Anne Landman

Charter schools, Children, Consumer advocacy, Education, Environment, Firearms, Pollution, Public health, Safety

Lead contamination a concern for new Ascent Classical Academy charter school, which plans to open in August at the former Rocky Mountain Gun Club building

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The former Rocky Mountain Gun Club building at 545 31 Road, where Ascent Classical Academy plans to open a new charter school this August. The sale of the building closed recently. It was listed for $7 million.

Ascent Classical Academy, a new charter school, plans to open in Grand Junction in August, 2023, in the building at 545 31 Road, that was formerly the Rocky Mountain Gun Club.

Parents contemplating sending their kids to this school should be concerned.

The building was used an indoor shooting range for seven years, closing in 2021.

Lead contamination is a well-established problem at shooting ranges.

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Economics, Elections, Housing, Local scut, politics

Local Business owner weighs in on rec center, affordable housing, the workforce, development

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Octopus Coffee on Horizon Drive

Alexis Bauer owns Octopus Coffee on Horizon Drive. Last week she emailed me to talk about the proposed community recreation center on the upcoming April ballot. (We differed on what we think about it. I am for it). As we got into a longer conversation, Alexis sent a follow-up email in which she offered a variety of  insights from her standpoint as a western slope resident and local business owner. She talked not only about the Rec Center, but also other issues facing Grand Junction, like the housing shortage, the cost of doing business, her experience with the local workforce, City Council’s recent approval of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and what it portends for the City, the buzz she hears from customers, and more.

I found Alexis’s insights interesting and felt they deserved a wider forum, so with her permission I am sharing her email to me below, edited slightly for clarity, in hopes others find it enlightening as well.

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Andrea Haitz, Conservatives, Elections, Ethics, Propaganda

D-51 School Board President Andrea Haitz violates School Board Ethics Code

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Andrea Haitz’s Feb. 15 mass email violates an ethics rule that says school board members must refrain from using their board positions for partisan gain

District 51 School Board President Andrea Haitz violated the School Board’s ethics rules by sending out an overtly partisan, political mass email February 15, 2023 using her position as School Board President to promote her husband Greg’s bid to get a seat on Grand Junction City Council this April.

Andrea Haitz

Haitz wrote,

I am writing to you today because, despite our victory, the LEFT is still here seeking majorities in local government to make Grand Junction the Denver of the Western Slope.

We can put a stop to this by voting for conservatives in the April 4th Grand Junction City Council Election like my husband, Greg Haitz, who is running for District B. [Underlining emphasis in original.]

Haitz’s email violated Mesa County Valley School District 51’s Code of Ethics for School Board Members (pdf), Policy BCB-E, which says school board members will

Avoid being placed in a position of conflict of interest and refrain from using my board position for personal or partisan gain.

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Ethics, Greg Haitz, Health, Marketing, Quacks, Scams, Weird Grand Junction Stuff

Mesa County Commissioner Bobbie Daniel endorses fraudster Greg Haitz for City Council

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Greg Haitz

Greg Haitz’s campaign sent out a mass email today, March 20, that appears to be from Mesa County Commissioner Bobbie Daniel, saying Daniel endorses him for a seat on Grand Junction City Council and asking people to send a minimum donation of $50 to his campaign.

If Commissioner Daniel actually endorses Haitz for Council, then she is endorsing someone who is openly perpetrating a fraud on Grand Junction citizens by selling a “dangerous” and “reckless” weight-loss program on his business website, RimRockWellness.com.

Bobbie Daniel (R), shown here with indicted former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters

“Dangerous” and “reckless” are the words the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) uses to warn people about the type of weight loss program Haitz is currently promoting for $199 — a discount from his usual much higher price of $399, according to his website.

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Crime, Ethics, Gun violence, Human rights, Police brutality

Still no accountability for the murder of 25 year old Gage Lorentz by a National Park Service Ranger

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Screen shot from Ranger Mitchell’s body camera showing the moment he shot Gage Lorentz point-blank in the chest after pulling him over for speeding on a dirt road in Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Lorentz was unarmed, unintoxicated and alone at the time.

Gage Lorentz, a graduate of Fruita Monument High School, was murdered on March 21, 2020, by a law enforcement officer while heading home to Montrose. He was driving home alone on an isolated back road in Carlsbad Caverns National Park to see his family after working for weeks on a drilling rig in the outskirts of Pecos, Texas.

National Park Ranger Robert Mitchell pulled Gage over for speeding on a dirt road inside the Park. Gage was alone, unarmed, unintoxicated and followed all of Mitchell’s orders until he ordered Gage to turn around and put his back to him. At that point, Gage refused to comply. The officer’s body camera video shows that seconds later, Mitchell had pinned Gage to the ground, was on top of him and shot him, point-blank, in the chest, killing him.

