Videos below.

If you thought shopping on Boulder's Pearl Street Mall could be expensive before the city council prohibited smoking on the mall earlier this year, just try lighting a cigarette during your next visit.

Since the ban went into effect just over six weeks ago, 35 people have been cited for setting flame to tobacco (at least we think it was all tobacco) while on the mall -- and the potential price for this decision sure as hell ain't cheap.

Get details and see two videos below.

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Is it legal to grow hemp in Colorado? Like, right now?

That's a complicated question -- and one that the Colorado Department of Agriculture is trying to clear up in a statement issued this week: "Amendment 64 did not authorize the immediate cultivation of hemp. It instead directed the General Assembly to enact legislation governing the cultivation, processing and sale of industrial hemp. This they have now done."

So can farmers start planting? Not yet.

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Big photos below.

A note to potential employers of Taylor Powers, 21. When you Google her name, you will come across posts like this one -- as well as clips from the New York Daily News and The Smoking Gun -- about her being charged following her mushroom-fueled strip and subsequent rescue during a hike at Chautauqua Park on Sunday. But this incident in no way should define what appears to be a very articulate, together person -- at least judging by her cooking blog, Get in My Belly. And while a couple of the recipes include mushrooms, they're not that kind of mushrooms....

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Big photo and more below.

Update: Yesterday, we told you about the shooting of an employee during what appeared to be a robbery at a Pleasures adult store in Aurora; see our previous coverage below.

Now, representatives of the Aurora Police Department have released a surveillance photo of the man who pulled the trigger.

See a larger version of the image below, and get the latest about an increased reward being dangled in the case.

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Big photos below.

Graduation at CU-Boulder happened just over a week ago, but the CU-Boulder Missed Connections Facebook page hasn't slowed down a bit. The site features lotsa fresh posts...

...fresh in many different ways....

...in which romantic students search for the one who got away. We've collected and photo-illustrated our ten recent faves. Count them down below, and predict for yourself whether love will be back in the fall.

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It's been over six months since voters approved Amendment 64, which allows adults 21 and over in Colorado to use and possess small amounts of marijuana, and the Obama administration still hasn't weighed in on the measure.

Last week, we speculated that the delays would continue thanks to current scandals that touch upon the Justice Department, and one of the main A64 proponents won't complain if they do.

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Graphics below.

For all the good things that come along with more cycling in Denver, there are also some negatives -- including bicycle-related crime, which tends to be committed at some locations more often than others. Example: A new 9News report has identified the city's ten worst bike racks for theft, with many major landmarks making the roster -- including Auraria campus, which turns up three (!) times. Look below to see the complete list, illustrated via interactive graphics of the area; if you have problems seeing the images, click "View Larger Map."

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Photos, videos below.

After the passage of a driving-under-the-influence-of-drugs bill, we wondered if Westword medical marijuana critic William Breathes would ever be able to drive legally again, since he'd registered nearly triple the proposed limit while sober during a 2011 test.

Tonight at 10 p.m., CBS4 dives into the drugged driving debate -- and its tests of various subjects showed wide variations, both when users were stoned and sober.

See a preview video, a clip of a previous TV report on the subject and more below.

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Ward.

Last week, we posted about Patrick Ward, the man charged with assorted vehicular crimes related to the death of cyclist Michel Van Duym in Lyons. Ward's past negative comments about cycling reignited the debate between cyclists and drivers. Here's one especially interesting take on the subject.

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Tulowitzki.

Denver blog posts really mean it.

Purple Row's Jay Tymkovich thinks the Rockies' series win over the San Francisco Giants makes a statement.

Colorado Pols thinks the lack of viable Republican candidates to challenge Governor John Hickenlooper or Senator Mark Udall means the GOP has no bench.

Denver Frank: Want some Native Tongues goodness?

Tweets and more below.

Last week, a Centaurus High student was busted after an explosive device was found near a high-traffic area of the school.

So it's understandable that the discovery of what was termed a suspicious bag would cause a freak-out among officials at Boulder's Fairview High School, not to mention the media.

Turns out, though, that the item wasn't a bomb. It was a science project.

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Big photos below.

Following last month's attack at the Boston Marathon, people planning to take part in the Colfax Marathon, as well as the upcoming BolderBOULDER, took to social media to make it clear they would still hit the pavement.

Plenty of them did so safely at the Colfax Marathon this weekend. Our Danielle Lirette captured the scene, which, fortunately, was all about enjoying Colorado. Check out a sampling of her images below and click to view the complete Colfax Marathon 2013 slide show.

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Big photos below.

There's an undeniable fascination about urban bears rescues, as witnessed by the way a photo of a bear in Boulder last year went viral; see the original pic, plus a meme and GIF below.

No telling if images of a bear being plucked from a tree in Colorado Springs yesterday will become equally ubiquitous. But the operation, which involved not one but two tranquilizer darts and a precarious effort utilizing a fire truck's ladder, was certainly striking. See photos, a video and more below.

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Big photos below.

Late last year, when we first posted about the search for Kara Nichols, she was nineteen.

Today, more than eight months after she set out from her Colorado Springs home for Denver, she turns twenty. Her loved ones are marking the date even as they're emphasizing that despite the passage of time, they're not giving up on locating an aspiring model said to have been involved in drugs and prostitution. Photos, details and our original coverage below.

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Big photos below.

To mark National Dog Bite Prevention Week, the U.S. Postal Service has assembled an unusual list: The top fourteen cities during fiscal 2012 when it comes to dog attacks on postal workers.

No, dogs biting mail deliverers isn't just a staple of old sitcoms. It actually happens a lot, and Denver made the roster. The entire list is below, complete with terrifying photos that should probably be rated PWG -- Postal Worker Guidance advised -- plus USPS tips about avoiding bites. Check it all out below.

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Big photos below.

Our Melanie Asmar has been writing about a new film incentives law that aims to attract movie- and TV-makers to Colorado -- and in March, she revealed that Dear Eleanor, a movie produced by Leonardo DiCaprio's company, would soon start lensing here.

Lo and behold, it's happening -- and while producer Caleb Applegate reportedly wanted to keep many of the locations quiet, the City of Niwot had other ideas. See photos and get details below.

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This week's Cannabis Time Capsule, which stems from Ouray and goes all the way back to 1910, shows what might be the modern origins of stoner lore that the word "assassin" stems from hashish.

According to legend, hash-stoned mercenaries carried out murders for their blood-thirsty ruler in exchange for more ganja.

So is it true? Partly -- but it's not what you'd describe as "accurate."

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Dobson.

Yesterday, we posted about claims by Focus on the Family founder James Dobson that the IRS had discriminated against one of his other operations for political reasons. This alleged mistreatment put Dobson back in the public eye, and his reappearance took one of our readers by surprise.

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Charles Woodson.

Denver blog posts are voice-activated.

Mile High Report's Bronco Mike digs into the team and roster implications that will face the Broncos if they add Charles Woodson, who visited Denver on Wednesday -- and is slated to stop in Oakland next week.

Denver Urbanism's Ryan Mulligan: "East Rail Line crews have begun laying the first sections of ballasted track!"

Denver PR Blog: #Triathalonfail.

More photos below.

On the Schmuck of the Week beat, figuring out who's the schmuck turns out to be more of a challenge than it might seem at first blush.

The arrest of Fountain police officer Daniel Barkus on a stalking charge is a case in point. Based on the information that's surfaced thus far, it's difficult to tell if he did something wrong or if he's simply the victim of a big misunderstanding, albeit a high-profile one, due to his association with the reality TV series Prospectors and its sexy star, Amanda Adkins.

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