Monday October 22, 2012

The most information to date has been release in a July 2011 crime spree ending with the killing of 31 year old Jorge Carrasco.  According to the Daily Sentinel, Prosecutors say gang members on the run from a murder in California ended up in Grand Junction where the met a friend, Lester Miranda Davis and agreed to rob to two businesses and two homes to get guns in order to commit a gangland style killing.  Prosecutors say 21 year old Jaime Cardenas, and 25 year old Fidel Silva, both of California committed the Grand Junction murder and remain at large.  Davis, of Clifton, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, menacing and robbery for his involvement and will sentenced next month.  21 year old Christian Fuentes was arrested in Denver and is being held in the Mesa County Jail under a $1.5 million bond.

Mitt Romney started it all with a speech in Grand Junction early last summer, President Obama followed with an event of his own in August, now Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan is coming to town.  He's hosting a debate watch party at CMU for the final presidential debate. Doors open at 3:15 for a scheduled 5:15 presentation before the debate at 7.


If District 51 parents want to know what's going on at their kids' schools, There's an app for that.  The Daily Sentinel says the district's tried everything from letters, emails, website postings and online notifications, but reached only a 7% read rate.  The new app launched by Palisade High School counselor Jonathan Burke gets a 95% read rate. District officials say they'll continue other modes of communications but just reaching out in another way.

A Grand Jucntion homeowner has been denied payment for damage to his home from flooding blamed on several factors, including a lack of maintanance to a nearby bridge.  The Daily Sentinel says the home apparently sits in a flood plain, not in place when he bought his home in the Paradise Hills subdivision. One city councilman is calling for new flood plain maps and Work is being done on the bridge.

Arapahoe Basin ski area opened last week, and Loveland is planning to open tomorrow.  Both areas are reporting 18 inch bases.

Backers of a proposal to legalize marijuana in Colorado have spent more than $3 million so far.  The Denver Post says that compares with just $433,000 by Smart Colorado, the group in opposition...51% of that coming from out-of-state.  The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol's largest single donor is from San Francisco.

Colorado gas prices have fallen 5 cents a gallon in the past week, with the average now $3.61/gal.  Nationall the average has fallen 9 cents/gal to $3.67.  GasBuddy.com says it's the first week in the last few years the national average has fallen so significantly.