Media ask judge to hold DPS in contempt, insurers sue Xcel over Marshall fire | WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Today is July 12, 2023 and here's what you need to know:

Denver Public Schools has filed a motion to prevent the release of an executive session audio in which the board of education discussed reversing its policy prohibiting police on campus while the district's appeal plays out.

DPS was required to release the audio Tuesday.

"This case is about a press coalition's insistence on discovering the private discussions of a local school board held in the immediate wake of a school shooting," the district argued in its filing Tuesday.

In response, attorneys for the media coalition seeking the audio recording filed a motion for contempt, arguing that the district was "keenly aware" the court provided DPS 14 days to obtain a stay prior to the order taking effect.

As of noon Tuesday, the Colorado Court of Appeals had not yet stayed the court's ruling.

Nearly 200 insurance companies filed a lawsuit alleging negligent maintenance of Xcel Energy power lines along Highway 93 south of Boulder which may have caused the Marshall fire, the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history.

More than 1,000 homes and businesses were destroyed and two people were killed.

The lawsuit claims Xcel's power line south of Boulder near the intersection of Highway 93 and Marshal Road "was old and again, unsafe, and/or vulnerable to weather and environmental conditions," and that Xcel was negligent for not shutting down the line prior to the onset of the storm.

After the disastrous Camp fire in Paradise, Calif. in 2018 that killed 82 people, PG&E started shutting off power when high winds are predicted, leading to widespread blackouts. The fire started when a hanger on a nearly 100-year-old high-voltage tower failed, allowing the line to spark against the tower, according to reports. The Camp fire resulted in PG&E filing for bankruptcy and settling with fire victims and others for more than $25 billion.

Dozens of civic, political and private sector leaders from throughout Colorado met online Tuesday to kick off a months-long conversation designed to produce a long-term game plan for growth in a state that's used to shouting about the topic.

The organizers of the ambitious initiative, dubbed the Colorado Project, said they hope the endeavor will also demonstrate that advocates representing a range of competing interests can reach the kind of consensus that seems elusive in the current, polarizing climate.

Participants said the end result — expected by the end of the year or early next year — will lay out a "sustainable and inclusive" plan for growth, addressing key aspects, from water and energy needs to workforce and housing challenges.

Sponsored by the University of Denver's Korbel School of International Studies and its Scrivner Institute of Public Policy, organizers said they envision the program as an annual project involving the university's students to help sort out longstanding challenges confronting the state. Participants plan to meet regularly — in person, starting with a session this week in Buena Vista, and remotely.

The Air Force is suspending some bonuses and putting some base reassignments on hold, after an Alabama lawmaker blocked a routine request from the Department of Defense to reallocate funds.

U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper called out U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, for blocking a routine request for reallocation of funds across the Department of Defense to force a decision on the permanent home for Space Command. The delay that has already caused problems for the Air Force is "dangerous and harmful," Hickenlooper said.

Alabama lawmaker tries to push Air Force on Space Command decision

"The Alabama delegation is holding our military service members hostage. They are risking our national security to get what they want," Hickenlooper said, in a statement. "This is not how our nation should make basing decisions. Period. It is, however, how you penalize our troops for the sake of narrow political interests."

Space Command has been at the center of a political fight for about two years since President Donald Trump announced it would move from Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Ala., in January 2021. Since then, Colorado lawmakers have advocated for retaining Space Command in Colorado Springs, where many other Space Force guardians work and would remain if Space Command moved.

Physicians are allowed to find an injured worker suffers from no permanent disability without having to examine them in person, the state's second-highest court ruled last month.

A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals emphasized a doctor's conclusion about a patient's impairment, based solely on paperwork, is "not the preferred way" to do things. Nonetheless, Colorado law does not require the doctor to physically examine the patient before making their findings.

"Such a policy decision rests with the General Assembly," wrote Judge Timothy J. Schutz in the panel's June 29 opinion.

The question arose after the COVID-19 pandemic rendered a physician unable to travel to Durango to evaluate a bus driver who was injured on the job. Keith Rosten slipped on an icy parking lot in January 2020 and hit his head. He received treatment for his injuries through Centura.

Later that year, Rosten reached his maximum level of improvement and was set to receive a physician's permanent disability rating. Shortly afterward, Rosten's physician left Centura. The doctor who succeeded him, Thomas Centi, was unable to travel to Durango because Centura's pandemic policy prohibited the trip. At the time, there was no ability for a virtual visit, either.

Instead, Centi reviewed Rosten's medical records and concluded Rosten suffered from no permanent impairment from his work injuries.