West

Columbine shooting victims to be honored at 25th anniversary vigil in Denver

Published

2 years ago

April 21, 2024

Columbine shooting victims to be honored at 25th anniversary vigil in Denver

A vigil will be held on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting to remember the 12 students and one teacher who were killed.
The vigil will be the main public event commemorating the anniversary.
Nathan Hochhalter, whose sister was paralyzed in the shooting, is expected to speak at the vigil.

The 12 students and one teacher killed in the Columbine High School shooting will be remembered Friday at a Colorado vigil on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the tragedy.

The gathering, set up by gun safety and other organizations, is the main public event marking the anniversary, which is more subdued than in previous milestone years.

Former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who began campaigning for gun safety after she was nearly killed in a mass shooting, will be among those speaking at the vigil. So will Nathan Hochhalter, whose sister Anne Marie was paralyzed after she was shot at Columbine. Several months after the shooting, their mother, Carla Hochhalter, took her own life.

SCHOOL SHOOTING PROTOCOLS CHANGED AFTER COLUMBINE TO AN ‘EVERY SECOND COUNTS’ APPROACH: EXPERTS

The organizers of the vigil, which will also honor all those impacted by the shooting, include Colorado Ceasefire, Brady United Against Gun Violence and Colorado Faith Communities United Against Gun Violence, but they say it will not be a political event.

People visit the Columbine Memorial, April 17, 2024, in Littleton, Colorado. The 12 students and a teacher killed in the Columbine High School shooting will be honored on April 19, 2024, in a vigil on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the tragedy. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Tom Mauser, whose son Daniel, a sophomore who excelled in math and science, was killed at Columbine, decided to set up the vigil after learning school officials did not plan to organize a large community event as they did on the 20th anniversary. Mauser, who became a gun safety advocate after the shooting, said he realizes that it takes a lot of volunteers and money to put together that kind of event but he wanted to give people a chance to gather and mark the passage of 25 years since the shooting, a significant number people can relate to.

“For those who do want to reflect on it, it is something for them,” said Mauser, who is on Colorado Ceasefire’s board and asked the group to help organize the event at a church near the state Capitol in Denver. It had been scheduled to be held on the steps of the Capitol but was moved indoors because of expected rain.

COLUMBINE SURVIVOR WARNS CRUMBLEY PARENTS’ SENTENCING SETS ‘DANGEROUS PRECEDENT’: ‘HE KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING’

Mauser successfully led the campaign to pass a ballot measure requiring background checks for all firearm buyers at gun shows in 2000 after Colorado’s legislature failed to change the law. It was designed to close a loophole that helped a friend of the Columbine gunmen obtain three of the four firearms used in the attack.

A proposal requiring such checks nationally, inspired by Columbine, failed in Congress in 1999 after passing the Senate but dying in the House, said Robert Spitzer, professor emeritus at the State University of New York-Cortland and author of several books on gun politics.

Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore ran on a gun safety agenda against Republican George W. Bush the following year, but after his stance was mistakenly seen as a major reason for his defeat, Democrats largely abandoned the issue for the following decade, Spitzer said. But gun safety became a more prominent political issue again after the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting, he said.

Without much action nationally on guns, Democrat-led and Republican-controlled states have taken divergent approaches to responding to mass shootings.

Those killed at Columbine included Dave Sanders, a teacher who was shot as he shepherded students to safety during the attack. He lay bleeding in a classroom for almost four hours before authorities reached him. The students killed included one who wanted to be a music executive like his father, a senior and captain of the girls’ varsity volleyball team, and a teen who enjoyed driving off-road in his beat-up Chevy pickup.

Sam Cole, another Colorado Ceasefire board member, said he hopes people will come out to remember the victims and not let the memory of them fade. The students killed would now be adults in the prime of their lives with families of their own, he said.

“It’s just sad to think that they are always going to be etched in our mind as teenagers,” he said.

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San Diego, CA

Joan Endres – San Diego Union-Tribune

Published

1 minute ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Joan Endres

OBITUARY

Born January 1939 in Cincinnati Ohio. Died February 14, 2026, in San Diego, California, with her sons at her side. Her beloved husband Dean passed away in 2010.

Joan was the only child of Thomas and Edna Palmer. In 1943, the family moved to San Diego, where Joan graduated from Helix High School in 1956.

In 1957 Joan married Dean Endres of San Diego, where they raised two sons. Joan followed her two great passions outside the home, the Arts, and Gardening. Both activities being a way to bring beauty to others and to the community.

Joan received a degree in Environmental Design from San Diego State University, and afterwords worked at UCSD, for the Campus Architect.

As an artist, Joan worked in various media, especially ceramics. She was active in many cultural and arts organizations, eventually becoming President of the Combined Organization for the Visual Arts (COVA). Later she turned to gardening, with the Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca Community College and the Master Gardener Association of San Diego County.

Joan is survived by her son Jeff and wife Katrin, grandson Jackson, and son Todd Endres, all of La Mesa, and sisters Alice Buck of Phoenix, Elaine Kennedy of San Diego, Nancy and husband Don Jones of Vista, Eva Budzinski of Cloudcroft, New Mexico, and their children and grandchildren.

There will be a Celebration of Life for Joan in the near future. Those who wish to attend should contact celebratejoanuvart@gmail.com to receive details when they are confirmed. In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully suggests a donation to the Water Conservation Garden or the Diego Visual Arts Network (SDVAN).

