Legal Battles Over Pot Are Over For Now, Cesar Chavez In Colorado, Tax Inversions, ‘Feed Zone Table’ Recipes
The Supreme Court handed Colorado a victory last week when it refused to hear a lawsuit from Oklahoma and Nebraska over legal marijuana. We have an update on that and other suits triggered by Colorado’s pot laws, with Sam Kamin, who teaches criminal and constitutional law at the University of Denver. Then, to mark the birthday of labor activist Cesar Chavez, we hear about his time in Colorado fighting for farm workers from Metro State’s Ramon del Castillo. Also, a big Colorado company, IHS, is moving its headquarters to London and in the process will save hundreds of millions of dollars in corporate taxes. We’ll dive into “inversions” with a Washington Post reporter. And, we talk to a Denver curry chef who wants to fuel your workouts.
Breakthroughs In Schizophrenia Research, Denver Iranian-Americans Celebrate Noruz, Feedback On The State Of Medicine
Today, a friendship forged because of schizophrenia. Roberta Payne, of Denver, has sought to understand her disease for decades, ever since she thought aliens from outer space were inhabiting her thoughts. Dr. Robert Freedman, head of psychiatry at CU-Denver, has helped her gain more understanding. We’ll talk to them about recent breakthroughs in schizophrenia research. Then, Happy New Year to you, if you celebrate the Persian holiday of Noruz. We’ll hear about the holiday’s traditions and food from an Iranian-American living in Denver. And, we hear your feedback today in our Loud and Clear segment. Our interview about the state of medicine drew lots of comments.
Doctor Calls For The ‘Renewal’ Of Medicine, Satellites Made By Kids, And Needle-less Knitting With Denver’s Anne Weil
When physicians look at patients, too often they see body parts and money, according to Dr. Abraham Nussbaum, of Denver Health. In a new book he calls for a renewal of medicine; he wouldn’t recommend the profession to young people right now. Then, tiny satellites are aboard the International Space Station — ones even kids can, and did, build. And Denver craft blogger and Martha Stewart contributor Anne Weil talks about knitting without needles, and he first book.
Coloradans With Roots In Cuba Reflect On Obama’s Visit; Women Legislators Featured In New Documentary
Before this morning’s attacks in Brussels, the big international news was President Obama’s visit to Cuba. We speak with Colorado U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, who’s traveling with the president, and with some Cuban-Americans who want to make life better on the island. Then, Colorado’s a leader when it comes to electing women to political office — women make up a bigger proportion of our legislature than any other state. But a new documentary shows that it’s not always easy for them when they get there. Pat Schroeder, the first woman elected to Congress from Colorado, remembers the committee chairman who considered her a half-person.
A ‘Fugly’ Denver Construction Boom? And, A CSU Alum’s Bagpipes In Space
Is good design suffering in Denver’s construction boom? We’ll ask a developer and an architect who thinks this is a great city, with some bad buildings — maybe even a “plywood city” that won’t stand the test of time, let alone aesthetics. Then, astronaut Kjall Lindgren is back from space, where he could be quite clumsy.”Eating can be a really big mess if you’re not careful, and so, you know trail mix will go everywhere,” he says. And then there’s the challenge of playing bagpipes.
What It’s Like To Be Muslim In Colorado, An Irish Music Obsession Gets Serious, How Fraud May Delay Tax Returns
The terrorist attacks last year in Paris and the mass shootings in San Bernadino, Calif. led to an immediate rise in anti-Muslin threats and hate crimes. Muslims have also been singled out in the presidential campaign — with Republican candidate Donald Trump’s call to ban Muslims from entering the US. We asked Colorado Muslims to tell us what they want others to know about them. Three of them joined us in the studio: One attended school in Saudi Arabia, another is a Pakistani-American who grew up in Wyoming, and a third is a former president of The Colorado Muslim Society. Then, in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, we hear from a Denver Musician and how his obsession with Irish folk music has become more than a hobby. And, we learn how tax return fraud might keep you from getting your refund checks in a timely matter.
Publicly Financing Congressional Campaigns, County Commissioners Ditch GOP, Dangers For Environmentalists, County Health Rankings
Democratic U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, of Denver, thinks people will be so sickened by the money spent this election that they’ll support public financing of congressional campaigns. She has signed onto a plan that she says will take away the influence of the largest donors. Then, why three prominent Republicans in central Colorado defected from the GOP. Also, in some countries being an environmentalist is risky business, according to a Boulder group still reeling from the death of Honduran activist Berta Caceres. And, we have a county-by-county breakdown of people’s health.
Legislature At Half Time, Women’s Hall Of Fame, Colorado At SXSW
At the state Capitol, a lot is in limbo. Lawmakers are holding off on tackling some of the biggest issues because a giant question mark looms: How much money the state can spend. Halfway through the session, we talk to two Capitol reporters about what’s in store. Then, the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame inducts 10 new members this week. We’ll meet one of them; she has spent her career fighting child abuse. Plus, bands that want to make a splash in the music industry flock each year to SXSW in Austin, Texas. This year, the State of Colorado isn’t funding a showcase there to show off its homegrown talent. But that doesn’t mean Colorado acts aren’t down there.
