CISNEROS SENTENCED

Denver Daily News staff report

Friday, November 6, 2009

CISNEROS SENTENCED: A man acquitted of killing his 10-year-old daughter but convicted of dealing drugs was sentenced yesterday to 15 years in prison. Leo “Mickey” Cisneros, 31, was sentenced for his conviction for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. Cisneros was found not guilty earlier this year of child abuse resulting in death by a jury that delivered a split verdict following the trial. Ten-year-old Auralia Cisneros was fatally injured after three men attempted to rob the Cisneros home. Chief Deputy District Attorney George Poland urged the judge to consider the choices the defendant made, including the choice to sell marijuana out of a home where children were present, when considering the length of the sentence.

COFFMAN: MAKE CONGRESS, PRESIDENT TAKE PUBLIC OPTION: Congressman Mike Coffman, R-Lone Tree, introduced an amendment to federal health reform legislation that would require all members of Congress and their dependents, as well as the President, to enroll in the so-called public option health care program. Coffman says he is following through with a promise to constituents who called for all of Congress to be put on the public option health plan. “You have to question why a bill filled with 3,425 federal mandates for ordinary Americans does not mandate members of Congress to enroll in the public option,” Coffman said. “If Congress is going to force this on the American people, they should use it themselves.”

MEDICAL MARIJUANA DEFENSE ATTORNEY FILES PETITION: Medical marijuana defense attorney Rob Corry yesterday filed a petition on behalf of medical marijuana advocates seeking to enjoin recent actions of the Colorado Board of Health in holding a meeting not open to all members of the general public, in which the board refused to hear from medical marijuana patients or any opposition, according to a news release from advocates. Plaintiffs expect the court to hold a hearing within the next two days.

MCINNIS ANNOUNCES OPENING OF WESTERN SLOPE HEADQUARTERS: Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis yesterday announced the opening of his campaign’s Western Slope regional headquarters. The McInnis campaign is the first to open a regional headquarters in this election cycle and now has two offices operating in the state. The Grand Junction regional campaign headquarters is located at 2650 North Avenue, Suite 116, on the north side of the Red Cliff Point shopping center. Additional regional offices will open in the months ahead.

UDALL SPEAKS ON HEALTH INSURANCE REFORM: U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., yesterday delivered a speech on the Senate floor emphasizing ways health insurance reform would reduce wasteful spending and increase efficiency Ń putting the focus of the health care system back on patients where it belongs. The U.S. spends over $2 trillion per year on health care Ń nearly one fifth of the economy Ń yet between 30 and 50 percent of these dollars are not contributing to better patient health, said Udall. “That’s unsustainable and unhealthy,” he said.

SEEDCO, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OFFICE TO PART WAYS: The Denver Office of Economic Development and Seedco Financial Services, Inc. yesterday announced that they have reached a mutual agreement to not pursue a contract renewal at the end of 2009. The city’s current contract with Seedco Financial expires on Dec. 31. The city will seek a new financial partner to contract to operate the CDFI in 2010 and beyond. Seedco Financial has been contracted by the city since 2007 to operate Denver’s largest community development financial institution. This CDFI effort provides loan financing for business start-up, expansion and development projects in distressed Denver neighborhoods.

SHOOTING SUSPECT DIES: One of the victims shot on Sunday at Club Posh died early yesterday morning at Denver Health Medical Center. The victim has been identified as John Singleton, 29. Singleton’s death is being investigated as a homicide. There have been no arrests related to the shootings that occurred that night. The two additional victims that were shot during this incident have been released from the hospital. Police are looking for additional witnesses and would like anyone with information about this crime to call 720-913-STOP.

COFFMAN JOINS ‘HOUSE CALL’: Congressman Mike Coffman, R-Lone Tree, yesterday joined Republican leadership and colleagues at the Capitol for a “house call” on Washington to show their opposition to federal health reform legislation. Coffman called the proposal a “job-killing government takeover of health care.”

NEW VEHICLE REGISTRATIONS DOWN: The Metro Denver Automobile Dealers Association yesterday released its September year-to-date Denver Auto Outlook Report that shows a decline of new vehicle registrations by 1.7 percent over the year. Nationwide registrations showed a decrease of 22.7 percent. Also announced yesterday, light truck registrations decreased at a rate of 16.1 percent for the month of September 2009, while car registrations increased at a rate of 14.2 percent.

BUS ROUTE DETOURS: The Regional Transportation District will detour some of its bus routes in downtown Denver during the annual Veterans Day Parade on Saturday. The detours will be in effect from approximately 9 a.m. until about noon. The Parade will commence at Colfax and Bannock. It will proceed on 14th Street to, right on Court Place to, left on 15th Street to, right on Welton to, right on 17th Street to, right on Broadway to 13th Avenue where it will disband. For more information, call 303-299-6000, or visit RTD-Denver.com.

VETERANS DAY PARADE: Denver will host the annual Veterans Day Parade on Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m. Prior to the parade, there will be a presentation of a Bronze Star for Valor to a fallen soldier’s widow. Immediately following the parade, there will be a tribute to fallen Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans from Colorado at the Colorado Veterans Memorial. The parade will start and end in Civic Center Park and will proceed down surrounding streets.

COPPER TO OPEN TODAY: With a foot of fresh snow in the last several days, Copper is scheduled to open for the winter season today, with top to bottom skiing and riding. Copper will celebrate with its 5th annual opening weekend festival. Also, Arapahoe Basin will open for top to bottom skiing this Saturday. Norway lift will open at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday to service the upper mountain intermediate runs of Lenawee Face and Dercum’s Gulch.

WIENS TO RUN FOR SENATE: Former Republican State Sen. Tom Wiens confirmed yesterday that he has filed the necessary papers with the Federal Election Commission to become an official candidate for the U.S. Senate. He joins a large pool of Republican candidates looking to take the seat currently held by U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo.

WORKERS COMP RATES: The Interim Committee on Pinnacol Assurance found that workers compensation rates were consistently as much as 10 percent higher than levels recommended by independent actuaries, according to a news release yesterday from Colorado Democrats. The Division of Insurance announced that Colorado’s businesses will see a significant drop of workers’ compensation rates. The 9.7 percent reduction in rates comes on the heels of a summer of hearings in the Pinnacol Interim Committee which found that rates have been consistently as much as 10 percent too high.

* Sponsored Links *