Wednesday February 13, 2013

A former Palisade woman charged in the deaths of her two young sons on the Grand Mesa late last year wants to fire the attorney who's represented her so far.  The Daily Sentinel says Heather Jensen signed a request yesterday asking the judge to allow the withdrawal of attorney Ed Nugent. Nugent filed yesterday as well, asking to be let go.

Governor John Hickenlooper making friends with energy groups and annoying environmentalists at a US Senate committee hearing in Washington.  The Denver Post says Hickenlooper told the committee yesterday states, not the federal government, should lead in regulating natural gas production. He says Colorado is a national model in how it regulates natural gas extraction.

The forecast is sunny for the Grand Valley for the next several days, but in the northern mountains, it's a different story.  The National Weather Service says a couple of upper level disturbances could drop 10 inches of snow on the region northeast of Rifle to the Wyoming line, including Steamboat Springs between tonight and Friday night.  Aspen and Telluride also could see a couple inches of snow today and tomorrow.

A State House committee has passed a bill requiring background checks for all gun sales and another banning high-capacity ammunition magazines.  The Denver Post says the ammo limit was raised from ten rounds to 15 in an amendment offered by Durango State Rep Mike McLachlan who said citizens should be allowed to protect themselves.  The measures now go to the full House for debate.

A gag order is still in place in the Aurora Theather Shootings case, but there are still questions about what can be discussed. The City of Aurora as the judge to lift the order to allow police officers to give talks to other departments about how they responded to the July shootings.  The Denver Post says the judge ordered the rule left in place, saying it doesn't necessarily prohibit Aurora police from talking about or releasing information.