By MEG KINNARD and WILL WEISSERT (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON — Nikki Haley has won the Republican primary in the District of Columbia, notching her first victory of the 2024 campaign.
Her victory Sunday at least temporarily halts Donald Trump’s sweep of the GOP voting contests, although the former president is likely to pick up several hundred more delegates in this week’s Super Tuesday races.
Despite her early losses, Haley has said she would remain in the race at least through those contests, although she has declined to name any primary she felt confident she would win. Following last week’s loss in her home state of South Carolina, Haley remained adamant that voters in the places that followed deserved an alternative to Trump despite his dominance thus far in the campaign.
The Associated Press declared Haley the winner Sunday night after D.C. Republican Party officials released the results. She won all 19 delegates at stake.
Washington is one of the most heavily Democratic jurisdictions in the nation, with only about 23,000 registered Republicans in the city. Democrat Joe Biden won the district in the 2020 general election with 92% of the vote.
Haley held a rally in the nation’s capital on Friday before heading back to North Carolina and a series of states holding Super Tuesday primaries. She joked with more than 100 supporters inside a hotel ballroom, “Who says there’s no Republicans in D.C., come on.”
“We’re trying to make sure that we touch every hand that we can and speak to every person,” Haley said.
As she gave her standard campaign speech, criticizing Trump for running up federal deficit, one rallygoer bellowed, “He cannot win a general election. It’s madness.” That prompted agreement from Haley, who argues that she can deny Biden a second term but Trump won’t be able to.
While campaigning as an avowed conservative, Haley has tended to perform better among more moderate and independent-leaning voters.
Four in 10 Haley supporters in South Carolina’s GOP primary were self-described moderates, compared with 15% for Trump, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 2,400 voters taking part in the Republican primary in South Carolina, conducted for AP by NORC at the University of Chicago. On the other hand, 8 in 10 Trump supporters identified as conservatives, compared to about half of Haley’s backers.
Trump won an uncontested D.C. primary during his 2020 reelection bid but placed a distant third four years earlier behind Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Rubio’s win was one of only three in his unsuccessful 2016 bid. Other more centrist Republicans, including Mitt Romney and John McCain, won the city’s primaries in 2012 and 2008 on their way to winning the GOP nomination.
Homeowners associations’ foreclosure filings on thousands of Coloradans’ houses over unpaid fines and fees have spurred fresh attempts by lawmakers to better regulate HOAs and metropolitan districts with the hope of preventing more people from losing their homes.
Lawmakers have introduced several reform bills that would restrict foreclosures from delinquent fees and require HOAs and metro districts to adopt written policies, enhance notifications to homeowners and add licensing requirements for professional managers. The legislation would also set regulations on how much homeowners can be charged. HOAs would be required to work with homeowners before beginning any foreclosure proceedings.
“As more Coloradans find themselves living in HOAs and metro districts, it is more important than ever that homeowners be protected from losing the largest asset they will ever invest in through unnecessary foreclosure,” said Rep. Iman Jodeh, an Aurora Democrat who is sponsoring two bills.
Homeowners associations in Colorado legally have the power to place liens on residents’ homes that supersede even those of the banks that hold their mortgages. An HOA can then sell a property to collect the money a resident owes — and the owner still would be left with mortgage debt and none of the equity they had built.
About half of Colorado residents live in communities overseen by an HOA.
The associations’ power drew more scrutiny in 2022 following media reports, including by The Denver Post, about the Master Homeowners Association for Green Valley Ranch in far-northeast Denver. That HOA filed nearly half of all HOA foreclosures in Denver the prior year.
Neighborhood residents who are Black, Asian or Latino said they sometimes weren’t notified of the fines or would continue to accrue new fees and interest even after resolving the violations. In some cases, residents didn’t even know their homes had been placed in foreclosure proceedings until someone showed up at their door and said they now owned the home.
The legislature passed a law in 2022 to protect homeowners from accumulating HOA fines and fees that they may not be aware of by requiring HOAs to provide written notice to residents, in their preferred language, about any violations. It also capped the fees HOAs could assess.
“We want to make sure people stay housed in Colorado”
But lawmakers say there is much more to be done for communities across metro Denver to limit HOA-driven foreclosures and protect homeowners from predatory or mismanaged companies.
“We’re fighting for homeowners,” said Rep. Naquetta Ricks, an Aurora Democrat, adding that this was especially important amid the state’s ongoing housing crisis. “We want to make sure people stay housed in Colorado.”
A statewide committee, the HOA Homeowners’ Rights Task Force, was charged with studying issues related to metro districts and HOAs, and its members recommended multiple areas of focus for the 2024 session. Lawmakers have incorporated at least two recommendations into new bills — creating an alternative dispute resolution process and addressing licensure of community association managers.
The task force is expected to release a final report by April 15.
The new bills introduced so far during the 2024 session include:
HB24-1267, which would require metro districts that conduct covenant enforcement like HOAs to adopt written policies on fines and fees and on governing disputes. It also would prevent the metro district from foreclosing on any lien because of delinquent fees.
HB24-1158, which would require changes to HOA notifications to owners on delinquent accounts and before lien foreclosures, and it would establish a minimum bid.
HB24-1337, which would limit a homeowner’s reimbursement of collection costs and attorney fees to 50% and prohibit an HOA from foreclosing on a lien until it has tried to serve an owner with a civil action within 180 days or obtained a personal judgement in a civil action. It also would prohibit the purchaser of a home in foreclosure from selling for 180 days, with the former owner having first priority of buying the home again.
HB24-1078, which would reestablish license requirements for HOA community association managers (a program that expired in July 2018).
So far, just two bills have been considered by committees. HB-1267 passed 10-0 in a House committee Wednesday, and no one spoke in opposition to the bill. Jodeh said she worked with metro districts when crafting the legislation.
HB-1078, the licensure bill, passed 8-3 in a House committee Feb. 14, eliciting support from homeowners who had faced HOA foreclosures and opposition from community management associations.
