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DPS Enrollment Drop Points To Deeper Budget Crisis Than School Closures Can Solve
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

DPS Enrollment Drop Points To Deeper Budget Crisis Than School Closures Can Solve

By Nico Brambila | The Denver Gazette Enrollment losses in Denver now outpace what school closures alone can address. Denver Public Schools (DPS) Superintendent Alex Marrero is expected to present an update on the district’s enrollment to the board at its meeting this Thursday. During an October count, the district reported an enrollment decline of roughly 1,200 students and about $18 million in lost annual revenue, said Bill Good, a district spokesperson. Because of a practice known as “smoothing” — which averages pupil counts over three years, rather than a single year — the immediate impact has been reduced to about $9 million. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
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Jeffco Schools Warns Staff of Major Job Cuts as Budget Strain Deepens
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Jeffco Schools Warns Staff of Major Job Cuts as Budget Strain Deepens

By Sage Kelley | The Denver Gazette Jeffco Public Schools employees received a voicemail from Superintendent Tracy Dorland Monday morning warning them of potential job cuts in the next year. “My holiday message this year is a more somber and serious one,” Dorland said in a voicemail obtained by The Denver Gazette. “Some of our colleagues in central services will receive notifications this week about changes to their positions at the end of the 2025-2026 school year.” The district expects to eliminate between 150 and 160 full-time positions as part of its new Budget Reduction Blueprint — or overall plan to whittle $60 million from the district’s budget in the 2026-2027 school year, according to a Nov. 13 presentation to the district’s board of education by Chi...
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Hacked Denver Signs Flash Anti-Car Messages as Transportation Debate Heats Up
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Hacked Denver Signs Flash Anti-Car Messages as Transportation Debate Heats Up

By Daniel Boniface | The Denver Gazette Denver transportation officials said an anti-car message that was displayed on traffic signs in Denver on Friday was the result of a hack. One sign, photographed by The Denver Gazette on Friday evening at E. Colfax Avenue and Lincoln Street near the Colorado Capitol, shared the message “Cars ruin cities.” “Yes, the sign was hacked,” Nancy Kuhn, a spokeswoman for the Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, told The Denver Gazette in an email Sunday. “We heard about it last night and sent someone out to address it.” A second sign was apparently hacked on 14th Street in Denver, displaying the same message, and a photo of it was posted on various social media accounts, including The Denver Urbanist an...
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Women Sue Hinge Dating App After Colorado Cardiologist Convicted In Drugging Rape Case
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Women Sue Hinge Dating App After Colorado Cardiologist Convicted In Drugging Rape Case

By Brian Maass | CBS Colorado Six women who say they were drugged and raped by former Denver cardiologist Stephen Matthews plan to file a civil lawsuit in Denver Tuesday against Matthews and the Hinge dating app, which they say allowed Matthews to remain on the app for years, even after women had told Hinge that Matthews was a rapist. "I thought it was unbelievably unacceptable, disrespectful and just horrifying," said one of the women who filed the suit, Alexa, 25, who asked that her last name not be used. She was 22 when she met Matthews via the Hinge app in 2023, but after a date that ended with her believing she was drugged and assaulted, she later learned that another woman had reported Matthews to Hinge as a "rapist" in 2020, then again in 2021, but he ...
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The Modern Cult Operating in Plain Sight in Our Schools
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

The Modern Cult Operating in Plain Sight in Our Schools

By Laureen Boll | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice In the 1970s, the U.S. was gripped by a wave of predatory cults that preyed on the vulnerable, even children. Groups such as the Hare Krishnas and  Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Church convinced their disciples that parents were outdated obstacles to living one’s best life, and often convinced these youngsters to leave their homes.  Once parents were out of the picture, the cult leader became the child’s new point of authority.  Thousands of families were shattered, with children vanishing into underground networks, never to be heard from again. As someone who came of age during that era, I remember the urgent warnings from parents like my own: stay vigilant, spot the signs of manipulation, and neve...
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Evergreen Pantry Gets Nearly 2,000 Pounds of Aid Delivered by Deputies
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kdvr.com, Approved, Local

