Clear-air advocate denied records by Colorado Springs notifies city of defamation suit

The Gazette (Colorado Springs): A Monument clean air advocate is threatening to sue Colorado Springs officials and representatives of the city’s publicly owned utility claiming they smeared her for discussing concerns about a coal-fired power plant.

Leslie Weise announced her intention to sue for defamation in a May 16 claim notice alleging “a coordinated campaign to attack (her) character.”

The notice – seeking at least $1.3 million – is the latest salvo in an ongoing feud over Weise’s contention that Colorado Springs Utilities and city leaders have withheld internal data showing harmful levels of sulfur dioxide emissions from the Martin Drake Power Plant in downtown Colorado Springs – a charge the city and its utility provider have denied.

“People in Colorado Springs should be outraged by the fact that poison is being pumped into the air and that the government is doing everything it can to keep that secret,” said her attorney, David Lane of Denver.

Weise intends to follow up with a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Denver on state and federal claims, including an alleged violation of her First Amendment rights, Lane said.

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