Colorado Springs Independent | Anthony Lane

Residents Bemoan the Heat at Colorado Springs Homeless Centernew

Residents of the R.J. Montgomery New Hope Center say the center's conditions are unsanitary and unsafe, while the director swears it's cool and clean.

Colorado Springs Independent | Anthony Lane | 07-16-2009 | Housing & Development

Tags: R.J. Montgomery New Hope Center, homelessness, poverty

Despite Hopes, Incoming Soldiers Won't Bolster Colorado Springs' Housing Marketnew

Take close to 6,000 soldiers -- many with families -- and make them move to Colorado Springs. Add a federal program meant to help troops with reassigned units sell their homes, and sprinkle in some hope that the local housing market has bottomed out. You have the makings for a healthy local housing boom, save for one crucial thing: Many soldiers are in no position to buy.

Colorado Springs Independent | Anthony Lane | 07-14-2009 | Housing & Development

Tags: Homeowners Assistance Program, military, Colorado Springs, housing market, economic issues, recession

Numbers Suggest New Vets Court in Colorado Will Be Busynew

No one knows how many veterans will find space in the specialized court -- which will try to identify current and former soldiers whose criminal activity is tied to combat experiences -- when it starts up Aug. 1 in Colorado Springs. But advocates say the aim is to find an alternative to stuffing vets behind bars.

Colorado Springs Independent | Anthony Lane | 07-14-2009 | Crime & Justice

Tags: alternatives to incarceration, veterans court, veterans, crime, Colorado Springs, war & peace

Local Pols Join a Colorado County's Expanded Board of Healthnew

Opinions are mixed over whether adding elected officials to the El Paso County Board of Health will make a difference.

Colorado Springs Independent | Anthony Lane | 04-28-2009 | Politics

Tags: El Paso County Board of Health, Colorado

Fort Carson's Top Commander Talks About Mental-Health Care, Classrooms and Morenew

Maj. Gen. Mark Graham has led a Colorado Army installation through some difficult times since 2007.

Colorado Springs Independent | Anthony Lane | 02-17-2009 | War

Tags: military, Fort Carson, Mark Graham

$35 for Your Thoughts on the Economynew

What justifies a national news story saying the psychic business is booming in these uncertain times?

Colorado Springs Independent | Anthony Lane | 12-11-2008 | Economy

Tags: psychics, economic issues, The Future

Near-Misses and Mistakes Highlight Election Pressures in Coloradonew

With election day looming, troubling news keeps emanating from the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder's Office.

Colorado Springs Independent | Anthony Lane | 10-28-2008 | Politics

Tags: 2008 presidential election, Colorado, voting rights, early voting

Mixed Messages Leave Earth-Friendliness of DNC in Doubtnew

There is a paradox of making sustainability a goal when bringing so many thousands of people across the country to a single place: It would be much greener if everyone stayed home and picked a presidential candidate by conference call.

Colorado Springs Independent | Anthony Lane | 09-09-2008 | Politics

Tags: environment, sustainability, Democratic National Convention

Families Suffer as Money Woes Gum Up the Food Stamp Bureaucracynew

The federal government foots the bill for assistance, but leaves states with the task of determining eligibility. Most states assume that duty; Colorado, however, imposes its labor- and paper-intensive computer system on counties, requiring them to process applications.

Colorado Springs Independent | Anthony Lane | 09-09-2008 | Food+Drink

Tags: Colorado Springs, food stamps, food banks

Don't Bet on Getting into Obama's Thursday Speech Without Ticketsnew

So, you want to see Sen. Barack Obama's nomination acceptance speech Thursday at Invesco Field, but didn't get tickets. You wonder: Is there hope of getting in? The short answer is ... well, there isn't a short answer.

Colorado Springs Independent | Anthony Lane | 08-26-2008 | Politics

Tags: 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama, Democratic National Convention

Pasties in Public? Not in Colorado Springsnew

Turns out the city's public indecency ordinance prohibits exposure of the "genitals or buttocks of either sex or the breast or breasts of a female." Lt. David Whitlock, a police department spokesman, says officers twice asked the women to either put on shirts or leave the park. "That is a proper interpretation [of the law]," he says. "The only statutory defense is breast-feeding."

Colorado Springs Independent | Anthony Lane | 08-01-2008 | Civil Liberties

Tags: civil liberties, Colorado Springs, gay & lesbian issues, indecency, pasties, indecent exposure