Vicki Souder, left, and Linda Wilson protest against foreclosures in front of the Master Homeowners Association for Green Valley Ranch offices on Friday, April 1, 2022. The HOA filed 50 foreclosures in 2021, nearly half the total of all HOA-initiated foreclosures in Denver that year. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
Arvada Democratic Rep. Brianna Titone, a former HOA president, is one of the sponsors of the bill. The legislature passed a similar bill in 2019, but Gov. Jared Polis vetoed it. At the time, Polis’ office said he was concerned about costs to get licensed that would then be passed to consumers, even though a 2017 report from the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies recommended an extension, and a 2021 report also recommended regulation.
Titone said the new licensing bill would “make sure that people are educated about the law and make sure that no felons are getting involved in having full access to communities’ money.”
The bill would also ensure managers know how to do their jobs, Titone added, so that they don’t have to hire attorneys to help, costing residents even more money. And it would require companies to disclose relationships that include identifying whom they’re providing kickbacks to, she said.
The requirements would apply only to professional management companies, not employees directly hired by HOA boards.
“I’ve come here with licensing in 2019. I’ve come with licensing in 2022. And I’ve come with licensing today,” Titone said at the committee hearing, and “nobody has ever suggested an alternative. … They just say no. … You should ask yourself why they don’t want this. It’s because because they’re making a lot of money off of the backs of the people they work for and they’re hired by.”
Licensing bill draws opposition
Despite the bill’s similarity to the 2022 bill Titone worked on with Colorado’s Division of Real Estate, Deputy Director Eric Turner testified against the bill at the hearing, calling it “well-intentioned.” He said it “does not address the various issues about living in an HOA, imposes barriers to entry into the profession and increases costs for homeowners.”
John Kreger, who testified for Associa, the largest community management association in the country, jokingly said that “after the unflattering characterizations of our industry today, I feel compelled to assure the committee that on behalf of Associa and the hundreds of Coloradans we employ, we are not crooks or idiots.”
Kreger and other community association managers argued the bill would not be effective at protecting consumers but instead would just raise costs. Kreger said there wasn’t enough data to show a widespread problem, and any theft of funds or misuse should be handled within the criminal justice system.
Homeowners and nonprofit foreclosure attorneys have attended committee hearings to describe horror stories about themselves or their clients losing their homes over fines and fees from HOAs and metro districts, even if they’d never missed a mortgage payment.
Monica Villela, who lived in a Green Valley Ranch home with her family for 19 years, choked back tears at Wednesday’s hearing. She told lawmakers that during the COVID-19 pandemic, it became difficult to keep up with maintenance and HOA fees that ballooned.
Her family had never missed a mortgage payment and had never even refinanced their home, she said, but they didn’t have the money to pay the $8,000 in fees they owed or for an attorney to fight them.
They lost their home, just as her son would have started college.
“We no longer have that option,” she said. “Our family has honestly been deeply affected. It really hurts seeing my kids being depressed by this horrible situation. We have been hurt.”
She urged lawmakers to pass reforms “to keep families in their homes all across Colorado so we can keep our most holy possession: our homes.”
While a majority of the HOA and metro district legislation introduced at the Colorado statehouse this year centers around protecting homeowners, at least two bills aim to make processes easier on HOAs: HB24-1233 would reduce some of the requirements placed on HOAs when collecting delinquent payments, while HB24-1091 would allow HOAs to set standards for (though not prohibit) the use of fire-hardened building materials for fencing.
Polis’ office declined to comment on the specifics of pending HOA bills or to discuss the HOA task force’s recommendations. Spokesperson Shelby Weiman issued a statement that said his office would monitor the bills’ progress, adding that Polis commends lawmakers’ efforts to provide more flexibility for homeowners.
“Governor Polis believes that burdensome HOA policies shouldn’t be so restrictive that they reduce fire safety, drain individuals and families of their finances, or force people from a home they love over something like untrimmed grass,” she wrote.
The quarterfinals of the Colorado high school basketball state tournaments for Classes 4A-6A take place Thursday through Saturday at Denver Coliseum. Our staff will be there throughout the weekend providing live coverage. Refresh this page for the latest updates and results.
Class 4A girls: No. 1 Holy Family (23-2) vs. No. 9 Peak to Peak (21-4)
9:11 a.m.: Wow! Triple Wow! It’s raining 3’s for Holy Family. Gracie Ward banks in a 40-footer at the buzzer and the Tigers lead the Pumas, 24-15 at the half. Tigers have made 6 of 15 3-pointers. — Patrick Saunders
9:04 a.m.: Holy Family is 5 of 9 from downtown and they lead the Pumas 21-10. We’re talking way downtown. Sophomore Enyiah Contreraz has made three 3’s. — Patrick Saunders
8:55 a.m.: Quite a contrast early on in this game. The Pumas are playing an old-fashioned post-up offense, feeding the ball inside to 6-foot-5 junior Alexandra Eschmeyer. Holy Family is trying to spread the floor. Eschmeyer already has six points (including a nice hook shot), but Enyiah Contreraz drills a 35-foot, 3-pointer at the buzzer for Holy Famil.y We’re tied, 10-10. Good game. — Patrick Saunders
8:40 a.m.: The third and final day of the Great 8 has arrived at Denver Coliseum. First up: A matchup between the defending Class 4A girls champions, Holy Family, and upstart Peak to Peak, led by Stanford commit Alexandra Eschmeyer. — Matt Schubert
Schedule and results
Class 4A boys
No. 1 Kent Denver (23-2) vs. No. 9 DSST: Green Valley Ranch (19-5), 10:15 a.m.
No. 2 Resurrection Christian (23-2) vs. No. 7 DSST: Montview (23-2), 1:15 p.m.
No. 5 Colorado Academy (20-5) vs. No. 4 Pagosa Springs (24-1), 5:30 p.m.
A person was shot by Denver police after allegedly stabbing a clerk at a 7-Eleven near West Fifth Avenue and North Federal Boulevard on Friday night.
Officers responded to reports of a 7-Eleven store clerk who had been stabbed and found a suspect near West Fifth Avenue and North Federal Boulevard at approximately 6:49 p.m., police spokesperson Kurt Barnes said Friday.
The suspect was shot by police and taken to a local hospital, Barnes said. It’s not clear if the suspect was armed with a gun.
