Howdy, howdy. Today's big topics: Weed in Kansas, police in Denver, satellites in Russia, weed in Pueblo and one dead man's ballot.
Confluence Park and the South Platte are a construction zone.
Here's how to get around all these new obstacles on your bike. Seriously, it's crazy down there. Tell your friends. (Denverite)
Community advocates want more say on Denver police's use of force.
Denver Police Department has not convened a citizens' group to assist with its review of its use-of-force policy for officers. “Not all of our customers are unhappy. Some of them are just loud,” a deputy chief said. Now the department is affirming that it will "welcome community input at a defined point in the process," but some want community involvement throughout the review. (Denverite)
Denver police's social-media monitoring system may be broken now.
DPD reportedly has spent about $30,000 on subscriptions to Geofeedia, a company that collects and monitors posts on social media. Some departments used the software to keep tabs on protests. (See our earlier story.) Now the major social platforms are limiting Geofeedia's access to their data, which can not be good for the business. (BBC)
Trash, recycling and the DMV: These are the things that worry us.
Megan has done us all a service by compiling resources to address the most frequent complaints made to Denver's 311 service. (Denverite)
Colorado's candidates for U.S. Senate had themselves a debate.
Darryl Glenn, the Republican, said he has "suspended" his endorsement of Donald Trump, but he still kept the door open. Other highlights: Both candidates oppose raising the gas tax, and incumbent Michael Bennet wants to improve infrastructure by clamping down on corporate tax avoidance. The candidates agreed that Abraham Lincoln was the best president. Click through for more. (Denverite)
Russia only loves us for our satellites.
Remember those two guys who got arrested for trying to smuggle technology out of Colorado? Apparently they were trying to get $152,000 of satellite components from a manufacturer here over to Russia, and also apparently that's a no-no. (DBJ)
Kansas may be developing a tolerance for weed.
Our eastern neighbor's attorney general is complaining that marijuana has "permeated" the state, and yet criminal offenses and confiscations of marijuana are happening less often. Marijuana may really be more prevalent and more potent, but Kansas cops and courts apparently are easing off enforcement. That may be because they simply don't have the resources to prosecute people for bringing a drug from the state next door. (The Wichita Eagle)
Pueblo County's vote on marijuana could have a big impact.
The county is considering whether to ban the recreational marijuana industry. One industry advocate estimates that growers in Pueblo provide 30 percent of Colorado's wholesale recreational weed. I can't find an official source on that, but the industry definitely has a sizable presence there. So, if the vote passes we might expect some price increases as growers readjust, and some economic impacts in Pueblo itself. (Marijuana Business Daily)
A dead man seems to have voted.
Voting officials say fraud is rare, but CBS4 finds some evidence that it's easy to vote on behalf of your deceased relatives in our mail-in system. Maybe the state needs to sync up its death and voting records – or maybe that situation is so rare as to not merit the cost. (CBS4)
