Category: Weird Grand Junction Stuff

Consumer advocacy, Corporations, Ethics, Local scut, Red Rock dealerships, Scams, Weird Grand Junction Stuff

KREX-TV broadcasts 5 minute news segment about Red Rock forgeries

by Anne Landman • January 26, 2023 • 3 Comments

KREX-TV last night ran a 5 minute news segment about Red Rock dealerships, which are currently under investigation by the state for problems including forgeries of customers’ signatures on legal/financial documents like contracts, Powers of Attorney, title and loan documents, and the addition of thousands of dollars worth of extras to customers’ contracts without their knowing, like extended warranties and special coatings.

Below is the full statement of a former title clerk who worked at Red Rock. This person asked to remain anonymous. This statement was included in the KREX news segment, but it merits fuller attention because of its gravity. This person’s employment at the dealership has been verified, and they had experience with the Mesa County Department of Motor Vehicles before going to work for Red Rock:

Why does Red Rock go to such lengths to push “Portfolio” extended warranties?

by Anne Landman • January 19, 2023 • 6 Comments

A common theme running through customer complaints about Red Rock dealerships is that they discovered thousands of dollars in extended warranties added to their contracts without the dealership telling them about it, and they spotted these extra charges only after their signatures had been affixed to their contracts electronically. Customers repeatedly say they did not want these warranties and never agreed to them, only to find they had been added to their contracts anyway when they finally saw their paperwork. Once saddled with them, the customers had to go through the ordeal of trying to cancel them quickly, because the warranties are only fully refundable within 60 days after purchase.

Former G.J. Chamber of Commerce CEO Diane Schwenke to run for G.J. City Council

by Anne Landman • January 1, 2023 • 24 Comments

Longtime Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce President Diane Schwenke

The former longtime CEO of the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce, Diane Schwenke, has announced she will be running for the at-large seat on Grand Junction City Council in 2023.

Yes, THAT Diane Schwenke.

The one who endorsed convicted felony embezzler Steve King for state Senate in 2012.

The one who endorsed Ray Scott as a replacement for convicted felon Steve King. In 2018, Scott double-billed both his legislative and campaign expense accounts for over $1,000 in Uber rides, effectively doubling his personal reimbursements. He was also sued by the ACLU for blocking constituents from his official social media accounts, costing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars.

The same Diane Schwenke who endorsed Laura Bradford for Colorado House of Representatives in 2012. Bradford was pulled over by Denver police for driving under the influence of alcohol during her first and only term in the House. She quit after that term.

The same Diane Schwenke who endorsed Rose Pugliese for County Commissioner. Pugliese worked to kill the Riverfront Trail System by gutting all funding for it, circulated a petition to force D-51 teachers to stop teaching kids about climate change, and also stumped for the disastrous Tina Peters to be elected County Clerk.

An incredible Red Rock dealership story from a 21 year old

by Anne Landman • December 29, 2022 • 3 Comments

Got a crazy Red Rock dealership ripoff story? Send it to anne@annelandmanblog.com. If we use it, we’ll keep you anonymous if you prefer.

I got an email yesterday from yet another Red Rock Hyundai customer who had a story that was so incredible, I had to share it. It includes yet another charge of forgery, as well as the addition of thousands of dollars in extras to the contract without the customer’s knowledge or approval. I spoke to this person on the phone to verify that they were a real person, get more details about their story and clarify some of the terms they used in the email.

The person who wrote this is 21 years old and came from out of town to purchase the vehicle. The name is redacted to keep the sender anonymous, upon their request:

Trump makes the crazy claim that he can declassify documents “even by thinking about it.” Republican Mesa County commissioner candidate Bobbie Daniel continues to support Trump.

by Anne Landman • September 23, 2022 • 3 Comments

Republican commissioner candidate Bobbie Daniel speaking at a Trump rally in Grand Junction on 10/18/2016. She remains a Trump supporter despite his insurrection, his crazy claims about being able to declassify documents with his mind, his alleged theft of highly sensitive, top secret government documents, his ripping off of charities, fleecing his supporters for money, and many other alleged crimes.

In a TV interview this week with Fox News host Sean Hannity, former president Donald Trump claimed he can declassify any top secret government document he wants at will, “even by thinking about it.”

