Valerie Richardson
Articles by Valerie Richardson
Masterpiece Cakeshop gets crowdfunding after court defeat in gay wedding case
Supporters of Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips have launched a crowdfunding campaign to help cover his expenses as he fights an order stemming from his refusal to make a cake for a gay wedding. Published August 16, 2015
Gov. Hickenlooper’s big gulp from polluted Animas River slammed by health official
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper's big gulp of water from the formerly orange Animas River wasn't just icky, it was "reckless and irresponsible," said New Mexico's top environmental official. Published August 14, 2015
EPA denies Navajo pressure to waive rights to future payment claims in Animas River disaster
EPA administrator Gina McCarthy moved to mend fences Thursday with Navajo Nation as the agency denied accusations that it tried to force Indians to waive their rights to future claims stemming from the Gold King Mine blowout. Published August 13, 2015
Erin Brockovich: EPA must fire people in Colorado spill
Erin Brockovich, the anti-pollution crusader made famous in the eponymous movie starring Julia Roberts, says the EPA's apology for the Gold King Mine spill "just ain't gonna cut it" and urged the agency to "fire people" if necessary. Published August 13, 2015
Judge nixes StemExpress’s effort to obtain pro-life group’s undercover video
A California judge rejected Thursday an effort by StemExpress to gain access to video footage from the pro-life Center for Medical Progress exposing the company's business relationship with Planned Parenthood. Published August 13, 2015
Masterpiece Cakeshop: Bakery can’t refuse to make gay wedding cakes because of religion, court rules
The Colorado Court of Appeals ruled Thursday against a Christian baker who refused to prepare a wedding cake for a same-sex ceremony, rejecting the argument that doing so would violate his First Amendment rights. Published August 13, 2015
Michael Bennet polls worse than Mark Udall, Colorado Democrat who lost in 2014
An analysis released Wednesday brought bad news for Sen. Michael Bennet, Colorado Democrat, whose numbers show him in bigger re-election trouble than was Democratic Sen. Mark Udall was at this stage of the 2014 election cycle that ended in his defeat. Published August 12, 2015
John Hickenlooper, Colorado governor, drinks from Animas River after EPA spill
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper once drank fracking fluid to prove a point, so guzzling water from the EPA-contaminated Animas River was apparently no big deal. Published August 12, 2015
Gold King Mine spill: Democrats, green activists scrambling to provide cover for EPA
The environmental left can be counted on to whip up an outcry whenever a private company despoils a gulf, stream or river -- unless the polluter in question is the Environmental Protection Agency. Published August 12, 2015
Gina McCarthy, EPA administrator, ‘deeply sorry’ for wastewater spill
EPA administrator Gina McCarthy broke her silence Tuesday on the agency's wastewater spill from Colorado's Gold King Mine by saying she was "deeply sorry," but that wasn't enough to stave off a demand for congressional oversight into the accident and the agency's fumbled reaction. Published August 11, 2015
Assisted suicide New Mexico ruling struck by higher court
The New Mexico Court of Appeals handed a defeat to the right-to-die movement Tuesday by striking down a lower-court ruling establishing physician-assisted suicide. Published August 11, 2015
EPA won’t face fines for polluting rivers with orange muck
Unlike BP, which was fined $5.5 billion for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, the EPA will pay nothing in fines for unleashing the Animas River spill. Published August 11, 2015
EPA expands closures to Animas and San Juan rivers from wastewater spill
The EPA isn't terribly popular in the aftermath of its toxic wastewater blowout, and the agency didn't gain any friends Monday by announcing that water from the Animas and San Juan rivers in three states will remain shut off for at least another week. Published August 10, 2015
EPA’s toxic spill has river users wanting accountability for agency
The EPA is known for its hard line on environmental offenders, but its own accountability is being challenged after its agents unleashed a disastrous toxic spill threatening water supplies in four Western states and two Indian reservations. Published August 9, 2015
Susana Martinez, New Mexico governor, bashes EPA for polluting Animas River with wastewater
New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez blasted the EPA for accidentally flooding the Animas River with toxic orange wastewater, calling on the agency to hold itself to the same standard for the disaster as it would a private entity. Published August 8, 2015
Death-penalty foes play race card after James Holmes gets life instead of death
It didn't take long for critics of the death penalty to bring up race after James Holmes was sentenced Friday to life in prison instead of death for the deadly Aurora, Colorado, theater rampage. Published August 8, 2015
James Holmes sentenced to life in prison for Colorado massacre after jury splits
Aurora theater shooter James Eagan Holmes escaped the death penalty and was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole Friday after a Colorado jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision. Published August 7, 2015
EPA takes heat for toxic wastewater spill that turns Colorado river orange
The Environmental Protection Agency is coming under fire in Colorado after accidentally dumping one million gallons of acidic waste into the Las Animas River, turning it bright orange and threatening the community's water supply. Published August 7, 2015
Planned Parenthood, roiled by undercover videos, fighting to stay relevant
Planned Parenthood has been roiled by undercover videos exposing its handling of aborted fetal tissue, but a bigger problem may be the perception that the 99-year-old organization is rapidly becoming irrelevant. Published August 6, 2015
Alabama Gov. Bentley defunds Planned Parenthood affiliate
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley announced Thursday that he has cut the state's funding to Planned Parenthood, making his the third state to defund the organization since last month's release of alarming undercover videos. Published August 6, 2015
