Colorado: U.s.

As talk radio and the blogosphere blew up with claims that Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor is a racist, scholars of ethnicity and politics called for a quick truce.

A one-time poor choice of words on Sotomayor's part, perhaps, was their view. The New York appellate judge said in a 2001 speech, "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."

But Sotomayor's other, voluminous words — even in the same controversial speech — scream moderation, said academic experts who are following the debate.

Former U.S. Rep. Scott McInnis officially entered the 2010 gubernatorial race with little fanfare and after critics have for weeks argued he was essentially running without filing the appropriate financial disclosures.

The Grand Junction Republican gave notice of his intent to run Tuesday to the secretary of state's office in what McInnis' right-hand man called a "purely bureaucratic" move.

So many people have asked to volunteer, Mike Hesse said, that McInnis made his candidacy official so he could put them to work.

And though McInnis' detractors claimed victory Tuesday, the filing has nothing to do with the mounting criticism, Hesse said.

A Denver Nuggets banner joined The Stars and Stripes and Colorado's red, gold, blue and white billowing over the state Capitol this afternoon as Gov. Bill Ritter proclaimed May 2009 "Nuggets May-nia Month."

Emerging from the Capitol building flanked by seven go-go boot-clad Nuggets dancers, Ritter said he'd not yet been able to reach Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to make a little wager - but he's still trying.

"We're confident of a Nuggets victory," Ritter said just two hours before tip-off.

Receiving the honor for the Nuggets was team mascot Rocky, complete with party poppers that threw blue and gold confetti and streamers into the air during the press conference.

The state's independent ethics commission ruled this morning that there was "insufficient evidence" that former Secretary of State Mike Coffman violated state ethics rules.

Coffman, now a U.S. congressman, repeatedly denied wrongdoing throughout the proceedings, which lasted more than a year.

The complaint against him alleged that he allowed a staffer to run a partisan side business and that he recertified electronic voting machines owned by a client of the consulting firm that also ran his congressional campaign.

While the authors of the complaint said the decision points to serious flaws within the commission, Coffman called it a clear and overdue victory, while blasting the group that brought the complaint against him.