There he was, baseline royalty, right under the basket. First time back at Ball Arena in about six years, and Jamal Murray lands like a dead fish three feet in front of him, rolling on the floor.
Suddenly, in a cruel twist of irony and a crueler twist of an ankle, one of the greatest shooters in Nuggets history had a front-row seat to watch the Blue Arrow, his spiritual successor, writhe in agony.
“I just heard him say, ‘Oh my God,’” Adams, the Nuggets’ 3-point ace from 1987-91, said of the Blue Arrow’s sprain just before halftime, the one that cast a pall over the Nuggets’ scrappy 103-97 victory over the Miami Heat in an NBA Finals rematch.
“So when (Murray) grabbed his ankle, I was like, ‘OK, it’s his ankle … it wasn’t his knee.’”
Join the club, brother.
I know what you’re thinking: Man, the Lakers are next. Is there a better, sweeter feeling for Nuggets faithful than watching Murray prop his feet up on the couch in The House Kobe Built and drop daggers all over Tinseltown? Especially on LeBron’s big night? Over his last six regular-season appearances against the Lake Show, the Blue Arrow’s averaged 23.5 points, 6.3 assists and 3.2 treys.
But by the same token, did you see the anguish on the guy’s face as he staggered off the baseline and limped to the locker room? Why push your luck? Especially when that luck is as fickle as Jamal’s?
“Injuries happen,” Adams told me, “but in this situation, you want the Nuggets to be healthy toward the end of the season … if he’s not ready to go, they’ll sit him down and let him get healthy. They’ve still got some time (to finish) the season with him on the floor.”
This ain’t about want-to. Or toughness. Murray was raised like a basketball ninja in chilly Ontario, a childhood montage that included push-ups in the snow and balancing cups of hot tea on his thigh during squats. The Arrow would sooner swim through shark-infested waters wearing a chum suit than accept defeat.
Still, if I’m Nuggets coach Michael Malone, I’m overriding Murray’s inner Bruce Lee and reaching for the bubble wrap.
The NBA Playoffs, the land of bright lights, big stages and swollen egos where No. 27 reigns supreme, is seven weeks away yet. The No. 1 seed in the West is a heck of a target, yes, and the Nuggets went into Friday trailing the Wolves by a game-and-a-half.
Everything’s on the table now. Including disaster. And you sure as heck don’t get a parade in June by redlining Murray in early March.
“When Jamal realizes, ‘Hey, man, we’ve got 23 games to go, this (ankle) is not feeling great right now,’ I think it’s great for him to realize being cautious right now is probably the really prudent decision,” Malone said late Thursday night. “And that shows also (his) maturity. He’s growing and realizing that we (need him long-term) …
“(People insist), ‘You should be the No. 1 seed.’ Yeah, that’d be great. I want to be healthy. Because I know if we’re healthy, that we can beat anybody, anywhere.”
Dang straight.
Murray ended the first quarter Thursday by draining a 3-pointer at the buzzer with four Miami hands in his face. He ended the second in the bowels of Ball Arena, getting treatment on a right ankle that got rolled during an accidental collision with teammate Aaron Gordon.
The tumble happened, as kismet would have it, right in front of Adams, now 61 and working with the Washington Wizards, and his son.
“I actually wanted to bring my All-Star ring here to let him hold onto it until he actually made one,” said Adams, who represented Washington at the NBA’s mid-winter classic back in 1992. “And to (tell Murray), ‘You deserve to be on an All-Star team.’ I didn’t do it. But I wanted to.”
In his salad days, Adams was Steph Curry before Steph, 5-foot-10 with a funky release, cold-blooded to the core, a shooter ahead of his time. Especially once ex-Nuggets coach Doug Moe gave him the green light.
“I’m a big fan of Murray — obviously, him and Nikola (Jokic) are just out-of-this-world players,” said Adams, who averaged 18.2 points and 7.2 dimes over four seasons with Denver. “I love watching him play. I was just telling my son, ‘If I was backing up Jamal Murray, and he just went out of the game, I’d be happy to be on the floor with the rest of those guys right now.’”
He’d be happier still to see Murray rest that ankle until the Arrow’s closer to 100%. And like Malone, he’d rather have the Nuggets healthy come mid-April than exhaust their stars in a seeding chase.
“You want (those starters) on the floor, but health is No. 1,” Adams said. “I think the Nuggets can beat anybody on the road (in the playoffs) if they had to.”
After winning its first Continental League title and making its first appearance at the Denver Coliseum, Legend girls basketball isn’t done on its march toward ultimate history.
The Titans easily dispatched of Front Range League champion Horizon, 62-35, to open the Great 8 games on Thursday at the Denver Coliseum.
“We knew what we were capable of at the start of our season, but we didn’t know fully what we could do with our talent,” junior guard Maley Wilhelm said. “Now we do.”
Morgan Ives (2) of Horizon Hawks drives as Maley Wilhelm (5) of Legend Titans defends during the first half of a Colorado state high school basketball tournament Great 8 game at the Denver Coliseum on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Legend used a dominant first quarter in which the Hawks didn’t score a field goal to take an early 11-2 lead, weathered a Horizon rally in the second quarter, and then pulled away in the second half. It was the Titans’ second win over Horizon this year after beating them 70-53 in a tournament at the beginning of the season.
Wilhelm’s three fast-break lay-ups on Titans’ steals was a turning point in the third quarter, and Wilhelm finished with a team-high 13 points. By the time junior guard Ava Gavi drained a pair of threes to start the final frame, Legend had the game in the bag, and Horizon never got close again.
“We had the intensity on defense, and we were pretty good on the glass today, but the one big, glaring weakness was not having composure on offense (in the second quarter),” Legend head coach Darren Pitzner said. “We played the second half with much more composure, and much more under control. You can’t come to the Coliseum and force tough shots. That’s Rule No. 1 coming here.”
Head coach Darren Pitzner of Legend Titans works against the Horizon Hawks during the first half of a Colorado state high school basketball tournament Great 8 game at the Denver Coliseum on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Pitzner, in his first year as the Legend coach, is headed to his fifth Final Four. He also made school history at Green Mountain, leading the girls to their first three Final Four appearances there, and was an assistant coach on the 2017 Lakewood girls team that lost in the state championship game to Grandview.
