Japanese Colorado

A teen-ager with white supremacist ties has been sentenced to 75 years in prison for racial attacks on six Japanese students in a city park last year. Under the sentence, handed down Thursday, James Clifford Close Jr., 19, will not be eligible for parole until he is 54. Close was found guilty of second-degree assault, ethnic intimidation, aggravated robbery and other crimes. He was acquitted of attempted first-degree murder.

A Japanese college student shot during a carjacking says he still loves America, even though he thinks that it's a dangerous place to visit and should have stricter gun control laws. Kouichi Takemoto, who is studying travel and tourism at National College in Denver, told reporters Monday he plans to remain in the United States and complete his studies. "I like America. I love America," Takemoto said at Denver General Hospital.

In a circle on the autumn grass, the six of them sat, Japanese college freshmen singing to the chords of a $400 second-hand guitar. Their English was new and hesitant, and they apologized for it to the four young men who came at them suddenly, out of the dark, demanding money. The students may not have understood the insults the four began screaming at them. But they understood very well the baseball bats and the sticks.

A teen-ager with white supremacist ties has been sentenced to 75 years in prison for racial attacks on six Japanese students in a city park last year. Under the sentence, handed down Thursday, James Clifford Close Jr., 19, will not be eligible for parole until he is 54. Close was found guilty of second-degree assault, ethnic intimidation, aggravated robbery and other crimes. He was acquitted of attempted first-degree murder.

A Japanese college student shot during a carjacking says he still loves America, even though he thinks that it's a dangerous place to visit and should have stricter gun control laws. Kouichi Takemoto, who is studying travel and tourism at National College in Denver, told reporters Monday he plans to remain in the United States and complete his studies. "I like America. I love America," Takemoto said at Denver General Hospital.

In every way but one, the slick new magazine that just hit the stands looks like every other travel mag you've picked up on airplanes and in doctors' offices. The articles consist of hyperbolic prose about "mountain splendor" and "natural wonders." The lavish color pictures show off Colorado's most scenic mountains, forests, rivers and national parks, and the advertisements promote hotels, restaurants, dude ranches and ski resorts.

In a circle on the autumn grass, the six of them sat, Japanese college freshmen singing to the chords of a $400 second-hand guitar. Their English was new and hesitant, and they apologized for it to the four young men who came at them suddenly, out of the dark, demanding money. The students may not have understood the insults the four began screaming at them. But they understood very well the baseball bats and the sticks.