The state tried its hardest this morning to walk back the damage from yesterday's testimony of two of its own witnesses, Officers Chris Serino and Doris Singleton. I don't think it succeeded.

Yesterday, officer Serino testified that he believed George Zimmerman was telling the truth. Both he and Singleton testified the inconsistencies in Zimmerman's statements to them the week of the shooting and during his re-enactment of the event did not amount to significant differences. Serino and Singleton both testified to a point I have made here repeatedly: No one recounts an event the exact same way every time. If they did, it would be suspect. Variations are not the equivalent of significant differences.

Serino testified yesterday that when he told Zimmerman that Martin may have videotaped the encounter (a police ruse to get him to think he wouldn't get away with lying), Zimmerman's response was, "Thank G-d, I was hoping someone had videotaped it." It was after this that Serino said he thought GZ was telling the truth. [More...]

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper has signed the six bills regulating recreational marijuana passed by the legislature. They go into effect July 1.

The bills are House bills 1042, 1238, 1 317, 1318 and 1325, and Senate Bill 283. A short synopsis is here.

When asked about when a response on the new laws would come from the Feds, Hickenlooper says he thought it would be soon, but he really didn't know. Then he quipped, "They've been kind of busy." [More...]

Enjoy the holiday everyone. This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Rod Stewart is back with a new album. I loved watching him sing this song on Jimmy Kimmel Live the other night. Click on the full view button. Starting around 1:20, you can see how happy he is to be singing his own songs again. He also seems to be in great shape. Maybe it's his 8 kids, ages 2 to 50, that keeps him so enthused about life. Whatever it is, it's fun to watch and the song is very catchy.

Two cases I'm not following: Jodi Arias and the released Cleveland women. If you are, feel free to comment.

What to watch tonight: Slim pickings, but it will be The Voice, Survivor and Nashville. American Idol is so boring.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Bump and Update: It's official. The House approved the Senate Amendments and Colorado is now the first state in the nation to pass laws regulating recreational use, sale, production and taxing of marijuana.

This appears to be the final version of House Bill 1317 setting out the regulations for retail outlets. Tourists will be able to buy 1/4 ounce at a time. You can find all the versions here. The bill will go to Governor Hickenlooper who is expected to sign it into law.

Details on the driving while stoned bill that passed yesterday here.

On its 6th try, a bill to outlaw driving while stoned has passed the House and Senate in Colorado. The limit for marijuana: 5 nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood.

But, the bill is the weakest version yet. Instead of 5 nanograms being per se against the law, or even a rebuttable presumption, it's now just a "permissible inference." Blood tests can be refused, although a refusal will result in revocation of driving privileges.

Governor John Hickenlooper is expected to sign the bill into law. The bill is H.R. 1325. Here is the text of the final version.

Two remaining bills are up for final passage tomorrow, the last day of the legislative session. HB 1317 will regulate retail sales of marijuana for recreational use. HB 1318 imposes taxes on marijuana.[More...]

Lawyers for Aurora theater shooting defendant James Holmes notified the Court today Holmes wants to change his plea from Not Guilty to not guilty by reason of insanity.

On March 12, the date set for arraignment, Holmes' lawyers refused to enter a plea for him, so the Judge entered a plea of Not Guilty over their objections.

In an order today, the Judge indicates it's not for certain he'll allow the change of plea. The statute says an insanity plea must be raised at the arraignment. However, it also says that for good cause shown, an insanity plea can be entered at any time prior to trial. [More...]

I've got lots of errands today.

Has anyone seen The Reluctant Fundamentalist or Silver Linings? This is one of those months I'm wondering why I need Xfinity at all, since there's nothing great on pay per view and their movie offerings seem to be slipping away from the kind of movies I like to watch. I'm hardly tempted to shell out more dollars on top of the $200 a month I already pay them just to see something I'm not sure I'd like.It's like we've gone back to the days of "57 channels and nothing on."

Here's an open thread for you, all topics welcome.

Long-time Colorado concert promoter Barry Fey has died. He was a local legend. From Ebbets Field to Mile High Stadium to Red Rocks, Barry Fey defined Colorado concerts. No one came close to matching his three decades of bringing the biggest groups to Denver. He was also quite a colorful character.

The past few years weren't great for him, health-wise or financially. He was recovering from a difficult hip replacement surgery last month. Sources say he took his own life.

Hunter Thompson also couldn't get past difficult hip replacement surgery. In his last note, written to his wife Anita four days before he took his own life, he wrote:

"No More Games. No More Bombs. No More Walking. No More Fun. No More Swimming. 67. That is 17 years past 50. 17 more than I needed or wanted. Boring. I am always bitchy. No Fun — for anybody. 67. You are getting Greedy. Act your old age. Relax — This won't hurt."

R.I.P. Barry Fey. Your legacy in Denver lives on.

The 4/20 marijuana celebration at Denver's Civic Center Park ended abruptly at around 4:40 pm when shots rang out and one or two people were injured. One appears to have been stabbed (photo here, name being withheld), so it's not clear if two people were shot, one was shot and one was stabbed, or some other scenario occurred. The shooting suspects are described as:

Police described the first suspect as a light complexioned black male, about 6-feet tall and weighing about 180 pounds. He was wearing a gray hoodie, black pants and a Carolina blue baseball cap. The second suspect was a black male in a checkered black and white shirt.

The Denver Post was there with its shiny new gigapan camera around 2:30 pm and took this photograph. It took me all of two minutes to find a black male in a checkered black and white shirt. A la Boston, police are asking people to submit their photos. [More...]

In the "More dollars Down the Drain" department: Here's a summary of the 2014 Homeland Security Budget.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) – $10.4 billion

This funding will provide for 21,370 Border Patrol agents and 21,775 CBP officers – maintaining the largest personnel totals in history.

The bill also provides $324 million for border security fencing, infrastructure, and technology.

[More...]

Busy day for me. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.