The Titans (24-2) blew the doors off opponents for much of the season with a high-octane approach on offense while also placing a premium on defensive pressure. Their lone setbacks came via forfeit to Lutheran (due to a player eligibility issue) and on the road to No. 1 Cherokee Trail, 52-42 on Jan. 8.
The Cougars haven’t lost to an in-state team all season and appear to be the Class 6A championship favorite, but not if Legend has anything to say about it. The Titans’ win over Regis Jesuit in the Continental League championship on Feb. 16, 68-53, underscored the team’s belief it could make a deep tournament run.
Grace Stanley (3) of Legend Titans drives against the Horizon Hawks during the first half of a Colorado state high school basketball tournament Great 8 game at the Denver Coliseum on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
“The girls knew they could be in the mix, but we also knew we had to prove we could play with the top teams,” Pitzner said. “That’s where the Regis win was really big, because it showed we were in that top group.”
Gavi, the team’s top three-point threat at 39% coming in, started slow on Thursday before draining a pair of decisive threes in the fourth. She finished with 10 points, seven in the fourth, while senior forward Katie Lamb (a Fort Lewis commit) led the team with eight rebounds and five assists. Horizon was paced by 13 points from junior center Kaitlin Schumann.
“At halftime, my teammates came up to me and told me, ‘Don’t stop shooting,’” Gavi said. “‘We’re going to keep finding you.’ That’s what they did, and I finally hit them.”
The Titans, who play either Regis Jesuit or Cherry Creek in next week’s Final Four, aren’t satisfied after Thursday’s big win. Junior forward Mason Borcherding finished with nine points, while junior guard Aislyn Korella had seven in a balanced scoring effort.
“We’re ready to prove ourselves even more,” Borcherding said.
A 14-year-old girl with high-functioning autism was reported missing Wednesday, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
Taylor Thomas, who likes to be called “Jax,” was last seen on foot at 4:50 p.m. Wednesday in the area of 3101 S. Kipling St., Lakewood., CBI posted on X.
Taylor is 5 feet tall and weighs 95 pounds. She has dark brown, shoulder-length hair and green eyes. She was last seen wearing black, white and gray camo pants, a black hoodie, black-and-white high-top shoes and a black-and-white Nike backpack.
Anyone who sees Taylor is asked to call 911 or the Lakewood Police Department at 303-980-7300.
A 40-year-old Commerce City man was arrested in connection with a fatal hit-and-run crash that killed an accomplished wheelchair fencer on Friday, according to the Lakewood Police Department.
Chavez was out on bail after being arrested on suspicion of vehicular eluding in Adams County, according to court records. He posted a $2,500 bail in the case in October.
Chavez previously pleaded guilty in separate cases to charges of driving under restraint, driving without a license, obstructing a peace officer, weapons possession and possession of contraband in a detention facility, according to court records.
The hit-and-run occurred near West 23rd Avenue and Kipling Street at 7:24 p.m. Friday when a Chevy Camaro fatally struck a pedestrian and fled the scene. The pedestrian was later identified as 29-year-old Terre Engdahl, an award-winning parafencer who lived in Lakewood.
Chavez is in custody at the Jefferson County Jail on a $10,000 cash bail and is set to appear in court Tuesday.
Police are still searching for the Camaro, which sustained heavy front-end and windshield damage and is missing the driver’s side headlight. The car’s Colorado license plate, DWB-P87, may have been removed.
Anyone with information can call Lakewood police at 303-983-7300 and ask for Detective Moffat.
FORT COLLINS — Just when it looked like Colorado State had completed a second-half comeback to send its game against Nevada to overtime, the Wolf Pack made sure extra time would not be needed.
Isaiah Stevens drained a jumper to tie the game at 74 with 2.8 seconds remaining, but the Wolf Pack banked in a half-court 3-pointer at the buzzer to claim a 77-74 victory Tuesday night at Moby Arena.
It was CSU’s first Mountain West conference loss at home and just its second loss at home this season. It was also CSU’s third straight loss overall on the heels of an 0-2 road trip last week at New Mexico and UNLV.
The Rams dropped to 20-9 overall and 8-8 in the Mountain West with two games remaining in the regular season.
“Basketball can be unforgiving sometimes,” CSU head coach Niko Medved said. “Tonight was a gut-punch. There’s no other way around it.”
Trailing 39-28 at halftime, the Rams scored the first four points to cut the Wolf Pack lead to 39-32 and then cut it to five at 42-37 on a layup by Patrick Cartier with 14:21 remaining in the game.
But a 3-pointer followed by three free throws from a foul on a 3-point attempt pushed the Wolf Pack’s lead back to double digits at 48-37 with 13:20 left.
CSU got back within five after a three-point play by Patrick Cartier made it 53-48 with 10:15 remaining. The Rams got that close a few more times, the last coming on a free-throw by Jalen Lake with 4:19 remaining that made it 63-58.
With 3:23 remaining, the Rams got within two at 63-61 on a three-point play by Stevens, but the Wolf Pack answered, as they did all game, with four straight points to extend their lead to multiple possessions again.
Finally, the Rams got within striking distance, pulling within three on a 3-pointer by Nique Clifford with 22 seconds left and then two on a jumper by Stevens with 11 seconds remaining and then tied it on another jumper by Stevens with just under three seconds left.
Colorado State’s Nique Clifford puts up a shot against Nevada on Tuesday at Moby Arena in Fort Collins. (Nathan Wright/Loveland Reporter-Herald)
Then Nevad’s Jarod Lucas, who missed a pair of free throws between Stevens’ two jumpers, raced down the sideline, heaved the ball from halfcourt and banked it in.
“It was a heck of a game,” Stevens said. “We kept fighting. I give our team a lot of credit, but we just didn’t make that last play.”
Stevens led the Rams with 23 points. Joel Scott added 15 and Clifford 10.
CSU led for the first 1:51, but after Nevada took a 5-3 lead on a 3-pointer, the Rams never led again in the opening 20 minutes.
