Rocky Mountain Voice

Local

AI-guided robot used to sort recylables in Colorado Springs
Approved, CBS 11 KKTV, El Paso County, Local

AI-guided robot used to sort recylables in Colorado Springs

By Kasia Kerridge | CBS 11-Colorado Springs A local recycling facility is the first in southern Colorado to use a robot to help sort materials. 11 News visited Republic Services, near I-25 and Garden of the Gods, to see the AMP Cortex in action. Republic Services says the AI-guided recycling robotic system helps sort food and beverage containers from El Paso, Pueblo, Chaffee and Elbert counties. “It uses a vision system and it recognizes materials that [are] coming up through the stream, and it will decide what to pick,” said maintenance safety tech at Republic Services Thomas Brackett. “It has a vacuum tube, and what it will do is it registers, it will go down and pick it and then it will shoot it down into the shoot that it needs, so it uses air.” READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS 1...
No comment: In Weld County, commissioners have removed public’s opportunity to speak at meetings
Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice

No comment: In Weld County, commissioners have removed public’s opportunity to speak at meetings

By BRIAN PORTER | The Rocky Mountain Voice GREELEY – A collection of residents in Weld County argued, during a town hall meeting here Wednesday, they should have an opportunity to express opinions and engage with officials they elected. Recently, though, Commissioner Kevin Ross and a majority of other commissioners removed public input from the Board of County Commissioner meeting agendas. It meant residents could still address the board on agenda items, but not on topics not included on the agenda. “There is no where in state or county law where it says we have to have it,” Ross said. That is true, said Jeff Roberts, executive director of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition. Open meetings law does not cover the subject of whether or not a board or commission must all...
Timnath Question 1A would restrict annexation, including Ladera land, if passed
Approved, Local, Northern Colorado, The Coloradoan

Timnath Question 1A would restrict annexation, including Ladera land, if passed

By PAT FERRIER | Fort Collins Coloradoan The speed with which the proposed 240-acre Ladera development project in Timnath is built will largely depend on the outcome of the April 2 election. That's when Timnath's roughly 6,500 registered voters will decide ballot question 1A, a citizen-led initiative that would restrict the town from annexing any land that includes an active mining permit until reclamation is completed. It would apply retroactively to the 188.5-acre Connell LLC annexation the town approved Feb. 13 that includes Connell Resources' active mine and asphalt plant. If passed, Question 1A could slow development of the project's second phase — the 188.5 acres annexed Feb. 13 —but would not stop its first phase, roughly 60 acres on the northeast side of the site...
Sonnenberg wins 4th District straw poll in Holyoke, his second straw poll victory
Approved, Eastern Plains, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Sonnenberg wins 4th District straw poll in Holyoke, his second straw poll victory

By BRIAN PORTER | The Rocky Mountain Voice The candidate that emerges in Colorado’s 4th District to represent the eastern third of the state in Congress will have a tall order – to serve a predominately urban population along the Front Range and a mostly rural population along the furthest reaches of the Eastern Plains. Jerry Sonnenberg may have begun making the case he is one who can do it, winning his second straw poll in the district Sunday at a tri-county forum held in Holyoke. The combined Phillips, Sedgwick and Yuma County event drew a crowd of about 200-250 and Sonnenberg came away with 55 of the 184 votes cast to take 29.9% of the vote. Ted Harvey gathered 38 votes to finish second and Lauren Boebert was third with 30 votes. Boebert had won a previous straw poll in Windsor...
Floating solar array could improve water quality, lower the power bill for Fort Lupton — if a federal grant comes through
Approved, Local, Northern Colorado, The Colorado Sun

Floating solar array could improve water quality, lower the power bill for Fort Lupton — if a federal grant comes through