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Advertising, Consumer advocacy, Crime, Ethics, Red Rock dealerships, Red Rock Nissan, Scams

First hint of accountability for Red Rock

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A copy of a letter sent to Red Rock Nissan by the Colorado Department of Revenue’s Auto Industry Division. This copy of the letter came to Michelle Mondragon, whom Red Rock Nissan initially charged over $15k above the price they advertised for her truck. The Mondragons filed a complaint with the Auto Industry Division against Red Rock last October. The letter warns Red Rock that their dealer’s license could be in jeopardy.

Michelle Mondragon, whose hair-raising story about buying a vehicle from Red Rock Nissan last year was featured in this blog November 1, 2022, received the above letter from the Colorado Department of Revenue’s Auto Industry Division last week indicating they have finally taken some action against the dealership, albeit a very weak action.

The letter warns Red Rock they “may have” violated several laws and regulations in the Mondragons’ case regarding deceptive advertising and sales of vehicles, and says “No action will be taken against your dealer’s license at this time. However, any further violations may be referred to the Motor Vehicle Dealer board,” and “your dealer’s license may be subject to disciplinary action that could include fines, suspension or revocation of your license. It is imperative that you take measures to correct the matters within your organization.”

This is likely just the beginning.

The Mondragons submitted their complaint against Red Rock last October. Since then, many more Red Rock customers have submitted complaints about how Red Rock defrauded them.

If you review paperwork from your deal at Red Rock and find irregularities like forged signatures, charges for items you never agreed to like extended warranties, special coatings or detail packages, or if you check with your lender and find Red Rock lied to them about your gross income, monthly rent or mortgage payment or the features of the vehicle you were buying, file a complaint with the Auto Industry Division at this link.  Be prepared to upload images of your paperwork to substantiate what you found that was fraudulent.

 

 

Andrea Haitz, Charter schools, Children, Conservatives, Education, Separation of Church and State

As D-51 School Board’s conservative majority rushes to close East Middle School, it fast-tracks the opening of a religiously-affiliated charter school

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District 51 School Board President Andrea Haitz

As the conservative District 51 School Board majority headed by Board President Andrea Haitz hurries to shut down East Middle School, it is fast-tracking the opening of yet another charter school, the Ascent Classical Academy, a project of Hillsdale College, a private Christian religious school located in south-central Michigan.

Ascent Classical Academy uses a curriculum advanced by Hillsdale’s Barney Charter School Initiative, “an outreach program of Hillsdale College devoted to the revitalization of public education through the launch and support of classical K-12 charter schools.”

Ascent Classical Academy plans to open in Grand Junction in August, 2023, at 545 31 Road, the building that formerly housed the Rocky Mountain Gun Club, just as the District puts the finishing touches on shutting down East Middle School, a high-performing traditional public school in the heart of downtown Grand Junction.

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Andrea Haitz, Angela Lema, Children, Conservatives, Education, Health care, Homelessness, Liberals

Teachers union president resigns via email amid flap over school closures & conservative school board members’ rejection of health clinic at GJHS

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Timothy Couch, President of the Mesa Valley Education Association (MVEA), resigned via email March 8, on the same day the three-member conservative District 51 School Board majority ignored the pleas of students and voted to reject an offer by Marillac Health to operate a grant-funded, school-based health clinic at Grand Junction High School.  The three Board members rejected the clinic at a time when homelessness among D-51 students is rapidly increasing and a Youth Risk Behavior survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) (pdf) found poor mental health and suicidal thoughts and behaviors among students are increasing nationwide. According to the CDC, in 2021, almost 60% of female students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness during the past year and nearly 25% made a suicide plan. Suicide is also a growing problem among Mesa County youth and suicide prevention is a “health priority” for Mesa County Public Health.

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City of Grand Junction, Diane Schwenke, Elections, Grand Junction Chamber, Greg Haitz, Mesa County Republican Party, politics, Public health, Quackery, Scams

Grand Junction City Council candidate rundown 2023

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For this article, I drew from publicly available sources, including the candidates’ own websites and social media accounts, newspaper articles, the candidates’ financial disclosure statements filed with the City of Grand Junction, background-checks done on TruthFinder.com, and public records requests to the Grand Junction Police Department (GJPD) for records of any contact the candidates had with local law enforcement agencies. I felt the law enforcement piece was necessary after seeing Mesa County voters elect people to public office who were later involved in theft, falsifying time cards, embezzlement, assault, plagiarism, DUI, double-dipping, election tampering and other offenses.

These City Council candidates are asking voters to hire them for a job. City taxpayers pay their salaries. The candidates should be background-checked.

