Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Wednesday February 20, 2013


School in District 51 will start August 12 for the fall semester next year, and even earlier the following year.  The School Board last night adopted the calendar which calls for school to end May 21st of 2014.  The calendar includes a full week of vacation in the fall and two weeks in the spring.  The following year, school will start August 4th and include two week breaks in the fall and in the spring.

Xcel Energy is asking the PUC for a waiver allowing the company to speed up procedures for new wind generating resources. Xcel says it will allow wind developers to take advantage of the Production Tax Credit.  In order to qualify for the PTC, companies have to have their projects started before the end of the year.  In order for that to happen, Xcel says it needs to move up the dated for bid solicitations from April to March 1st.

A state House committee has passed a bill by Fruita Representative Jared Wright calling preventing the state from taking part in a federal investigation, prosecution, or detention of any U-S citizen pursued under specific federal laws permitting that.  Wright says civil rights have been slowly eroded over the last 70 years and this is a first step toward protecting those rights. The bill has support from diverse groups including the ACLU.

The mother and son of Marcus Bebb-Jones say they don't believe he killed his wife Sabrina in Grand Junction in 1997. Sabrina's skull was found in Garfield County in 2004 and Bebb-Jones later jailed in her death.  He pleaded guilty last week. The Daily Sentinel says Bebb-Jones son, who was 3 when his mother was killed, said he still thinks his father is innocent...calling him "one of the kindest men I've ever known." Bebb-Jones' mother says she believes he admitted the killing in order to avoid a life sentence.  He'll get 10 to 20 years when he's sentenced.

A Whitewater man is in jail, accused of molesting a 10-year old girl.  Tillman Clifton was arrested Tuesday after calling 9-1-1 and saying he was locked out of his house and his wife accused him of molesting the girl. According to the Daily Sentinel, Clifton was arrested after the girl confirmed the accusations.

Vice President Joe Biden's trip to Aspen over the weekend cost the city of Grand Junction $5,000.  The Daily Sentinel says the police department racked up the bill providing providing security after Biden's arrival at Grand Junction Regional Airport last Thursday night, and when he returned to the airport Monday night.

A 27 year old man who pleaded guilty to First Degree Assault in a shooting at a Horizon Drive motel last June has been sentenced to 22 years in prison.  The Daily Sentinel says Joseph Lara, who was arrested in Denver after the shooting, admitted selling meth in Grand Junction since 2009. Lara reportedly has a criminal record with 21 prior misdemeanors and a prior felony conviction.

A task force looking at the intricacies of the new Colorado Marijuana law has voted to allow people from outside Colorado to shop in retail marijuana stores-- so called pot tourism.  The amount of pot they could buy though, would be limited.  The Denver Post says the task force also approved recommendations that recreational pot shops be owned only by Colorado residents who have lived in the state for two years.