired four less-lethal rounds, striking Balle-Mason each time, but the report said the rounds had no apparent effect, which is what police Chief Todd Chamberlain told reporters in September.

Officers retreated behind the gas station as Balle-Mason continued first walking toward them and then began running toward them, still with his hand concealed, investigators reported. Video from officer body cam and security video corroborated that account.

As the boy rounded the corner of the building and closed to within about 10 to 15 feet, Paulson fired two shots from his handgun, striking Balle-Mason once in the upper right chest.

Balle-Mason collapsed, face down, with his hands under his body. Officers rendered aid until additional units arrived, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

An autopsy found bruising consistent with all four less-lethal impacts and ruled the cause of death was the single gunshot wound.

Investigators reported that Balle-Mason had been unarmed.

Padden said in her report that officers had to rely on Balle-Mason’s repeated statements that he was armed and intended to shoot police. She said his refusal to show his hands, his aggressive

charge toward officers and his failure to respond to less-lethal force justified lethal force.

“At the moment Officer Paulson fired his handgun,” Padden wrote, “he reasonably believed that Balle-Mason was imminently attempting to use deadly physical force by charging officers while concealing what appeared to be a firearm.”

Under Colorado law, prosecutors must decline criminal charges against police if they cannot disprove an officer’s claim of self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt. Padden concluded that standard could not be met in this case.

“Accordingly, I find that Officer Paulson did not commit any crimes,” she wrote. “Our office will not file criminal charges against him.”

Police released other details last year

Padden’s report mirrored an account of the evening Chamberlain related to reporters just after the shooting last year.

When providing detail of the shooting during a neighborhood meeting held by a former city council member last October, Chamberlain went further, however, in describing details about the boy not released earlier by police or in Padden’s report.

Chamberlain told constituents Oct. 22 of former City Councilmember Steve Sundberg that the boy was transgender and their “whole life was tragic.”

Chamberlain also said that Balle-Mason was living in a halfway house at the time of the shoot-

AROUND AURORA

Newly elected Aurora Councilmember

Rob Andrews faces DUI charge, pledges accountability

Newly elected Aurora Councilmember Rob Andrews has been accused of driving under the influence of alcohol Jan. 17 in Aurora, the council member said in a statement to the Sentinel Jan. 18.

Andrews said that on Saturday night, “I was pulled over by Aurora Police after making an improper U-turn. After sobriety testing, officers determined I was not fit to drive.”

Police said that about 9:30 p.m. of-

›› OFFICER, from 4

ing, which also was not disclosed in Padden’s report.

“That 17-year-old boy, which is, again, it’s tragic,” Chamberlain said during the town hall meeting. “I think his whole life was tragic, to be honest with you. He was not in his home. He was living in a facility. He was actually taken out of his home. He was going through sexual confusion. He was transitioning. There were all kinds of dynamics that are incredibly troubling.”

The comments drew rebukes from transgender medical workers and activists.

Steven Haden, a psychiatric social worker and founder of Envision: You, which is a statewide mental health initiative supporting LGBTQ Coloradans, told the Sentinel in October that outing someone for their gender identity or their sexual orientation is a “violation of privacy, and it creates a very serious safety threat for those who are encountering police.”

“It is incredibly dehumanizing,” Haden said. “It continues to erode trust between LGBTQ individuals and law enforcement, which is not good for anyone, and the speculation around a person’s identity who’s now dead was immaterial to the situation itself.”

If the person were alive, it could lead to job or housing loss, and it could be the first time the person’s family learns the information, Haden said. In this situation, when the person is dead, it seems irrelevant to the public’s need to know.

Chamberlain did not explain why he provided the details about Balle-Mason at the council ward town meeting.

Other police experts questioned how Aurora police responded to the call, saying the case was clearly, to them, what police call “suicide by cop” incident.

Aurora police employees contacted the Sentinel after the shooting and agreed to speak anonymously because they were unauthorized to publicly discuss the topic. They said the incident was clearly a “suicide by cop” incident, requiring a special response.

The term refers to a well-researched law-enforcement phenomenon where a person intentionally provokes officers into using lethal force. Subjects typically call police to announce their intentions, threaten to kill officers and often are found without weapons.

Aurora police said Balle-Mason was found to be unarmed after the shooting.

ficers on a “proactive patrol observed a red Ford F250 driving north on South Chambers Road at South Chambers Circle splitting lanes and making wide turns,” Aurora police spokesperson Joe Moylan said in a statement. “Officers initiated a traffic stop and conducted a DUI investigation.”

Andrews, 41, was subsequently arrested on charges of driving under the influence, “driving with excessive alcohol content, changing lanes when unsafe (weaving) and making a left turn from the wrong lane,” police said.

Andrews was taken in on a detox hold to the Aurora Municipal Detention Center and released Sunday, according to Joe Moylan.

His blood alcohol level was not immediately released.

The incident was first made public

When Aurora police arrived at the gas station scene, officers first used a 40-millimeter less-lethal launcher, which fires “rubber” or “foam” projectiles,” in an effort to defuse the encounter.

Officers are trained to recognize and respond appropriately, Chamberlain said during a previous press conference, but he added that this incident was unique and must be evaluated based on the facts known at the time, not in hindsight.

He also said in the previous press conference that Aurora’s crisis response units and clinicians are designed to respond to non-violent situations, such as when someone is despondent, suicidal or refusing to eat or sleep.

During the Oct. 22 town hall meeting, Chamberlain said that all active shooter situations involve suicidal ideation.

“Almost all of those individuals who are involved in active shooters or schoolyard violence,” Chamberlain said. “It is a process of suicide ideation, where they say that they are going to be killed at the end of an event. They have no plans of surrender. If you look at the ones that have occurred recently, most of them have been killed either by self-infliction or they’ve been killed by police.”

There is no perfect solution, and officers may have no choice but to use lethal force for public safety, he said.

The FBI recommends distinct training for suicide by cop and in active shooter situations, even though the shooter is usually also suicidal. The FBI said that clues of when someone is a suicide by cop suspect include having no demands, presenting no terms, advancing on police and reaching for or raising a weapon or imitation weapon.

Tactics to defuse the situation include overtly showing compassion and offering help, rather than appear immediately confrontational.

“If a weapon had been drawn,” Haden said, “law enforcement needs to address that threat immediately and take whatever actions necessary to protect themselves and the safety of people in the area. That’s just a very different approach, and this was not an active shooter. This is not a person who has shown a weapon to anyone. And so it’s just very different.”

Chamberlain said last year that Aurora police would conduct a separate investigation into the shooting. Details about that investigation were not available at press time.

in social media posts by former Councilmember Danielle Jurinsky, who lost her at-large council seat to Andrews and Alli Jackson.

“I take full responsibility for my decision. I am deeply sorry — to my family, to the people I serve, and to everyone who expects better from me,” Andrews said. “I am grateful no one was hurt. That does not lessen the seriousness of what happened. Driving when I was not fit to drive put others at risk, and that is on me.”

Andrews said he was “cooperating fully “ with police and prosecutors “and working closely with my family and counsel as this moves forward.”

If convicted, the charge would not impact his ability to serve in public office, according to city codes. In 2018, former Councilmember Nicole John-

ston was convicted of driving while ability was impaired and continued her term.

Andrews, a Democrat, made it clear in his statement he would continue in his at-large city council term, which he won in the Nov. 4 election last year.

“Accountability has to mean more than words. I am committed to doing what restorative justice asks of all of us — naming the harm, learning from it, and taking concrete steps to repair trust,” Andrews said. “I will follow through on the consequences, do what’s needed to ensure this never happens again, and continue working to earn back the confidence of this community.”

Andrews did not provide details about the charges or what he would do next.

“I am sorry. I will do better, and I will prove it through my actions,” he said. Andrews is chairperson of the city council’s Public Safety Committee. He was among four new Democratic members elected to the city council, also including and Jackson and Gianina Horton in Ward I, and Amy Wiles in Ward II. The election has flipped control of the city council from Republicans and conservatives to progressive Democrats.

Jurinsky, running for a second term, was turned out by voters, along with Republican Steve Sundberg and Amsalu Kasaw.

COUNTY

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Help an older adult this winter by volunteering to shovel their walkways and driveway. When you sign up, you will be paired with someone within walking distance or a short drive from your home.

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The Arapahoe County Mayors and Commissioners Youth Awards recognize teenagers who have overcome obstacles and risen to challenges life has presented. Scholarships are awarded to graduating seniors who have overcome adversity and wish to pursue post-secondary educational opportunities at vocational, two- or four-year schools. Teachers, counselors, and school administrators can nominate exceptional high school seniors through March 2. Visit arapahoeco.gov/youthawards.

Aurora council decision leaves heated QuikTrip car wash battle in limbo

For nearly two years, Gleam Carwash has worked to make itself part of the fabric of northeast Aurora, offering jobs, services and building connections with neighbors.

That sense of stability was shaken last year when plans emerged for a QuikTrip “Bubble Bath” car wash just half a mile away on East Colfax Avenue near Airport Boulevard.

What started as a routine business development approval project escalated into a months-long land-use battle, pitting a national convenience store chain against a small-business owner who warned that the new car wash would put her out of business.

“What’s proposed would be the tenth car wash within a two-mile radius. That level of saturation should give all of us pause,” Gleam car wash owner Emilie Barratta said.

It all ended in a loss for both sides Jan. 13 at the end of a marathon city council meeting, when only half of the Bubble Bath plan was approved, halting development only temporarily.

Residents, planners, lawyers and city council members were drawn into a debate over neighborhood impacts, government intervention in the free market, and the extent of the city’s discretion in approving development.

“This is not about asking for special treatment,” Barratta said. “This is about fairness and the rule of law and

to ensure that big, multi-billion-dollar businesses get treated the same as the rest of us.”

Representatives for QuikTrip insisted on the same thing, equal and fair treatment. Even members of city council who said they were fans of Gleam agreed with city planning staff and city lawyers that the city had no legal justification for denying QuikTrip the right to open a car wash on land with their gas station.

The plan was tripped up Monday by overturning the city’s planning commission approval of the site plan, which details how the car wash would be built and operated.

City officials say the measure now might go back to the planning department, and QuikTrip could amend that site plan and move forward. Either side of the argument could seek court action in the case. None of the parties involved made it clear what is certain to happen next.

Aurora residents became invested after a Gleam employee, a young man named Aiden Riggs, stole the hearts of community members at a city council meeting in November, when he spoke along with many other Gleam supporters about how valued he feels working the Barratta.

“Gleam believes in me, and that makes me believe in myself,” Riggs, a neurodivergent employee at Gleam, told the city council and audience, which gave him a standing ovation.

The plan for Bubble Bath was initially approved by the city’s Planning Commission in October. But in December, city council voted to call it back up

for reevaluation after Barratta emailed concerns and alleged code violations built into the Bubble Bath plan to city staff, the City Manager Jason Batchelor and each city council member.

Late Monday night into early Tuesday morning, the conditional use plan of QuikTrip’s Bubble Bath was approved by city council, but the site plan was denied, causing both Gleam and QuikTrip to essentially lose in many ways.

Lawmakers approved the conditional use of the carwash but denied the site plan due to concerns about the potential adverse impacts on local neighborhoods.

The majority of city council members voted to deny the site plan. Council members Curtis Gardner, Angela Lawson and Francoise Bergan voted to approve the measure, while the rest of city council, including Mayor Mike Coffman, opposed the carwash site plan.

City Attorney Pete Schulte said that, without an approved site plan, construction cannot begin.