The Wolf Pack extended its lead to five before the Rams were able to whittle it back down to one at 10-9 after a 3-pointer by Clifford with 13:40 left in the first half.
Nevada took a seven-point lead at 29-16, but the Rams cut their deficit to four at 30-26 on a jumper by Lake, but CSU would get no close than that before halftime as the Wolf Pack closed the period on a 9-2 run to take an 11-point lead into halftime.
Five first-half turnovers and a 39.3 shooting percentage from the field hurt the Rams in the first half. They were also only 5-for-12 (41.7%) from behind the 3-point line and got to the free-throw line once. Joe Palmer made one of two on that lone trip to the stripe.
Stevens had 10 points to lead the Rams in the first half.
That set up the Rams’ second-half comeback. only to fall short on Lucas’ final heave.
“We know who we are as a team, as a program,” Stevens said. “We always are going to continue to fight no matter what the game may be looking like in that moment.”
CSU will play its final home game of the season Saturday when the Rams host Wyoming at 2 p.m. at Moby Arena.
Colorado State’s Isaiah Stevens moves around the Nevada defense during their game Tuesday at Moby Arena in Fort Collins. (Nathan Wright/Loveland Reporter-Herald)
Colorado’s public pension program must continue divesting from companies that economically boycott Israel after a state House committee rejected a bill that would have repealed the requirement.
The 10-1 bipartisan defeat of HB24-1169 late Monday in the House Finance Committee came after hours of emotional and tense testimony. The discussion often spiraled into support or condemnation for Israel and its months-long military campaign in the Gaza Strip.
More than 100 people testified for or against the measure, which would have repealed a 2016 state law that requires the Public Employees Retirement Association to divest from companies that participate in the BDS movement. That movement promotes boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel as a way of protesting the country’s treatment of Palestinians.
Only three companies have been flagged under the law, according to PERA. It applies only to international companies. The law costs roughly $10,000 a year to administer.
Just one member of the Democrat-controlled finance committee, Rep. Lorena Garcia, an Adams County Democrat, voted to advance the bill. The measure was sponsored by Rep. Elisabeth Epps, a Denver Democrat. She was reprimanded by House leadership last month for, among other things, disrupting House proceedings and joining pro-Palestinian protesters seated in the House’s gallery during the November special session.
Nearly 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza during Israel’s war with Hamas, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Israel launched the war in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, which killed 1,200 people and included the taking of about 250 hostages, some of whom are still being held.
Epps told fellow lawmakers Monday that she repeatedly had been told the legislature had no business weighing in on international affairs, but she argued that the 2016 anti-BDS law did just that.
“There is a particularly insidious criticism that is made of folks who are protesting a range of issues,” she said. “The central element of that criticism is that we’re not doing it right. … If you want to petition your pension board to do an economic boycott, that’s not right either. That can’t be how we continue to do business here.”
The bill was widely expected to fail its first vote. Epps attempted a late amendment Monday night to turn the bill into a study of the 2016 law, but she was blocked on procedural grounds.
Supporters and opponents of the measure packed a basement committee room in the Capitol, spilling into the hall and an overflow room.
Epps and the bill’s supporters sought to cast the proposal as protecting a First Amendment right of economic protest, alongside broader criticisms of Israel and its military campaign. Opponents defended Israel and argued that the BDS movement was antisemitic and that the bill’s supporters were unfairly targeting Israel. Several of them criticized Hamas and the broader pro-Palestinian protest movement.
Denver city officials will open a severe weather shelter Tuesday night as temperatures are forecast to drop below 20 degrees.
The McNichols Civic Center Building at 144 W. Colfax Ave. will be open from 6 p.m. Tuesday to 9 a.m. Wednesday for walk-up service, the city said in a news release Monday.
SAN FRANCISCO — The cartoonish Defensive Player of the Game chain is objectively the Nuggets’ corniest tradition, a blinged-up symbol of morale and affirmation usually reserved for college football sidelines rather than NBA locker rooms. If it seems one is too many, brace for impact.
“We only travel with one. We’ve gotta change that,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said after a 119-103 win over the Warriors on Sunday. “Because if we had two chains, Nikola would have gotten the other one.”
The lone chain couldn’t belong to anyone else but Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for his dogged efforts in trying to out-cardio Steph Curry in the half-court. But in Nikola Jokic’s trio of videogame performances since the All-Star break, his defense has stood up respectably next to his offense. He’s averaging 27.3 points, 16.7 rebounds and 15 assists on 68.7% shooting … plus three “stocks,” a combination of blocks and steals.
When he’s on the floor this season, the Nuggets are allowing 112.1 points per 100 possessions, 1.3 below their overall total as a team.
As a crowded MVP race heats up with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic, Jokic’s four steals against Golden State were a testament to the trickiness in evaluating his defense. He’s not always noticeably impactful — the No. 1 argument skeptics make against his annual candidacy is that he’s a liability, even — but when he’s engaged in the game plan and actively anticipating an opponent’s next move the way he does on offense, he can be a master of his role in Denver’s defensive system.
“I think I’m not bad, not good,” Jokic said Sunday at Chase Center. “I’m in the middle.”
By the same token that Jokic doesn’t dunk the basketball often, he rarely swats shots or plays above the rim defensively. Instead, the Nuggets maximize their center’s strengths by having him guard higher up against ball screens than most big men in the NBA, subsequently leaning heavily on weak-side help from Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. to contain rollers. When Jokic can play from the middle of the floor, his vision and IQ work in sync with his quick hands.
“The more he’s up in pick-and-rolls and on the ball … that’s what he’s great at,” Caldwell-Pope said recently. “Just being up. Active hands. Getting deflections when they try to make that pocket pass.”
Jokic amassed five deflections to go with his four steals in Denver’s seventh consecutive win against the Warriors. As of the 56-game mark, he was tied for eighth in the league with 2.9 per game (as many as the absurdly wingspanned Victor Wembanyama). “That speaks to activity, that speaks to a physicality, that speaks to being in that right place in the right time,” said Malone. Disrupting the pocket pass is a facet of Jokic’s innate understanding of pick-and-roll angles, the same understanding that makes his two-man game with Jamal Murray so brilliant at the other end of the floor.
