I’m learning a lot about addiction now that I’m working on a project for the Betty Ford Center Children’s Program. I’m learning about the impact alcohol and drug abuse have on kids when there is addiction in the home. I’m also learning that there is hope that a family can escape the clutches of addiction. Healing is possible with the right kind of help. According … Continue reading Addiction Among Us
I grew up in Hawaii and sang in a choir. We were a very tight group of teenagers from various schools. We were laid back and went to the beach together and sang our hearts out. Then we all grew up and followed our paths until we met up again on Facebook a number of years ago. And we were different. Last night one of … Continue reading Guns and Love and Fear
When Kathleen Larimer, who lost her son, John, in the Aurora Theatre shooting, made her victim impact statement in the final days of the trial, she began by telling the judge “I am so tired of crying.” She and her husband, Scott, had been in the courtroom every day for four months, looking for answers that might help make sense of the murder of their … Continue reading Listening to Victims: Closing thoughts on four months covering the Aurora Theatre shooting trial
The Marijuana Policy Project came out with its report card for 22 presidential candidates and hopefuls this week and the headline is that no one is sticking their neck out very far when it comes to the legalization of marijuana or the loosening of federal pot laws. Admittedly, this is not the biggest issue on anyone’s presidential platform but as more states jump on the … Continue reading The Pot Plank and Presidential Politics
When recreational marijuana was legalized in Colorado in January of 2014 it promised to be a boom for those who were ready with their brick and mortar stores and new licenses. Growing as rapidly as weed are ancillary businesses that cater to these new marijuana pioneers. You only need to walk inside the massive grow operation at establishments like Medicine Man to realize that marijuana … Continue reading The Other Marijuana Boom
The other night while having dinner on our deck on a warm summer evening we heard automatic weapons fire. We live in the suburbs of Denver, about a mile as the crow flies from the Family Shooting Center in Cherry Creek State Park. We often hear the peppering of gunfire as people shoot and train with handguns and rifles. It is background noise for us, … Continue reading Guns In My Backyard
Joseph Kony is infamous for his atrocities and crimes against humanity in Uganda and neighboring countries and now the group Invisible Children is trying to make him famous. Kony is one of the most sought after war criminals and the hope is by bringing attention to him the whole world will engage and finally hunt him down and let justice be served. His Kony’s Lords … Continue reading I Support Kony2012
K’NAAN is one of my favorite musicians. He inspired people around the globe with his rousing “Wavin’ Flag” during the World Cup in South Africa and now he has written a powerful op-ed piece for the New York Times about a journey he took home to his native Somalia. It’s an urgent call to action in case we are forgetting the famine already. A Son … Continue reading A Son Returns to the Agony of Somalia By K’NAAN
There are some things I never forget. The day President Kennedy was assassinated. The day the Challenger exploded. Columbine. What I was doing on 9/11/2001. My husband called me and said turn on the television. I got there in time to see the second plane hit the tower. I watched with my hand over my mouth then turned to my little son and said “Kyle, … Continue reading 9/11 Ten Years Later
JonBenet Ramsey would have been 21 years old today. I covered this story for years for NBC News. For a time the world could not get enough of this murder mystery. Was riding a train in Italy one day and mentioned to my seat mates that I was from Colorado. All they wanted to know is “Who killed JonBenet?” Fifteen years later we still don’t … Continue reading Happy Birthday, JonBenet Ramsey
Vicky Collins Online 