It is, of course a completely loony claim, and most Americans can recognize it as such.

Trump was referring to the hundreds of classified and top-secret, government documents he had hidden in his Florida home, that the FBI seized on August 8 while executing a duly authorized search warrant aimed at retrieving them. Unauthorized possession of government documents is a crime.

Bobbie Daniel recently retweeted this photo claiming Biden is not the legitimate U.S. President. Daniel remains a strong Trump supporter despite his attempted coup against the U.S. government on January 6, 2021, and his continuous lies about elections aimed at undermining American democracy

On January 6, 2021, Donald Trump willfully encouraged insurrection, incited violence against the United States and lied to the American public by claiming the November, 2020 election was “rigged.”

He’s been able to convince many Mesa County citizens to believe this lie. Among them are Bobbie Daniel’s friend, crazy Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who now stands accused of committing serious election tampering crimes while trying to prove Trumps false claims about elections are true.

Just how much are taxpayers paying Tina Peters and Belinda Knisely not to do their jobs?

by Anne Landman • April 27, 2022 • 23 Comments

Tina Peters

Everyone wants to know just how much Mesa County taxpayers are shelling out in salary and benefits to indicted Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters and Deputy Clerk Belinda Knisely for not doing their jobs while they obey conditions of their bond to stay away from their workplace and co-workers. During all this time of not going to work, they have continued to collect paychecks.

Thanks to the County, we’ve got the figures.

Between August 10, 2021 and April 22, 2022, Knisely collected a total of $71,524.14 in salary and benefits including health and disability insurance, and Tina collected a total of $83,958.88 for a grand total paid to the pair since August 10, 2021 of $155,483.02.

Belinda Knisely

The two are indicted on multiple felony charges related to election tampering.

Election deniers, Elections, Embarrassing Republicans, Extremism, Tina Peters, Weird Grand Junction Stuff

What happens if Tina Peters gets elected, convicted and sentenced to prison?

by Anne Landman • April 18, 2022 • 55 Comments

Kyle Clark of 9News in Denver answers the question of what happens if Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who is currently under indictment for ten felonies related to election tampering, gets elected as Secretary of State AND gets convicted of the crimes she’s been charged with?

State law says a person can run for office while under indictment and can even serve in office after being convicted, but state law also says a person cannot serve from prison.

If Peters is elected Secretary of State in November and is convicted of her alleged crimes and sentenced to prison, the the governor can appoint someone to fill her vacancy.

Governor Polis is up for re-election in November.

Activism, Coronavirus pandemic, Extremism, Fake patriotism, Health, Public health, Weird Grand Junction Stuff

StopTheMandateGJ kicked off Facebook, starts new page, tries to evade another shutdown by using code words

by Anne Landman • March 22, 2022 • 2 Comments

The anti-vaccine group StopTheMandateGJ had its Facebook page shut down January 7th for violating Facebook’s Community standards after Facebook started cracking down on “vaccine misinformation superspreaders” last fall. The group was organized by local chiropractors Greg Haitz and Daniel Vaden of the Rimrock Wellness Center at 12th and Patterson Road, and for months spearheaded protests outside hospitals, getting groups of people to wave signs against getting vaccinated against Covid-19.

Greg Haitz

The group is trying to get re-established on Facebook again, though, and this time the page administrator tells users how to use code for words like “vaccine” and “jab” to avoid getting shut down again. The admins also tell users how to link to articles and web pages containing misinformation without the links being detected by Facebook:

7th Street Deli saved by Tim Foster

by Anne Landman • February 2, 2022 • 6 Comments

The 7th Street Deli has been at the same location on 7th Street and Bookcliff for 15 years

The 7th-Street Deli has been saved!

The deli was threatened with eviction in mid-January for non-payment of back rent. The owner had suffered a prolonged 50% loss of business due to back-to-back renovation projects that took place on 7th Street in 2019 and 2020, and then got hit with the no-indoor dining order in 2020 from Covid. Deli owner Debbie Allen had made it through all those obstacles and was finally getting out of her debt when the property owner slapped her with an eviction notice and a lawsuit for tens of thousands in back rent. The deli started a GoFundMe account and donations poured in. By the end of January they had raised about $8,000, but it wasn’t enough to pay off all the back rent.

