Colorado
Colorado celebrates Juneteenth with new laws and a large festival
Colorado is getting ready to have a good time Juneteenth this weekend, the nation’s youngest federal vacation.
Why it issues: June 19, 1865, was the day enslaved individuals in Galveston, Texas, acquired information that former President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation two years earlier.
Flash-forward: President Biden signed laws final June in response to a summer season of protests following George Floyd’s homicide.
Zoom in: Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed a legislation this previous Could recognizing June 19 as a paid vacation. A Juneteenth flag is now flying on the State Capitol.
- Denver can be contemplating making Juneteenth a paid vacation starting in 2023. Council members launched the ordinance final month and are anticipated to approve the measure this coming Monday.
What they’re saying: Laquan Austion, founding father of The Juneteenth Basis in Washington, D.C., says individuals of all races ought to view June 19 as an American vacation — not one only for Black individuals.
- “Take into consideration July 4th,” Austion tells Axios. “We have a good time that day for American independence. Juneteenth represents our independence from ourselves. Now all of us have the power to pursue the Founding Fathers’ imaginative and prescient.”
? Tips on how to have a good time: Head to 5 Factors this Saturday and Sunday for Denver’s iconic Juneteenth Music Pageant, that includes a parade, stay music, meals vehicles and extra.
What else you are able to do: The brand new federal vacation ought to be considered as greater than one other time off from work, Austion says. As a substitute, individuals can acknowledge Juneteenth by:
- Studying: This can be a second to be introspective and ask “Why had been individuals nonetheless enslaved in 1865? Why did not they get the data in Galveston?” he says.
- Have fun: Austion says it is necessary to acknowledge that for some individuals, it is a “second of solace and mourning.” However nonetheless, individuals ought to get out of their communities, go to occasions and use this as an “alternative to study and listen to.”
The underside line: “Undoubtedly exit, be an ally, be an asset,” Austion says. “However do not be tone deaf and attempt to hijack it as your individual. Do not attempt to commercialize it. Go on the market and benefit from the festivities and study and have a good time this as People.”
Colorado
Colorado authorities shut down low-income housing developer
The Colorado Division of Securities is pursuing legal action against a man whom it claims deceived investors and used the ownership of federally supported low-income housing projects to line his own pockets.
Securities Commissioner Tung Chan announced its civil court filings against Michael Dale Graham, 68, on Nov. 12.
Chan’s office filed civil fraud charges against Graham, and also asked for a temporary restraining order and freezing of Graham’s assets and his companies’. A Denver district court judge immediately granted both. Since then, two court dates to review the those orders have canceled; a third is scheduled for mid-January.
Graham operates Sebastian Partners LLC, Sebastiane Partners LLC, and Gravitas Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund I LLC (“GQOZF”), all of which were controlled by Graham during his “elaborate real estate investment scheme,” as described by the securities office in a case document.
The filing states Graham collected more than $1.1 million from eight investors to purchase three adjacent homes in Aurora. The Denver-based Gravitas fund and its investors purportedly qualified for the federal Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ) program with the homes. Qualified Opportunity Zones were created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed by Congress in 2017. The zones encouraged growth in low-income communities by offering tax benefits to investors, namely reductions in capital gains taxes on developed properties.
Graham formed Gravitas in early 2019 and purchased the three homes located in the 21000 block of E. 60th Avenue two years later. He quickly sold one of them with notifying investors, according to the case document. While managing the other two, Graham and Gravitas transferred the fund’s assets and never operated within QOZ guidelines to the benefit of its investors or the community, according to the state.
Gravitas also transferred the titles for the two properties to Graham privately. As their owner, Graham obtained undocumented loans from friends totaling almost $600,000. The two loans used the two properties as security.
Gravitas investors were never informed of the two loans, according to the case document. Also, Gravitas never sent its investors year-end tax reports, the securities office alleges.
Graham used the proceeds of the loans for personal use. No specific details were provided about those uses.
“Effectively, Graham used Gravitas as his personal piggy bank,” as stated in the case document, “claiming both funds and properties as his own. Graham never told investors about the risks associated with transferring title to himself. On September 1, 2023, he sent a letter to investors, stating that the properties ‘we own’ are doing well and generating growth due to record-breaking home appreciation. But Gravitas no longer owned the properties.
“Gravitas no longer had assets at all.”
Furthermore, the securities office said Graham failed to notify investors of recent court orders against him in Colorado and California. In total, Graham was ordered to pay more than $1 million in damages related to previous real estate projects.
Graham’s most recent residence is in Reno, Nev., according to an online search of public records. He evidently has previously lived in Santa Monica, Calif., and Greenwood Village.
Colorado
Colorado weather: Temperatures staying in the 60s Sunday
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Colorado
Colorado Springs police search for missing 20-year-old
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – Police are searching for a missing at-risk adult.
They said 20-year-old Brandon Hugney was last seen Saturday night, around 7 p.m., at the Walmart on Platte avenue.
They shared a picture of Hugney, describing him as a 6′ man last seen wearing black-framed glasses with red trim, a grey fleece, blue pajama pants and black and white slippers.
Police said he likely isn’t properly dressed for the weather and was last seen heading west behind Walmart.
If you know where he is or see him, call police at (719) 444-7000.
Copyright 2024 KKTV. All rights reserved.
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