Lawmakers were unable to deny the conditional use because it comes with rigid criteria, which he and city planning officials said QuikTrip met, while the site plan is more open for interpretation, Schulte said.

“In every property case, especially in a site plan evaluation, it’s those subjective factors that can produce a difference of opinion,” Schute said.

This means QuikTrip can still build a car wash, but they would just need to modify their site plan.

“While we are disappointed that the site plan was not approved, we remain

committed to working collaboratively with city staff and the surrounding community to address the concerns raised during the meeting,” QuikTrip spokesperson Aisha Jefferson said in a statement this week.

What specifically must be addressed wasn’t made clear at the council meeting Monday.

Schulte said QuikTrip has two other options if it chooses not to update the site plan. It can appeal the decision in district court or abandon the car wash proposal.

Turning back from building a car wash on the site isn’t an option, company officials said.

“Our goal has always been to bring a well designed high quality development to this corridor,” QuikTrip officials said in their statement. “And we will continue evaluating our next steps to ensure the project aligns with both city requirements and neighborhood expectations.”

Barratta said she disagrees with Schulte’s interpretation of what council is allowed to approve as far as conditional use, and she thinks the alleged site plan code violations should have been enough for council to deny the conditional use as well.

“The immediate next steps are to write a thank you note to everyone at council and to send a letter to planning and the city attorney, asking for a better explanation of why some of the many code violations embedded in the first site plan were allowed to remain,” Barratta said.

— Cassandra Ballard, Sentinel Staff Writer

Aurora Sentinel garners national award for independent reporting, democracy support

The Aurora Sentinel will be honored Jan. 22 as a national “Media and Democracy Hero” by the Media and Democracy Project during the organization’s annual year-in-review gathering, recognizing the Sentinel for its commitment to factual, independent reporting and public-interest journalism.

The Sentinel is among a select group of journalists and news organizations recognized by the nonprofit for “outstanding journalism and advocacy for press freedom and democracy,” according to the Media and Democracy Project announcement.

In naming the Sentinel its December honoree, the organization praised the 118-year-old newspaper as “an outstanding local news outlet serving Aurora, Colorado,” citing its role in providing accessible, independent, fact-driven reporting and opinions for the community.

The Sentinel was lauded in December for its wide range of coverage, recently examining claims by local police and elected officials about the impact of “get tough” shoplifting laws on crime rates, and especially a Nov. 21 Sentinel Editorial outlining unconstitutional acts by President Donald Trump and calling for his impeachment.

“The groundbreaking piece by their Editorial Board is exemplary, and a perfect reminder of the vital role that

›› See METRO, 7

independent journalists play in defending our democracy and the public’s right to know,” the organization said in its citation.

The Media and Democracy Project described the Sentinel editorial as a rare stance among independent outlets nationwide. The group also highlighted the non-profit paper’s decision to keep its reporting free of paywalls so readers can access coverage online and in print.

“Their work is not paywalled, and remains accessible to its online and print readers,” the citation said, adding that the publication represents “the vital role that independent journalists play in defending our democracy.”

Editor and Publisher Dave Perry, described by the organization as “civic-minded,” was also recognized for his leadership and commitment to community-focused journalism.

“There is no substitute for credible, accurate journalism,” Perry said in an interview with Media And Democracy officials in December. “Without it, we lose our uniquely American freedoms and control of all levels of government. Without the public’s support of the media, however, journalism cannot survive. Social media commentary and government spokespersons are not journalism.”

The Sentinel shares the annual recognition with a wide range of journalists and media, including ABC News White House correspondent Mary Bruce, who was cited for pressing questions on human rights and standing up to political pressure during coverage of the administration.

Also honored this year are the Associated Press’s Daisy Veerasingham and Julie Pace after they refused to alter their style guide to rename the Gulf of Mexico despite intense political pressure.

In addition, Propublica, 404media, Wired, and Techdirt were honored for “remarkable investigative work and have also taken measures to ensure that investigative reporting remains accessible to the public, work that is often hidden behind paywalls.”

Honored as well are the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Will Bunch and Karen Attiah. Attiah reported that the Bezosowned Washington Post had removed her from her role as opinion columnist there after her sharing of social media posts that provided broader context of Charlie Kirk’s murder, including a racist comment made by Kirk himself. Bunch authored a hard-hitting opinion piece for the Philadelphia Inquirer in October, urging the Democratic Party to take critical action to defend the nation from the GOP’s dismantling of democracy under Trump.

The award will be presented during the Media and Democracy Project’s national virtual meeting, “2025 Extravaganza: A Year in Review,” scheduled for 6 p.m. Denver time Thursday. The virtual event is open to the public after registration.

Founded to promote media reform and democratic values, the organization recognizes journalists and publications monthly and encourages the public to support independent news outlets through subscriptions, donations and public engagement.

— Sentinel Staff

Aurora attorney seeks clarity from top Colorado court about ruling striking down tough jail

laws

Aurora attorneys this week requested more time to ask the Colorado Supreme Court to review its recent ruling against the city’s tough-on-crime shoplifting sentences.

The request comes from concerns about how the ruling could affect a variety of current city laws and possibly more, according to city officials.

“Aurora isn’t trying to overturn the decision,” City Attorney Pete Schulte said. “The ruling hasn’t been stayed, so that’s the law of the land. We’re going to follow the ruling until, or if it changes.”

Schulte said Aurora has so far only “filed for an extension just to give us more time to decide our next steps, if any.”

On Dec. 22 the Colorado Supreme Court ruled in People v. Simons and People v. Camp cases that cities cannot give longer jail sentences for misdemeanor crimes than the state allows. The state allows requests for a rehearing within 14 days of a decision.

The ruling targeted several laws Aurora passed in recent years, all focused on increasing and mandating jail time for misdemeanor crimes like shoplifting, trespassing and leaving a restaurant without paying.

The state’s high court unanimously agreed that in Aurora, Denver and Westminster, city courts were wrongly required by local lawmakers to impose longer jail sentences than defendants would have received in a state court for the same conviction.

The lawsuit against Aurora came after Republicans overtook the city council majority in 2021 and began a campaign to increase jail-time and punishment for a variety of crimes, including car theft, car-parts theft, shoplifting and crimes linked to homelessness and vagrancy.

A recent analysis by the Sentinel of that jail-sentencing increase revealed that many crimes, including petty crimes, have measurably decreased since the midst of the pandemic in 2021, but crime rates in Aurora mirror those across the metro region, the state and the nation despite the harsher sentences.

The Dec. 22 ruling meant that Aurora would have to rectify jail-sentences imposed by local courts for hundreds of cases and reduce them to mirror state sentencing limits.

But this week, City Attorney Pete Schulte asked city lawmakers in a closed session meeting on Monday for permission to ask the high court for more time to consider a request for rehearing, Schulte told the Sentinel.

A rehearing is not an appeal, but it is generally an attempt to point out mistakes in a criminal or civil ruling or even new or overlooked information or evidence, according to litigation experts.

Schulte says that in this case, the city would want more detail and direction on how the ruling could affect Aurora’s current laws linked directly to the Dec. 22 ruling, but possibly other city laws as well, and even local zoning, land use and other regulations.

Westminster and Denver, also directly affected by the ruling, did not join the city in asking for more time to consider a rehearing motion. The Denver Post reported this week that Denver has begun revising its criminal sentences for misdemeanor assault cases, as directed by the high-court ruling.

Westminster officials were not immediately available to comment on the move by Aurora.

Schulte said his legal team is confused by the Dec. 22 ruling and wants

clarity from the high court.

The state high court said that state legislators intended for sentencing rules to be the same statewide, even though the ruling never clearly said cities had to follow the state’s rules, Schulte said, and that worries the city about how to move forward.

“This Supreme Court decision has kind of thrown that upside down,” Schulte said. “So we’re trying to figure out what it means moving forward.”

Schulte said the clarity is critical.

“The big issue is,” he said, “how deep does it go? Is it just limited to the criminal justice system, or does it go to other areas of law, like land use?”

Schulte said the court relied on “intended preemption” for its ruling. That’s the idea that the state meant to override city laws even though it didn’t say so directly. That’s a shift from how Colorado courts usually decide whether an issue belongs to the state, local governments or both, Schulte said.

Now, Schulte said he’s worried that city lawyers will have to question every state law to see whether the Supreme Court might later decide that cities were never meant to regulate that area at all.

“Every statute now we’re going to have to consider whether there could be an intended preemption, even though it’s not explicit,” Schulte said.

In 2021, state legislators actually carved out exceptions that allowed municipal courts to keep some authority. But in this case, and a related case tied to the Simons case before the Supreme Court from Westminster, People v. Camp, the Supreme Court said lawmakers still wanted sentencing to be consistent across the state, limiting what cities can do.

City lawmakers said they were aware how hundreds of similar cases might be affected by the high-court ruling.

The city council’s Public Safety and Courts Committee and Civil Service commission were expected to take up issues linked the ruling to determine how to align municipal penalties with state penalties, Councilmember Alison Coombs said, adding that she was unable to comment further at the moment.

Chief Public Defender Elizabeth Cadiz said she is concerned about the news of a possible rehearing and how it could affect the timeline for the city to rectify the cases of her clients.

— Cassandra Ballard, Sentinel Staff Writer

Aurora legislator’s bill aims to hold ICE agents accountable for protest injuries

Democratic state lawmakers introduced a bill on the first day of the 2026 Legislature that would create a way for people injured by ICE or other federal agents during legal protests or immigration enforcement operations to sue those responsible, overriding claims of immunity of federal officials.

“It’s a simple idea, where there are rights in law, and there are no rights more fundamental than our Constitutional rights, there have to be remedies,” said Aurora Democratic state Sen. Mike Weissman, the author and prime sponsor of bill 26-5.

The proposal comes as Democrats and some Republicans in Colorado and across the country rebuke the Trump administration’s stepped-up mass-deportation efforts using brigades of masked, armed ICE agents.

“State courts have been where fed-

eral officials have been held responsible for violating the law, including constitutional law, for over 200 years,” Weissman said. “So it may be a new bill just introduced in Colorado in these early days of 2026, but it’s actually a very old idea. I mean, the government is under the law, too.”

The days since Renee Good was shot and killed Jan. 7 by an ICE officer in Minneapolis, while behind the wheel of her SUV, have seen dozens of protests or vigils across the U.S. to honor the 37-year-old mother of three and to passionately condemn the Trump administration’s tactics.

“I’ve been working on this bill probably since late fall, and I was going to introduce it as my first bill regardless, but the events that unfolded before the eyes of the country in Minneapolis last week,” Weissman said. “An American citizen who we know is a former Colorado resident, was killed in broad daylight by federal agents with no justification. They fired in her car, basically point-blank. That is perhaps the most appalling example of out-of-control federal agents.”

But it’s not the only one, and it won’t be the last, he said.

Dozens of protesters there, and during other clashes at other cities during the last few months, have produced provocative photos, video and news stories of protesters injured by ICE and federal agents. Two people were shot and hospitalized by a border patrol agent in Portland, Oregon Jan. 8. Weissman’s bill would let someone who is hurt during a civil immigration enforcement action sue anyone who stopped them from legally protesting, if that protest was constitutionally protected and they were injured as a result.

The measure would ensure a right to sue in a state court, even if the perpetrator were a federal official or officer, who might otherwise enjoy immunity from lawsuits.

“The idea that the federal government should operate within its constitutional powers and should be accountable to the people is a classic conservative idea in this country,” Weissman said. “And for that reason, organizations that stay true to those ideas are supportive of things like this.”

The central feature of the bill is its explicit rejection of immunity defenses. The measure states that defendants could not rely on sovereign immunity, qualified immunity, supremacy clause immunity or other statutory or common-law immunities, including those typically available to government officials.

