The Aspen Sheriff's Department and Aspen Police Department issued a press release to the media today with details for attending actor Charlie Sheen's hearing next Wednesday on his motion to modify the protective order precluding him from contacting his wife. (Prior coverage here.) They are holding a lottery for tickets and satellite trucks on Tuesday, due to the "significant media and community interest in the hearing" and the need for security and to protect the historic nature of the courthouse building. (It is really old.)

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The AP is reporting Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper will run for Governor of Colorado. An announcement is expected at 4:15 pm this afternoon at the state capitol.

If you're in Denver Monday night, consider stopping by the City Council meeting.

Here is the proposed ordinance, Council Bill 34, updated Jan. 4 (pdf), for licensing and regulating medical marijuana dispensaries. If adopted,according to Marijuana Policy Project, the regulations would:

• enact location restrictions requiring dispensaries to be at least 1,000 feet from any school, child-care center, or other dispensary, with an exception to grandfather in most existing dispensaries;
• prohibit patients from using their medicine on site;
• limit hours of operation to 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.; and
• prohibit anyone with felony convictions in the last 5 years (including marijuana-related felonies) from opening a dispensary.

The regulations would not establish limits on the amounts of marijuana plants dispensaries can cultivate, which means cultivation operations would only be subject to existing zoning regulations. [More...]

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says he won't run for Governor but will back Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.

Sources close to Salazar said that Democrats had done quick polling that showed both he and Hickenlooper beating Republican candidate Scott McInnis if the election were held now.

I hope Hickenlooper decides to run. I doubt Salazar would have endorsed him unless he knows he will, so I suspect this is just about a done deal.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the 23 year old Nigerian failed "underpants bomber," has been indicted in Michigan.

The six count Indictment, returned today, is here.

The charges include attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, attempted murder, attempt to destroy an aircraft, willfully placing a destructive device on an airplane, possession of a destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence, and carryng/using a destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence.

The first count carries a possible penalty of life in prison.

Update: The press conference. Loud cheers for him. His wife is with him and smiling. Sen. Mark Udall is behind him. He talks about his vision and that it is becoming a reality. Colorado is on the road to recovery. It is a privilege for him to serve as Governor. He praises Lt. Governor, Barbara O'Brien.

Over the last year, he's tried to balance many roles in his life. His family has sacrificed the most. He hasn't made them the priority they should be. So he is going to do that now.

He's 53 years old and been in public service for more than 30 years. He has two children that still live at home, one in college, and they need him and his wife needs him.

This decision allows him to focus on the budget and Colorado's economy. By not running for re-election he can make the tough budget cuts that need to be made, free of political bickering. He looks forward to spending the next year keeping the budget balanced and economy growing. He thanks everyone. Time for questions: [More...]

Update: My speculation as to reason: He liked being DA better than being Governor. Maybe Obama will announce he's going to be Colorado's U.S. Attorney. Until we hear tomorrow, I think it's as possible as any other reason being floated.

This is a shocker. Flashing across my tv screen, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter won't seek re-election. He hasn't given a reason. He will make the announcement in the morning at an 11 a.m. press conference. From Political Wire:

A fundraiser scheduled for tonight was canceled and all campaign staff was sent home in the middle of the day. The decision does not appear to be fundraising related which has reportedly gone better than expected.

In November, Breckenridge voters overwhelmingly passed an initiative decriminalizing >adult possession of small amounts of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. It went into effect today.

Breckenridge is the first town in the country to decriminalize drug paraphernalia, and the second to allow recreational marijuana use (Denver is the first.) Since under state law, possession of up to an ounce of pot or drug parahphernalia carries a $100.00 fine and is classified as a petty offense, it can leave you with a criminal record. So the change in Breckenridge is a welcome one, and not that trivial.

It remains to be seen whether Breckenridge becomes the "Amsterdam of the Rockies", or takes business away from neighboring Frisco, Silverthorne and Dillon, which serve the same ski areas, or results in an uptick in arrests for related activity.

"Skiing while stoned" is still illegal under other laws. As is buying, selling and growing marijuana and smoking or displaying it in public.

I was just reading Radaraonline's article on Rick Manguson, the Aspen cop who busted Charlie Sheen after responding to the 911 call at the couple's rented home on Xmas Day.

I wrote about Manguson during his unsuccessful run against the much-beloved Aspen Sheriff, Bob Braudis. The town dodged another bullet, in my view, when Bob got re-elected.

Here's two of his more inappropriate and borderline ethically-challenged stunts I learned about.

Update: TMZ has obtained a copy (which it posts here) of the affidavit for Sheen's arrest and it's got some ugly allegations.

The Aspen Police Department has released the 911 call placed by Charlie Sheen's wife on Christmas morning in which she alleges he had a knife. You can listen here.

She tells the operator the knife was a pocket-type knife he kept in his back pocket. She says he's in the bathroom, she's in the kitchen, her family is present, and then says he was trying to get out of the house but hasn't left. Then the police arrived. She sounds upset (and sniffley) and keeps repeating "I have to file this report." As has previously been reported, the call was at 8:34 a.m. and her BAC was .13 while his was .04, and she later recanted her story about the knife.

My detailed first post on Friday suggesting some kind of weapon was involved, based on the specific charges he was arrested on, is here. The DA is not expected to decide whether to file charges until February 8, Sheen's next court appearance. [More...]

As I wrote last night, the charges for which actor Charlie Sheen was arrested signal the use of a deadly weapon.

Now, ET says the Aspen Police Department spokeswoman has confirmed that some kind of weapon was allegedly involved. TMZ and OK report the same.

I'm calling first dibs. The question now: Was he trying to get the weapon away from her or was he threatening her with it? Given his lawyer's statement that he believes it will be shown that no criminality was involved, his wife's BAC being over the legal limit while his wasn't, and his wife's refusal to continue speaking with police, I won't be surprised if he's ultimately cleared. The Aspen District Attorney has not yet decided whether to file charges and has this to say:

“I am hearing the same rumors as you are hearing about Ms. Mueller being the aggressor, but I don’t have that evidence yet,” Mordkin speaks of Charlie’s wife to OK!, “I do know she is not speaking to the police for now. She may be compelled to cooperate.”

But, what if her testimony would incriminate her with respect to falsely reporting a crime? Surely, her lawyer would tell her to take the 5th at that point, unless she's granted immunity. If that happens, and it's still a big "if", her cooperation would help clear him.

The Aspen Daily News recounts Charlie Sheen's bail hearing (background here) and continues:

It is not clear how Sheen spent his Christmas at the Pitkin County Jail, where he was held for several hours, but jailers indicated that prime rib was served for lunch and cornish hen was eaten for dinner. The meals, as they always are, were prepared by Aspen Valley Hospital. Additionally, inmates were given phone cards so they could call their loves ones and an artificial Christmas tree was set up inside the jail, which is famous for its humanitarian customs. Special movie privileges were also granted.

“Other than the fact they don’t have the ability to walk in and out of the doors as they wish, we try to make it as much like home as we can,” a jailer said. “We try to do that every day but naturally the fact they can’t see their loves ones [on Christmas] makes it a really tough time for some of them.”

The enlightened and humanitarian jail policies are largely due, in my view, to Pitkin County Sheriff Bob Braudis. His philosophy: the best jail is an empty one. As Jimmy Ibbotson sings about him here, "An officer of peace, his county rocks."