Spotlight On Superdelegates, Construction Booms, Sunshine Week, Crane Festival
Powerful Democrats known as superdelegates are in the Colorado spotlight because even though Sen. Bernie Sanders won this state’s caucuses, he could end up tied with Hillary Clinton when it comes to Colorado delegates at the Democratic National Convention this summer. We talk to Elaine Kamarck about that. She wrote the book “Primary Politics: Everything You Need to Know about How America Nominates Its Presidential Candidates.”
Then, we hear feedback on our interview with Holocaust survivor Walter Plywaski. Ben Markus reports as Colorado construction booms, there’s no sign the state’s in a bubble. As we mark Sunshine Week, the Independence Institute’s Todd Shepherd questions whether the state does enough to archive the email of public officials. And we visit the crane migration near Monte Vista in the San Luis Valley.
Tourists Flock To Monte Vista (And So Do The Cranes)
The 33rd Monte Vista Crane Festival took place over the weekend in the San Luis Valley.
Walter Plywaski’s Journey From Poland To Auschwitz To Boulder
Today, the story of Holocaust survivor Walter Plywaski. He’s 86 years old and lives in Boulder — now. His happy childhood in Poland was turned upside down the day his father’s friends turned on the family and ordered them into a ghetto: “Here we were in the stinkiest, oldest, rottenest, barbed-wire surrounded environment with not enough food, not enough education, not enough of anything.” Then, it was onto the camps. Plywaski made it out Auschwitz and eventually made it to the U.S. by stowing away on a ship. He tells us his story.
Following The ISIS Money Trail, Denver Clears Homeless Camps, Congressmen Question The Need For Selective Service, A Play About Hispanic Veterans
Terrorists have to find a way to pay the bills, and a Colorado-based company tracks how ISIS gets and spends its money — even down to the salaries of fighters. Also, Denver clears a homeless camp it says threatened people’s health and safety. And, now that combat roles are open to women, Congress is weighing whether they should have to register with the Selective Service as men do. But two Colorado congressmen say want to do away with selective service entirely. And, we go inside a play about three generations of Hispanic military veterans.
Legal Marijuana ‘Narconomics’ In Colorado, Young Farmers Make A Go Of It, Aurora’s Greg Bird On His Yankees Ups And Downs
The black market for marijuana has shrunk considerably in Colorado since the drug became legal here. But less so in Washington State, where recreational sales are also legal. So what’s the difference? We’ll talk with an editor at The Economist who’s dug into “narconomics.” Then, the challenges of being a young farmer in the West. We’ll hear from one who’s making a go of it. And, it’s been a real rollercoaster ride for Yankees first baseman Greg Bird, who went to high school in Aurora. He talks about the highs of being called a “phenomenon” while he substituted in the majors, and the lows of an injury and being sent back to the minors.
Undocumented Immigrant Drivers Licenses, Gender Pay Equity At CSU, Taking On TABOR, Afghan Climbers
Colorado created drivers licenses for immigrants living in the country illegally several years ago. But the issue is hardly settled, with Republicans at the state Capitol calling it backdoor amnesty and limiting the program. We’ll debate its future. Then, a report last spring showed that male full professors at Colorado State University made 16 percent more than their female counterparts. While investigating this issue, Nick Coltrain of the Coloradoan in Fort Collins also raised questions about above-average raises for administrators.
Caucus Night Lessons, Overtaxed Immigration Court, Thrift Store Job Training, Tiny Desk Competitors
After voters vented on the CPR News Facebook page about long lines and other frustrations Tuesday night, we spoke with the leader of the Democratic Party in Colorado, Rick Palacio about what happened. He says Colorado may have outgrown presidential caucuses, and he will continue to push for a primary. Then, immigrants in Colorado can expect to wait 933 days for a hearing at Denver’s immigration court. Why? And, what does it mean for people whose cases may not be heard for years. Also, a new thrift store has opened in Denver, staffed by teens who used to be homeless. Finally, we hear about Colorado bands in NPR’s Tiny Desk Competition, and an encore piece about a local boy’s lemonade stand business.
Coloradans Take Up Challenge To Beat Cancer, Documenting ‘The Cannabist,’ Architectural Salvage Closes Its Doors
President Obama gave Americans a mission in his final State of the Union address: Find a cure for cancer. It got us wondering about the scientists in Colorado already at work on exactly that, and their outlook. Then, the Denver Post’s Ricardo Baca, editor of “The Cannibist,” is the subject of a new documentary about the first year of legal recreational marijuana in Colorado. And, when owners of old homes needed to replace old fixtures, they turned to “Architectural Salvage” in Denver. After almost 30 years, it’s going out of business. We talk to the owners.
