Wednesday January 2, 2013

Grand Junction police are investigating the death of a 50 year old man when a car he was working on apparently fell on him.  It happened yesterday around noon on Darby Drive in Fruitvale.  Police aren't releasing the name of the man until family are notified.

Waiting time for a background check to buy a gun in Colorado is going up, even though the number of requests is going down.  The Denver Post says wait-time right now is 9-days, for a process usually taking just minutes.  The process became backlogged following a massive rush to purchase guns.

3rd District Congressman Scott Tipton is putting in his two cents on yesterday's Fiscal Cliff vote.  Tipton says the bill raises taxes on American families and businesses and increases the size of government without any spending reforms to address the $16.3 trillion national debt.  Tipton says the Senate ignored meaningful legislation passed last August that would have avoided tax hikes and put into place a pathway to a simpler and fairer tax code. Tipton voted against yesterday's legislation.

Colorado Senator Mark Udall voted for the fiscal cliff legislation passed yesterday which includes extending the Wind Production Tax Credit Udall has been fighting for. He says it protects thousands of jobs across the country including 5,000 in Colorado.  Udall says the bill addresses a series of automatic tax increases for the middle class, but he's calling for a longer term, comprehensive deal on the deficit when Congress returns to work this year.


Colorado Senator Michael Bennet, a democrat, bucked the trend and was one of only 8 senators voting against yesterday's fiscal cliff bill one of only three democrats voting no.   Bennet tells the Denver Post the senate took the easy way out and will have to face the budget crisis at some point.  He says the bill has no meaningful deficit reduction.


The price of gasoline in Colorado is more than 6 cents a gallon lower than last week.  GasBuddy.com says the that's down nearly 37 cents a gallon in the past month.  Analysts say 2012 brought the highest average price ever for consumers.

It's called a diverging-diamond and when it's complete, a new interchange at Highway 6&50 and I-70 will be only the 7th one of its kind in the country.  According to the Daily Sentinel construction of the $24 million project starts this month, including two new truck stops on the north side of I-70.

A man is dead after being hit by a mini van on the Redlands.  It happened just before 6:00 last night near Fire Station 5 on Broadway.  The Colorado State Patrol says the man was crossing the road when he was hit.

The city of Fruita is hoping to draw more tourists by adding hotel booking to it's tourism website GoFruita.com.  City officials tell the Daily Sentinel the planned web page will re-route traffic for larger hotel chains, but guests will be able to book right there for smaller properties without an online footprint. The city's marketing and promotions budget comes from a 3% lodging tax.

By the time deconstruction of the old Cameo power plant in Debeque Canyon is finished, there'll be a new bridge taking cars across the Colorado River to the property. The Daily Sentinel says once the property is cleared and the bridge replaced, plans for redevelopment can begin.

The city of Grand Junction is reminding residents about a city ordinance requiring property owners to clear their sidewalks of snow and ice within 24 hours of a snowfall.  The idea is to make it easier for the elderly and disabled to get around in the snow.

 Lawyers in the Aurora theater shooting say they are ready for next week's preliminary hearing.  James Holmes faces 166 counts of murder, attempted murder and other charges after killing 12 people and injuring 20 last July. The Denver Post says the preliminary hearing is where prosecutors will for the first time outline the evidence against Holmes in detail,  and is expected to fill a week's worth of all-day courtroom sessions.