It’s not Murray he’s generally teaming up with to defend the pick-and-roll, though. It’s Caldwell-Pope, who’s regularly charged with premier backcourt matchups. The experienced Caldwell-Pope is one of the best guards in the league at navigating screens. But the Nuggets have minimal off-day practice time during the season to refine two-man defensive chemistry, and Jokic and Caldwell-Pope haven’t been playing their entire careers together. So, says Caldwell-Pope, it’s a matter of “learn on the go.”
“I feel like with Jok, in a pick-and-roll with him defensively, I know he’s gonna be up,” he said. “I know he has great hands, just like I have great hands. He’s gonna try to go for the steal as well. So just us two, being in that action, it helps me out a lot. It helps him just to get back to his man and helps me stay as close as possible to my man. That’s our game plan, him being up. And it’s good for our team, for him to be up.”
Caldwell-Pope added that his individual emphasis, to hound the ball-handler through the screen while Jokic also stays up, is made easier by Jokic dropping marginally behind him and being able to see other aspects of the play unfolding. “He reads plays faster than I can sometimes,” the former Laker said.
“That’s him, to be honest,” Jokic retorted of his chemistry with Caldwell-Pope. “I’m just there to not mess up. He’s a really good defender, and I’m there to just, try to help him a little bit. As much as I can. But it’s mostly him.”
Malone places particular emphasis on the big coming up on screens against the Warriors, whose on- and off-ball actions are often predicated on freeing up Steph Curry for a 3-point attempt. Curry scored 14 points in the third quarter Sunday, but he shot 1-for-10 from 3-point range overall and scored only six points in the other three quarters combined. He turned it over three times. The Warriors did 17 times. Jokic’s active hands were clogging passing lanes.
“He’s so smart defensively,” Steve Kerr marveled.
Caldwell-Pope might be the one chasing Curry around the floor. But the way Denver defends most plays initiated by Curry requires a competent defensive big man as well. If that’s not enough to help earn Jokic a third MVP trophy, Malone will have to bring a second chain next time instead.
“You’re almost blitzing (Curry),” Malone said. “And Nikola was up every time in those pick-and-rolls to help contribute to what KCP was doing. So his engagement and his activity was off the charts.”
Russell Wilson reiterated that he hopes to return to the Broncos in 2024 but doesn’t know whether that will happen during a podcast with former Denver wide receiver Brandon Marshall.
Over more than 80 minutes on Marshall’s “I Am Athlete” podcast, the pair talked extensively about Wilson’s career, marriage, family and much more but they also briefly got down to brass tacks about Wilson’s current limbo with Denver.
“For me it’s about winning. In the next five years I want to win two (Super Bowls),” Wilson said. “I want to feel the chill of that trophy again. So yeah, I want to go back to Denver. I hope I get to go back. I’d love to go back, to be honest with you. I’ve got amazing teammates.”
Wilson, though, acknowledged he doesn’t know if that will happen. Marshall tried to get him to talk about other potential destinations, but the veteran quarterback didn’t bite.
“I honestly haven’t really thought about it. I’m still in Denver,” he said, later adding, “If it’s not there, though, I’d go to a place where we can win again.”
Asked if Wilson could play again for Broncos head coach Sean Payton after their first season together, he said flatly, “Yeah.”
Most in the NFL expect, though, that Denver will release or, far less likely, find a trade partner to jettison Wilson before March 17, when $37 million in 2025 base salary would become guaranteed.
The podcast went live Sunday night, perhaps not coincidentally, just before the NFL descends on Indianapolis for this week’s Scouting Combine. It’s a time on the calendar when a lot of business gets done and a lot of groundwork for future moves is put into place. Payton and general manager George Paton are slated to speak Tuesday morning and now Wilson’s put his stance on the record ahead of time.
“My house ain’t for sale. It’s not for sale,” Wilson said before tempering that a bit.
“It’s not on the market right now.”
Either way, he said he feels like he bounced back from a poor 2022 season and is planning on playing at a high level well into the future.
“People think I’m out of there. Maybe I am, but no matter what I’d love to go back,” he said. “I committed. There. I committed to be there. I want to win more Super Bowls there. I love the city and everything else, but you also want to be at a place that wants you, too.”
Wilson and Marshall also revisited the bye week conversations between his agent, Mark Rodgers, Paton and Broncos vice president of football administration Rich Hurtado that led to acrimony over the potential that Wilson would be benched for up to the team’s final nine games.
He talked for the first time about telling Courtland Sutton – but nobody else in the locker room – about the situation shortly after the Broncos won at Buffalo in Week 10 and a meeting he had with Payton after the bye week.
“I get back on Monday, I still don’t know necessarily what’s going to happen, and on that Monday that’s when I meet with Sean,” he said. “And Sean said, ‘Hey, treat it like nothing happened. You’re going to play this week, we’ve got a big game this week against Buffalo. We’ve got to go win on Monday Night Football.”
Wilson ultimately started seven games after Denver’s bye before Payton benched him for Jarrett Stidham for the final two games of the season.
Wilson wasn’t part of the conversations directly during the bye week, but said Sunday night that the NFL told the Broncos their negotiating stance, “is illegal. You can’t do this.” However, league sources have maintained – and reiterated Sunday night – that the NFL never told the Broncos they were out of line. The only assertion of that came from an outside counsel retained by the NFL Players Association, which was outlined in a letter reported on in January by the Washington Post.
A Berkeley congregation has completed its real estate exodus.
Highlands Lutheran Church sold its roughly 14,000-square-foot church at 3995 N. Irving St. last week for $1.48 million, or about $106 per square foot. It had been listed at $1.75 million.
The buyer was Mounashram Inc., a faith-based nonprofit. Attempts to reach the organization were unsuccessful.
Highlands Lutheran, which had been on Irving Street for the past century, moved last year to 7375 Samuel Drive, where it is renting a church from the Rocky Mountain Synod, the regional Lutheran Church organization.
Pastor Samm Melton-Hill said the congregation is still figuring out what to do with the proceeds from the sale, but expects some of the funds to be used for community grants for those in need.
“We’re really excited for what the space will look like for north Denver and hope it continues to be a center part of that community and neighborhood,” Melton-Hill said.