On internet TV show, Steve Bannon pledges less than a cent and a half to Tina Peters’ legal defense fund

by Anne Landman • February 1, 2022 • 1 Comment

Tina on Steve Bannon’s internet TV show “War Room” on Dec. 31, 2021

On December 31, 2021, Steve Bannon lionized Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters on his internet TV show “Bannon’s War Room,” in an interview titled “The Deplorables-Gold Star Mom Tina Peters Who Sounded The Alarm On Election Fraud.”

Bannon let Peters spew the usual string of rants we’re all familiar with by now: how terribly she’s been harassed, how “they’re attacking regular Americans,” how they “fired her elections manager with no due process, nothing” and how they so horribly removed her chief deputy in August on “trumped-up charges.”

A minute and a half into the 7-minute interview, Bannon starts trying to play Tina off with increasingly loud bagpipe music, he lets her mechanically drone one for another minute or so. Tina continues… “They booked my chief deputy on a class 4 felony just for coming to work” and “they had a battering ram in the driveway” that she now admits “they didn’t use.”

Bannon cuts her off roughly 30 seconds later to go for a break.

Another Rimrock Wellness Center chiropractor dispenses dangerous medical disinformation

by Anne Landman • January 28, 2022 • 13 Comments

Charles Daniel Vaden

For many people, chiropractors are de facto primary health care providers, particularly in medically underserved rural areas like the western slope. Many people find it easier and more affordable to see a chiropractor than an M.D., and tend see their chiropractors far more often than they do M.D.s., generating familiarity and a relationship of trust with these health professionals. This puts chiropractors in a unique position to deliver vital public health information to a good portion of the community. They could, for example, be educating people about positive health behaviors, informing them about what’s scientifically proven to keep people safe from contracting Covid-19, telling people what works best to keep them of the hospital if they get Covid-19, and helping them know when to seek further medical care.

But instead of using their valuable position to benefit public health, it turns out many Grand Junction chiropractors are dispensing egregiously false medical information about vaccines and how to prevent Covid-19. And these chiropractors aren’t just flushing their value as a community public health asset down the toilet. They are lying to the people who support them financially and trust them the most, misleading people in very dangerous ways and often doing it for profit.

“Mesa County Concerned Citizen” fraudulently promotes $182 ripoff box of common OTC items as an “early and effective treatment of COVID-19”

by Anne Landman • January 9, 2022 • 7 Comments

Screen-shot from a January 6, 2022 email sent out by Mesa County Concerned Citizen in which the group links to this box of every day drug store items selling online that claims to be an “early and effective treatment for Covid-19.” The box sells for $160.00 plus $20 shipping and $12.37 tax, for a total of $182.36 — all for about $60 worth of over-the-counter items.

In its January 3, 2022 email blast, the local extreme right wing group “Mesa County Concerned Citizen” included a plug for “The Defense Box,” an item selling online that contains about $60 worth of common over-the counter items like Pepcid, Listerine, Vitamin C and baby aspirin, that costs $182.36, including shipping and tax.

The group says the items are an “early and effective treatment option” for Covid-19.

None of the items in the box are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment, prevention, mitigation or cure of Covid-19.

Redlands chiropractor spreads dangerous medical misinformation amid pandemic

by Anne Landman • January 8, 2022 • 6 Comments

In a video on his business web page under the heading “Covid Treatments,” Grand Junction chiropractor Ronald Engler of the Redlands Chiropractic and Wellness Center administers horse deworming medication to himself and encourages others to do the same to themselves, in violation of FDA guidance on use of the drug.

NOTE: This video has been banned on YouTube previously for posing a serious risk of egregious harm. It was uploaded again here for purposes of criticism in this article. We’ll see if it lasts.

————

While some Grand Junction chiropractors are profiting from the pandemic by marketing proprietary dietary supplements that they falsely infer will prevent or treat Covid-19, others are using their credibility as health care providers to openly promote dangerous medical misinformation to the public.

One of these is Ronald W. Engler of the Redlands Chiropractic and Wellness Center.