“It is true that there are certain im-

munities in some cases that federal government officials enjoy, but it is not absolute,” Weissman said. “It has never been absolute, and it never should be absolute.”

Weissman said he is confident the bill will survive federal court review. He said he has been researching and discussing the best language with people on both sides of the aisle, including people with strong constitutional backgrounds.

“In drafting it, in choosing key details of the bill and the language I have made, every effort I know how to make for it to be within the law, within the permissible power of a state, as I understand it,” Weissman said.

Weissman cites in his bill Supreme Court decisions proponents say stand behind the proposal.

Bivens v. the six unknown agents, a 1971 case, provides individuals with a statutory right to sue and recover damages from federal officials for violations of their constitutional rights, according to the Congress Library.

“The modern court is very conservative, and they’ve started to sort of throw some shade, to use a non-legal term, on Bivens,” Weissman said. “And frankly, the Supreme Court could wipe that out entirely. This term, they do have that ability.”

Bivens is a cause of action people can bring, not because Congress passed a law, but because the Supreme Court created it, Weissman said. The Supreme Court basically said that people should be able to sue federal officials for certain constitutional violations, even though there isn’t a statute spelling that out, he said.

So, the Supreme Court gave that cause of action to the people, and they can take it away, he Weissman said.

“Some legal advocates are afraid that they will, so Bivens has never been as broad as rights violations,” he said. “That’s one problem, and it is prone to being further modified, curtailed and even repealed by the US Supreme Court.”

This bill aims to cure that problem before it starts.

“This bill is just to say that Colorado should do what states have long done, which is provide a state law answer in a state court forum for consideration of these important questions,” Weissman said.

He said he also wanted to include, in the bill, Supreme Court Cases over the years, in plain language, unpacking the history of this issue across the country. The measure, however, excludes

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POLICING THE POLICE

A new city council brings new life to discussing Aurora police oversight

BY CASSANDRA BALLARD

Aurora’s newly seated city council is beginning the process of creating an oversight system for local law enforcement that they say must emphasize independence, effectiveness, and most of all, public trust.

“No two civilian oversight agencies are the same,” Councilmember Gianina Horton said during a Jan. 13 meeting she called to discuss the issue. “We have to tailor it to us.”

Horton, who previously worked for Denver’s Office of the Independent Monitor, joined Councilmembers Amy Wiles and Alison Coombs in hosting a public forum to help residents better understand what police oversight might look like in Aurora. The event featured Lisabeth Pérez Castle from Denver’s Office of the Independent Monitor and focused on the structure, challenges and limitations of civilian oversight models.

The next meeting, a community roundtable, is slated for 6 p.m. Jan. 29, giving residents the opportunity to continue commenting on how Aurora should design the new system.

At the meeting, Castle explained how Denver’s model functions. Coombs explained Aurora’s history with oversight, and City Manager Jason Batchelor and City Attorney Pete Schulte provided technical guidance on how Aurora should approach an oversight system.

The history of police oversight in Aurora

The push for civilian oversight comes after Aurora’s ongoing police reform efforts and community struggles with the city’s Community Advisory Council and the consent decree’s monitor system. The advisory council was created under a state-mandated consent decree. Aurora’s Consent Decree was created in 2022 and was created after a state investigation by the Colorado attorney general determined that Aurora police exhibited “patterns and practices” of using excessive force, particularly against people of color.

The Consent Decree was imposed by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser in 2021. Triggered in part by the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, who died at the hands of police and rescuers after being stopped, unarmed. The decree mandates broad reforms in training, accountability, use-of-force policies, data systems and community engagement.

The Community Advisory Council was intended to serve as a bridge between the community and the reform process, which was created to gather feedback, advise on implementation and communicate progress to residents.

Over time, the council became mired in disputes over its role, authority and independence.

Some members viewed the advisory council as an advocacy body meant to push for accountability and systemic change, while city officials and the consent-decree monitor characterized it as a non-deliberative advisory panel with no

decision-making power.

This created internal conflict and frustration among members who felt their input was not meaningfully considered.

In 2024, all advisory council appointments were terminated, and members were asked to reapply, leading to significant turnover and disrupting the group’s continuity of work. Several original members chose not to return, including Horton and the Aurora NAACP Chapter President Omar Montgomery. These actions raised concerns that the council had become more symbolic than influential and less representative of community voices critical of police practices.

Current discussions around oversight are shaped by that history, with Wiles and Horton being two former members of the advisory board who won their current city council seats in the most recent election.

They, and many other community voices, are now pushing for a new oversight body to be structurally independent, adequately funded and protected from political rollback.

Historically, resistance to police oversight has come from the department itself and the police union. The group did not say how or when the union and administration would be brought into discussions.

Example of Denver and other approaches

At the recent forum, Castle explained how Denver’s Office of the Independent Monitor operates by leveraging transparency, public reporting and structural independence to create impact.

Under Denver’s model, recommendations regarding officer misconduct move from investigators to police or sheriff’s leadership and, finally, to the city’s director of safety, who has final authority over discipline, Castle said.

While Denver’s oversight office can review investigations and recommend discipline, it does lack enforcement power, Castle said. Instead, accountability comes through public reporting, community pressure and oversight by elected officials.

“We do draw a line on discipline,” Castle said. “Anyone who receives discipline of 10 days or more, we write about that case in our reports so the community gets to know what kinds of penalties are imposed for what kinds of offenses. Ultimately, it’s the community that holds departments accountable.”

Horton said there are four national oversight models: review focus models, monitor/auditing focus models, investigation focus models and hybrids. She said many are hybrid models.

Review-focused models are centered on civilian review boards, public forums and reporting, she said. Investigation-focused models are “purely investigation,” Horton said. They include highly trained civilian investigators who independently examine cases and recommend discipline.

“Rarely does an investigative model have outreach or policy and

look at those processes,” she said about the investigative model.

Finally, the audit or monitor models combine case review with policy analysis, data monitoring and longterm reform efforts, “promoting long-term, sustainable changes to oversight,” Horton said. The audit or monitor model is Denver’s model, she said.

“The Denver model is where they are at now; it is not where they started, and it took community organizations and community advocates to push to strengthen that office and to secure it as a necessary entity of public safety,” Horton said.

Horton cited the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement as a key resource, offering training, research and guiding principles focused on independence, transparency, community involvement and accountability.

While Aurora currently allows systems inside the police and fire departments to investigate, detail and determine discipline, Aurora has a unique Civil Service Commission, composed of non-police and fire appointees who have quasi-judicial oversight for discipline. The commission primarily hears disciplinary appeals from officers and firefighters.

Community input

At the meeting, concerns centered on protecting any new oversight body from political rollback, especially given that city council members change every few years. A request for a charter change was even suggested.

“My question is this: every time we start to get one of these groups, and we start to make inroads and progress, it’s snatched away,” a community member asked. “And so that’s the issue out here, is that we have to keep restarting these groups and these oversight boards, or whatever we want to call them.”

The push for a truly independent oversight structure pre-dates the consent decree and national attention to the death of Elijah McClain, who died at the hands of police and firefighters in 2019. Former police

Chief Nick Metz assembled his own “oversight” panel, composed of police officers and select community members. The structure was frequently criticized by community leaders who said it was not a substitute for independent oversight.

Horton said, the “fight is real.”

She said that the city council is working to propose an oversight office, create a budget and ensure it is independent and “has teeth.” Horton said that Aurora has its own governance structure, history and community expectations, and will need to create its own oversight structure. These will be the top priorities of the meeting at the end of the month, she said.

LaRonda Jones, the mother of Kilyn Lewis, a man who was fatally shot by Aurora SWAT in 2024, asked how Denver decided enough was enough and how they created their own oversight office. Castle said that in Denver, the Office of the Independent Monitor emerged after years of community frustration from police shootings, including the killing of Paul Childs. At the time, Denver ranked among cities with the highest rates of police shootings in the country, with Aurora not ranking far behind, and residents demanded an independent mechanism to restore public trust rather than face a federal consent decree, as Aurora did.

Funding and independence also emerged as concerns during the discussion.

Denver’s Office of the Independent Monitor operates on an annual budget of roughly $6 million, Castle said. Most of which is spent on staffing. That includes attorneys who serve as deputy monitors reviewing investigations and discipline, PhD-level researchers who analyze data and identify trends and community outreach staff who collect complaints and feedback.

Although the Office of the Independent Monitor has its own budget line, Castle said that funding levels depend on decisions by the mayor and city council.

By comparison, Aurora reported spending only $3 million on their independent monitor and oversight

from 2022 to the beginning of 2025. That monitor is a police contractor and CEO from IntegrAssure, hired to oversee implementation of the city’s consent decree. It has no oversight authority over police operations, acting only as a reviewer.

Batchelor said that funding has already been allocated in the current budget to begin establishing a public safety oversight “function,” but he did not say how much.

Other questions, including one from a former police officer, Don Black, asked whether Denver allows confidentiality in reporting between officers and the monitor’s office, which Castle confirmed was the case.

In a later interview, Jones and Veronica Seabron, the mother of Jabron Seabron, who was shot by a Douglas County Deputy in 2024, both said they also hope that any oversight committee or board gives the public the chance to make one or some of the appointees. Calvin Seabron also stressed the same request. None of the family members specified how many they wished to be appointed by the community, but as long as a few are.

The next steps

Batchelor said that funding has already been allocated in the current budget to begin establishing a public safety oversight “function,” without needing any potential changes to the city charter. Future discussions, such as the roundtable on Jan. 29, will focus on defining the office’s scope, powers and safeguards, including how it would differ from the CAC and how it would coexist with or outlast the consent decree, Horton said.

Council members Horton and Wiles said they plan to ensure independence, secure long-term funding and prevent the kind of rollback or dissolution that plagued past reform efforts.

“We’re not anti-police,” Castle said. “We’re here to make the department better, and we’re here to hopefully make the community safer, both law enforcement and community members.”

The Magazine

Write on

LETTER WRITING ENJOYS A REVIVAL AS FANS SEEK CONNECTION AND A BREAK FROM SCREEN TIME

BY CHEYANNE MUMPHREY, Associated Press

At a time when productivity means optimizing every second and screens blur the line between work and home, some people are slowing down and disconnecting by looking to communication devices from the past.

Tactile activities ranging from writing letters and typewriter clubs to TikTok communities showcasing calligraphy skills and wax seals are giving retro writing instruments a resurgence. More than quaint throwbacks, the pursuits provide their enthusiasts with opportunities to reduce their technology use, be more intentional with time and build meaningful connections with others.

“I feel as though my pen pals are my friends. I don’t think of them much differently than if I were chatting with a friend on the phone, in a coffee shop or at another person’s house,” said Melissa Bobbitt, 42, a devoted letter-writer who corresponds with about a dozen people from her home in Claremont, California, and has had up to 40 pen pals at one time. “Focusing on one person and really reading what they are saying, and sharing what’s on your heart is almost like a therapy session.”

Ink, paper and other tools that once were the only way to send a message from afar are continuing to bring people together from around the world. Below, some of them explain the appeal of snail mail and give recommendations for getting started.

Writing can be an escape

In a society shaped by constant availability, hands-on hobbies like writing letters and scrapbooking require focus and patience. The act of picking up a pen, sealing an envelope with wax and laying out pages may yield aesthetically pleasing results, but it also creates a space for

reflection.

Stephania Kontopanos, a 21-year-old student in Chicago, said it can be hard to put her phone and computer away, especially when it seems all of her friends and peers are on social media and her classes and personal life revolve around being online.