Evergreen Pantry Gets Nearly 2,000 Pounds of Aid Delivered by Deputies

By Anna Coon | KDVR EVERGREEN, Colo. (KDVR) — A local food pantry in Evergreen received a major donation Saturday after deputies with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office delivered nearly 2,000 pounds of food and supplies, much of it carried on their backs. Deputies trekked three miles through Evergreen carrying 50-pound packs filled with food and toiletries as part of a charity ruck, starting at Evergreen High School and ending at Evergreen Christian Outreach. “We train for this stuff, right?” Deputy Sheriff Drake Acosta said. “We make sure we’re all physically fit and ready to go for anything that comes our way. So just another Saturday afternoon for us.” The event is an annual holiday tradition for the Jefferson County Special Operations Response Team. In pa...
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Home at stake as veteran challenges LPEA easement expansion
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

Home at stake as veteran challenges LPEA easement expansion

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Jack Barrett didn’t expect his retirement to look like this. The 80-year-old Navy veteran thought he, and his wife, would spend their later years quietly on the 9.6 acre property they bought outside Pagosa Springs—nearly two decades ago. Instead, Barrett is now fighting La Plata Electric Association over a transmission line upgrade that he says would force a widened utility easement closer to his home—and deeper into his property. “I served my country with honor,” Barrett said. “And I should not have this fight at this time in my life.” LPEA has filed a petition in condemnation to secure easement rights. It would be for project upgrading an existing transmission line from 69kV to 115kV. What began as a technica...
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Ranchers Warn of Coordinated Cattle Thefts in Weld County
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kdvr.com, Approved, Local

Ranchers Warn of Coordinated Cattle Thefts in Weld County

By Alliyah Sims | KDVR FOX31 WELD COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — Something strange is happening in Weld County: 14 Black Angus cattle have vanished from multiple ranches, and now deputies believe the animals were stolen, not lost. Since the beginning of October, ranchers in Weld County have been discovering missing cattle, but there’s no broken fences, no tracks, nothing left behind. Deputies say the pattern points to deliberate theft, not wandering animals. Chad Sanger, owner of Turnkey Cattle Company, says he checked every fence and gate, even the automated ranch entrance. The Weld County Sheriff’s Office confirms 14 missing Black Angus cattle across multiple herds. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT KDVR FOX31
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Elbert County Pushes Back as Xcel Tries to Force Power Line Route Through Private Land
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Elbert County Pushes Back as Xcel Tries to Force Power Line Route Through Private Land

By: Tori Mason, Jaimie Dodge | CBS Colorado Elbert County neighbors have spent years fighting Xcel Energy, and it's not even their utility. Residents say they're exhausted, scared, and furious as Xcel works to push ahead with a transmission project that would cut directly through their land. Residents along the proposed Power Pathway route are still battling the utility over a segment of the 550-mile transmission line that would cross Elbert County. More than 50 people spoke against the project at a public hearing on Tuesday in Kiowa. Commissioners denied Xcel's local permit in June, but the company is now appealing to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC), which will make the final decision. That ruling isn't expected until April 2026. READ...
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Aurora Crackdown Pulls 1,200+ Illegal Vehicles Off the Road This Year
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Approved, kdvr.com, Local

Aurora Crackdown Pulls 1,200+ Illegal Vehicles Off the Road This Year

By: Alliyah Sims | KDVR FOX31 AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) — Aurora’s three-strike rule is pulling illegal vehicles off the streets at record levels. From expired tags to no insurance or license, officers say the surge in violations is leading to a surge in seizures, and the numbers are climbing. From Jan. 1 to Nov. 30, Aurora police say 1,257 vehicles have been impounded under the city’s three-strike rule. Officers say about 80% to 85% of those cars are returned to the owner after they provide proof of a valid license, registration and insurance. For drivers who don’t claim their vehicles within the 30- to 45-day window, their vehicles are added to Aurora’s public auction. They run about every six weeks. FOX31 saw people out looking for vehicles at Tuesday’s auction. READ THE FULL ...
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