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TCOLE reform signed into law, expanding authority to set police standards

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 18:12:18 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation Sunday expanding the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement’s authority to set standards for law enforcement hiring, licensing, creating new departments and more.Though the long-awaited legislation was expansive and touted by some law enforcement experts as a positive step, one union executive expressed concerns about how it could remove due process protections for officers with negative reports in their personnel files.The bill, SB 1445 by Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, was built from years of work and recommendations made by the Sunset Advisory Commission. It was revised multiple times as it worked through both sides of the Legislature.TCOLE was under Sunset Commission review for years. A previous bill to reform the agency failed to pass in 2021 when lawmakers and stakeholders – like police unions – struggled to agree on changes to TCOLE’s authority. The Sunset Commission found TCOLE was “toothless” and had hardly any power over l...

Texas named one of the 'most fun' states to visit in rankings by WalletHub

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 18:12:18 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas is one of the most fun states to visit, according to a new report by WalletHub.The website graded all 50 states in a number of categories to determine which had the "greatest number and variety of fun and cost-effective options."Texas ranked No. 7 on the list, boosted by high scores for restaurants, movie theaters and amusement parks per capita.California claimed the top spot as most fun state to visit, ahead of Florida and Nevada. New York and Illinois rounded out the top five, with Colorado in sixth place, one ahead of Texas.Mississippi ranked last, behind West Virginia and Delaware.Other categories used to determine the rankings included golf courses, arcades, beaches and access to national parks. Average beer, wine and movie prices were also factored in, along with music festivals, casinos and even time of last call.

Colonie man arrested after fleeing traffic stop

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 18:12:18 GMT

CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A Colonie man was arrested on June 15 after fleeing from a traffic stop five days prior, according to New York State Police. Anthony Hawkins, 30, faces multiple charges. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! On June 10, around 11:21 p.m., troopers pulled over a car on I-87 in Clifton Park for multiple vehicle and traffic law violations. Police later identified the driver as Hawkins, saying he was uncooperative and gave them false identifying information.Police say Hawkins did not follow the trooper's instructions and fled in his car, nearly hitting the trooper. His car was found abandoned a short distance away. Granville man sentenced to over 10 years for cocaine distribution State police say a further investigation found Hawkins had multiple previous DWI convictions in the last ten years. Charges:Felony driving while intoxicatedSecond-degree reckless endangermentSecond-degree obstructing governme...

Blazing Chicken Shack II’s soul food is a family affair | Opinion

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 18:12:18 GMT

Editor’s note: This is part of The Know’s series, Staff Favorites. Each week, we offer our opinions on the best that Colorado has to offer for dining, shopping, entertainment, outdoor activities and more. (We’ll also let you in on some hidden gems).I was lucky enough to move to Northeast Denver from Capitol Hill in the early 2010s, when housing prices were low and a handful of neighborhood favorites still remained — undisturbed by landlords who would soon jack up rents and renovate storefronts to attract yoga studios, CBD retailers and condo developers.A plate of three fried chicken wings with a side of collard greens, a favorite, at the Blazing Chicken Shack II on Oct. 4, 2022. (Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)Minus the condos, that didn’t pan out so great. The drive pushed out mainstays from this formerly working-class, fast-gentrifying residential area such as A&A Fish Market at 29th and Fairfax streets, or Cora Faye’s Cafe (formerly Colorado and 29th, n...

Club Q survivors among the grand marshals for Denver Pride Parade

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 18:12:18 GMT

Denver PrideFest’s return to Civic Center park last year was a success story by any standard. More than 535,000 people lined the streets for a jubilant morning parade, which led into the central celebration featuring all-day DJ sets, live drag performances and other weekend fun.Eli Imadali, Special to The Denver PostJustin Balzarano, left at center, and Tyler Gray walk down Colfax Avenue at the Denver PrideFest Parade on Sunday, June 26, 2022.Less than six months later, however, a gunman opened fire at Colorado Springs gay nightclub Club Q, killing five people, injuring 18, and reminding everyone that hate can strike at any time — even in a relatively safe haven like Colorado.“I think we were all affected by it,” said Rex Fuller, CEO of the Center on Colfax, Colorado’s largest LGBTQ organization. “(This) place was seen as a refuge in a hostile world, and then to have that kind of attack was just horrifying.”Seven months later, Colorado’s LGBTQ+ communit...

After Colorado’s snowy winter and recent rains, are more dangerous rockslides on the way?