The church building hit the market in October 2023 with the goal of selling quickly, as the congregation had no property manager and upkeep with the space became difficult, according to The McMillan Cos. broker Monnie Elliott, who represented the church along with Dana Crawford.
But a quick turnaround could not come at the expense of the church’s mission, she added, saying it had to be sold to an entity that “would be of service to the community.”
At one point, the property was under contract to a group trying to build a preschool there, but that deal fell through.
“We had a tremendous amount of interest from churches and religious groups … We felt really good about it (the buyer) instead of selling it to someone who would bulldoze it and build two luxury homes on the property,” Elliott said.
Elliott said she’s not sure what faith or denomination the buyer adheres to, and what exactly they’ll do with the new space, but knows it will continue to operate as a place of worship.
One thing that will remain: a bright orange donation box outside the church’s front door, according to Pam McClune, who coordinates the church’s work with a local food bank.
For about the last decade, the congregation partnered with Bienvenidos Food Bank off Pecos Street in northwest Denver to collect food and essentials for those in need. The box has been outside the church since at least 2017.
“We wanted to give the community the opportunity to participate with the food bank without feeling like they had to come in and be part of the church, and they really took to it,” said McClune.
This story was reported by our partner BusinessDen.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Written on the locker room whiteboard Thursday night at Ball Arena was a summons for players to get to the Denver airport by 10:20 p.m. for their team flight to Oregon. It was an unrealistic goal, especially considering Nikola Jokic’s typically methodical postgame process and media obligation.
So maybe the Nuggets were a little late to take off. They made it to Portland just fine.
And after a slightly slow start at Moda Center the next night, the defending champions took off and earned a 127-112 win over the Blazers, sweeping a back-to-back out of the All-Star break. Michael Malone called a timeout after three early turnovers yielded an 8-3 deficit. Then Denver cruised.
The Nuggets (38-19) gave Jamal Murray the night off to avoid straining him in the back-to-back after he went into the break dealing with shin splints. His absence was more for precautionary reasons after an encouraging performance against the Wizards and before a marquee matchup Sunday at the Warriors. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, on the other hand, played after missing the second half of Thursday’s game with a sprained finger.
Without Murray, Nikola Jokic posted a triple-double by the end of the third quarter for the second time in 24 hours, and Michael Porter Jr. scored a season-high 34 points on 21 shots to go with a dozen rebounds.
“I was just getting easy shots. My teammates were finding me in transition,” Porter said. “When a player like ‘Mal is out, a lot of guys have gotta step up.”
“Michael is such a big target, and (defenders) play on the high side, so they’re trying to make him a 2-point scorer,” Malone said. “And he’s shown that he can do that just as efficiently (as scoring from three). This was a night when Michael played at a high level throughout the course of the game.”
Jokic finished the night with 29 points, 15 boards and 14 assists on 12-of-17 shooting. With 2:37 remaining in the first half, he missed his first shot in 15 attempts since the break. Aaron Gordon also supplied another efficient and well-rounded game, going for eight points on 4-of-5 shooting (all in the first half) and seven assists.
Denver ultimately plans to use Gordon at the backup five spot during the playoffs, but Zeke Nnaji has provided a revitalizing stretch of games at the right time as Michael Malone takes stock of his depth late in the regular season. Nnaji earned more minutes at center Friday after blocking four shots against the Wizards. His highlight this time was a soaring tip-in offensive rebound while sandwiched by airborne defenders. He has now played in five consecutive games after not appearing in nine of the previous 12.
“He’s a great offensive rebounder,” Malone said. “And I love when he rebounds in traffic, takes his time, gathers, goes up strong and dunks it. That’s always so much fun to watch. I thought he had some very good defensive possessions tonight. Fighting (Deandre) Ayton in the post. Got a steal. Working to front him in the lane. … Zeke is getting an opportunity, and to his credit, he’s taken advantage of it.”
As has been the usual pecking order this season, Reggie Jackson started in place of Murray and G League All-Star Collin Gillespie filled in at backup point guard. Some of his NBA minutes have been empty ones recently, but his 3-point shooting and nose for getting Jokic the ball was a major boost in Portland. Gillespie registered his first career double-digit scoring game with 18 points. He was perfect on four attempts beyond the arc and tacked on four assists without a turnover.
“My teammates are great. They’ve been awesome all year,” Gillespie told The Post. “Obviously going down, playing in the G League, these guys are tuned in. They know how we’re doing down there. So obviously coming up here, they just told me to be aggressive, play my game. And it’s easy to look really good with that group that I’m (playing) with, so they make it really easy for me.”
It was a solid enough individual outing that when Christian Braun sliced to the basket for a layup from Jokic, the Blazers’ public address announcer declared Gillespie had just scored.
And a solid enough outing that it even made Jokic jealous.
“The guys gave Collin the game ball for his performance,” Malone said. “And upon seeing that some of the guys gave Collin the game ball, Nikola said, ‘What the hell are you doing? I just had a triple-double. That’s my game ball.’”
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A bill to create one of the nation’s most restrictive bans on minors’ use of social media is heading to Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has expressed concerns about the legislation to keep children under the age of 16 off popular platforms regardless of parental approval.
The House passed the bill on a 108-7 vote Thursday just hours after the Senate approved it 23-14. The Senate made changes to the original House bill, which Republican Speaker Paul Renner said he hopes will address DeSantis’ questions about privacy.
The bill targets any social media site that tracks user activity, allows children to upload material and interact with others, and uses addictive features designed to cause excessive or compulsive use. Supporters point to rising suicide rates among children, cyberbullying and predators using social media to prey on kids.
“We’re talking about businesses that are using addictive features to engage in mass manipulation of our children to cause them harm,” said the bill’s Senate sponsor, Republican Erin Grall.
Other states have considered similar legislation, but most have not proposed a total ban. In Arkansas, a federal judge blocked enforcement of a law in August that required parental consent for minors to create new social media accounts.
Supporters in Florida hope that if the bill becomes law, it would withstand legal challenges because it would ban social media formats based on addictive features such as notification alerts and autoplay videos, rather than the content on their sites.
