Good Morning, Colorado, you’re listening to the Daily Sun-Up with the Colorado Sun. It’s Friday July 23rd.

 

Today - A group of judges and attorneys are working to change Colorado's legal standard that has made it easy for attorneys to exclude people of color from serving on juries. 

 

We’d also like to take a moment to thank our sponsors at SunShare. SunShare is building a new community solar garden and YOU can participate! Your community solar subscription adds solar to the energy mix, and your utility buys that energy directly from you! So join the thousands of other Coloradans who share your commitment to clean energy. Space is limited and filling quickly, so make sure to visit us at mysunshare.com

 

But before we begin, let’s go back in time with some Colorado history adapted from historian Derek R Everett’s book “Colorado Day by Day”:

 

Today, we take you back to July 23rd, 1951 when Governor Dan Thornton requested that a state board ban the flogging of inmates at the penitentiary in Cañon City. This followed controversies that swirled about warden Roy Best. After years of his brutal discipline a grand jury indicted him and eight officers for violating the civil rights of inmates. This was a first in American history.

 

Now, our feature story.

 

A group of judges and attorneys on the Rules of Criminal Procedure Committee sent a proposal to the Colorado Supreme Court on ways to change the state’s inadequate, decades-old legal standard that has made it easy for attorneys to exclude people of color, especially African Americans, from serving on juries. The proposal was modeled after one that recently passed in Washington and that other states are looking to adapt. But the court said no. Colorado Sun’s social editor Danika Worthington talks with reporter Thy Vo about the court’s decision.

 

CLIP

 

To read more of Thy’s reporting on removing discrimination from jury selection, go to coloradosun.com. 

 

And Before we go, here are a few stories that you should know about today:

 

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said she supports the Biden administration’s pick to lead the Bureau of Land Management despite growing opposition from U.S. Senate Republicans. The secretary was in Colorado Thursday to visit the BLM’s headquarters in Grand Junction as she decides whether to keep it there. The nominee to lead the agency, Tracy Stone-Manning, has been linked to a 1989 environmental sabotage case in which she wrote a letter to the U.S. Forest Services warning that trees slated for logging in Idaho had been “spiked” with pieces of metal, which is potentially dangerous to loggers. Haaland did not address the incident, but said Stone-Manning has “built a lot of credibility” over the past years. If approved, Stone-Manning would lead the agency and its role in deciding whether to allow new oil and gas drilling on federal lands. 

 

Unvaccinated staff are at the center of a federal investigation into rising COVID-19 infections and deaths in Grand Junction nursing homes. The CDC investigated outbreaks of the delta variant in elder care facilities in Mesa County in May and June. At one location, 42 percent of the staff were still not fully vaccinated compared to only about 8 percent of residents. The vast majority of fully vaccinated people who become infected with the delta variant suffer only mild symptoms. But health experts say older adults may not fully respond to the vaccine, which puts them at risk when exposed to a person infected with the highly contagious delta variant.

 

Multiple years after asking for how much it would cost to leave Tri-State Generation, rural electric cooperatives finally received an estimate — but only after federal regulators got involved. One co-op received a price tag of $449 million. Another, $1.5 billion. Co-ops called the costs “outrageous” and said they create barriers to leaving. At least 17 of the 43 members of Tri-State are interested in leave the association, in part because of its long-time dependence on power generated using coal.

 

For more information on all of these stories, visit our website, www.coloradosun.com. And don’t forget to tune in again tomorrow for a special holiday episode. Now, a quick message from our editor.