“There are times when I’m with my friends and at dinner, I’ll realize we are all on our phones,” Kontopanos said, adding that she tries to put her phone down at those moments.

Kontopanos also unplugs consciously by sending postcards to her family and friends, scrapbooking, and junk journaling, which involves repurposing everyday materials like tickets and receipts to document memories or ideas. She says going to the post office has become an activity she does with her mother back home in Kansas and includes sharing stories with the postal workers, people she would not have routinely encountered.

Nostalgia can foster community

Writing and sending letters is nostalgic for KiKi Klassen, who lives in Ontario, Canada. The 28-year-old says it helps her feel more connected to her late mother, who was a member of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, which represents mail carriers and other postal employees.

In October 2024, Klassen launched the Lucky Duck Mail Club, a subscription-based monthly mail service that sends participants a piece of her art, an inspiring quote and message. She says her membership includes more than 1,000 people across, at most, 36 countries.

“When I sit down, I’m forced to reflect and choose my words carefully,” Klassen said. “It also lends itself to vulnerability because it is easier to write down how you are feeling. I’ve had people write me back and I’ve cried hearing so many

Vintage typewriters are on display at a “type-in” in Albuquerque, N.M., April 23, 2017. AP

touching stories. I think for a lot of people paper creates a safe space. You write it down, send it off and don’t really think about it after.”

For Bobbitt, who has corresponded by mail for years, there is a “grand excitement” when she opens her mailbox and finds something that is not a bill or advertisement. “If we all filled each other’s mailboxes with letters, we would all be kinder and, at the very least, won’t dread checking our mailboxes,” she said.

Bobbitt says she first joined a pen pal club in second or third grade and later was connected to more writers through Postcrossing, an online project that partners people around the world to send and receive postcards. She says some of the postcards turned into letters as friendships grew between her and some other regular writers.

It’s a similar feeling of connection that inspired DJ Robert Owoyele, 34, to create CAYA, a monthly “analog gathering” in Dallas. Owoyele launched the event less than a year ago and has since organized evenings with letter writing, coloring, vinyl listening sessions and other activities.

“We live in a digital age that fosters a false sense of connection, but I think true connection happens in person,” he said. “When we are able to touch or see something, we are more connected to it naturally. These analog activities are a representation of that.”

How to get started

While writing letters and engaging in other vintage pursuits might seem accessible, it is not always easy to get involved. For many people, carving out time to slow down can feel like another obligation in a schedule filled with to-dos.

Kontopanos says she decided it was important for her to reprioritize her time. “The older I get, the more I realize how much time had been wasted on my phone,” she said. Creating space to explore allowed her to discover the hobbies she loved doing enough to make them a priority, she said.

There are many hobbies to consider, some of which don’t require expensive tools or hours of free time. Frequenting spaces where communities centered around these hobbies gather can be a way to learn about the different activities. For example, participating in typewriter clubs such as Type Pals, attending events like the Los Angeles Printers Fair hosted by the International Printing Museum in California, and engaging with social media communities like the Wax Seal Guild on Instagram and The Calligraphy Hub on Facebook. Klassen says that based on posts she’s seeing on her social media feeds, reviving vintage writing instruments and small tactile pleasures might be on the verge of becoming trendy.

“The girls are going analog in 2026,” she said.

“The Shark Is Broken”

scene & herd

Waiting for Godot at the Aurora Fox Arts Center

Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot” arrives at the Aurora Fox in a thoughtfully staged production that leans into the play’s wit, melancholy, and enduring relevance. Often described as both absurdist comedy and existential meditation, the play follows two men, Vladimir and Estragon, as they wait endlessly for someone named Godot, filling the time with jokes, arguments, memories, and fleeting moments of hope. As the waiting stretches on, the play becomes a reflection on friendship, purpose, and the human need for meaning in an uncertain world. Whether encountering Beckett for the first time or revisiting a classic, theatergoers will find plenty to laugh at — and plenty to ponder — in this stripped-down yet emotionally rich production.

IF YOU GO: Jan. 30 through Feb. 22, at the Aurora Fox Arts Center, 9900 E. Colfax Tickets are $17–$42. Details and reservations at 303-739-1970 or www.aurorafoxartscenter.org

The Secret World of Elephants

This world-class exhibition at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science uses interactive displays and fossil specimens to show the deep history of these giants. Visitors can learn about how elephants communicate through low-frequency vibrations and see how their ancestors adapted to ancient environments. Through hands-on interactions, you will feel the low-frequency rumbles elephants use to communicate, explore how they reshape their environments and come face-to-face with some of their ancestors.

IF YOU GO: Daily through Jan. 25 at The Denver Museum of Nature and Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd. Details at dmns.org.

Exit, Pursued By A Bear

This dark, theatrical comedy weaves absurdity and emotional complexity in a story about Nan, who decides to break free from her troubled past and literally tape her abuser to a chair as part of a wildly imaginative re-enactment of their shared history. With sharp, surreal humor and memorable character dynamics, the production challenges audience expectations while probing themes of catharsis, redemption, and the messy evolution of relationships.

IF YOU GO: Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. through Feb. 1 at the People’s Building, 9995 E. Colfax Ave. Tickets: $17.55-$32.55. Go to www.thepeoplesbuilding.com or call 720-772-6950.

In a regional premiere full of wit and backstage antics, Vintage Theatre presents “The Shark Is Broken”, a fastpaced comedy chronicling the untold story of the making of “Jaws”. Running through Feb.15, 2026, this uproarious show dives into the turbulent production of one of cinema’s most iconic blockbusters — where the “shark” (the mechanical prop affectionately nicknamed “Bruce”) repeatedly malfunctions, tensions between stars mount, and absurdity bubbles over both on and off the constructed set. Written by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon and directed by Luke Rahmsdorff-Terry, “The Shark Is Broken” artfully blends slapstick humor with sharp character interplay among actors portraying Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider, and Richard Dreyfuss as they bond, bicker, and booze their way through endless technical setbacks. The Vintage’s Bond-Trimble Theatre space enhances the immediacy of the experience, placing audiences at the heart of the chaotic shoot — much like being “on set” with this hilariously beleaguered cast. Whether you’re a movie buff curious about Hollywood folklore or simply seeking a night of uproarious, character-driven comedy, this show offers both laughs and glimpses into the unpredictable theater of filmmaking.

IF YOU GO: Friday, Saturday and Sunday shows. Curtains vary at the Vintage Theatre, 1468 Dayton St. Tickets: $20–$36 at www.vintagetheatre.org or call 303-856-7830.

The Long View: Making Art a Part of Life

Downtown Aurora Visual Arts opens its newest exhibition with a public reception celebrating the career of artist Linda Graham. “The Long View” examines how creativity evolves over a lifetime, featuring ceramic and mixed-media works that reflect decades of experimentation and personal growth. The opening reception invites visitors to meet fellow art lovers, engage with the artist’s themes of persistence and curiosity, and explore how art-making can be woven into everyday life. Light refreshments and informal conversation make this a welcoming entry point for both seasoned collectors and first-time gallery visitors.

IF YOU GO: Weekdays 10 am to 5 pm. through Feb. 23 at the DAVA studios, 1405 Florence St. No charge for admission. For details, call 303-724-0550 or go to www.davarts.org.

Denver Jewish Film Festival marks 30th anniversary

The Denver Jewish Film Festival celebrates three decades of cinema, culture, and community with its 30th annual festival, running Jan. 22 through Feb. 1 at the Mizel Arts and Culture Center. The 2026 edition features a carefully curated lineup of 40 films — narrative features, documentaries, and shorts — written or directed by Jewish filmmakers or exploring Jewish culture, identity, history, and contemporary life. The festival is known for bringing films to Denver that are rarely screened locally, pairing in-person showings with filmmaker Q&As, lectures, and community conversations that encourage dialogue across backgrounds and generations. Opening night kicks off Jan. 22 with a red-carpet VIP reception followed by “The Ring”, a warm and multigenerational dramedy inspired by Adir Miller’s Holocaust survival story. Festival highlights through-

out the run include “Elie Wiesel: Soul on Fire” with a post-screening lecture and talk-back with director Oren Rudavsky; “Full Support”, an intimate and humorous look at women’s lives set in a Tel Aviv bra shop; “31 Candles”, a rom-com about identity and delayed adulthood; and “Kissifum”, a comingof-age drama set against the backdrop of a turbulent period in Israeli history. The festival closes with “Match Maker 2”, accompanied by a champagne toast and a tribute honoring longtime festival contributor Mark Boscoe.

IF YOU GO: Jan. 22–Feb. 1 at the Mizel Arts and Culture Center, 350 S. Dahlia St. Tickets are $18 for adults and $15 for students/seniors. Multi-film passes are available. Details and tickets at tickets.jccdenver.org/djff.

Lone Tree Symphony Orchestra presents “Winds of Destiny”

The Lone Tree Symphony Orchestra explores themes of fate, resilience, and life’s journey in “Winds of Destiny”, a winter concert led by longtime music director Jacinda Bouton. Anchoring the program is Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5, a powerful and emotionally charged work that traces the composer’s struggle between destiny and self-determination. The evening also features highlights from the musical “Wicked”, Mendelssohn’s “Calm Seas and Prosperous Voyage”, and Strauss’ playful “Tritsch-Tratsch Polka”, creating a dynamic program that moves from drama to exuberance. Known for its high artistic standards and community focus, the Lone Tree Symphony Orchestra offers an accessible yet polished orchestral experience for audiences across South Metro Denver.

IF YOU GO: Feb. 27, 7:30 p.m. at the Lone Tree Arts Center, 10075 Commons St. Tickets are $22–$32; $10 children 12 and under. Details at 720-509-1000 or

Comedy Open Mic Night at Manos Sagrados

Manos Sagrados transforms into a comedy club for the evening as local comedians take the microphone for an open mic night that emphasizes community, experimentation, and fresh voices. Hosted by Joshua Emerson and Carlos Santos, the event welcomes performers at all experience levels, from first-timers testing new material to seasoned comics refining their sets. The result is an unpredictable night of humor shaped by lived experience, cultural commentary, and everyday absurdities.

Audience members play an essential role in the atmosphere, offering laughter and support in the venue’s relaxed, art-forward setting. Whether attending to perform or simply enjoy a low-key night out, the open mic highlights Aurora’s growing reputation as a home for grassroots creative expression.

IF YOU GO: Jan. 26, 7 p.m. at Manos Sagrados, 9975 East Colfax Ave. Tickets are $15-$20. Details at www.manossagrados.com

The

Pond Ice Rink opening celebration

Bundle up and glide into the winter season as The Pond Ice Rink opens for another year of outdoor skating in Aurora. Families and friends can enjoy public sessions under the lights, complete with music, hot chocolate and cozy fire pits. The seasonal rink has become a favorite local hangout, offering lessons, hockey sessions and themed skate nights throughout the season. Whether you’re a beginner or a pro, it’s the perfect place to celebrate winter fun.

IF YOU GO: 6155 S. Main St. $15 admission includes skates and rink time. Details at thepondicerink.com.

Ritmo Cascabel brings Mad Cumbia Dance Party to Aurora

Ritmo Cascabel brings high-energy rhythms and infectious dance beats to Manos Sagrados with a Mad Cumbia Dance Party that blends live performance with communal celebration. Rooted in traditional cumbia and infused with modern influences, the music invites dancers of all levels onto the floor. The event emphasizes movement, joy, and cultural exchange, transforming the venue into a vibrant late-night gathering space. Known for hosting genre-crossing performances, Manos Sagrados provides an intimate backdrop where audiences can dance up close to the musicians or simply soak in the sound. The party atmosphere makes it an ideal choice for anyone looking to shake off winter and experience Aurora’s multicultural arts scene in motion.

