Comment on Mike's Blog Round Up

Gov. Jared Polis this week signed a bill into law that allows students to wear objects of cultural or religious significance during graduation ceremonies. HB24-1323 prohibits preschools, public K-12 schools and higher education institutions from restricting what students may wear under their graduation attire. However, schools are still allowed to prevent students from wearing an adornment that is likely to disrupt or interfere with a graduation ceremony, according to the bill. Last year, a Mexican-American student at Grand Valley High School in Parachute was told by officials from the school and Garfield County School District 16 that she couldn’t wear a stole decorated with both the American flag and Mexican flag during her graduation ceremony. Related Articles Politics | New law requires Colorado middle and high schools to provide free period products in bathrooms Politics | Colorado to use $20 million from Juul vaping settlement to fund youth mental health services Politics | Why is it so hard for Colorado’s new graduates to find jobs? Politics | Dinosaur footprints, fossils discovered “in our own backyard” in Broomfield Politics | Denver Public Schools to consider placing nearly $1 billion bond measure on November ballot While the governor said he supported what he called the bill sponsors’ “reinforcement of cultural and religious freedom,” Polis raised concerns about the legislation, which he said mirrored a broader trend this session of bills that included language preventing schools from seeking a waiver from the state Board of Education related to the legislation. “As someone who believes strongly in innovation and local control in education, I do not feel it is wise to statutorily prohibit alternative approaches that schools may use for accomplishing any piece of legislation’s core objectives,” Polis said in a signing statement addressed to the Colorado General Assembly.

Officials overseeing Denver’s sprawling National Western Center say they have found a development team that can bring a hotel, a parking garage and an equestrian center to the campus that’s been undergoing massive redevelopment since 2019. Thursday’s announcement marks a tentative step forward for a critical missing piece of the National Western Center landscape.

Six people were arrested for trespassing Wednesday night as fans rushed the pitch at Empower Field during a soccer match between Mexico and Uruguay. The international friendly soccer match ended early in the 89th minute after several fans invaded the field and fights broke out in the crowd, almost entirely made up of Mexico supporters disappointed by their team’s 4-0 loss to Uruguay. Denver police officers arrested six people on suspicion of trespassing the field after the game, two of whom were teenagers, police department spokesperson Jay Casillas said in an emailed statement to the Denver Post. Officers also arrested one person for causing a disturbance. Casillas said multiple fights and disturbances were reported Wednesday night, but an exact number was not available. It’s not clear how many fans rushed the field and weren’t arrested, or the motives of the fans invading the pitch, he said. “It appears that they only were able to enter the field and then ultimately get caught by event staff at the stadium,” Casillas said. Stadium officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Related Articles Sports | Rockies call up Greg Jones, Michael Toglia as Kris Bryant, Sean Bouchard go on IL Sports | John Franklin-Myers and Malcolm Roach — a pressure player and a “glue guy” — aiming to help Broncos transform defensive front in 2024 Sports | PHOTOS: Uruguay blasts Mexico before rowdy crowd at Empower Field as match ends early Sports | Keeler: As Rockies’ Kris Bryant heads back to injured list, fans are ready to move on: “He can’t handle the game anymore” Sports | Kris Bryant expected to go back on injured list, Rockies manager Bud Black says The last time Mexico played soccer at Empower Field — during the 2021 CONCACAF championship match against the United States — five people were arrested and one attendee was banned from stadium after throwing an object that injured an American soccer player.

A Boulder County triple murderer will have the opportunity to leave prison during his lifetime in part because of misconduct by a Colorado Bureau of Investigation analyst who intentionally deleted DNA data in his case, attorneys said in court Thursday. Garrett Coughlin, 31, pleaded guilty Thursday to second-degree murder in the 2017 killings and was sentenced to 42 years in prison with seven years of pre-sentence credit, avoiding the mandatory life imprisonment that accompanies a first-degree murder conviction. Prosecutors said they offered the plea deal in part because of misconduct by former CBI scientist Yvonne “Missy” Woods, who deleted DNA data in the case, and because of years of inaction by the agency’s leadership to correct the misconduct, which Woods’ peers repeatedly warned superiors about. “The CBI has proven to us that, as an agency, they have failed,” defense attorney Mary Mulligan said.

This portion of the offseason means different things to different players. There’s no pads and no hitting, but lots of learning. It is graded and competitive, but also functionally a precursor to training camp later in the summer. The Broncos quarterbacks? Every snap, every huddle, every cadence counts, to say nothing of each post-snap decision and throw. The defensive backs?

Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill into law this week requiring Colorado middle and high schools to provide free period products in girls’ bathrooms by 2028. The legislation, HB24-1164, phases in the mandate with 25% of applicable bathrooms needing to comply by June 2025, then increasing the total by another 25% each year until full compliance is met in 2028. “Periods don’t wait — and this important law ensures that Colorado students can access the menstrual products they need, when they need them,” Rep.