Author: Dave Philipps
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Vi Murphy: The Gazette reporter jailed by Colorado Supreme Court for refusing to identify source
In fall 1960, the Colorado Supreme Court ordered a reporter from The Gazette to appear and the visibly angry justices demanded to know how she got her hands on a sealed petition that accused a former justice of taking bribes. The reporter, Vi Murphy, who was 34 and a mother of four, stood before the…
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Learn about a little-known side of Colorado Springs founder Gen. William J. Palmer
William Jackson Palmer, the founder of Colorado Springs, is usually portrayed as a staid, cultured, graying patrician. But Terrell Garren knows a different Palmer, one he discovered while trying to learn the 155-year-old story of soldiers who burned his hometown and raped his great grandmother. Garren, a Civil War historian from Asheville, N.C., is the…
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In the footsteps of a trailblazer: First woman to scale Pikes Peak
When Julia Archibald Holmes stepped onto the summit of Pikes Peak 150 years ago, she not only became the first woman to scale the 14,115-foot mountain in recorded history, she also became the first person to do it with panache. Sure, rugged men had climbed it, but she read transcendentalist poetry aloud at the top,…
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The devil on Pikes Peak
THE GO-DEVIL was supposed to die a long time ago. It was too fast. Too dangerous. You couldn’t control it, couldn’t stop it. It would split a man’s head open as quick as the crack of a whip. So it was outlawed over a half-century ago. Pictures of it were taken down. The practice was buried…
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The oldest living tree near Pikes Peak is more than 2,000 years old
This story was originally published in The Gazette on Sept. 3, 2015. Nothing should grow here. Late-summer storms hurl hail against the granite slope. The dawn air freezes all but six weeks of the year. There is no sign of soil. But on this lonely ridge, the oldest known tree in the Pikes Peak region,…
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Learn about a little-known side of Colorado Springs founder Gen. William J. Palmer
Editor’s note: This story originally published June, 9, 2011, on gazette.com. William Jackson Palmer, the founder of Colorado Springs, is usually portrayed as a staid, cultured, graying patrician. But Terrell Garren knows a different Palmer, one he discovered while trying to learn the 155-year-old story of soldiers who burned his hometown and raped his great…
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In the footsteps of a trailblazer: First woman to scale Pikes Peak
This story first appeared in The Gazette on July 31, 2008. — When Julia Archibald Holmes stepped onto the summit of Pikes Peak 150 years ago, she not only became the first woman to scale the 14,115-foot mountain in recorded history, she also became the first person to do it with panache. Sure, rugged men…
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Subhead
Facing possible lawsuits, calls to resign, and a recall petition, El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa has ordered mandatory “staff inspection” meetings to discuss morale. A patrol deputy who was in one of the meetings with eight other personnel Wednesday said many of the deputies complained about getting catcalls and other negative comments referencing Maketa…
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Group begins seeking signatures in Maketa recall effort
A group that wants to recall El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa hit the streets Monday seeking signatures to get the recall on the November ballot. More than 60 volunteers are trying to gather 44,373 signatures from registered voters to get the recall on the ballot. As of Monday morning, about 1,700 had signed. Organizer…
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City attorney directs Utilities employees to label emails in effort to avoid public disclosure
Colorado Springs Utilities is attempting to dodge releasing information about the Drake Power Plant fire by instructing employees to include the term “attorney-client privilege” in all emails discussing the May 5 fire there. Top supervisors in Utilities energy division told employees this would allow the publicly-owned utility to deny requests made under the Colorado Open…