By Mark Jaffe | Colorado Sun When it came to its water treatment plant Fort Lupton had two concerns: controlling algae in the reservoir next to the plant and the aging diesel generator that backed-up the facility when the electric grid was down. In collaboration with its power supplier Brighton-based United Power and the co-op’s contractor Schneider Electric the city found a solution for both – and then some. That plan — a microgrid with a battery fed by 850 kilowatts of solar panels floating on the reservoir — is in line for a $6.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, part of $366 million awarded to 17 projects in rural areas and tribal nations from Alaska to Florida. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
‘Great sadness’ as City of Loveland, Colorado losing leadership
Approved, denvergazette.com, Local

‘Great sadness’ as City of Loveland, Colorado losing leadership

BY Carol McKinley | Denver Gazette The city of Loveland lost two of its municipal leaders Tuesday during a special meeting called by the City Council. City Attorney Moses Garcia and Municipal Court Judge Geri Joneson separated from the city. Garcia’s departure was an expected part of the meeting, but Joneson's departure appeared to be a bombshell to the council.  After coming out of executive session with Joneson, Loveland City Council member Troy Kenning announced that the judge was exiting “for personal reasons and entirely unrelated to her performance.” The panel voted 9-0 to approve her resignation, many of whom expressed “great sadness.”  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
Aurora’s housing strategy team sets goals, gives recommendations for boosting affordable housing
Approved, denvergazette.com, Local

Aurora’s housing strategy team sets goals, gives recommendations for boosting affordable housing

By Kyla Pearce | Denver Gazette City of Aurora officials this week reported progress advancing they city's housing strategy, putting forth recommendations for enhancing the city's stock of affordable housing and getting additional funding through Proposition 123. Aurora adopted its housing strategy in 2020, which identified gaps in affordable housing and laid out a plan to improve affordability. At the time, city officials presented data showing the city short about 7,500 affordable rental units for households earning under $25,000 a year and 12,000 families below half of the Area Median Income (AMI). READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
Adams County’s oil and gas rules are among the strictest in the state — and the industry is still rapidly growing
Approved, Local, The Colorado Sun

Adams County’s oil and gas rules are among the strictest in the state — and the industry is still rapidly growing

By Mark Jaffe | Colorado Sun When Keith Huck, an Adams County senior oil and gas inspector, walks onto a well pad he looks, listens and sniffs. There is a lot to keep his eyes, ears and nose busy as the county has become the fastest-growing oil producer in the state. Since 2017, oil production has grown 15-fold as the county became Colorado’s second-biggest producer churning out 12.8 million barrels in 2023, with some companies still filing December numbers. Adams County remains a distant second to Weld County, where the output is 10 times as large, but since 2021 Adams County production is up about 58% and Weld’s has dropped by about 6%, according to state data. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
Mobile harm reduction van aims to help with safer substance use, overdose prevention in Arapahoe County
Approved, Denver Metro, Local, The Colorado Sun

Mobile harm reduction van aims to help with safer substance use, overdose prevention in Arapahoe County

By Tatiana Flowers | Colorado Sun A new mobile harm reduction service is bringing overdose prevention to the streets of Arapahoe County to help people who use opioids and other drugs. The Arapahoe County Public Health department says it’s using an equity-focused approach on its new harm reduction van to help reduce the toll of the opioid epidemic on the community. The new mobile unit, Prevention Point, will offer safer substance use and sexual health services to people across the county including a syringe access and disposal program, Narcan and testing for HIV, hepatitis C and other infections transmitted by unsafe sex and drug use, officials said. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
Aurora to local governments, nonprofits: Don’t bring immigrants in without coordinating
Approved, denvergazette.com, Local, Northern Colorado

Aurora to local governments, nonprofits: Don’t bring immigrants in without coordinating

By Kyla Pearce | Denver Gazette The Aurora council approved a resolution on Monday night telling other local governments or nonprofits entities to not bring immigrants — who ended up in metro Denver after illegally crossing America's southern border — into Colorado's third most populous city. The vote followed disagreement among councilmembers and criticism from some residents who attended the meeting. The resolution's sponsors later made changes in response to feedback from nonprofits and community members.  As amended, the resolution affirms Aurora's "non-sanctuary" status, asserting that the city "does not currently have the financial capacity to fund new services related to this crisis." READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DENVER GAZETTE