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Alaska

Musician performs under the aurora in Nenana — without gloves, in 17 degrees

Published

1 hour ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Musician performs under the aurora in Nenana — without gloves, in 17 degrees

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – A musician with Alaska Native roots recorded an hour-long live set in Interior Alaska beneath the aurora.

Chastity Ashley, a drummer, vocalist and DJ who performs under the name Neon Pony, celebrated a year since she traveled to Nenana to record a live music set beneath the northern lights for her series Beats and Hidden Retreats.

Ashley, who has Indigenous roots in New Mexico, said she was drawn to Alaska in part because of the role drums play in Alaska Native culture. A handmade Alaskan hand drum, brought to her by a man from just outside Anchorage, was incorporated into the performance in February 2025.

Recording in the cold

The team spent eight days in Nenana waiting for the aurora to appear. Ashley said the lights did not come out until around 4 a.m., and she performed a continuous, uninterrupted hour-long set in 17-degree weather without gloves.

“It was freezing. I couldn’t wear gloves because I’m actually playing, yeah, hand drums and holding drumsticks. And there was ice underneath my feet,” Ashley said.

“So, I had to really utilize my balance and my willpower and my ability to just really immerse in the music and let go and make it about the celebration of what I was doing as opposed to worrying about all the other elements or what could go wrong.”

She said she performed in a leotard to allow full range of motion while drumming, DJing and singing.

Filming on Nenana tribal land

Ashley said she did not initially know the filming location was on indigenous land. After local authorities told her the decision was not theirs to make, she contacted the Nenana tribe directly for permission.

“I went into it kind of starting to tell them who I was and that I too was a part of a native background,” Ashley said. “And they just did not even care. They’re like, listen, we’re about to have a party for one of our friends here. Go and do what you like.”

Ashley said the tribe gave her full permission to film on the reservation, and that the aurora footage seen in the episode was captured there.

Seeing the aurora for the first time

Ashley said the Nenana performance marked her first time seeing the northern lights in person.

“It felt as if I were awake in a dream,” she said. “It really doesn’t seem real.”

She said she felt humbled and blessed to perform beneath the aurora and to celebrate its beauty and grandeur through her music.

“I feel incredibly humbled and blessed that not only did I get to take part in seeing something like that, but to play underneath it and celebrate its beauty and its grandeur.”

The Alaska episode is the second installment of Beats and Hidden Retreats, which is available on YouTube at @NeonPony. Ashley said two additional episodes are in production and she hopes to make it back up to Alaska in the future.

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Arizona

Arizona Lottery Mega Millions, Pick 3 results for Feb. 27, 2026

Published

1 hour ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Arizona Lottery Mega Millions, Pick 3 results for Feb. 27, 2026

The Arizona Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at Friday, Feb. 27, 2026 results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers

11-18-39-43-67, Mega Ball: 23

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers

7-7-0

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Fantasy 5 numbers

16-19-20-26-37

Check Fantasy 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Triple Twist numbers

11-15-24-25-28-30

Check Triple Twist payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news and results

What time is the Powerball drawing?

Powerball drawings are at 7:59 p.m. Arizona time on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

How much is a Powerball lottery ticket today?

In Arizona, Powerball tickets cost $2 per game, according to the Arizona Lottery.

How to play the Powerball

To play, select five numbers from 1 to 69 for the white balls, then select one number from 1 to 26 for the red Powerball.

You can choose your lucky numbers on a play slip or let the lottery terminal randomly pick your numbers.

To win, match one of the 9 Ways to Win:

5 white balls + 1 red Powerball = Grand prize.
5 white balls = $1 million.
4 white balls + 1 red Powerball = $50,000.
4 white balls = $100.
3 white balls + 1 red Powerball = $100.
3 white balls = $7.
2 white balls + 1 red Powerball = $7.
1 white ball + 1 red Powerball = $4.
1 red Powerball = $4.

There’s a chance to have your winnings increased two, three, four, five and 10 times through the Power Play for an additional $1 per play. Players can multiply non-jackpot wins up to 10 times when the jackpot is $150 million or less.

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

All Arizona Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $100 and may redeem winnings up to $599. For prizes over $599, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at Arizona Lottery offices. By mail, send a winner claim form, winning lottery ticket and a copy of a government-issued ID to P.O. Box 2913, Phoenix, AZ 85062.

To submit in person, sign the back of your ticket, fill out a winner claim form and deliver the form, along with the ticket and government-issued ID to any of these locations:

Phoenix Arizona Lottery Office: 4740 E. University Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85034, 480-921-4400. Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes of any amount.

Tucson Arizona Lottery Office: 2955 E. Grant Road, Tucson, AZ 85716, 520-628-5107. Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes of any amount.

Phoenix Sky Harbor Lottery Office: Terminal 4 Baggage Claim, 3400 E. Sky Harbor Blvd., Phoenix, AZ 85034, 480-921-4424. Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Sunday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes up to $49,999.

Kingman Arizona Lottery Office: Inside Walmart, 3396 Stockton Hill Road, Kingman, AZ 86409, 928-753-8808. Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes up to $49,999.

Check previous winning numbers and payouts at https://www.arizonalottery.com/.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by an Arizona Republic editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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