IF YOU GO: Jan. 30, 9 p.m. at Manos Sagrados, 9975 East Colfax Ave. Tickets are free or for a donation. Details at www.manossagrados.com

Right: Rangeview sophomores Marceles Duncan, center, and Dario Washington, right, force Grandview’s Matthew Samson (11) into a tough, contested attempt during a cross-town Aurora boys basketball contest Jan. 9. The Raiders held the Wolves scoreless in the opening period and went on to a 63-40 victory.

Below: Rangeview senior Tyson Tuck, center, leads a break after forcing a steal during the Raiders’ 60-51 home win over Denver South Jan. 9.

Go to any Rangeview boys basketball game this season and you’ll see baselines clogged with videographers, looking to capture jaw-dropping highlights.

With a cast that includes junior Archie Weatherspoon V and sophomore Marceles Duncan and the Raiders’ typical arsenal of athletes, fantastic finishes, dunks and 3-pointers come plentifully for the Raiders.

But an appetizer to the flash is the real work put in defensively by coach Shawn Palmer’s team, which is off to a 9-3 start and 6-0 against Colorado opponents.

‘D’ keys Raiders

“Play defense and after that, that’s where you see those highlights on Instagram,” Weatherspoon V said.

BY COURTNEY OAKES Sports Editor

Last season’s Rangeview team that went undefeated all the way until a Class 6A semifinal loss to Valor Christian was an offensive juggernaut that averaged more than 72 points per game, but this season’s group — minus graduated scorers such as LaDavian King and Kenny Black-Knox — has dedicated itself to the defensive end.

It’s the first thing they work on every practice and a combination of exceptional athleticism and getting a feel for each other has created a formiddable unit.

“At the beginning of the season, we thought we could just score and get away with it,” Weatherspoon V said. “But we’ve been working on our communication and that really comes through on defense.

“You have to trust each other. If I don’t think my help side is going to be there, I’m going to try to do it myself or foul or do something I shouldn’t do.”

The Raiders were tested greatly out of state with a combined seven games before winter break between three games in Arizona and four in an elite bracket of the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas.

Though 1-3 at the Tarkanian Classic, Rangeview held its own against some powerhouse opponents. The Raiders held Redondo Union (Calif.) — currently ranked No. 13 nationally by MaxPreps — to 65, which is 10 below its season average. Carter (Texas), against which Rangeview got its only win, scored nine points under its average and Riviera Prep (Fla.) finished 11 before its usual output.

“What I was most happy with in Vegas was how we guarded,” Palmer said. “We really, really defended the high level teams and held some nationally ranked teams to 10-15 points blow their average. It’s not like we play, we just really defended. We can cause people a lot of problems if we stay committed.”

The Las Vegas performance provided an illustration the players needed.

“Honestly, since last year, I felt like we’ve been the best defensive team,” senior Aidan Perez said. “We rely on our defense and it helps us win games. We take a lot of pride in it and coming back after what we did in Vegas helped a lot.”

Indeed, the first thing Rangeview did in its return to play in Colorado was pitch a shutout in the first quarter of a Jan. 9 cross-town visit to Grandview.

The Wolves — a strong nine-win group which has averaged a healthy 62.2 points per game — didn’t crack double figures until the second half and managed only 40 for the game, which remains almost 10 fewer than their previous season low.

That out contributed to an overall performance against Colorado teams in which Rangeview has allowed just 44.7 points per game ahead of a Jan. 21 showdown with George Washington. It limited Northfield to 43 (30 under its av-

erage) in a sizable City League win and the outlier is 68 points surrendered to Continental League powerhouse Mountain Vista in a game Rangeview still won on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by sophomore Dario Washington.

If that brand of defense continues, Rangeview will give itself a genuine chance to win the 6A state title given what it has on the offensive end of the floor, the leadership it has internally and the presence of Palmer, who guided the program to its second state championship in 2019.

Weatherspoon V currently averages 21.4 points per game and is one of the most dynamic scorers in the classification, while Duncan — an extremely athletic 6-foot-5 frontcourt player who leads the team in rebounding, steals and blocked shots — who has an average of 15.7 points per game thus far.

Add in Perez, a captain who has nearly doubled his scoring average from last season up to 11.1 points per contest, dependable senior Anthony Andrew and an assorted cast of others who continue to fine-tune their roles and the recipe is a tasty one.

“We’re hoping to take state this year,” Perez said. “We came up a little short last year, but this year we’re making sure we’re more ready, more prepared from scout to everything we do. We’re locked in 100 percent.”

Preps

BOYS WRESTLING

Grandview wins rugged

Top of the Rockies Invite

For the first time, the Grandview boys wrestling team earned the championship of the loaded Top of the Rockies Invitational, which has been hosted by Centaurus High School for nearly three decades.

Grandview amassed 6.5 points more than perennial state champion Pomona to finish atop a field of 41 teams, which also included locals from Vista PEAK Prep and Smoky Hill. Coach Ryan Budd’s teams had a trio of champions in juniors JR Ortega (126 pounds) and Leland Day (285) among seven top-six placers.

For Day, it was a second straight title at the rugged tournament and it ended in a championship match victory over Cherry Creek’s Oz Nowick, his former teammate. Day went into the tournament as the top seed and pinned his first three opponents in the opening period before a 4-1 win over Cody Kills On Top of Hardin (Montana). Once in the finals, Day earned a 7-1 win over Nowick.

Ortega went into the 126 pound bracket (up from the 120 class in which he is ranked No. 1 by On The Mat) as the top seed as well and absolutely cruised to the

championship with a string of five wins by technical falls that ended with an 18-3 victory over Pueblo East’s Alex Herburger.

Lopez proved his top seed in the 165 pound bracket was justified with a performance that included a mix of pins and technical falls that put him into the finals against Monarch’s Levi Carlucci, who he topped by 4-1 decision.

The fourth finalist for Grandview was junior Anthony Segura, who was the No. 22 seed in the 138-pound bracket. Three straight wins by fall landed Segura a spot in the championship match against Pomona’s Angel Serrano, who prevailed via 20-4 technical fall. Senior Jonathan Montes Gonzales (157) and junior Braxston Widrikis (144) both earned third place and junior Christian Skov (175) finished fourth for the Wolves.

Vista PEAK Prep’s 23.5 points put it in 32nd with help from senior Ian Bacon, who placed fourth at 120 pounds. He rebounded from a loss to top-seeded Drake Vombaur from Severance in the quarterfinals with three straight wins on the consolation side to make the third-place match, which he lost to 12-8 to Eli Archibeque of Rio Rancho (New Mexico).

Smoky Hill finished two points and two places behind Vista PEAK Prep in 34th and was paced by junior Jovani Galvan, who placed fourth at 138 pounds. Galvan — ranked No. 4 in 5A at 138 by On The Mat — went in as the No. 8 seed and won four matches before he dropped a 3-0 decision in the third-place match.

WEEK PAST

The week past in Aurora prep sports

MONDAY, JAN. 19: On a sparse slate as schools were closed for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Grandview boys basketball team trailed visiting Chatfield by a point after three quarters, but racked up 29 points in the fourth quarter to secure a 73-54 victory. Noah Sevy’s 17 points paced the Wolves, who got 14 points apiece from Ismael Kabongo and Obi Morris and 10 from Jason Stroope, whose layup early in the period put his team ahead for good.

...The Lotus School For Excellence boys basketball team stretched its winning streak to six games with a 73-55 victory at Campion Academy.. ...SATURDAY, JAN. 17: Noah Sevy poured in 24 points for the Grandview boys basketball team in a 61-53 road win at Legend. Jason Stroope (15 points) and Ismael Kabongo (11) joined Sevy in double figures. ...The Overland boys basketball team continued to gain steam with a 72-63 non-league home victory over Fossil Ridge with a 43-point second half.

For more on these stories, visit sentinelcolorado. com/preps

...The Cherokee Trail girls basketball team tallied 20-plus points in each of the first three quarters en route to a 74-47 home win over Vista PEAK Prep in a local matinee. Aaliyah Broadus tallied 27 points to lead the balanced Cougars,

while Karson Chaney contributed 15, while Knakai Starks (17) and Laila Armstrong (12) were double-digit scorers for the Bison. ...The Gateway girls basketball team earned a 55-44 home victory over DSST: Montview. ...Despite a 21-point outing from Ava Chang and 12 more from Sorrelle Kamgang, the Grandview girls basketball team fell 50-42 on the road at Legend. ...Cooper Mathews finished as the runner-up at 132 pounds and the Cherokee Trail boys wrestling team had four placers to finish ninth among a collection of 70 teams from multiple states at the Rockwell Rumble in Farmington, Utah. The Colorado contingent also included Regis Jesuit, which amassed 29 points to finish 47th, though it didn’t have any placers. ...The Overland boys wrestling team recorded a fourth-place finish at the SaberCat Slam at Castle View High School on the strength of six finalists, as Juan Valdez Martinez (175 pounds), Hugo Gonzalez (190) and Cameron Wainwright (285) won their matches, while Apurva Adhikari (144),Illia Fialkov (150) and Romeo Molina (215) finished second. Kanishka Sakhizada won the 144-pound bracket for Smoky Hill and Britton Matejovsky took first at 150 for Eaglecrest Biram Griffey finished as the 285-pound runner-up to lead Rangeview at the Skyview Invitational.

...The Hinkley boys wrestling team finished 14th at the 50th annual Alameda Invitational as Angel Cruz took fifth at 190 pounds. ...Dureti Abdulkadir won the 140-pound bracket, while Ellena Behre (100) and Vera Welte (130) were second for the Overland girls wrestling team in its third-place finish at the Loveland Invitational. ...The Vista PEAK Prep girls wrestling team claimed sixth place out of 18 scoring teams at the Holy Family Invitational behind six top-six placers that included champions at 125 pounds (Amelia Bacon), Idaly Garcia (130) and Khloe Yizar (235). Remington Zimmerer of the Regis Jesuit girls wrestling team finished as the runner-up at 120 pounds at the Rockwell Rumble in Farmington, Utah, while Alexandra Zimmerer (170) finished fifth and Hannah Pramita (115) took sixth. ...The Eaglecrest girls wrestling team had a second place finisher in Jayden Schwabauer (110 pounds), plus third-place winners in Sailor Matejovsky (105) and Brenna Brummet (190). ...Tamia Grant (235 pounds) placed third at 235 pounds, while Tremoni Scaggs (115) and Dryllyne Joseph (235) each were fourth for the Aurora Central girls wrestling team as the Trojans took 12th at the Survivor Series tournament hosted by Mountain Vista High School. ...FRIDAY, JAN. 16: The Regis Jesuit boys basketball team opened Continental League play with a 65-24 victory over Douglas County that saw 11 different players contribute in the

scoring column. Michael Price led the Raiders with 16 points, while Braeden Baker added 10. ...The Smoky Hill girls basketball team outscored Northglenn 29-6 in the second quarter alone on its way to a 74-28 non-league road victory. Ari Boyd’s 22 points paced the Buffaloes, while Taylor Dirden added 20, Leilani Gordon 14 and Jada Vigil 12. ...The Regis Jesuit girls basketball team opened Continental League play with a decisive 68-21 defeat of Douglas County. ...The Rangeview girls basketball team evened its City League record at 1-1 with a 68-42 road win at Denver South. ...The Eaglecrest boys wrestling team went 4-0 and won the Holy Family Duals with a 44-32 championship match defeat of Poudre. Aiden Ritz, Donavon Delbridge II, Cade Picone, Britton Matejovsky and Nakhai Miller wrestled four matches and won all of them. ...Emilio Kukic and Caelan Weeber scored first-period goals to give the Grandview ice hockey team a lead over Heritage at Big Bear Ice Arena, but the Eagles scored three unanswered goals for a 4-2 win over the Wolves. Linkin Alisasis made 36 saves for Grandview. ...THURSDAY, JAN. 15: The Rangeview boys basketball team finally got some separation from Denver South in the fourth quarter on its way to a 60-51 City League home victory. Archie Weatherspoon V paced the Raiders with 19 points, while Aidan Perez added 16 and Anthony Andrew 10. ...The Aurora Central boys basketball

