Good morning, Denverites,
We are sending you into the weekend with the latest information on the still-unfolding Boulder shooting case. But we would also encourage you make time for something that brings you joy this weekend, 'cause we could all use a little more of that. For me, I'll be keeping my eye on The Know's Denver pizza bracket. And for what it's worth to you, Blue Pan has my undying vote.
P.S. Our podcast will have a new episode for you in the feed Monday morning, so keep an eye out for it. We're still new to this — if you have any feedback, send it our way at denver@citycast.fm!
—Peyton Garcia (@peytonmgarcia)
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Weather Check: 🌧Things are going to be wet and cloudy today (booo). But your patience will be rewarded over the weekend with plenty of sun and highs near the 60s (yay 👏).
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🔊 What's Denver Talking About?
Statewide assault-weapons ban gains support
[CO Sun]
Guns have already been a hot topic at the Colorado legislature this year:
- Two bills would address safer gun storage and mandatory reporting of lost or stolen firearms
- A third bill is on its way that would implement a mandatory waiting period for purchasers when buying a gun
Previously, state government officials said they were looking to federal leadership, awaiting a national ban on assault weapons. In response to Monday's massacre in Boulder, however, they're now thinking Colorado may need to take things into its own hands.
Democratic state Reps. Judy Amabile, Edie Hooton, and Senate Majority Leader Steve Fenberg are all showing support for a statewide ban of assault weapons, though no bill drafts have yet been presented. Fenberg also suggested potential for legislation that would allow local jurisdictions to enact gun restrictions that may go beyond the state's law.
“If state legislators want to make it more difficult for people in their state to get their hands on weapons of war that kill many, many people in a matter of seconds, they need to act. I think it’s a bit of a cop out to punt this to federal legislators, especially when it’s pretty clear that that is going to be an uphill battle.” —Allison Anderman, senior counsel at the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence
Boulder shooting case may be delayed for mental assessment
[Denver Post]
Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa was charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder in the Boulder mass shooting on Monday. At his first court hearing yesterday, a defense attorney requested more time to assess the suspect's state of mental health.
What could this potential delay mean? For reference, we can look back at the case from 2015 in which a man was charged with shooting and killing three people at a Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs. He was ruled legally incompetent by the judge in 2016. Since then, his case has remained on hold while he receives treatment.
The court is also waiting to make a decision on bail until a later hearing. A status conference is anticipated to take place some time in the next 60-90 days, at which a more detailed timeline will be determined for future hearings.
Each first-degree murder charge facing the alleged shooter carries a mandatory life sentence. The alleged shooter is also being charged with one count of attempted first-degree murder. Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said he expects to file even more charges against the suspect as the investigation continues.
Pro-tip: Stay up to date with developments in the case and other subjects relating to it via this report by Colorado Newsline.
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☝️Also This...
Good to know: Water World vaccine site relocates
If you show up looking for an injection, you'll only find pool water and theme park-grade hot dogs — once the park reopens, that is, which it's hoping to do on Memorial Day. The healthcare workers who were administering thousands of vaccines a day will be relocating to Fat Cats in Westminster. [CBS 4]
Gold stars for the Denver STAR program
After an extremely successful six-month pilot, the Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) initiative has plans to expand. The program's service area will increase from a 6-square-mile perimeter of Denver, to a 32-square-mile one. Working hours for responders will be upped to 16 hours a day, seven days a week. [Denverite]
May the best slice win
You have the weekend to cast votes for the second round of The Know's Denver pizza bracket. Why? Because pizza is awesome. Marco's, Walter's, and Cart-Driver were some of the top scorers from Round 1. See the full results here. [The Know]
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🙋🏻♀️ Peyton's Pick
Here's the most compelling thing I consumed this week...
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Forget farm-to-table, let's talk table-to-farm
If you know anything about me — which you don't, because we just met — I love food. And I mean, I love everything about it: all the steps, from the farming to the cooking to the plating to the eating. Recently, I've found myself invested in learning about some of the eco-focused trends that are unfolding across the Colorado culinary scene. And this week, I was completely sucked into this Westword article.
The author gracefully walks the reader through the intricacies of a very complicated topic: regenerative farming. This piece is that it impressively lays out the relationships between farmers, consumers, climate change, nature, and history, and how all of that directly impacts the restaurants we know and love right here in Denver.
Read it here.
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