Valerie Richardson

Hawaii is no paradise for Abercrombie

Hawaii's Neil Abercrombie is finding trouble in paradise as he makes the rocky transition from longtime congressman to first-time governor.

October 11, 2011

Medical-pot users fuming over ATF’s gun-sale ban

You can have your gun, or you can have your medical marijuana. But the Obama administration now says you can't have both.

October 6, 2011

Colorado town displeased with tainted cantaloupes using its name

The residents of Rocky Ford, Colo., want to make one thing clear: The "Rocky Ford Cantaloupe" that touched off a national listeria outbreak, the deadliest U.S. food-borne outbreak in a decade, wasn't grown in Rocky Ford.

October 4, 2011

Colorado kids dub Obama a ‘cool’ president

Julissa Belmontes and her friends at Abraham Lincoln High School here all used the same word to describe President Obama: cool.

September 27, 2011

GOP holding winning hand in Nevada?

While the Republicans' surprising win in New York's 9th Congressional District race drew most of the attention, it was the GOP's second victory on Sept. 13 that could have even bigger ramifications for President Obama's re-election bid.

September 26, 2011

Giffords likely to pass on Senate race as other Dems move

Don Bivens became the first Democrat to enter the 2012 Arizona Senate race Monday, a move that may indicate that the waiting period for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is over.

September 26, 2011

Casinos support legalized online poker

The nation's largest casino trade group is going all in to legalize online poker, calling Tuesday for a proposed regulatory framework even as the Justice Department continued its crackdown on offshore gambling websites.

September 20, 2011

Judge unseals tapes of trial about vote on gay marriage

A federal judge Monday ordered the unsealing of the video recordings in the Proposition 8 trial, handing gay-rights supporters another legal victory in their quest to legalize same-sex marriage in California.

September 19, 2011

New Mexico Democrats, governor clash over licenses for illegals

New Mexico lawmakers are caught in a jam over whether to issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants and, like a trip to the motor vehicle department, this fight could take awhile.

September 18, 2011

Online singles shun politics of dating

Singles searching to connect with soul mates via the Internet are more likely to admit that they are overweight on their online dating profiles than to acknowledge that they are active Republicans or Democrats, according to an extensive academic survey.

September 13, 2011

Colorado governor pushes his luck on funding for schools

Sometimes you're good, sometimes you're lucky, and if you're Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, sometimes you're probably a little of both.

September 7, 2011

A lonely Colo. legislator crusades to raise taxes

Any pol will tell you that there's no good time to try to sell a tax increase to voters, and that a period of deep economic uncertainty is even worse — unless that pol is Colorado state Sen. Rollie Heath, who insists there's no time like the present.

September 7, 2011

In Arizona, a tentative return to politics as Giffords recovers

The idea of challenging Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords for her congressional seat was once unthinkable, but a few potential candidates are starting to test the political waters.

August 31, 2011

California judge plans to rule on whether to unseal Prop 8 videotape

A federal judge said Monday he would decide soon on whether to unseal videotape recordings from the 2010 trial on Proposition 8, California's voter-approved initiative affirming one man, one woman marriage.

August 29, 2011

Fighting Sioux nickname focus of talks, lawsuit

Make room for one more chapter in the saga of the Fighting Sioux, better known as the nickname that would not die.

August 11, 2011

School, state officials to meet with NCAA over fate of ‘Fighting Sioux’

Make room for one more chapter in the saga of the Fighting Sioux, better known as the nickname that would not die.

August 11, 2011

Movement to name peak for Denver is Rocky Mountain low for opponents

Not everyone is "Rocky Mountain high" on the movement to name a Colorado mountain peak after the late singer John Denver.

August 8, 2011

Denver’s ‘Rocky Mountain High’ bid runs into snags

A drive to name a Colorado mountain peak after the late singer John Denver sounds like a natural, but not everyone is high on the idea.

August 8, 2011

Cain comes on strong out West

Herman Cain showed why he is outperforming more established candidates for the Republican presidential Sunday on his way to topping the field in the straw poll of the Western Conservative Summit in Denver.

July 31, 2011

Perry slams Obama administration at conservative summit

Texas Gov. Rick Perry urged conservatives Friday to "push more liberals into the private sector" in the 2012 election — including the president — but the oft-mentioned potential presidential candidate declined to say whether he had decided to enter the race himself.

July 29, 2011