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Good Morning, Colorado, you&rsquo;re listening to the Daily Sun-Up with the Colorado Sun. It&rsquo;s Friday July 23rd.
&nbsp;
Today - A group of judges and attorneys are working to change Colorado's legal standard that has made it easy for attorneys to exclude people of color from serving on juries.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
We&rsquo;d also like to take a moment to thank our sponsors at SunShare. SunShare is building a new community solar garden and YOU can participate! Your community solar subscription adds solar to the energy mix, and your utility buys that energy directly from you! So join the thousands of other Coloradans who share your commitment to clean energy. Space is limited and filling quickly, so make sure to visit us at mysunshare.com
&nbsp;
But before we begin, let&rsquo;s go back in time with some Colorado history adapted from historian Derek R Everett&rsquo;s book &ldquo;Colorado Day by Day&rdquo;:
&nbsp;
Today, we take you back to July 23rd, 1951 when Governor Dan Thornton requested that a state board ban the flogging of inmates at the penitentiary in Ca&ntilde;on City. This followed controversies that swirled about warden Roy Best. After years of his brutal discipline a grand jury indicted him and eight officers for violating the civil rights of inmates. This was a first in American history.
&nbsp;
Now, our feature story.
&nbsp;
A group of judges and attorneys on the Rules of Criminal Procedure Committee sent a proposal to the Colorado Supreme Court on ways to change the state&rsquo;s inadequate, decades-old legal standard that has made it easy for attorneys to exclude people of color, especially African Americans, from serving on juries. The proposal was modeled after one that recently passed in Washington and that other states are looking to adapt. But the court said no. Colorado Sun&rsquo;s social editor Danika Worthington talks with reporter Thy Vo about the court&rsquo;s decision.
&nbsp;
CLIP
&nbsp;
To read more of Thy&rsquo;s reporting on removing discrimination from jury selection, go to coloradosun.com.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
And Before we go, here are a few stories that you should know about today:
&nbsp;
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said she supports the Biden administration&rsquo;s pick to lead the Bureau of Land Management despite growing opposition from U.S. Senate Republicans. The secretary was in Colorado Thursday to visit the BLM&rsquo;s headquarters in Grand Junction as she decides whether to keep it there. The nominee to lead the agency, Tracy Stone-Manning, has been linked to a 1989 environmental sabotage case in which she wrote a letter to the U.S. Forest Services warning that trees slated for logging in Idaho had been &ldquo;spiked&rdquo; with pieces of metal, which is potentially dangerous to loggers. Haaland did not address the incident, but said Stone-Manning has &ldquo;built a lot of credibility&rdquo; over the past years. If approved, Stone-Manning would lead the agency and its role in deciding whether to allow new oil and gas drilling on federal lands.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Unvaccinated staff are at the center of a federal investigation into rising COVID-19 infections and deaths in Grand Junction nursing homes. The CDC investigated outbreaks of the delta variant in elder care facilities in Mesa County in May and June. At one location, 42 percent of the staff were still not fully vaccinated compared to only about 8 percent of residents. The vast majority of fully vaccinated people who become infected with the delta variant suffer only mild symptoms. But health experts say older adults may not fully respond to the vaccine, which puts them at risk when exposed to a person infected with the highly contagious delta variant.
&nbsp;
Multiple years after asking for how much it would cost to leave Tri-State Generation, rural electric cooperatives finally received an estimate &mdash; but only after federal regulators got involved. One co-op received a price tag of $449 million. Another, $1.5 billion. Co-ops called the costs &ldquo;outrageous&rdquo; and said they create barriers to leaving. At least 17 of the 43 members of Tri-State are interested in leave the association, in part because of its long-time dependence on power generated using coal.
&nbsp;
For more information on all of these stories, visit our website, www.coloradosun.com. And don&rsquo;t forget to tune in again tomorrow for a special holiday episode. Now, a quick message from our editor.
&nbsp;See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Welcome to The Colorado Sun's daily podcast, The Daily Sun-Up. Every day we’re sharing an in-depth look at one of our top stories, followed by a quick summary of important things happening in our state. For more visit us at https://coloradosun.com/.

The Daily Sun-Up

Welcome to The Colorado Sun's daily podcast, The Daily Sun-Up. Every day we’re sharing an in-depth look at one of our top stories, followed by a quick summary of important things happening in our state. For more visit us at https://coloradosun.com/.

Our intro music is by Matt Skellenger Group: https://mattskellenger.bandcamp.com/album/subspace-transmission 

Welcome to The Colorado Sun's daily podcast, The Daily Sun-Up. Every day we&rsquo;re sharing an in-depth look at one of our top stories, followed by a quick summary of important things happening in our state. For more visit us at <a href="https://coloradosun.com/">https://coloradosun.com/</a>.
Our intro music is by Matt Skellenger Group: <a href="https://mattskellenger.bandcamp.com/album/subspace-transmission">https://mattskellenger.bandcamp.com/album/subspace-transmission</a>&nbsp;

Colorado Sun Daily Sun-Up: Changing a legal standard that enables attorneys to exclude people of color from juries in Colorado; Warden indicted for violating civil rights of inmates