Friday February 1, 2013

A nationwide crackdown on fake NFL merchandise has ended with ended with the seizure of more than $13.6 million worth of fake jerseys, ball caps, t-shirts jackets and other souvenirs, including 160,000 items of phony Super Bowl-related memorabilia.  The US Attorneys office made the announcement yesterday.  The take included nearly 80,000 items seized in Denver alone.  Nearly 120 websites used to sell the goods were shutdown.

Colorado Senator Mark Udall says he plans to vote in favor of the confirmation of Chuck Hagel as the next Secretary of Defense.  Udall is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and met with Hagel in mid January.  In a press release, Udall said he urged Hagel to support the Defense Department's role in leading cybersecurity efforts in Colorado.

The BLM's preferred alternative of their draft resource management plan is getting widespread criticism.  At a public open house last night, off-roaders said it closed too many existing trails, 68% of 4,000 roads and trails according to the Daily Sentinel.  Two more open houses on the plan are in Gateway Tuesday and Fruita Thursday.

A 4-year old boy remains in critical condition, his parents facing felony charges.  Elijah Wallace was hospitalized January 13th with a broken arm and head trauma.  The Daily Sentinel says the boy's mother, 28 year old Ashleigh Wallace and her 30-year old boyfriend, Jessie Martinez were formally charged yesterday.

Classes in the Elbert County School District 200 canceled this week after an unusually high number of absentees.  The Denver Post says there are only 207 students in the district, all in one building.  There's been one confirmed case of whooping cough at the school.  The Denver Post says on Tuesday, 83 students were reported absent, about 40% of the student body, and within 90 minutes of the opening bell another dozen had gone home with fevers.

State employees could be getting a bigger raise than expected.  State lawmakers yesterday proposed hiking the raise from 1.5% to 2% thanks to a better than expected revenue increase. The Denver Post says state workers salaries are nearly 7% lower than those in the private sector.

If you buy a gun in Colorado, you'll be subject to the third-highest rate of purchase denials in the country.  According to the Denver Post, 3.6% of applicants are turned down.  Only Tennessee and Delaware are higher.  There are holes in the system though.  According to the Denver Post, as many as 58.8% of denials that were appealed, were overturned.