team used a 20-point advantage in the second period and went on to a 90-50 Colorado League home win over Gateway. Between the teams, six players scored in double figures led by 24 points from Deon Davis Jr. of the Trojans, who also got 13 from Alex Flores, 12 from Fikri Hawazi and 11 from Jamari Fleming, while Conrad Littlejohn’s 16 led the Olys, while Nickalus Smith added 10. ...The Aurora Central girls basketball team rallied from a five-point deficit after one quarter to build a lead at halftime and defeated Gateway 61-27 in a Colorado League road game. ...The Eaglecrest boys wrestling team recorded eight pins on the way to a 60-12 Centennial League win over Arapahoe. Tagg Charity, Anthony Nguyen and Ty Benedict got wins by fall for the Smoky Hill boys wrestling team in a 45-23 Centennial League win against Overland, which got pins from Blake Calkins and Illia Fialkov among five wins. ...The Eaglecrest girls wrestling team rolled past Arapahoe 78-10 in a Centennial League dual. Jayden Schwabauer and Autumn Chapla earned wins for the Raptors, who also received 10 wins by forfeit. ...Only two of the 14 matches between the Overland and Smoky Hill girls wrestling teams were contested and though the Buffaloes won both (Maria Pascual Francisco and Meggan Mooney), the Trailblazers were 60-13 winners. ...Hailey Brown and Maylin Morales picked up wins by fall for the Vista PEAK Prep girls wres-

FAR LEFT: Regis Jesuit’s Eric Fiedler hangs on the rim after a dunk as the home crowd reacts during the Raiders’ 67-51 boys basketball win over Cherry Creek Jan. 13. LEFT: Vista PEAK Prep’s Julian Williams, right, converts a breakaway layup during the Bison’s boys basketball loss to Denver East. ABOVE: Grandview’s Emilio Kukic (16) gains space to put a shot on net in the Wolves’ 4-2 ice hockey loss to Heritage Jan. 16 at Big Bear Ice Arena. ABOVE RIGHT: Aurora Central’s Trayvion Simmons-Adams (21) challenges a shot by Gateway’s Basliel Mamo during the Trojans’ 90-50 boys basketball win Jan. 15. RIGHT: Overland’s Kymani Eason (2) hangs in the air on defense during the Trailblazers’ 67-58 boys basketball home win over Lewis-Palmer Jan. 13. (Photos by Courtney Oakes/Aurora Sentinel)

tling team in a 36-24 home win over Denver South on Senior Night for the Bison. ...The Grandview girls swim team earned a 102-84 Centennial League dual victory at Smoky Hill in a meet which saw the local programs split the 12 events. The Wolves were led by two-event winners Makenna Dyk and Paige Gust plus diver Baylei Polk and the 200 yard medley relay, while the Buffaloes took the remaining relays, while Mya Noffsinger won twice and Cameryn Walkup and Caroline Kaiser one apiece. ...The Eaglecrest girls swim team topped Mullen 103-72 in a Centennial League dual that saw the Raptors get two event victories from Leah Gomez, while Sadie Ballou, Mila Huseby and Xuan-Nguyen Do and diver Lily Grigorian also posted individual wins for the Raptors. ...Aria Clouse (100 yard freestyle) and diver Izzy Becker earned victories for the Cherokee Trail girls swim team in a 130-55 Centennial League loss to Cherry Creek.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 14: Avonte Hosley (12 points) and Jordan Osei (11) led the William Smith boys basketball team to a 51-34 win over STEM School Highlands Ranch. ...The Overland girls basketball team outscored host ThunderRidge by 10 points in the final quarter 57-56 non-league victory. ...The Smoky Hill girls basketball team had four double-digit scorers — led by 22 from Ari Boyd — in a 63-29 win over Heritage. ...The Vista PEAK Prep boys wrestling team defeated Prairie View

44-32 as Adrian Pacheco, Kyler Milligan, Gavin Fifita, Abraham Garcia and Caleb Summey won by fall. ...The Aurora Central boys wrestling team went 1-1 in a tri-dual meet with a 44-35 win over Montbello and a 57-18 loss to Skyview. Felix Morales and Federico Amezquita Lara earned two pins in as many matches for the Trojans. ...The Eaglecrest boys wrestling team topped Columbine 65-15 as Aiden Ritz, James Pearson, Cade Picone, Blake Simpson, Britton Matejovsky, Nakhai Miller and Charles Swick pinned their opponents. ...The Eaglecrest girls wrestling team earned a 65-18 dual win over Columbine that included wins by fall from Sofie Ghasabyan, Sailor Matejovsky, Sydney Babi, Jordan Heibult, Paula Esmeral Ulles and Audrey Braun Karen Cardoza, Tremoni Scaggs and Elisa Amezquita Lara earned wins by fall as the Aurora Central girls wrestling team edged Montbello 37-36. ...The Rangeview girls swim team fell to Denver East 115-70 despite event wins from Chela Gonzalez, Davaeh Archibeque and Anna Arana plus the 400 yard freestyle relay.

TUESDAY, JAN. 13: The Rangeview boys basketball team got 27 points from Marceles Duncan plus 24 from Archie Weatherspoon V and 10 from Aidan Perez in a 79-43 City League road win over Northfield. ...A 25-7 blitz in the third quarter propelled the Regis Jesuit boys basketball team to a 6751 home win over Cherry Creek on a

night that saw Eric Fiedler go for 32 points. Joseph Haubert joined him in double figures for the Raiders with 13. ...The Overland boys basketball team held Lewis-Palmer to just 21 points in the second half on its way to a 67-58 non-league home win. ...The Aurora Central boys basketball team outscored Skyview 21-16 in the final quarter, but was held to single digits in the first three quarters of a 44-40 loss. ...The Regis Jesuit girls basketball team rallied from a double-digit deficit after a quarter against Grandview in a local matchup and went on to a 56-47 victory as Khloe Miller and Molly Schimmer had 12 points apiece, Izzy Davies 11 and Celie Dengler 10. Ava Chang and Sorrelle Kamgang each tallied 14 points for the Wolves. ...Jade Hibbler’s 17 points combined with 14 from Zaria Rogers gave the Vista PEAK Prep girls basketball team a boost on its way to a 58-44 City League win over Denver South. ...The Aurora Central girls basketball team fell to Skyview 40-37 in a tight Colorado League contest in which Jamaea Johnson-Gonzalez scored 15 as the only Trojans player in double figures. ...The Regis Jesuit girls swim team defeated Ponderosa 139-39 in a Continental League dual meet with firsts in all three relay teams along with individual wins from Natalie

and diver Simone Lore

INVITATION TO BID

Senac South Metropolitan District No. 1 (Owner) is requesting Bids for the construction of the following Project:

OVERLAND RANCH SUBDIVISION FILING NO. 1 LANDSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS

Bids for the construction of the Project will be received by shawn@contourservices. com, until March 2nd, 2026, at 4 PM MST.

Bids received will be opened via a Microsoft Teams Meet (date, time and link provided upon request).

The Project includes the following Work:

Overland Ranch Subdivision Filing No. 1 – Phase 1 Landscape improvements; Monumentation, general right of way and common area landscape and irrigation with fencing and concrete flat work.

The Issuing Office for the Bidding Documents is: Contour Services Information and Bid Documents for the project will be available electronically on January 29th, 2026. Please request bid documents from shawn@contourservices.com. Include company name and contact information in the request. No pre-bid conference will be held.

Questions and comments concerning this project shall be submitted no later than 5:00 PM MST on February 16th, 2026, and must be directed in writing via email to: Shawn Wissel, shawn@contourservices.com. All questions outside of written email confirmation, phone conversations or non-written responses are not official and will not be considered part of the bidding documentation.

Partial Bidding Documents will not be available from the Issuing Office. Neither Owner nor Construction Manager will be responsible for full or partial sets of Bidding Documents, including addenda, if any, are obtained from sources other than the Issuing Office. For all further requirements regarding bid submittal, qualifications, procedures, and contract award, refer to the Instructions to Bidders that are included in the Bidding Documents.

Bidders are hereby advised that the owner reserves the right to not award a contract until sixty (60) days from the date of the opening of bids, and bidders expressly agree to keep their bids open for the sixty (60) day period.

Owner reserves the right to reject any and all bids, to waive any informality, technicality or irregularity in any bid, to disregard all non-conforming, non-responsive, conditional or alternate bids, to negotiate contract terms with the successful bidder, to require statements or evidence of bidders’ qualifications, including financial statements, and to accept the proposal that is, in the opinion of the owner, in its best interest. Owner also reserves the right to extend the bidding period by addendum if it appears in its best interest to do so.

Publication: January 22, 2026 Sentinel NOTICE OF HEARING CONCERNING EXCLUSION OF REAL PROPERTY

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that there has been filed with the Board of Directors of The Aurora Highlands Metropolitan District No. 6 (“District”), located in Adams County, Colorado, a petition requesting that the Board adopt a resolution approving the exclusion of certain property from the boundaries of such District (“Petition”).

The name and address of the Petitioner and a general description of the Property that is the subject of such Petition is as follows:

Petitioner: Aurora Highlands, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company

Address of Petitioner: 250 Pilot Road, Ste. 150 Las Vegas, NV 89119

Description: Approximately 0.721 acres of land general-

ly located: east of E-470, south of 38th Avenue, west of Monaghan Road and north of E. 26th Avenue, City of Aurora, County of Adams, Colorado

Accordingly, pursuant to Section 32-1501(2), C.R.S., notice is hereby given that the Board of Directors of the District shall hold a public meeting to hear the Petition on Thursday, February 19, 2026, at 1:00 p.m., virtually, via Zoom.

Interested persons may attend the meeting in any of the following ways: To attend via Zoom Videoconference, e-mail jpino@specialdistrictlaw.com to obtain a link to the videoconference, or use the following: https://us02web.zoom.us/ j/86786188843?pwd=tYAMn2DMIOCNXzZ8iQ4zJrRlrbnCqJ.1

To attend via telephone, dial 1-719-3594580 and enter the following additional information:

Meeting ID: 867 8618 8843 Passcode: 660408 All interested persons shall appear at

Board President Publication: January 22, 2026 Sentinel

NOTICE OF INTENT TO DESTROY RECORDS

at North Aurora-King-Swenson Chiropractics, 2499 Peoria St., Aurora, CO 80010. We will be destroying medical records on 6/1/26 for the years through December 31, 2018. To request a copy of your records, please call 3033415353 on or before June 1, 2026.

