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SEVEN ‘MOST WANTED’ FUGITIVES CAPTURED: Yesterday, the Fugitive Location Apprehension Group (FLAG) and several metro Area Law Enforcement agencies located three suspects on the Most Wanted list. Louis A. Olona, number 21, who was wanted for parole violation, was arrested. Alicia F. Esquibel, number 47, who was wanted for assault and menacing, turned herself in. And Jharel Bobby Jones, number 38 who was wanted for attempted murder and was listed as a high-risk arrest, surrendered to police surrounding his location. On Sunday, the officers located and arrested four additional suspects on the 50 Most Wanted list, as well made 26 additional arrests of suspects with outstanding warrants. If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of any wanted fugitive, please contact the local police department or contact Crime Stoppers, 720-913-STOP to remain anonymous.

SEWAGE SPILLS INTO THIRD CREEK: A mechanical failure at a Denver International Airport lift station released raw sewage and industrial storm water into Third Creek, which flows into an irrigation canal that feeds into Barr Lake. Airport officials believe as many as 1 million gallons of contamination water may have been released. The spill was discovered yesterday morning, and the DIA notified federal, state an local environmental and health agencies, as well as a downstream farmer, Adams County and the Farmers Reservoir Irrigation Co., which owns the canal. DIA is responding to the incident in accordance with provisions of its wastewater permit, by conducting downstream water sampling and working to ensure the public health is not impacted. Anyone with questions should contact Tri-County Health, 303-220-9200.

FORECLOSURE FILINGS UP AND DOWN: Foreclosure filings in Colorado’s largest counties rose 6.5 percent last month, compared to February of last year. According to a report released yesterday by the Department of Local Affairs’ Division of Housing, foreclosure sales at auction rose 14 percent between February of last year and this year, but remain down 14 percent compared to February 2008. The full report can be found on the Division of Housing blog, www.divisionofhousing.blogspot.com.

HOME ENERGY BILLS MIGHT DECREASE: Xcel Energy filed yesterday to reduce natural gas commodity prices by 17-18 percent for the second quarter of 2010. On an annual comparison, this would be a $9.4 million reduction into the Quarterly Gas Cost Adjustment (QGCA) and would result in utility bills that would be 9-19 percent lower compared to the second quarter of 2009.The company filed its rider with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission and if approved, new rates would go into effect April 1, 2010. This action comes just three days after Xcel announced it filed today to increase bills by $52.7 which would have increased typical residential customers’ bills by about $5 and typical small-business customers’ bills by about $9.

APRIL COULD RAISE AWARENESS OF DISTRACTED DRIVING: Rep. Betsy Markey, D-Fort Collins, introduced a resolution yesterday that will designate April as National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. H. Res. 1186 urges Americans to consider the lives of others on the road and put an end to distracted driving. According to a recent National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey, 80 percent of all traffic incident and 65 percent of all near-crashes involve some type of distraction. In 2008, nine-year-old Erica Forney of Fort Collins was struck and killed by a distracted driver while bike riding home from school.

GOV. RITTER NAMED SUN-ENERGY CHAMP: Gov. Bill Ritter was named a Solar Champion by the national Vote Solar Initiative. He was selected for his work to increase Colorado’s renewable energy standard, for creating the state’s first Climate Action Plan and for building a New Energy Economy that has become a national model, demonstrating how states can strengthen economic, energy and environmental security. The award was presented at a ceremony in San Francisco on Tuesday evening. Colorado climate change adviser Alice Madden appeared on Gov. Ritter’s behalf.

POST REPORTER INVITED TO LEADVILLE AFTER DISSING THE TOWN: Rep. Christine Scanlon, D-Summit, and Sen. Mark Scheffel, R-Parker, have invited Denver Post reporter Mike McPhee to Leadville, a town in their district, after he told Fox News Channel on Monday that Leadville is “nothing to write home about” and called it a “dirtball town.” They want to show him the town’s “wonderful antique stores and quaint boutiques. É take him on a historic hike, bike or raft trip, and go out to lunch at one of the many fine restaurants.” They also provided him with a list of facts about Leadville’s “beauty and rich history.”

OFFICER FOUND JUSTIFIED IN SHOOTING: The Denver District Attorney’s Office announced yesterday that an officer-involved shooting that resulted in the wounding of Joseph Leo Fresquez on March 7th at Federal and Ellsworth was found to be justified. The “decision letter” that has been sent to Chief Whitman can be viewed at www.denverda.org/News_Release/Officer-involved_shooting_investigations.htm.

TALL GREEN BUILDING OPENS IN DENVER: Anticipated to be the first privately developed LEED-Platinum office and one of only three buildings to achieve this rating in Colorado, the building 1800 Larimer opened yesterday. Designed by architectural firm RNL of Denver, this 22-story, high-performance, green building will offer 545,000 square feet of mixed-use lease space. Xcel Energy intends to move its 1,300 employees into a space in the building in June.

SUN-FARMING COULD LEAD TO TAX BREAKS: A bill announced yesterday, Solar Uniting Neighborhoods (SUN) Act of 2010, by Sen. Mark Udall enables homeowners who invest in community solar projects to take a 30 percent tax credit just like individuals who install PV cells on their houses.  Currently federal law allows homeowners to take an income tax credit for PV cells installed on individual homes, it doesn’t allow the same credit for community solar projects. Holy Cross Energy has teamed up with the Clean Energy Collective to offer ways for homeowners to pool their resources and invest in solar panels located on a separate plot of land.  It’s a new method of tapping solar energy, known as community solar projects or “solar farms,” which has the potential to increase the market for solar power. 

STANDARD INSURANCE FORMS: The Senate Committee on Health and Human Services passed HB 1004, requiring a standardization of health insurance information. This bill, sponsored by Sen. Joyce Foster, D-Denver, seeks to protect consumers and help them better understand their health insurance forms by requiring the Commissioner of Insurance to seek input from health insurance providers, carriers, consumers, and other stakeholders when developing the standard format for policy forms. If passed, these changes will take effect by July 2011. HB 1004 passed by a vote of 5-2.

HALL OF FAME-WORTHY WOMEN INDUCTED TODAY: Today, 10 women will be inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame at Denver’s Downtown Marriot. The ceremony begins at 5:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.cogreatwomen.org or calling 303-271-3599. The list of 10 women, six are contemporary and four historical figures, are available online.

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