City News
This is news from the city of Boulder, about the city or any of its departments
Murder investigation of CU student, Sid Wells, nears 30 years; suspect remains on the run (or dead)
Jul 31st
August 1, 2013 will mark the 30-year anniversary of the shooting death of Sid Wells, a 22-year-old journalism student enrolled at the University of Colorado. The case received prominent media attention because at the time of his death, Wells was dating actor Robert Redford’s daughter, Shauna.
Thayne Smika mugshot
Wells had been shot in the head, and was found dead inside his Spanish Towers condo by his brother on August 1, 1983. Police suspected Wells’ roommate, Thayne Smika, and arrested him a few months after the homicide when investigators linked him to the murder. However, Smika was never prosecuted because the district attorney at the time, Alex Hunter, declined to take the case. Smika left the area and in 1986, his abandoned car was found in Beverly Hills, CA.
In 2011, the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office agreed to review the case and approved an arrest affidavit for Smika. Unable to locate Smika, police are again asking for the public’s help finding him. Investigators believe Smika is living under an assumed identity and have contacted Smika’s relatives (several of whom still live in Colorado) in attempts to find out where he is and what identity he has been using. Smika’s relatives have not provided any helpful information to the Boulder Police Department.
Deputy Chief Dave Hayes, who was one of the first detectives to investigate the case in 1983, is hoping that someone can provide information about Smika’s whereabouts. “It’s past time for justice for Sid Wells and his family,” said Hayes. “Thayne Smika escaped a first degree murder charge, and has likely been living a life of freedom while the Wells’ family has been grieving for three decades.”
Age progression to present
Investigators are still looking for Thayne Smika and are asking anyone with information about Smika or where he might be living to contact them. Detective Tom Dowd may be reached at 303-441-3385. Those who have information but wish to remain anonymous may contact the Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or 1-800-444-3776. Tips can also be submitted through the Crime Stoppers website at www.crimeshurt.com. Those submitting tips through Crime Stoppers that lead to the arrest and filing of charges on a suspect(s) may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000 from Crime Stoppers.
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City of Boulder launches new website
Jul 29th
The City of Boulder has launched a new website at bouldercolorado.gov. The site includes a new layout and design as well as several features aimed at making it easier for users to access government services and information. The last time the city launched a new site design was in 2006. View the City of Boulder Website Infographic to see a visual progression of the city’s website since 1999.
Key to the new site is its responsive design, which means the site is resizable for any screen, including any mobile device.
“It’s a new era in website design,” said City of Boulder Director of Information Technology Don Ingle. “We knew going into this effort that not only did our website need to have an updated look, it also needed to accommodate mobile web users. More and more people are accessing Internet content from mobile devices, leaving designs based on desktop screen widths a thing of the past.”
The city’s site also features more photos and videos throughout its pages. Navigational options featured on the new home page were selected based on hit and search data as well as topic timeliness.
Inside Boulder News – New City Website (Select the image below to watch the video)
New website services include:
- A new Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) tool called Inquire Boulder (www.inquireboulder.com) that serves as a customer service portal.
Users can go to Inquire Boulder to ask the city questions, look up FAQs and submit requests for services like pothole repair, graffiti response, park shelter rentals, park and trail maintenance, code enforcement, damaged city trees and much more. An Inquire Boulder app is also available for iPhone and Android mobile devices.
- Online access to public records for City Council and boards and commissions.
The city is launching a public portal to documents that are on file for council, boards and commissions from the last three years, where available. This can be accessed at bouldercolorado.gov/central-records, from the scrolling buttons on the city’s homepage, or from individual council, boards and commissions pages. By providing online access to these materials, users can search key words to find meeting documents, rather than having to know the date the meeting occurred. Additional documents will be added to the public portal in a phased approach.
- Open data resources in a central place.
The city previously provided open data files like GIS data and other land use resources, but they were scattered throughout the website, buried in multiple locations. By combining and featuring the city’s open data sets, Boulder joins the ranks of many other municipal governments providing open data services.