First Publication: January 15, 2026 Final Publication: February 5, 2026 Sentinel

NOTICE OF OPEN MEETING FOR HEARING ON PETITION FOR INCLUSION OF PROPERTY WITHIN THE AURORA HIGHLANDS METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 1

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN to all interested persons that a Petition for Inclusion of Property (the “Petition”) has been filed with the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of The Aurora Highlands Metropolitan District No. 1 (the “District”). The Board has fixed Thursday, the 19th of February, 2026 at the hour of 1:00 p.m., as the date, time and place of an open meeting at which such Petition shall be heard. This meeting will be held via Zoom:

To obtain the Zoom link, e-mail kathy. suazo@claconnect.com, or access the link directly using the information below: https://us02web.zoom.us/ j/86786188843?pwd=tYAMn2DMIOCNXzZ8iQ4zJrRlrbnCqJ.1;

To attend via telephone, dial 1-719-3594580 and enter the following additional information:

Meeting ID: 867 8618 8843, Passcode: 660408

The name and address of the Petitioner is: Aurora Highlands, LLC 250 Pilot Road, Suite 150 Las Vegas, Nevada 89119

The property to be included into the District is generally described as follows:

Approximately 0.721 acres of land generally located: east of E-470, south of 38th Avenue, west of Monaghan Road and north of East 26th Avenue, City of Aurora, County of Adams, Colorado

All interested parties may appear at such meeting to show cause in writing why such Petition should not be granted.

BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE AURORA HIGHLANDS METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 1. THE AURORA HIGHLANDS METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 1

By: /s/ Matthew P. Ruhland Attorney for the District Publication: January 22, 2026 Sentinel

PUBLIC NOTICE OF CONTRACTOR’S FINAL SETTLEMENT

Pursuant to 1973 C.R.S. 38-26-107, notice is hereby given that on/or after the 27th day of January, 2026, final settlement with Himmelman Construction , will be made by the Joint District No. 28J of the Counties of Adams and Arapahoe (Aurora Public Schools) for and on account of the General Construction Contract for Del Mar Modular Addition, and that any person, co-partnership, association, company, or corporation who has an unpaid claim against any of the contractors for or on account of the furnishing of labor, materials, team hire, sustenance, provisions, provender, or other supplies used or consumed by such contractors, or any of their subcontractors, in or about the performance of said work may file at any time up to and including said time of such final settlement on/or after, February 24, 2026, a verified statement of the amount due and unpaid on account of such claim with the Board of Education of said school district at the office of:

Support Services Aurora Public Schools 15701 E. 1st Avenue Aurora, CO 80011

Failure on the part of a claimant to file such statements prior to such final settlement will relieve said school district from all and any liability for such claimant’s claim.

JOINT DISTRICT NO. 28J OF THE COUNTIES OF DAMS AND ARAPAHOE STATE OF COLORADO

First Publication: January 22, 2026

Final Publication: January 29, 2026 Sentinel

RESIDENCES AT WILLOW PARK

3-BEDROOM TOWNHOME WAITLIST OPENING JANUARY 26TH, 2026

The Housing Authority of the City of Aurora/Aurora Housing Authority (AHA) is announcing a pre-application waitlist opportunity specifically for the three-bedroom townhomes of Residences at Willow Park. Residents of this portion of the

of

es at Willow Park is a pet-free community. Applications may be made from 10am to 2pm from 1/26 to 1/28/26 on-site at the office at 14001 E Colorado Drive, Aurora, CO 80012. Individuals in line before 2:05 PM can be assisted, otherwise will be requested to return the next day. If we receive less than 200 applications, we will open online at: https://residences-at-willow-park.rentcafewebsite.org/ from 10:00am on the 29th of January, 2026, through 2:00pm on the 30th of January, 2026. We may extend this time frame for online applications as necessary, but will close the list at 300 applications as any larger number would prevent us from assisting families in any reasonable timeframe. If you require accommodations to apply, please make an appointment via phone at 303-337-4472 (we accept TTY through Relay 7-1-1) or email at willowpark@aurorahousing.org as soon as possible as appointments must be made within the time frame allocated.

Entries must be submitted within the time frame. They will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis. Once an applicant is selected, they will be notified through email and phone to the given address within 3 days after the date of selection. If you do not respond, you will be sent a letter indicating you have 10 days to respond or be removed from the list. If you are chosen, you will be informed of the next several steps to an application, including potentially submitting online information, and getting an appointment with the office staff to fill out paperwork.

The Housing Authority of the City of Aurora is pledged to the achievement of equal housing opportunity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, genetic predisposition, sexual orientation, gender expression, familial status, national origin, or any other protected classes concerning the availability of and the requirements for obtaining assistance administered. Accommodations are available!

The person named below has been designated to coordinate compliance with the nondiscrimination requirements contained in the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s regulations implementing Section 504 (24 CFR, part 8 dated June 2, 1988). Hannah Han * 2280 S. Xanadu Way * Aurora, CO 80014 * hhan@aurorahousing.org TTY: Relay 7-1-1

Publication: January 22, 2026

Sentinel

VEHICLE FOR SALE

2025 TOYOTA TACOMA VIN-021621

Extreme Towing

303-344-1400

Publication: January 22, 2026

Sentinel

VEHICLES FOR SALE

1. 307836-2004 toyota matrix red

2. 143274-2014 Ford Taurus silver 3. 207897-2005 volvo cx90 gray

A Personal Touch Recovery

303-421-2230

Publication: January 22, 2026

Sentinel

NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION

PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR30630

Estate of Tracie Denise Endlich aka Tracie Wulff Endlich aka Tracie W, Deceased.

All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Arapahoe County, Colorado, on or before May 22, 2026, or the claims may be forever barred. Raymond Jerry Wulff

Personal Representative 5887 S. Paintbrush Ct. Littleton, CO 80123

First Publication: January 22, 2026

Final Publication: February 5, 2026

Sentinel

NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION

PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR30764

Estate of Jeannette L. Roller, Deceased.

All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Adams County, Colorado, on or before May 1, 2026, or the claims may be forever barred.

Attorney for Personal Representative

William L. Carpenter

Atty Reg #: 8223

1775 Sherman St., #1650

Denver, CO 80203

303-995-5021

Phone:

First Publication: January 22, 2026

Final Publication: February 5, 2026

Sentinel

NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION

PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR30778

Estate of Jeffrey R. Borg aka Jeffrey Richard Borg aka Jeffrey Borg, Deceased. All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Adams County, Colorado, on or before May 16, 2026, or the claims may be forever barred.

Jonathan Williams

Personal Representative 11844 Quam Dr. Northglenn, CO 80233

Attorney for Personal Representative

Stephen Wilson,

Atty Reg #: 39225

Law Office of Stephen Wilson, LLC

1000 E. 16th Ave, Suite 210

Denver, CO 80218

Phone: 303-586-5005

First Publication: January 15, 2026

Final Publication: January 29, 2026

Sentinel

NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION

PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR30866

Estate of Bonnie Jean Groen, Deceased.

All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Adams County, Colorado, on or before May 22, 2026, or the claims may be forever barred.

Ruth Ellen Leonard

Personal Representative 2938 E. 135th Pl. Thornton, CO 80241

First Publication: January 22, 2026

Final Publication: February 5, 2026

Sentinel

NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION

PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR31264

Estate of Marty F. Soudani aka Reed Marty Soudani, Deceased.

All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Arapahoe County, Colorado, on or before May 15, 2026, or the claims may be forever barred.

Angelique M. Alexia

Personal Representative 16452 E. Berry Pl. Centennial, CO 80015

First Publication: January 15, 2026

Final Publication: January 29, 2026

Sentinel

NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION

PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR31276

Estate of Deanna Lynn Ott aka Deanna Ott aka Dee Ott, Deceased.

All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Arapahoe County, Colorado, on or before May 31, 2026, or the claims may be forever barred.

Attorney for Personal Representative

Brian S. Popp

Atty Reg #: 30907

Law Offices of Brian S. Popp, LLC

4700 S. Syracuse St., Ste. 1030 Denver, CO 80237

Phone: 720-225-9135

First Publication: January 15, 2026

Final Publication: January 29, 2026

Sentinel

NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION

PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR31293

Estate of SARAH ELAINE THOEMKE AKA SARAH E. THOEMKE AKA SARAH THOEMKE AKA SARAH BRIDGES PAUL, Deceased.

All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Arapahoe County, Colorado, on or before May 15, 2026, or the claims may be forever barred. Thomas Bridges

Personal Representative

6677 S. Catawba Way Aurora, CO 80016

First Publication: January 15, 2026

Final Publication: January 29, 2026

Sentinel

NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION

PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR31317

Estate of Paula Florence Kinningham aka Paula Kinningham, Deceased.

Al persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Arapahoe County, Colorado, on or before May 22, 2026, or claims may be forever barred.

Brendan Kinningham, Personal Representative 17716 E. Greenwood Dr., Apt. 2137

Aurora, CO 80013

Attorney for Personal Representative

Mark A. Idelberg, Atty. Reg. #14474 BISLaw, LLC

600 S. Cherry St., Suite 1125 Denver, CO 80246

Phone: 303-771-9233

First Publication: January 22, 2026

Final Publication: February 5, 2026

Sentinel

NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION

PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2026PR5

Estate of James K. Schwenger, Deceased.

All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Arapahoe County, Colorado, on or before April 15, 2026, or the claims may be forever barred.

Mark T. Scheuneman

Personal Representative 13942 E. Linvale Pl. Aurora, CO 80014

First Publication: January 15, 2026

Final Publication: January 29, 2026

Sentinel

NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION

PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR31238

Estate of Magdalena Jordan, Deceased.

All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Arapahoe County, Colorado, on or before May 15, 2026, or the claims may be forever barred.

Veronica Jordan aka Veronica Jordan Daggett

Personal Representative 670 Azalea Dr. Bartow, FL 33830

Attorneys for Personal Representative

Charles E. Rounds

Atty Reg #: 37786

Kirch Rounds & Bowman, P.C.

Marketplace Tower II 3025 S. Parker Rd., Ste. 820 Aurora, CO 80014

Phone: 303-671-7726

First Publication: January 15, 2026

Final Publication: January 29, 2026

Sentinel

NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION

PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR31347

Estate of Terry R. Hill aka Terry Ray Hill aka Terry Hill, Deceased.

All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Arapahoe County, Colorado, on or before May 16, 2026, or the claims may be forever barred.

Patricia Rankin, Esq. Atty Reg #: 27546

NOTICE TO

State lawmakers should approve bill allowing ICE victims to sue agents

Colorado lawmakers should move swiftly and decisively on Senate Bill 26-005, a proposal that restores a basic American principle too often denied in the shadows of modern immigration enforcement: Where there are rights, there must be remedies.

The bill, introduced on the first day of the 2026 legislative session by Aurora Democratic state Sen. Mike Weissman, would allow people injured or who suffer losses by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers or other federal agents during civil immigration operations or lawful protests to sue those responsible in state court — even when the defendants claim immunity.

That simple premise is hardly radical or reckless. The Constitution guarantees the right from unreasonable search and arrest, and it guarantees free speech and the right to peacefully protest. The proposed law is common sense based on fairness and the reality of what the nation is like under the Trump administration.

You don’t have to look any further than this week to see why this bill is critically needed.

ICE agents in St. Paul Minnesota broke down the door of a naturalized U.S. citizen and pulled him out of his home at gunpoint clad only in underwear and a blanket into a frigid front yard. The ICE agents had no warrant, and it appears the arrest was a case of mistaken identity.

So who pays for the ruined door? Most likely the victim.

For generations, the courts have been the place to stand up for victims wrongfully injured or ripped off by the corruption or ineptitude of others.

Someone injured in a grocery store where a heavy item improperly stocked falls off a store shelf can and should expect compensation, whether damages are inflicted on members of the public intentionally or not.

The government, and police, rarely should be exempt, and rarely is, from being held accountable for damages or injuries caused to a person deliberately or through negligence. Aurora is no stranger to paying out millions and millions of dollars to people who were wrongfully injured or killed by police here.

