Shaun White's snowboarding skills were on full display last night in Aspen at the X Games. Really beautiful to watch, especially in slow motion. He topped the elims and now has set the bar quite high.

I may not like watching traditional sports, like ball games, but I love action and Xtreme sports, including snowboarding . [More...]

If you're watching the Hope for Haiti Now telethon, let us know what you think.

To donate: 1-877-99-HAITI.

If you aren't by a tv, it is being live streamed online globally across sites including YouTube, Hulu, MySpace, Fancast, AOL, MSN.com, Yahoo, Bing.com, BET.com, CNN.com, MTV.com, VH1.com and Rhapsody, and on mobile via Alltel, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and FloTV.

Some clips below:

Kristen Diane Parker, "Ms. Hepatitis C" appeared in federal court in Denver today for sentencing. She had a plea agreement for a 20 year sentence. The judge said no dice.

As part of her plea deal, she had to explain on video how she committed the crime.

Some new revelations came out in the video. One of the issues between the surgery patients at Rose Hospital and Rose is that Rose only has been willing to compensate patients who developed the disease if there is a 95% or greater chance their Hepatitis C came from Parker. Some of the patients who subsequently developed the disease appear to have a different strain. [More...]

If you live in Boulder, this is your opportunity to be heard on medical marijuana dispensary rules. Please take the time to participate in this brief survey.

Background: The City of Boulder is requesting feedback on interim medical marijuana land use regulations established in November 2009, which are set to expire on March 31. They are in the process of drafting comprehensive land use regulations for medical marijuana businesses which they will bring to the Planning Board and City Council. The feedback will be used by city officials in developing recommendations for the permanent regulations. [More...]

The Aspen Sheriff's Department and Aspen Police Department issued a press release to the media today with details for attending actor Charlie Sheen's hearing next Wednesday on his motion to modify the protective order precluding him from contacting his wife. (Prior coverage here.) They are holding a lottery for tickets and satellite trucks on Tuesday, due to the "significant media and community interest in the hearing" and the need for security and to protect the historic nature of the courthouse building. (It is really old.)

[More...]

The AP is reporting Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper will run for Governor of Colorado. An announcement is expected at 4:15 pm this afternoon at the state capitol.

If you're in Denver Monday night, consider stopping by the City Council meeting.

Here is the proposed ordinance, Council Bill 34, updated Jan. 4 (pdf), for licensing and regulating medical marijuana dispensaries. If adopted,according to Marijuana Policy Project, the regulations would:

• enact location restrictions requiring dispensaries to be at least 1,000 feet from any school, child-care center, or other dispensary, with an exception to grandfather in most existing dispensaries;
• prohibit patients from using their medicine on site;
• limit hours of operation to 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.; and
• prohibit anyone with felony convictions in the last 5 years (including marijuana-related felonies) from opening a dispensary.

The regulations would not establish limits on the amounts of marijuana plants dispensaries can cultivate, which means cultivation operations would only be subject to existing zoning regulations. [More...]

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says he won't run for Governor but will back Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.

Sources close to Salazar said that Democrats had done quick polling that showed both he and Hickenlooper beating Republican candidate Scott McInnis if the election were held now.

I hope Hickenlooper decides to run. I doubt Salazar would have endorsed him unless he knows he will, so I suspect this is just about a done deal.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the 23 year old Nigerian failed "underpants bomber," has been indicted in Michigan.

The six count Indictment, returned today, is here.

The charges include attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, attempted murder, attempt to destroy an aircraft, willfully placing a destructive device on an airplane, possession of a destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence, and carryng/using a destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence.

The first count carries a possible penalty of life in prison.

Update: The press conference. Loud cheers for him. His wife is with him and smiling. Sen. Mark Udall is behind him. He talks about his vision and that it is becoming a reality. Colorado is on the road to recovery. It is a privilege for him to serve as Governor. He praises Lt. Governor, Barbara O'Brien.

Over the last year, he's tried to balance many roles in his life. His family has sacrificed the most. He hasn't made them the priority they should be. So he is going to do that now.

He's 53 years old and been in public service for more than 30 years. He has two children that still live at home, one in college, and they need him and his wife needs him.

This decision allows him to focus on the budget and Colorado's economy. By not running for re-election he can make the tough budget cuts that need to be made, free of political bickering. He looks forward to spending the next year keeping the budget balanced and economy growing. He thanks everyone. Time for questions: [More...]

Update: My speculation as to reason: He liked being DA better than being Governor. Maybe Obama will announce he's going to be Colorado's U.S. Attorney. Until we hear tomorrow, I think it's as possible as any other reason being floated.

This is a shocker. Flashing across my tv screen, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter won't seek re-election. He hasn't given a reason. He will make the announcement in the morning at an 11 a.m. press conference. From Political Wire:

A fundraiser scheduled for tonight was canceled and all campaign staff was sent home in the middle of the day. The decision does not appear to be fundraising related which has reportedly gone better than expected.

In November, Breckenridge voters overwhelmingly passed an initiative decriminalizing >adult possession of small amounts of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. It went into effect today.

Breckenridge is the first town in the country to decriminalize drug paraphernalia, and the second to allow recreational marijuana use (Denver is the first.) Since under state law, possession of up to an ounce of pot or drug parahphernalia carries a $100.00 fine and is classified as a petty offense, it can leave you with a criminal record. So the change in Breckenridge is a welcome one, and not that trivial.

It remains to be seen whether Breckenridge becomes the "Amsterdam of the Rockies", or takes business away from neighboring Frisco, Silverthorne and Dillon, which serve the same ski areas, or results in an uptick in arrests for related activity.

"Skiing while stoned" is still illegal under other laws. As is buying, selling and growing marijuana and smoking or displaying it in public.