STUDENTS RALLY FOR POT OVER BEER, SAYING IT’S NOT A JOKE

Denver Daily News staff report

Thursday, April 1, 2010

STUDENTS RALLY FOR POT OVER BEER, SAYING IT’S NOT A JOKE: Students at more than 80 colleges and universities around the country, including nine in Colorado, will hold on-campus rallies today urging their universities to allow marijuana use as a safer recreational alternative to alcohol. The nationwide rally is being coordinated by Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER), a nonprofit working to education the public about the relative safety of marijuana compared to alcohol. SAFER launched a campus initiative in 2005 in response to student alcohol overdose deaths on the two largest college campuses in Colorado. April 1 marks the first day of National Alcohol Awareness Month and April Fools Day, and rallying students intend to hold signs and banners reading “This is NOT a joke É Let us make the SAFER choice!” A rally will take place locally at 1 p.m. on the Main Square outside the Plaza Building at the Auraria Higher Education Center campus, which serves the Community College of Denver, the University of Colorado’s Denver students and Metropolitan State College of Denver. There will also be rallies at the University of Denver and University of Colorado’s Boulder and Colorado Springs campuses. More information on the initiative can be found at www.safercampuses.org.

STREET SWEEPING BEGINS: Today begins the citywide seasonal street sweeping program, and Denver Public Works asks that drivers pay attention to the red and white signs on their block (not all blocks have one) and adhere to the street sweeping restrictions. Failing to comply will result in parking citations; three unpaid parking citations will result in a vehicle book, and if the outstanding citations and boot fee ($100) are not paid, the vehicle may be towed. Drivers can sign up to a receive an email reminder of a sweeping day at www.keepitcleandenver.org Ń drivers will have to know the day of their block’s street sweep. Drivers can also call Denver’s 311 line and request “no parking” sticker reminders for a calendar.

SLOW DOWN ON THE INTERSTATE: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) Office of Transportation Safety provided the Denver Police Department with federal funding to staff additional officers on the interstate system within the city and county of Denver. The intent of this grant is to reduce speed-related accidents, which frequently result in injuries and death.

SHINING A LIGHT ON CHILD ABUSE: There will be a lighting ceremony tonight in recognition of Child Abuse Prevention month at The Children’s Hospital. The event begins at 7 p.m. at the hospital, 13123 East 16th Ave.

GOVERNOR PROCLAIMS APRIL AS FAIR HOUSING MONTH: Gov. Bill Ritter has declared April 2010 Fair Housing Month to raise awareness of the anti-discrimination protections Coloradans receive regarding housing issues. Colorado was the first state in the nation to make discrimination in private housing illegal in 1959, making this year the 51st anniversary of the Colorado Fair Housing Practices Act.

MAMMOGRAMS BILL MOVES: A Senate committee yesterday passed a bill by Sens. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass, and Betty Boyd, D-Lakewood, to “help fight breast cancer by ensuring decisions about mammograms will be left to women and their doctors.” House Bill 1252 allows women of any age to receive a mammogram if her health care provider believes she has sufficient risk of developing breast cancer. The bill will now go to the full Senate for consideration.

CITY/COUNTY BUILDING TO BE ILLUMINATED IN BLUE FOR AUTISM AWARENESS DAY: Denver’s City and County building tonight will light up in special blue lights in support of Autism Speaks’ global “Light It Up Blue” campaign to celebrate World Autism Awareness Day and Autism Awareness Month. The City and County building is one of nearly 200 iconic landmarks that will light up in bright blue to raise awareness and shine a light on autism as a growing public health crisis.

BUSINESS BILLS BECOME LAW: Gov. Bill Ritter yesterday signed two bills into law that Republican lawmakers say will be good for business. Senate Bill 112 will “keep workers compensation insurance rates down by allowing businesses to take advantage of cost savings through highly successful deductable programs.” Senate Bill 116 will require public entities to reimburse contractors for costs incurred from additional work until an agreement can be reached between the two parties.

CLEAN AIR, CLEAN JOBS BILL MOVES: Gov. Bill Ritter yesterday thanked lawmakers, a coalition of energy companies, environmentalists and Xcel Energy for their support in passing House Bill 1365, the Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act. The bill has bipartisan support, and supporters say it will cut air pollution, create jobs and increase the use of cleaner energy sources. However, the Colorado Mining Association said in a press release yesterday that the bill would be a job-killer and would lead to higher electricity rates. The Colorado Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act would require Xcel Energy to sharply reduce pollutants by retiring, retrofitting or repowering Front Range coal-fired power plants by the end of 2017 and replacing them with facilities fueled by natural gas and other lower- or non-emitting energy sources.

THORNTON RESTAURATEUR SENTENCED FOR MONEY LAUNDERING ILLEGAL MARIJUANA PROCEEDS: Dan Khau Tang, 47, of Thornton, was sentenced yesterday to serve 18 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for money laundering illegal marijuana proceeds. The sentence was pronounced by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Wiley Y. Daniel. Chief Judge Daniel also ordered that Tang forfeit nearly $1 million. Tang, who is free on bond, was ordered to report to a facility designated by the Bureau of Prisons on or before Aug. 16. Tang was charged by Information on June 18, 2009. He pled guilty on Nov. 20, 2009. According to the Information and the subsequent plea agreement, between Jan. 1, 2007, and Feb. 16, 2008, Tang and others intentionally conspired to conduct a series of financial transactions involving the proceeds from the cultivation and distribution of marijuana. The Information states that Tang knew that the financial transactions were designed to conceal and disguise the proceeds of the illegal activity.

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