Federal police should be treated no differently, and especially poorly trained or badly led agents under the current administration.

SB 26-005 seeks to reaffirm that idea at a moment when it is under unmistakable strain. The urgency for this measure is not abstract. It is written in blood, shattered glass and clouds of tear gas all over the Minneapolis area and likely headed here.

Weissman said he began working on the bill months ago, but its relevance was seared into the national consciousness Jan. 7, when Renee Good, a 37-yearold mother of three and an American citizen with ties to Colorado, was shot and killed by an ICE officer in Minneapolis. She was fatally shot at point-blank range while behind the wheel of her SUV, in broad daylight. Federal officials claimed the shooting was in self-defense. City and state officials, citing bystander videos, reject that account.

But far more protesters and people wrongfully approached by ICE agents as suspects have been injured by excessively aggressive ICE and federal agent tactics. Anyone injured by malfeasance or malicious behavior should be compensated, and state courts are the only realistic and practical way to make that happen. By explicitly rejecting defenses such as sovereign immunity, qualified immunity and supremacy clause immunity, the bill ensures that federal badges do not become shields against accountability when constitutional rights are violated.

The measure is carefully drafted and grounded in Supreme Court precedent. It’s tailored to fit within Colorado’s permissible authority.

It excludes state and local police, whose conduct is already governed by Colorado’s police accountability laws, sponsors say.

This is not Colorado acting alone or acting out of turn. Illinois, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York are pursuing similar paths to protect innocent state residents who become victims of bad actors or bad policing. States of varying political hues are reaching the same conclusion. When federal enforcement turns abusive, states have both the right and the responsibility to protect their people.

Colorado needs to act now. Incidents in cities across the country are expectations of what we can expect soon in the Aurora-Denver metro area. Every morning before sunrise, hundreds of federal officers in tactical gear pour out of an unmarked building near an airport in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, forming convoys of hulking SUVs and vans. They have become feared fixtures in the Twin Cities, particularly in immigrant neighborhoods. Protesters gather, chanting and waving signs. By nightfall, confrontations escalate. Federal officers fire tear gas and flash grenades. People are dragged away, injured.

There are increasing cases like that of Christian Molina, a Minneapolis man driving his car to a mechanic when federal officers began following him. Unsure who they were, he kept driving. They hit his rear bumper. They demanded papers. A crowd gathered. Tear gas filled the air. Then the officers left, leaving Molina with a mangled car and a question that cuts to the heart of SB 26-005.

“Who’s going to pay for my car?” he asked.

Without a law like this, the answer will be: the victim.

Colorado legislators should not look away. Passing SB 26-005 will not end aggressive federal immigration enforcement. But it will make clear that Constitutional rights do not evaporate at the sight of a federal badge, and violence without accountability has no place in a state governed by law.

JON CALDARA, GUEST COLUMNIST

Gov. Polis’ lame duck legislative session will provide his time to shine

Hang onto your wallet, it’s a Colorado legislative session. And the loneliest person under the Gold Dome is Jared Polis, a governor without a nation.

This will be the last regular session of his limited two terms, and he has managed to become disliked by just about everyone.

Of course, no matter how often he claims to be libertarian or business friendly, those on his right are just plain pissed at what he’s done to the state during his seven years. The sad fact is Colorado has never seen a more business-wrecking governor in her history.

The Polis era

A postmortem on the Polis years will reveal the eruption of Colorado’s regulatory Leviathan. Unworkable energy mandates, spiraling minimum wage laws, skyrocketing insurance premiums, taxes and “fees,” an avalanche of new unelected committees, commissions, and boards all with one goal – impede business.

No one from the private sector would say Colorado is better off than it was seven years ago.

Civil libertarians were betrayed over anti-gun laws which leapfrogs those of California and Massachusetts, speech codes like the new crime of misgendering, and the first-in-the-nation regulatory noose around artificial intelligence development. So much for our “computer code is free speech” high-tech guv.

And now this governor is reviled by many of his own party for, on rare occasion, siding with sanity.

There is chatter of big labor backing another bill this session to repeal Colorado’s Labor Peace Act, destroying a near century of business-labor détente. Polis wisely vetoed it last year. (Side note: We must pressure Michael Bennet and Phil Weiser for a clear “yes or no” on whether they will sign it. It will land on one of their desks in 2027.)

The all-powerful teacher’s unions are angry Polis has agreed to include Colorado in the federal Educational Choice for Children Act, created by Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, allowing taxpayers a tax credit for donating to private scholarship organizations.

Polis, like every governor, holds aspirations of becoming U.S. senator or president. A successful run for the White House seems very unlikely at this point. There is no way he could make it through a Democratic primary.

First, he is not a rabid socialist, spitting at anyone who has a dollar more than he does.

Polis has stated his support of a low, flat income tax, and even no income tax at all. That’s commendable but absolutely detested in a party now defined by Bernie, AOC and Zohran Mamdani.

Polis’ progressive bullies

Good God Almighty, the “democratic” socialists are ripping him apart for his simple social media post: “Today is a moment to celebrate the ouster of the brutal socialist dictator of Venezuela, who has cruelly impoverished this once-prosperous country that sits on greater oil wealth than Saudi Arabia.”

Then there’s a challenge of how God made him. No, it doesn’t matter he’s gay. In fact, that’s a box to check when running as a Democrat. The problem is he was born Jewish.

The Israel-hating, “from the river to the sea” style of antisemitism now rampant in Democratic ranks would never allow a Jew to be their presidential nominee.

Polis for VP? Again, no. Colorado’s ultra-blue electoral votes will go to whomever the Dems nominate. The VP slot will go to someone who brings the ticket a swing constituency; Colorado is a “sure thing.”

So basically, Jared Polis is now Colorado’s Rodney Dangerfield. The question is, will he lean into it?

There can be a great deal of power when you know no matter what you do, they’re going to dislike you. That power is multiplied being term-limited — free from fretting about reelection. Maybe he’s had enough of being pushed around from his left?

Polis is not anti-gun, but his signature unleashed the most restrictive gun laws in the nation. He’s not anti-tech, but he unleashed the most dangerous anti-AI law in the nation (even the Europeans couldn’t dream up something this anti-innovation). He wants a lower flat income tax rate yet signed the bill to make tax cuts unwinnable at the ballot box (it forces the ballot language to say a “yes” vote will destroy education and health care and starve old ladies).

If there was ever a time for our governor to stand up to the crazed progressives who’ve bullied him for his entire tenure, now is it.

Jared, show us the real you! We might like it.

Jon Caldara is president of Independence Institute, a free market think tank in Denver.

Gary Monroe Howard of Arvada, age 88, passed away on December 13, 2025. He was born to the late Lloyd and Ione Howard on July 4th, 1937, in Mullen, Nebraska.

Gary is survived by his wife, Carole Lotito Howard; four daughters, Michelle Howard (Thomas Cross), Christine Keith, Ginamarie Bloomquist, Nicole Stegink (Jeff Wilson); eight grandchildren, Madison Keith, Meghan Keith, Laurent Bloomquist (Caity Constien), Andrew Keith (Morgan), Tesfanesh Keith, Bizunesh Keith, Lena Keith and Mark Keith; and three great-grandchildren, Parker Nall, Conner Nall and soon to be born baby girl Bloomquist-Constien.

A memorial service to celebrate Gary’s life will be held Thursday, February 12th, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at Broomfield United Methodist Church with a reception to follow. There will be a private graveside ceremony for the immediate family. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Broomfield United Methodist Church, The Colorado Children’s Chorale or the Colorado Symphony.

Full obituary is available at https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.

METRO

actions by state or local police officers acting within the scope of their duties under state law. Weissman said he did not include local police because Colorado State Police Accountability laws already detail those responsibilities and rights.

Other states are also considering or enacting legislation directed at restricting federal immigration missions and protecting constitutional rights of citizens.

Illinois passed House Bill 1312, which restricts immigration enforcement in “sensitive areas,” such as schools and hospitals, and establishes legal recourse for violations of constitutional rights by civil immigration enforcement agents. California recently introduced the No Kings Act, Massachusetts introduced the Qualified Immunity Abolition Act of 2026, along with New Jersey and New York; all recently introduced laws that aim to do the same thing as Weissman’s bill, proponents say.

“I have looked at the laws in other states as part of framing this bill,” Weissman said. “I have borrowed ideas. I have decided, no, I like what this state did, I don’t like what that state did, or I like things, and I don’t like things that the same state did. We have to do what makes sense in Colorado and what is consistent with the rest of our laws.”

The bill was introduced in a Democratic-controlled legislature Wednesday, while Weissman said the country will see many similar bills popping up across left- and right-leaning states. The measure was assigned to the state Senate Judiciary Committee for a hearing.

He said that Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Iowa, Virginia, and New Hampshire are a handful of states he knows are looking at this question soon.

“A lot of other state legislatures are considering bills like this, I think, for pretty obvious reasons,” Weissman said. “And some of these states are what you call blue, and some are purple, and one or two are even a little bit red. And the details of the bills may vary, but the common denominator is that states need to be part of providing a remedy for their people where federal constitutional rights are violated.”

— Cassandra Ballard, Sentinel Staff Writer

Rep. Crow, 5 other Dems say Trump administration is investigating them over video message to troops

Aurora Democratic Rep. Jason Crow and other Democratic lawmakers who appeared in a video urging members of the military to resist “illegal orders” confirmed Wednesday that they are under investigation from the Trump administration, a remarkable step by the Justice Department that comes after the president accused the lawmakers of sedition for their words. Crow is among four House mem-

bers and two senators who all previously served in the military or at intelligence agencies. The FBI contacted them for interviews late last year, after their 90-second video was released, and now say they have been contacted by the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Columbia, a significant escalation in the investigation.

“Donald Trump called for my arrest, prosecution, and execution — all because I said something he didn’t like,” Crow said in a statement. “Now he’s pressuring his political appointees to harass me for daring to speak up and hold him accountable. I won’t be intimidated and will keep fighting to uphold my oath to the Constitution and defend our country.”

Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, a former CIA analyst, first revealed the outreach from prosecutors in an interview with The New York Times. On Wednesday she posted a video on her X account saying the office of U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, the chief federal prosecutor in the nation’s capital, reached out last week asking to interview her.

“This is the president’s playbook. Truth doesn’t matter. Facts don’t matter. And anyone who disagrees with him becomes an enemy,” Slotkin said. “And he then weaponizes the federal government against them. It’s legal intimidation and physical intimidation meant to get you to shut up.”

Pirro’s office said it would neither confirm nor deny whether an investigation is taking place.

Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania and Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire also confirmed Wednesday that they have been contacted by Pirro’s office.

“They would like to sit down with us,” Houlahan told reporters. “And to my knowledge, each one of us have received the same email and outreach.”

The House members remained defiant, with Crow saying in a social media post that the Trump administration “picked the wrong people.”

“It is downright dangerous that the Justice Department is targeting me for doing my job,” Goodlander said in a statement. “These threats will not deter, distract, intimidate, or silence me.”

The lawmakers attracted President Donald Trump’s wrath with a video that he and his aides have labeled as “seditious” — an offense Trump said on his social media account was “punishable by death.”

It is not clear what laws could have been violated in the video message. In it, the lawmakers tell troops to follow established military protocols by not following commands that violate the law. They said the administration “is pitting our uniformed military against American citizens” and they called for service members to “stand up for our laws.”

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said last week that “these members of Congress did not violate the law” and that Democrats “stand firmly behind them.”

— Joey Cappelletti, Associated Press and Sentinel Staff