Cindy Ficklin ends her run for HD-55

by Anne Landman • December 26, 2021 • 26 Comments

————————————————————————–Local realtor and right wing extremist Cindy Ficklin posted on her Facebook page Sunday, 12/26/21, that she was withdrawing from the race for the House District 55 seat. She filed to run on 10/18/21. Her candidacy lasted only about two months.

Ficklin

Far right wing extremist Cindy Ficklin announced on Sunday, 12/26, that she has withdrawn her candidacy for the Colorado House District 55 seat.

Ficklin made the announcement in one of her usual extended, emoji-laden posts sprinkled with misspellings. She expressed shock that she had been called anti-semitic during her campaign, especially by her Republican Jewish friends, and admitted she had been ignorant about long-time anti-semitic tropes like saying Jews controlled all the banks the world. She expressed disappointment that people called her “gun-toting” when she only owns only “a couple baby Glocks.”

Ficklin lamented that the media had referred to her as a “conspiracy theorist,” saying

“I call it being the f*cking resistance, assholes.”

HD-55 candidate Cindy Ficklin (R) now blames taxpayers and a Daily Sentinel reporter for her getting Covid, and is taking unproven treatments for the disease

by Anne Landman • December 23, 2021 • 9 Comments

Ficklin says she “went underground” to get Ivermectin to treat her Covid-19 infection, and displays the bottle in a Facebook post. There is no evidence Ivermectin cures Covid-19, and the FDA urges people not to use it.

Republican House District 55 candidate Cindy Ficklin is using non-medically approved treatments for Covid-19, including the animal de-worming medication Ivermectin. She also says she is inhaling “silver and Glutathione” with a nebulizer to “prevent conjestion [sic] from hardening in my lungs.”

CO SOS Elections Division files another lawsuit against Tina Peters, this time over campaign finance violations

by Anne Landman • November 9, 2021 • 6 Comments

Tina Peters is soliciting donations for her “Legal Defense Fund” in violation of Colorado law, according to new lawsuit

The Elections Division of Colorado’s Secretary of State’s office filed a lawsuit (pdf) November 5 against Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters for Peters’ ongoing efforts to raise funds for a re-election campaign that so far doesn’t exist.

The lawsuit says Peters also accepted illegal illegal contributions “in the form of travel expenses, including a flight on a private jet and lodging, contributed by Mike Lindell, founder and CEO of MyPillow, in connection with Ms. Peters’ appearance at a Cyber Symposium on or about August 10-12, 2021 and thereafter.”

A look at where Mesa County is now with Covid, and how other places are doing by comparison

by Anne Landman • November 5, 2021 • 21 Comments

New York Times’ calendar of average Covid cases per capita in Mesa County dating from January, 2020 until now. We are clearly back where we were last Dec-January, when we were in the thick of the pandemic the first time and had full precautions in place. For months, the NY Times has rated Mesa county as “extremely high risk for unvaccinated people.”

Arguably, Mesa County citizens’ denial of the science around Covid-19 transmission, and the overall lax attitude of our area’s elected officials toward reining in the pandemic are worsening and prolonging the pandemic in our area, making more people sick, putting more people in the hospital and giving Mesa County a good chance of staying a perpetual pandemic state into the foreseeable future.

For comparison, here are how some other areas around the country are doing in managing the pandemic compared to Mesa County:

Mesa County GOP Chair lies to public, saying there was no insurrection and many Capitol invasion leaders were FBI

by Anne Landman • October 27, 2021 • 12 Comments

Kevin McCarney, Chair of the Mesa County Republican Party, writes in a Facebook comment that a Reuters article last August reported that there “was no insurrection” and many leaders of the attack on the Capitol were “actually FBI informants.” The Reuters article contains no such information.

Mesa County GOP Chair Kevin McCarney [Photo from video on AmericasMom.net]

Ever wonder how so many Mesa County citizens became SO deluded that now big groups of them like “Stand for the Constitution” and “Mesa County Concerned Citizen” actually believe wacky claims like Vitamin C and Ivermectin cure Covid-19, everyone who disagrees with them is a Communist, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold destroyed election records and Democrats are pedophiles?

A big factor in this mass-delusion of the local electorate is the Mesa County Republican Party, which has developed a reputation for spreading hoaxes and misinformation and omitting key information.

Page 2 of 10

« 1 2 3 4 … 10 »