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Boulder residents launch ballot measure petition to (re)close West Pearl Street to cars
Approved, Boulder Reporting Lab, Local

Boulder residents launch ballot measure petition to (re)close West Pearl Street to cars

By John Herrick | Boulder Reporting Lab A group of Boulder residents has started collecting signatures for a 2025 ballot measure that would close two blocks of West Pearl Street to most vehicles, reviving a pandemic-era street closure that made space for outdoor dining. The move is expected to reignite debate over how to balance efforts to create pedestrian-friendly spaces with business interests, pitting transportation advocates against some business owners who want to keep that section of Pearl Street open to cars and parking. Opponents argue that lost parking during the previous closure hurt business.  The ballot measure calls for creating a “community space” on Pearl Street between 9th and 11th Streets by closing it to private vehicular traffic. Commercial and emergency v...
Mayor’s veto of Denver needle exchange bill stands after council declines override vote
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Mayor’s veto of Denver needle exchange bill stands after council declines override vote

By Deborah Grigsby  | The Denver Gazette Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s veto on a City Council resolution lifting limits on needle exchange locations looks like it will stay on the books. His veto letter was officially entered into the record during Monday’s regular city council meeting. Despite the opportunity to override the veto — which requires a nine-vote supermajority — the councilmembers remained silent and declined to vote. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
Local egg producers seeing strong demand as prices in stores have risen 37% in last year
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Local egg producers seeing strong demand as prices in stores have risen 37% in last year

By Nate Belt | KDVR-TV Fox 31 News Egg prices have steadily been on the rise for the last couple of years, due to factors like the bird flu currently impacting farmers around the country. There are other options if you’re fed up with prices in the stores. According to data from the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, the average egg price in the US went up by just shy of 37% in the last year. With prices not expected to go down any time soon, people may be looking for other options away from the grocery store. READ THE FULL STORY AT KDVR-TV FOX 31 NEWS
How Durango’s school board kept a charter school out by prioritizing DEI over parents
Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice

How Durango’s school board kept a charter school out by prioritizing DEI over parents

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Ascent Classical Academy seemed to have the community support, the resources and the experience to launch another successful charter school in Colorado. Parents in Durango seemed to want the option. More than 600 families signed letters of intent, but the Durango School Board said no in 2022. This wasn’t a decision based on academic concerns, some say. The school board, backed by a mobilized teachers’ union, rejected Ascent on ideological grounds, blocking an alternative educational model that didn’t align with its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) priorities. The Durango school board rejected Ascent twice, despite the Colorado State Board of Education’s original ruling in the charter school’s favor. The official r...
The impact Colorado’s only Buc-ee’s has had on small Johnstown
Approved, KKTV CBS 11, Local

The impact Colorado’s only Buc-ee’s has had on small Johnstown

By Lindsey Boetsch | KKTV-TV CBS 11 News The only Buc-ee’s in Colorado will be open for a year next month. Here in El Paso County, we’re waiting for the next steps for another potential store in Palmer Lake. “I think it’s put Johnstown on the map,” said Johnstown Mayor Michael P. Duncan. Mayor Duncan has been in his seat since April. He wasn’t around for the planning of the Buc-ee’s but his city is reaping the benefits of it being open. “We’re pulling in about $1 million a year. That goes back into the infrastructure. Our fire, our police, our water...,” Mayor Duncan said. READ THE FULL STORY AT KKTV-TV CBS 11 NEWS
Two found deceased in storm drainage tunnel in Fort Collins
Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Two found deceased in storm drainage tunnel in Fort Collins

By Jennifer McRae | CBS Colorado Fort Collins police told CBS News Colorado that two people were found deceased in a storm drainage tunnel early Monday morning. Officers were called to the location under College Avenue about 3:30 a.m. The person told police that there were two people unresponsive in a tent that was set up inside the tunnel. Law enforcement and emergency personnel believe they likely got into the tunnel by crawling under safety gates at the opening. Police said the two found deceased were previously contacted on several occasions by members of the Homeless Outreach and Proactive Engagement team "in an effort to direct them to various city resources." READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
Cheapest place to buy eggs in Denver? The answer may surprise you
Approved, denvergazette.com, Local

Cheapest place to buy eggs in Denver? The answer may surprise you

By Daniel Boniface | The Denver Gazette The price of eggs is soaring across Colorado and it has many consumers hunting for deals. Google searches for "cheapest place to buy eggs near me" have increased 400% across the U.S. in the last day. The average price for a dozen eggs reached $4.15 nationwide in December, according to The Associated Press. And although it was still 67 cents cheaper than the high-water mark set two years ago, the Agriculture Department said to expect prices to rise another 20% this year. The AP reports the main reason prices have climbed recently is because of the bird flu outbreak, which started in 2022. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
King Soopers strike will begin Thursday, impacting stores in six counties, Boulder and Louisville
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King Soopers strike will begin Thursday, impacting stores in six counties, Boulder and Louisville

By Bernadette Berdychowski | Colorado Politics, via The Denver Gazette Grocery workers at many King Soopers locations across the Front Range will begin striking on Thursday, the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 announced Monday morning. The strike will begin at all unionized King Soopers stores in Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson counties, as well as stores in Boulder and Louisville. It's still not clear when El Paso and Pueblo county stores will go on strike. In a letter to members posted on Facebook, the union said it may announce strike dates for Colorado Springs and Pueblo in the "coming days."  READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
So. Colorado sheriffs, officials support SB047, allowing law enforcement to work with ICE
Approved, gazette.com, Local

So. Colorado sheriffs, officials support SB047, allowing law enforcement to work with ICE

By O’Dell Isaac | The Gazette A group of Colorado law enforcement and elected officials on Monday spoke in support of upcoming legislation that would increase their ability to work with the Department of Immigration Control and Enforcement in the prosecution of violent criminals living in the U.S. illegally. El Paso County Sheriff Joe Roybal, Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell and U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank held a news conference at the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office as part of an effort to galvanize public support for Senate Bill 25-047, Enforcement of Federal Immigration Law, which would repeal existing Colorado immigration laws that Roybal called “anti-public safety.” READ THE FULL STORY AT THE GAZETTE
Apartment construction in Colorado Springs slowed to lowest in a decade in 2024
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Apartment construction in Colorado Springs slowed to lowest in a decade in 2024

By WAYNE HEILMAN  | The Gazette The red-hot pace of Colorado Springs-area apartment construction turned ice cold last year. From 2019 to 2023, multifamily developers pulled permits to build just over 14,000 apartments in the Springs and surrounding El Paso County — one of the hottest stretches of local apartment construction in recent memory that averaged a little more than 2,800 units a year, according to recent and historical Pikes Peak Regional Building Department figures. Developers, however, did an about-face in 2024 and took out permits to build just 838 apartments — a nearly two-thirds drop when compared with the previous year and the fewest since 2015. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE GAZETTE