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Uncategorized

Tina Peters is certain she will do no jail time for her conviction on obstructing government operations

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Tina Peters’ mugshot for her arrest on 3/9/2022

KRDO TV in Colorado Springs is reporting that Tina Peters, who is now running for Chair of the Colorado Republican Party, believes her ongoing legal battles won’t hurt her ability to lead the Party if she is elected. She also believes she will not serve any jail time in connection with her conviction on obstructing government operations.

A jury found Peters guilty of the charge earlier this month. She is scheduled to be sentenced at 9:00 a.m. on April 10 in Courtroom 2 at the Mesa County Justice Center.

Peters told KRDO, “I promise you I’m not going to jail. This is not a jailable offense, so I’m not worried at all.”

Her conviction carries a potential sentence of up to 6 months in jail, a $750 fine, or probation and community service.

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Crime, Lies, Tina Peters

Tina Peters found guilty of obstructing government operations

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After a two day trial, a 6-person jury today found former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters not guilty on the charge of obstructing a peace officer, but guilty on the charge of obstructing government operations. The jury deliberated for about half a day.

The obstruction of government operations charge is a 3rd degree misdemeanor that carries a mandatory sentence of up to six months in jail and a $750 fine.

Peters is scheduled to be sentenced on April 10.

Belinda Knisley, Conservatives, Conspiracy theories, Crazy Republicans, Crime, Cringeworthy, Dangerous Republicans, Election deniers, Embarrassing Republicans, Ethics, Extremism, Fake patriotism, Lies, Mesa County Republican Party, Republican lies, Republicans violating laws, Tina Peters

New info about “Tammy Bailey” emerges during Tina Peters’ obstruction trial

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Cory Anderson (center) helped Tina Peters (L) set up a cell phone under Tina’s alias, “Tammy Bailey,” the person Tina told police was the actual owner of her IPad. The woman on the right is Cory Anderson’s wife, Jacqueline Anderson, who is the former First Vice Chair of the Mesa County Republican Party. (Photo: YouTube)

New information was revealed about “Tammy Bailey” during Tina Peters’ obstruction trial, which just concluded yesterday afternoon.

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Conservatives, Dangerous Republicans, Democracy under threat, Election deniers, Elections, Ethics, Extremism, Republican lies, Scams, Trump Insanity

Fox Network hosts privately ridiculed Trump’s election fraud lie while continuing to pump the lie out to viewers

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Mesa County’s many, many supporters of Donald Trump (pdf) must be super-bummed this week to find out Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch has acknowledged that Fox News anchors Laura Ingraham, Lou Dobbs, Jeanine Pirro, Sean Hannity, Maria Bartiromo and others knowingly lied to them by repeating Donald Trump’s fraudulent statements that the 2020 general election was “rigged” and he actually won.

Murdoch acknowledged under oath in a deposition in the $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox Network, that Fox News hosts knowingly lied to viewers by endorsing false election fraud claims while at the same time they were privately ridiculing such claims. Murdoch further admitted he should have ordered Trump allies like Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, who were lying to the public about the election, off the air, but didn’t.

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Crazy Republicans, Dangerous Republicans, Election deniers, Embarrassing Republicans, Extremism, Fake patriotism, Mesa County Republican Party, Republicans violating laws, Tina Peters, Trump Insanity, Weird Grand Junction Stuff

Tina Peters’ obstruction trial starts Wednesday, March 1

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Wondering what’s next on Tina Peters’ Law & Order docket?

Well, you won’t have to wait too long for the next episode.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, 2/28, at 3:00 p.m. Tina has a one-hour, in-person hearing in Courtroom 2 of the Mesa County Justice Center about her upcoming obstruction trial, Case No. C392022M364. That’s the case about her using an IPad to record a Court proceeding in violation of Court rules and kicking a cop in the bagel shop.

Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters

Tina’s jury trial on obstruction charges starts the next morning, Wednesday, March 1 at 8:30 a.m. in Courtroom 2. That’s Judge Bruce Raaum’s Courtroom. You should be able to access the 2/28 hearing and the 3/1 trial online via the Court’s WebEx system via this link to Judge Raaum’s Courtroom. Her obstruction trial is scheduled over two days, and should continue on Thursday, March 3 starting at 8:30 a.m.

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Corporations, Corruption, Crime, Ethics, Red Rock dealerships, Scams

Criminal investigator who was investigating Red Rock quits & goes to work for Red Rock

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Dale Sundeen (Photo: Auto News)

Dale Sundeen, the Colorado Department of Revenue Auto Industry Division’s criminal investigator who was investigating Grand Junction’s Red Rock dealerships, quit his job with the state and went to work for Red Rock as their “Corporate Director of Compliance.”

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