Rocky Mountain Voice

CBS Colorado

$5.5M project in Arapahoe County aims to make travel safer for Colorado cyclists
Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

$5.5M project in Arapahoe County aims to make travel safer for Colorado cyclists

By Brian Sherrod | CBS Colorado Construction crews in Arapahoe County are working to make a popular intersection more bike-friendly. Right now, crews are adding three new roundabouts around sections of Inverness West, Inverness East, and Inverness Boulevard by Dry Creek Road. The Inverness Drive Project is just one step in a very big project. CBS First Alert Traffic Tracker Reporter met with CIP Transporation Engineer Trent Marshall to discuss the project in depth. Marshall tells CBS Colorado it will take a four-lane road and turn it into a two-lane road. It will dedicate those lanes to be street bike lanes. This program will provide bicycle facilities from Denver to Douglas County. The construction started the week of May 27 but the design for this project is two years in the making...
Denver Health Medical Center wants voters to approve a sales tax to help with funding pinch
Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Denver Health Medical Center wants voters to approve a sales tax to help with funding pinch

By Alan Gionet | CBS Colorado Times have been getting tougher and tougher in health care. It shows up in the copays, the bills and now Colorado hospitals are facing a crisis.  "Reimbursement is down everywhere partly because we have an increase in the number of uninsured patients across the country," said Denver Health's CEO Donna Lynne. Lynne went before a Denver City Council committee Wednesday to ask them to advance a ballot question to Denver voters requesting a sales tax hike. The increase would be devoted to help pay cost shortages and would cost shoppers an extra 3.4 cents on a $10 purchase. It would mean an estimated $70 million to help meet the rising cost of running the services of the hospital, including emergency services, paramedics, clinics and other operations. T...
Community input sought ahead of possible Denver Public Schools closures
Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Community input sought ahead of possible Denver Public Schools closures

By Anna Alejo | CBS Colorado Despite a surge in the enrollment of migrant students this year, Denver Public Schools continues to experience a drop in the size of its student population. The school board is asking for community input as it plans how to consolidate and close schools. The school board says it's necessary to close schools to keep the district financially viable and to re-allocate limited resources. As proposed "guardrails", the board wants the Superintendent to consider schools of any size and not to use standardized test scores or school performance ratings as a condition for consolidation. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
No veterans living on Denver streets? That’s Mayor Mike Johnston’s goal.
Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

No veterans living on Denver streets? That’s Mayor Mike Johnston’s goal.

By Austen Erblat | CBS Colorado Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said he wants to make Denver the largest city in the country to have no veterans living on the streets. Johnston says that by tracking people experiencing homelessness in the Mile High City and partnering with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Denver Department of Housing Stability, the city identified and plans to provide housing for the 52 homeless veterans. "We think this puts us in a position to, before the end of this year, house all 52 of those veterans who we know are still experiencing unsheltered homelessness," he said at a news conference on Monday. "We will be the largest American city to make sure that no veteran who has served this country sleeps outside in the streets of Denver." RE...
Trump’s New York felony conviction can’t keep him from becoming president
Approved, CBS Colorado, National

Trump’s New York felony conviction can’t keep him from becoming president

By Kathryn Watson | CBS Colorado Former President Trump's New York felony conviction Thursday on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a "hush money" payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels can't stop him from becoming president if the voters put him back in office, legal scholars seem to agree.  The Constitution imposes very few prerequisites for the presidency — a candidate must be at least 35 years of age, a natural-born citizen and a U.S. resident for a minimum of 14 years. It says nothing about the impact of a felony conviction on a president's ability to serve.  "The short answer is yes, that there's no constitutional bar," said Corey Brettschneider, a lawyer and professor of political science at Brown Univers...
Colorado Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera released from hospital Monday
Approved, CBS Colorado, State

Colorado Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera released from hospital Monday

By Jennifer McRae | CBS Colorado Colorado Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera has been released from the hospital after she was treated for an infection in her arm. Primavera returned home on Monday. "While I had different plans in mind for Memorial Day weekend, I'm grateful for the doctors, nurses, and staff who provided me with incredible care during my treatment for an unexpected infection. I came home today in good spirits and filled with gratitude. Thank you for all the well wishes and to the many dedicated health care professionals statewide who continually answer the call to serve their community. I'm looking forward to continuing my work alongside Governor Polis to ensure that all Coloradans have access to high quality and affordable healthcare," said Primavera in a stat...
School district turns to AI to solve bus driver shortage, add convenience
Approved, CBS Colorado, El Paso County

School district turns to AI to solve bus driver shortage, add convenience

By Meg Oliver, Analisa Novak | CBS News Colorado The nationwide shortage of school bus drivers has left many students without reliable transportation. In 2023, the number of bus drivers nationwide in K-12 schools dropped to about 192,400, down 15.1% since 2019, according to research by the Economic Policy Institute. Despite offering training and higher salaries, districts like Colorado Springs School District 11 couldn't find enough candidates.  At the beginning of the school year, District 11 had a budget for about 110 bus drivers, but only managed to hire around 60. To address the shortage, the school district partnered with RouteWise AI. The rideshare company HopSkipDrive developed the AI technology being tested. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
Colorado firefighters save cat after car fire damages 4 vehicles, 2 townhouse units
Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Colorado firefighters save cat after car fire damages 4 vehicles, 2 townhouse units

By Austen Erblat | CBS Colorado Firefighters found and rescued a cat that went missing during a blaze that damaged several cars and townhouse units in a Denver suburb. The fire was first reported around 5:20 a.m. Saturday in the 1100 block of South Reed Street in Lakewood. West Metro Fire Rescue said it took crews less than five minutes to arrive at the scene and about 20 minutes to extinguish the fire. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
Investigation: South Adams County FD’s trips may be ‘violation of public trust’, says ethics expert
Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Investigation: South Adams County FD’s trips may be ‘violation of public trust’, says ethics expert

By Brian Maass | CBS News Colorado Top fire chiefs and administrators with the South Adams County Fire Department, along with some of their board members, have regularly taken their spouses along to winter conferences in Florida and fall conferences in Colorado's high country, billing taxpayers for their spouses' meals and other expenses, and extending their stays before and after conferences.  One Colorado ethics expert characterized this as "sounding more like a vacation than a business trip" and suggested, "they've been misusing funds." The questionable expenditures emerged from a CBS News Colorado investigation of the fire department's conference expenses over the last three years, prompting the department to announce updates to its travel and conference policies.  REA...
From bag fees to car fees, two ballot measures could end Colorado’s fee-frenzy
CBS Colorado, Approved, State

From bag fees to car fees, two ballot measures could end Colorado’s fee-frenzy

By Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado In an effort to avoid having to go to voters for tax increases, Colorado state lawmakers have increasingly turned to fees. But they may have gone too far this year. In addition to bills imposing fees on phones, alcohol and tires, state Democratic lawmakers introduced a bill increasing the fee on car and truck rentals to just over $5 a day. If passed, the money would be used to fund mass transit projects. The American Car Rental Association, which represents companies like Enterprise and U-Haul, is now threatening to sue the state and is putting money behind two ballot measures that could drastically limit all fees. Greg Scott with the association warned lawmakers the fee would be a violation of federal law, which prohibits fees on airport busines...