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 18:12:18 GMT

Recent rains and heavy snows in the winter could mean more rockslides and mudslides are imminent in Colorado.While the Colorado Department of Transportation has traditionally relied on road maintenance crews to flag them to slopes that might need mitigation to prevent a slide, travelers now can help with this effort. A rockfall reporting tool is a new feature in CDOT’s COtrip mobile app lets motorists and other travelers easily share information about rocks and other debris on the road with the agency.“Our primary source in the past has been maintenance crews and the additional information we can get now is helpful,” said Bob Group, geohazards program manager with CDOT. “The public can report rockfall when seen on the highway.”At least one large slide has already happened in Colorado. On Wednesday a slide with stones the size of vehicles and weighing tons swept across Colorado 7 west of Lyons and shut down the road. While no one was injured in the incid...

This Colorado mountain town is producing the future of workforce housing

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 18:12:18 GMT

The Eagle County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday visited the factory building some of the new homes in the valley.Related ArticlesBusiness | Grandma’s House brewery pulls out of Trinidad lease with Sexy Pizza Business | A life from the land: Ranchers of color, now and in the past, make marks in Colorado Business | New renderings of Cherry Creek West show plans for interior “shared street” Business | Law firm Springer & Steinberg departs downtown after 40 years Business | Boulder landlord succeeds in evicting Twitter over unpaid rent The commissioners and several people from the county’s housing department traveled to Buena Vista to tour the home of the Fading West factory. It’s where Habitat for Humanity Vail Valley, Eagle County School District, the town of Eagle and Eagle County are sourcing 16 duplex units for the Third Street project, which breaks ground next week.Eagle County has a...

Colorful and lively, “Made in Colorado” includes many of the state’s most successful artists working today

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 18:12:18 GMT

Sweeping group exhibitions like “Made in Colorado,” the variety show currently headquartered at Denver’s Emmanuel Gallery, can offer artful benefits all around — especially when they are executed with a good strategy.Like this show, they can give the public an easy and attractive way to engage with a large number of local artists on a single outing. “Made in Colorado” is colorful and lively, and its lineup includes many of the most successful artists working in the state today. If you have any doubts about the quality of work being created here, this show will provide ample relief, and a good afternoon’s entertainment.These exhibitions — which gather their fare by sending out wide-open calls for entry — are also good for the museums and galleries that support them, in this case, the University of Colorado Denver.Not only does the school get to host a show with built-in popular appeal, it also positions itself as a regional leader in the field. These exhibits pay back the...

Here’s why the Indian Cultures Hall at Denver Museum of Nature & Science had to come down

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 18:12:18 GMT

Donna Chrisjohn began visiting the Denver Museum of Nature & Science at age 6 with her history-loving parents. The North American Indian Cultures Hall, which has been there for 45 years, was of particular interest since Chrisjohn has Sicangu Lakota and Diné ancestry.“There were photographs of my family’s tipi in this space,” she said this week, as she walked through the exhibit. “But I didn’t realize that until I was older and my mom told me about it.”Denver Museum of Nature and Science consultant Donna Chrisjohn poses for a portrait outside the Denver Museum of Nature and Science in Denver on June 13, 2023. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)But not anymore. In May, the museum announced that it would permanently close the 10,000-square-foot exhibit to assess, restore and, in some cases, repatriate items. “We understand that the Hall reinforces harmful stereotypes and white, dominant culture,” museum vice president Liz D...

After decade-long search, Nebraska couple gives Denver brothers unearthed piece of their father’s 1958 jet crash

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 18:12:18 GMT

One afternoon, 65 years after the death of his father, Bill Knobbe woke from his daily nap at his home in Denver to a call from an unknown number. Taking a chance, he answered it.“She asked me if my birth name was William Hodgson and I immediately sat straight up. I was flabbergasted,” Knobbe said. “She told me the story and I dropped everything to go right out to Nebraska that weekend.”The caller was Colette Jessen from Grant, Nebraska, and she had been searching for Knobbe for more than a decade.In 2012, Jessen and her husband Loren purchased land near Elsie, Nebraska, from an estate sale. While preparing the field for harvest, the two discovered a heavy, metal object partially buried in a divot.When she unearthed the 3-foot-long mystery piece, Jessen discovered an engraving on one end that read “Major William Hodgson, crashed with F80 jet, Feb. 26, 1958.”The metal found in the hollow is believed to be a piece of wreckage from the jet’s crash, later engraved by the land̵...