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Man in Castle Rock struck by car while changing tire

DENVER — A man was hurt Saturday night in Castle Rock when an oncoming car collided with his vehicle while he was outside changing a tire.

The accident happened about 9:15 p.m. near the intersection of Founders Parkway and Metzler Drive, Castle Rock police said. The man’s Mazda was struck from behind by a Chevrolet Cruz.

The 29-year-old victim was listed in stable condition Sunday. The driver of the Cruz, a 48-year-old woman, was also taken to the hospital. The victim’s wife was in the Mazda at the time and was apparently not hurt.

Drugs and alcohol were not thought to be a factor, police said.

Parker Boy Scout leader arrested for sexual exploitation of a child

PARKER, Colo. — “It’s definitely disturbing,” said Gary Mallory, who lives just two doors down from Brian David Robbins, the Parker man charged with collecting child pornography. “I don’t know what to think.”

Robbins was arrested Tuesday, after Parker Police served a warrant at his house and removed “numerous” pieces of evidence against the 30-year-old, who has been identified as a Scout Master for a Boy Scouts of America troop based in Parker.

“This is why I’m in law enforcement, to catch predators like this,” said Officer Dawn Cashman, of the Parker Police Department.

LINK– Read the affidavit here

Small Businesses Are Growing in Weld County

According to information presented at the January 2013 Advisory Board meeting of the Northeast East Central Colorado Small Business Development Center (NEECCO SBDC), small businesses in Weld County are growing and thriving.

According to Richard Pickett, executive director of the SBDC, the Northeast East Central Region, to which Weld County belongs, realized $17,582,840 in capital formation in 2012.

Consumer alert: Sweepstakes is really scam to steal your personal info

DENVER — A warning about information arriving in your mailbox that promises millions of dollars. It’s really just a ploy to steal your personal information according to officials.

The big tan-looking envelopes have been showing up in mailboxes across Colorado.

It looks authentic with lots of markings for a professional financial institution. It’s also wants you to act quick… saying you have just a few days to fill out the information and sent it back in the mail or lose your chance at millions of dollars.

Victor Bernal had a great question when he received one of the envelopes in the mail this week. “Am I really going to receive $2 million?”

The sweepstakes entry told him he had two days to return it. “It looked absolutely real; it had time sensitive dates on it.”

All he needed to do was send $20 and some banking information and then they would deposit more than $2 million in his account.

Weld Commissioners Call for Dismissal of Setback Ruling

The Weld County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution on Wednesday, January 16, 2013, calling upon the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) to dismiss its recent decision to increase setbacks for oil and gas facilities and to convene “a meaningful stakeholder process that will consider the need for a close working and coordinating relationship between local governments and the COGCC…”

The resolution cities numerous issues with the COGCC rule-making process including: the lack of stakeholder outreach by the COGCC to the Local Governmental Designees (LGD’s) of three of the highest producing counties in the state, including Weld County; the violation of C.R.S. 24-4-103(4)(a) regarding the rule-making process of the COGCC ruling; and the underestimation of the comparison of the probable costs and benefits of the proposed rule to the probable costs and benefits of inaction as is also required by Colorado Revised Statue (C.R.S.

Civil unions introduced on first day of Democrat-led legislature

DENVER — State lawmakers went back to work Wednesday morning on a historic morning at the Capitol.

Rep. Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, became Colorado’s first openly gay Speaker of the House and was officially handed the gavel by Rep. Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch.

It was a moment ripe with symbolism, coming seven months after McNulty killed Ferrandino’s civil unions legislation on the session’s penultimate day.

With Ferrandino’s elevation and the new 37-member Democratic House majority, Democrats no control both legislative chambers on the Capitol’s second floor, with Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper presiding one floor below.

The session could be a challenge for Hickenlooper if Democrats send a stream of increasingly partisan legislation to the moderate governor’s desk.

New recreational marijuana industry needs regulations in less than 2 months

Story by: Hendrik Sybrandy

DENVER — One new industry to regulate and less than two months to do it. That’s the challenge facing the task force charged with drafting new rules for recreational marijuana in Colorado.

The November passage of Amendment 64 has now made those regulations necessary.

On Thursday, two of the task force’s five subgroups met to sort through some of the complex issues involved.

Deb Palm-Egle, a medical marijuana patient, was among those who attended.

“I want to know why I should ever get a license again and get on a public register,” Palm-Egle said.

“I want to know what the benefits are going be for a medical marijuana patient compared to somebody off the street, and I want to know what they’re going to do.”