August 12-16, 2024
Each week KUNC collects and curates some of the more important stories of the week that have aired on our daily newscast. We know how busy life can be, and that it's not always possible to get your news on our airwaves (or from streaming us right here on our website). Fill in the gaps and catch up right here. No one enjoys the feeling of missing out!
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Sea of cyclists honors Magnus White
A year after White鈥檚 death while riding on Highway 119, nearly 3,000 people came to Boulder on Sunday for a memorial ride. As KUNC鈥檚 Gabe Allen reports, participants covered 13 miles from the CU Boulder Campus out to the spot where White was killed.
White鈥檚 parents spoke to the crowd afterward. They want federal legislation requiring automatic emergency braking in new cars. In Colorado, they want to see harsher punishments for people charged with careless driving and vehicular homicide.
Many Colorado communities are working on bike safety infrastructure projects. But advocates argue that these projects are too modest and too slow.
Which wheels go where? FoCo wants to know
The use of bikes, scooters, and skateboards on Fort Collins's infrastructure has expanded rapidly, and city officials want to update micro-mobility rules
The purpose of the Which Wheels Go Where survey is to identify how residents get around and where they go. Participants in the survey will get an e-scooter ride credit and could win prizes.
is open through the end of September.
Parents say school鈥檚 gender-related counseling of their teen is unconstitutional
A couple in Adams County is after finding out their teen started using a different name and pronouns at school with support from staff. The student changed names and pronouns and sought therapy, including advice on transitioning.
The lawsuit says the state, the Department of Education, and the Adams County 27J School District infringed on the parents鈥� constitutional rights by encouraging the 14-year-old to transition without seeking parental permission first.
A new state law mandates that schools use students鈥� preferred names and pronouns. Adams County 27J also has a policy that requires a student to consent to tell their families about their transgender status. The district says in some cases, telling guardians could put those students in danger.
Peters convicted of 2020 election interference
Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters was found guilty of several felony counts Monday over her attempts to obstruct the results of the 2020 election. Peters was an outspoken denier of the results and stoked conspiracy theories about the election being stolen. Her charges stem from a security breach where she tried to copy an election computer hard drive.
Colorado鈥檚 top election official, Secretary of State Jena Griswold, called the verdict 鈥渏ustice for voters.鈥� Peters will be sentenced in early October. Note: please grab image from AP
CSU is retiring football alum Mosley鈥檚 number
Next month, Colorado State University will honor the legacy of one of the school鈥檚 first Black football players. As KUNC鈥檚 Mike Lyle reports, John Mosley played for the Rams as a three-year letterman in football, becoming the first African American letter winner in the program鈥檚 history. He was also a star wrestler from 1940 to 1943.
Mosley went on to become one of the first Black bomber pilots in U.S. history as a member of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. CSU said Mosley's number, 14, will be retired across all sports. His number will go up at Canvas Stadium on September 7 during the Rams鈥� rival match with Northern Colorado.
Mosley was inducted into the CSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2009. He died in 2015 at the age of 93.
State lawmakers to Congress: Don鈥檛 tax TABOR refunds
Colorado鈥檚 Congressional delegation is again urging the Internal Revenue Service to refrain from taxing refunds under the state鈥檚 Taxpayer Bill of Rights, or TABOR. The delegation sent a letter Tuesday to IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. It argues taxing TABOR refunds would force unprepared state officials AND taxpayers to take on a new tax burden.
US House Minority Leader Joe Neguse and Sen. Michael Bennet are leading the push to keep TABOR off the tax block in 2024. They led a similar effort last year before the IRS held off taxing the refunds.
Facing a driver shortage, Boulder Valley Schools reduce bus coverage
The Boulder Valley School District is starting the new academic year with fewer bus options for students. BVSD is consolidating some bus routes in the foothills and adding hub-style stops to major streets. Those stops will require some students to go farther to catch a bus.
The district is also asking some high schoolers to ride to school on Regional Transportation District buses. The changes reflect an ongoing bus driver shortage. Officials say the district needs 150 drivers but has only 132.
Gov. Polis calls for special session on property taxes
Polis says Initiatives and would have 鈥渄evastating鈥� impacts on Colorado鈥檚 tax system if they pass.
As KUNC鈥檚 Lucas Brady Woods reports, the measures would cut property taxes without making up for losses in funding for local services like schools and fire departments. They would also directly contradict this year鈥檚 bipartisan property tax bill that prevented taxes from climbing too sharply while also backfilling local funding losses.
Now, lawmakers plan to pass new legislation that reduces the tax rates even more. In exchange, the ballot measures鈥� organizers have agreed to withdraw the initiatives from the ballot and not pursue any similar measures in the future. The special session starts on August 26. Lawmakers already held a special session on property taxes last fall.