“Perhaps the most unique feature of the new website is something our users can’t see, and that’s our partnership with the City of Arvada,” said Ingle.
As part of the redesign effort, the city chose to switch to a new content management system, the database-driven application that houses webpage content and provides a user interface for the staff that posts the content to the site. Rather than purchasing a new system from an outside vendor, Boulder entered into a unique partnership with the City of Arvada to share and mutually enhance the customized content management system that Arvada had developed. As a result, the city acquired the system at no cost. As part of the partnership, both cities have agreed to share enhancements to the system as they develop new features that meet their needs.
“Partnering with Arvada was definitely an ‘outside of the box’ decision, but it made a lot of sense for several reasons,” said Ingle. “We were able to get a system that was developed specifically with local government needs in mind, from the perspective of the staff that use it to communicate with the public, rather than from a vendor. It also allows us to make specific enhancements to it in the future. The partnership will save both municipalities and taxpayers money while mutually supporting our online communication goals.”
The cities were jointly awarded second place in the 2012 Best of the Web (BOW) City Portal Category from the e.Republic’s Center for Digital Government for this collaborative approach to share and jointly pursue innovation for a specialized website content management system.
The city spent approximately $25,000 on the new site design by Vision Internet, a company that specializes in designing websites for local government entities. The Inquire Boulder CRM system provided by Government Outreach, which specializes in CRM systems for local governments, amounted to $19,000 for implementation and annual costs thereafter for system hosting and support.
During the redesign effort, the city also endeavored to clean up its content from the old site. As a result, the city eliminated approximately 8,000 pages of outdated and inaccurate or duplicate information and now hosts a trimmed up site of approximately 4,000 pages.
–CITY–
A week in the life of OSMP Rangers, dogs, dogs, dogs and other news
Jul 28th
Rangers responded to:
• A report of a potential assault on Gregory Canyon Trail. A woman was kneed in the leg while trying to pass a couple of hikers who thought she was being rude. Suspects have not be found.
• A report of a campfire west of NCAR. Boulder Fire could see three foot flames close to Mallory Cave. Suspect/s was never found.
Looks like fun, huh?
• A report of a dog bite on the Gregory Canyon trail. The dog bit the hiker while they were passing by on the trail.
• A report of a nine year old bit by a dog on the hand at the Bluebell Shelter.
• A visitor in the closure at Boulder Falls who had a warrant for his arrest. Rangers worked with Sheriff’s Officers on this person’s arrest.
• A report of an overdue hiker in the Mt. Sanitas area. Rangers worked with Sheriff’s Officers and RMR to locate the missing party.
• An injured hiker on the East Ridge trail of Mt. Sanitas who had sprained their ankle. Rangers worked with AMR on this call.
• A report of a grass fire on the Reynolds property. The fire was started by a vehicle and was quickly extinguished. The fire was about 30’X30’.
• A report of a party passed out at the Halfway House. The patient was there for a wedding, became overheated and passed out. Rangers helped AMR with this call.
Community Outreach
Reminder: Art Inspired by the Land – Art Show Opening Reception
Fri. July 26, 5 –7 pm
Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks Department is excited to announce that we will host an art show in late summer at the Boulder Public Library Canyon Gallery (1001 Arapahoe Avenue, Boulder). This show will celebrate art created by the community and inspired by OSMP lands. Please join us for appetizers, quartet music from the Boulder Philharmonic, and beautifully inspiring community art celebrating your protected lands and wildlife. This reception is free and open to the public. The art show will run from July 20 – August 28 during normal library hours.
This year to date we have offered 184 educational programs with 8,600 people attending! (Requested hikes plus Natural Selections.)
Mountain Bike Patrol: Trail work last week on Spring Brook was a success. Thanks for everyone who came–Joel, John S, Dan, Jeremy W, Allison, Jeremy, John P, Paul, Steve, and Kyle.
