GUILTY VERDICT IN MURDER TRIAL: A Denver jury has returned guilty verdicts in the murder trial of the man accused of killing 43-year-old John Paul Kelso in November 2006. Timothy John Boham, 28, was found guilty yesterday of first-degree murder after deliberation, first-degree felony murder and aggravated robbery. Chief Deputy District Attorney Bonnie Benedetti and Chief Deputy District Attorney Diane Balkin led the prosecution case, in which the charges alleged that Boham was involved in an altercation with the victim in the victim’s home and that during the altercation Boham shot and killed Kelso. Boham faces life in prison without parole when he appears for sentencing today.
FATAL ACCIDENT AT KIPLING AND KENTUCKY: Lakewood Police are investigating a fatal accident that occurred yesterday morning at the intersection of West Kentucky Avenue and South Kipling Parkway. At about 8:35 a.m., police responded to the accident scene and determined that two vehicles had been involved. Each vehicle was occupied solely by a male driver. The identity of the man who died has not been released pending the notification of relatives by the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office.
SECOND CLIMBER FOUND DEAD IN CHINA: Rescuers have now found a second dead climber on China’s Mount Edgar, Wade Johnson, 24, of Minnesota, whose body was discovered after Boulder climber Jonathan “Jonny” Copp, 35, was found Saturday. The third member of the climbing team, Micah Dash, 32, also from Boulder, remains missing. The three were last heard from on May 20.
ID THEFT SCAM TARGETS SENIORS: The Department of Regulatory Agencies’ Division of Insurance has issued a warning for older Americans who are being targeted in a scam that takes advantage of seniors’ concerns about their health care coverage to trick them into providing personal information. Be wary if a “representative” calls the senior, claiming to be with the “Medicare Program Unit” or some other official-sounding health foundation and asks for personal financial information. Visit dora.state.co.us for more information.
WATCH OUT FOR STORM CHASERS: Angie’s List, a provider of local service company ratings, is warning homeowners to watch out for storm chasers who “prey” on people eager to clean up after a storm. Angie’s List says many people fall victim to door-to-door contractors who offer quick service in exchange for cash payment, and then perform little or no work. Visit angieslist.com for more information.
CATASTROPHE CLAIMS CENTER BUS: Farmers Insurance is providing a mobile “Catastrophe Claims Center Bus” to assist Farmers policyholders who have suffered damage from the tornadoes that struck the Denver area over the weekend. The bus is a support center equipped with technology for immediate claims handling. Visit farmers.com or call 1-800-435-7764 for more information.
CLAIRVOYANT AT STELLA’S: Denver area psychic Megan Riley is hosting a free event at Stella’s Coffeehouse, located at 1476 S. Pearl St., tonight from 5:30-7:30 to “help people who are interested to connect with their true life purpose, and also to speak to anyone on the other side that may have a message for them.”
ELECTIONS DIVISION ON TWITTER: The Denver Elections Division will use the social networking tool Twitter to communicate with voters, candidates and campaigns leading up to the Nov. 3 election. The division will use Twitter to remind voters and candidates of key dates, deadlines and more. Visit twitter.com/DenverElections for more information.
MORTGAGE FRAUD INDICTMENT: Colorado Attorney General John Suthers yesterday announced the indictment of Ernie Colter, 50, on three counts of theft and one count of forgery for his role in allegedly fraudulently obtaining a loan for a client and then stealing some of the proceeds from a related real estate transaction. Colter is accused of acting as the originating broker for a real estate transaction and qualifying a client for a $700,000 home loan by submitting forged earning statements and asset statements to Countrywide Mortgage. Colter is further accused of diverting over $60,000 of the proceeds from the sale of the real estate into his own bank account by “tricking” the seller of the property.
GOODWILL COMPUTER RECYCLING: Goodwill International and Dell have partnered in expanding their free computer equipment-recycling program, Reconnect. The program is now available in 18 states, including Colorado. Consumers can drop off any brand of used equipment at participating Goodwill donation centers and request a receipt for tax purposes. Visit reconnectpartnership.com for more information.
‘NO SERVICE FEE’ DAY FOR TICKET PURCHASES: Live Nation announced it is expanding its “No Service Fee” program to every available ticket in each of its amphitheaters tomorrow, for 24 hours, only at LiveNation.com. The company said last week’s debut of the program generated a sales spike 500 percent higher than the average number of tickets sold on a typical Wednesday. Tickets go on sale tomorrow at 12:01 a.m.
SUTHERS CALLS DEATH SENTENCE APPROPRIATE: Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said an Arapahoe County jury’s verdict yesterday sentencing convicted murderer Robert Ray to death was appropriate given his crime of murdering a witness. “I can only hope that today’s verdict offers the families of Javad Marshall-Fields and Vivian Wolfe a measure of solace that justice was done,” he said. “Both young Coloradans were senselessly murdered in June 2005 simply because Marshall-Fields was a witness in a murder case.” Suthers went on to say the case underlines the “need for Colorado to have a death penalty.”
DENVER BY DESIGN ENTRIES: Denver By Design will consist of a series of exhibits in the Mod Livin’ showroom throughout the month of August. The show aims to bring attention to new talent in Colorado and focus on the influence of modern design in society. Designers may enter their original work in the form of drawings or photos of prototypes from now until the closing date of July 1 via e-mail to Denver_by_Design@modlivin.com. A panel of seven judges will narrow the contestants down to 25 finalists who will be notified by July 8. Visit modlivin.com for more information.
QWEST HOLDING LONG DISTANCE NETWORK: After Qwest Communications International held a bidding process for its long distance network asset that produced “significant interest,” the company said it would not pursue a transaction. Qwest went on to say it expected its adjusted free cash flow for 2009 to be $1.4-$1.5 billion, and capital expenditures of $1.8 billion or lower. Visit qwest.com for more information.
HUD HOUSING PARTY TODAY: The Denver Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will participate in “Recovery Act in Action” Week by hosting one of 16 national “Housing Parties” today at noon on the 25th floor of the office, which is located at 1670 Broadway. The party will feature a broadcast message from HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, “webinars” providing technical assistance to grantees from HUD headquarters and program staff, and networking opportunities.
ROCKY ARCHIVES TO LIBRARY: The former parent company of the Rocky Mountain News, E.W. Scripps, announced it is finalizing an arrangement with the Denver Public Library, which would assume ownership of the newspaper’s archives. Scripps said a similar agreement is being negotiated with the Colorado Historical Society, which will assume ownership of such other artifacts as signs, photographs, special editions, artwork and other information that documents the history of the newspaper.
DENVER FILM MOVES CONFIRMED: The Denver Film Society confirmed yesterday that Burleigh “Bo” Smith was dismissed as executive director and Britta Erickson has been named interim director. A search for a permanent executive director is underway, the film society said in a statement. “We have tremendous confidence in the professional staff of our organization and the programming and events model that we have in place,” said DFS Board Chairman David Charmatz. “We will be working to find a new executive director that will, in conjunction with our staff, our supporters and the entire community, keep the film society growing and moving forward.” The film society also confirmed reports that recent mass resignations (21 reportedly quit, including Erickson) had to do with a combination of budget issues and a rift with Smith. Therefore, the film society elected to let Smith go, and some, including Erickson, agreed to come back, according to a report by indiewire.com. Denver Film Festival founder Ron Henderson will continue to serve as a consultant to DFS. While details regarding the return of individual staff members are still being worked through, the film society and the Starz FilmCenter are operating at full strength with all programming and events taking place as scheduled. For more information about the Denver Film Society, visit www.denverfilm.org.