But opponents say it blatantly violates the First Amendment and that it should left to parents, not the government, to monitor children’s social media use.
“This isn’t 1850. While parents show up at school board meetings to ban books, their kids are on their iPads looking at really bad stuff,” said Democratic state Sen. Jason Pizzo.
He sarcastically said lawmakers have other options if they want to parent other people’s children.
“Let’s have a bill that encourages engaging with your children, cooking dinner, sitting at a table together, making eye contact, calling grandma to see if she’s OK once in a while.” he said.
The legislation had a mix of Republicans and Democrats on both sides of the issue.
DeSantis said he understood that the platforms could be harmful to teenagers, but stressed that parents need to play a role in monitoring use.
“We can’t say that 100% of the uses are bad because they’re not,” DeSantis said at an Orlando-area news conference before the bill passed. “I don’t think it’s there yet, but I hope we can get there in a way that answers parents’ concerns.”
But Renner, who made the issue his top legislative priority, thinks the governor will approve the final product because it addresses his concerns about user anonymity.
Some parents also have mixed feelings.
Angela Perry, a mother from central Florida, said she understands the rationale behind bill, and that she and her husband didn’t let their daughter onto any major platforms until she turned 15. But she believes it should be up to every parent to make that decision based on the maturity of their children.
“Whatever happened to parental rights?” Perry said. “You are already selecting books my child can read at school. That is fine to a certain extent. But now you are also moving into their private life as well. It’s becoming intrusive.”
The Florida bill would require social media companies to close any accounts it believes to be used by minors and to cancel accounts at the request of a minor or parents. Any information pertaining to the account must be deleted.
Associated Press writer Mike Schneider in Orlando contributed to this report.
It can be hard enough for skiers and snowboarders in Colorado to avoid trees, other downhillers, poles, mystery bumps and mashed-potato snow — without also having to worry about running into a moose. But that’s not always possible, as several recent social media videos have shown.
Since the 2023-24 ski season began, there have been at least three major viral moose sightings at Winter Park, one at Steamboat and one at Breckenridge. But that doesn’t include other sightings, and there have been several, that didn’t make it onto Instagram, YouTube, Facebook or TikTok.
Still, representatives of these resorts say the encounters aren’t rising in number.
“I am not aware of any recent moose sightings or encounters at the resort for Breck or Keystone this season,” said Sara Lococo, a spokesperson for Keystone and Breckenridge. “Since we do share the mountains with a variety of local wildlife, including moose, it is always possible that they are around though. It is important for our communities and our visitors to remember that, be aware of their surroundings, and to respect and give space to local wildlife if/when encountered. In the event of a sighting or encounter, we encourage guests to call and report this to ski patrol.”
Maren Franciosi, of Steamboat, said: “Steamboat Resort shares the land with many native species including moose. It is common to see wildlife on the resort and we do frequently see moose during operating hours. We work closely with the USFS and CPW, our ski patrol will close/detour ski trails if needed for moose activity and to limit interactions with guests. It does not seem more than usual this year. We have had some sightings in our new terrain, which was expected.”
Jen Miller, of Winter Park, said: “Feels like normal moose activity. We have several sightings every winter season … Winter Park has had several confirmed moose sightings on its slopes during the past few weeks. Moose call Winter Park home, and they occasionally wander onto open ski trails. We remind guests that moose are wild animals, and guests should keep their distance. If necessary, Winter Park ski patrol will close trails and lifts to help protect both the animals and people.”
Officials from the Colorado Rockies and a federal cybersecurity agency are planning a “full-scale” active shooter and bombing simulation at Coors Field to practice responding to an attack during a regular season baseball game.
The May 22 event will bring together stadium and team officials, local first responders and state and federal agencies “to perform response actions that would be taken during an attack at Coors Field,” organizers wrote in an email sent to a Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management mailing list on Friday.
Organizers are looking for volunteer actors to participate in the simulation, which will take place when the Rockies are scheduled to play in Oakland, according to the email.
“The scenario involves a simulated explosion followed by an active shooter during a regular season weekend Colorado Rockies game at Coors Field,” organizers with the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency wrote on an intake form for volunteer actors.
Two 60-minute scenarios will be held during the 6-hour training and will include being “exposed to loud noises, including simulated gunshot and explosive sounds,” organizers wrote.
Volunteers are required to be 18 years or older and must answer if they are willing to have simulated injuries painted on or applied, including fake bruises, scratches, burns, gunshot wounds and blood, according to the intake form.
Getting fake injuries applied, which is known as moulage, is not mandatory for participation.
The Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management referred questions about the event to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Representatives for the agency and Colorado Rockies could not be immediately reached for comment Tuesday.
The most expensive home ever sold in the Denver area is quietly being shopped around.
Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson and singer-songwriter wife Ciara are accepting offers, and providing tours to prospective buyers, for the mansion they own in Cherry Hills Village, sources tell BusinessDen.
The couple did not respond to requests for comment made through their foundation.
The couple paid $25 million for the home on Cherry Hills Park Drive in April 2022, weeks after Wilson was traded to the Broncos by the Seattle Seahawks. At the time, the previous record for a Denver-area home sale was $16 million.
The 20,000-square-foot home on 5 acres has four bedrooms and 12 bathrooms, plus his-and-hers walk-in closets, offices and bathroom suites, according to a previous listing of the property. There’s also a 2,590-square-foot indoor swimming pool, a basketball court and a guest apartment with its own kitchen.
But Wilson’s tenure with the Broncos has been rocky. In August 2022, before Wilson had played a game for the Broncos, the team extended Wilson’s contract through 2028. But the team went 5-12 in his first season, improving somewhat to 8-9 this past season.
Head Coach Sean Payton benched Wilson for the final two games of the season, saying he hoped the change would spark the team’s offense. But the move was widely seen as an effort to ensure Wilson didn’t get injured, because NFL teams cannot cut injured players and Wilson’s $37 million salary for 2025 becomes guaranteed if he’s on the team’s roster on March 17 of this year, according to the Denver Post.
Payton recently said in a radio interview that a decision on Wilson’s future with the Broncos will happen “sooner than later.”
This story was reported by our partner BusinessDen.
