It’s no secret that we love to focus on the good we find amidst all of the negative in our community, state, nation and world.
There’s plenty of bad, questionable and scary news coming at us left and right, and seeking out the positives helps us remember all the good there still is in the world. We’d like to take the time to celebrate just a few of the wins and the good that have come out over the last week.
First, we’d like to give a kudos to the law enforcement agencies across multiple states who worked together to relatively quickly apprehend the suspect in the killing of three women in Wayne County, Utah. The suspect was arrested in Pagosa Springs on Thursday, March 5.
If not for quick responses out of Utah, the numerous agencies working together across state lines throughout the night, and without the use of automated license plate readers, the suspect could not so easily have been tracked through several states.
Who knows what else could have happened had the suspect not been apprehended so quickly and had continued to flee.
We acknowledge that automated license plate readers, also commonly also known as Flock cameras due to the brand Flock Safety, are highly controversial due to privacy and surveillance concerns, but, in this instance, they potentially saved lives and will allow multiple Utah families to see the process of justice begin in the case involving the murders of their loved ones.
Friday morning provided a wonderful contrast to the events of the day prior and numerous things going on in our world.
That morning, we watched the Pagosa Springs Elementary School’s kindness march, and it was lovely.
In the days leading up to the march, students created wonderful and adorable posters about the importance of kindness, then took to the sidewalks near the school Friday morning to show them off and promote something our world desperately needs more of — kindness.
Hundreds of smiling kids marched with their positive signs. Parents and community members lined the sidewalk to cheer the kiddos on and thank them for spreading positivity. Cars honked in support.
Kudos to the school district for allowing the students to engage with the community in such a way.
It made our day, and was a great reminder that kindness and joy are infectious and refreshing. We hope you enjoy the photos on the front page and they help you to have a better day and remind you to spread kindness. You never know whose day you might make or the difference you can trigger with something so simple.
We’d also like to celebrate what we see as a win for public information and transparency in our state that took place Friday: The bill seeking to amend the Colorado Open Records Act by extending response deadlines and adding other questionable provisions died in committee. The Colorado Press Association Network called the win “significant,” explaining, “This proposal was largely the same bill that Governor [Jared] Polis vetoed last year, but without the media exemption and commercial requester provision. We expected a difficult fight to defeat it, so failure in its first committee is the best possible outcome.”
We appreciate those who spoke out against it and the lawmakers who thought of or listened to the concerns over what the changes could mean for transparency, the public’s right to know and access to information in our state.
Randi Pierce
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