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The Denver Gazette

Hacked Denver Signs Flash Anti-Car Messages as Transportation Debate Heats Up
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...
Economists Predict Slow Recovery for Colorado Workforce After Policy-Driven Setbacks
The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Economists Predict Slow Recovery for Colorado Workforce After Policy-Driven Setbacks

By Bernadette Berdychowski | The Denver Gazette Colorado faced weak job growth throughout 2025. More than half of the 11 largest sectors are expected to have recorded job losses by the end of the year, according to the annual economic outlook from the Business Research Division at the University of Colorado Boulder, released Monday. But 2026 is expected to see improvement, as economists forecast only three sectors will see job losses. Preliminary estimates show 2025 had 0.4% growth. Next year, job growth could improve to 0.6%. Colorado has been in a cycle of sluggish growth since 2024 that was exasperated this year by tariffs and federal cuts. The slowdown is largely driven by the professional and businesses sector, the second-largest employer in the stat...
Trump Targets State-Level AI Rules Amid Concerns Over Innovation
The Denver Gazette, Approved, National

Trump Targets State-Level AI Rules Amid Concerns Over Innovation

By Wire Services | The Denver Gazette President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday aimed at blocking states from crafting their own regulations for artificial intelligence, saying the burgeoning industry is at risk of being stifled by a patchwork of onerous rules while in a battle with Chinese competitors for supremacy. Members of Congress from both parties, as well as civil liberties and consumer rights groups, have pushed for more regulations on AI, saying there is not enough oversight for the powerful technology. Business groups, including in Colorado, have argued against state-by-state regulations, arguing the federal government should tackle this topic and any law passed should apply nationwide, instead of a patchwork of regulations. Last year,...
Colorado’s Appointment System Tested as Districts Lose Multiple Lawmakers
The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Colorado’s Appointment System Tested as Districts Lose Multiple Lawmakers

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette Two vacancy committees that will convene in the next month or so will have an interesting challenge: Picking a new state senator and state representative who will represent the same geographic area. The vacancy election for Senate District 25, represented by the late Sen. Faith Winter, D-Broomfield, will meet on Dec. 23 at 6:30 p.m. to pick a replacement. The meeting will be livestreamed. Winter died in a car crash a few weeks ago. Reps. William Lindstedt, D-Broomfield, and Jenny Willford, D-Northglenn, are planning to run for the Senate seat.  Lindstedt already filed the candidacy paperwork for the Senate District 25 seat for 2026, given that Winter was term-limited. He noted in an announcement Monday that Win...
Regulators Keep Pueblo Comanche Coal Unit Running While Xcel Repairs Newer Plant
The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Regulators Keep Pueblo Comanche Coal Unit Running While Xcel Repairs Newer Plant

By Alexander Edwards | The Denver Gazette The Comanche Power Plant in Pueblo will continue to operate a coal-powered electrical generating unit that was slated for retirement this month for one more year. The move comes after Xcel Energy, the state’s largest utility company, petitioned in November to keep one generator operating after an outage at the coal-fired power plant. Gov. Jared Polis backed the petition. On Wednesday, the Public Utilities Commission approved a variance submitted by the utility. This allows Comanche 2, which was slated to be retired on Dec. 31, to continue operating as Xcel fixes the Comanche 3. “The Commission found that the outage at Comanche 3 was the sole justification for the extension of Comanche 2,” a fact sheet released by th...
Small Businesses Lead Surprise Drop in U.S. Private Payrolls
The Denver Gazette, Approved, National

Small Businesses Lead Surprise Drop in U.S. Private Payrolls

By Reuters | The Denver Gazette WASHINGTON – U.S. private payrolls unexpectedly declined in November as small businesses shed jobs, but the weakness is probably not a true reflection of the labor market’s health, with recent government data showing layoffs remaining at low levels late last month. Economists also cautioned against reading too much into the ADP employment report published on Wednesday, arguing its monthly estimate has historically diverged from the government’s private payrolls count produced by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. “It is too loosely correlated with the official data to be troubling,” said Samuel Tombs, chief U.S. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. “It would be unwise to lower forecasts for the official data, however, on...
Trump Administration Presses Democrat States to Share SNAP Data or Face Withholding of Aid
The Denver Gazette, Approved, National

Trump Administration Presses Democrat States to Share SNAP Data or Face Withholding of Aid

By Darlene Superville and Geoff Mulvihill | The Denver Gazette WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration said Tuesday that it will move to withhold SNAP food aid from recipients in most Democratic-controlled states starting next week unless those states provide information about those receiving the assistance. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday that the action is in the works because those states are refusing to provide data the department requested such as the names and immigration status of aid recipients. She said the cooperation is necessary in order to root out fraud in the program. Democratic states have sued to block the requirement. Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia previously sued&...
Copper Creek Wolves Linked to Another Livestock Killing in Gunnison County
The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Copper Creek Wolves Linked to Another Livestock Killing in Gunnison County

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette A heifer found dead in eastern Gunnison County on Nov. 22 was killed by one of the yearlings from the Copper Creek wolf pack, according to a rancher, who did not want to be identified. It’s the fourth livestock death in November attributed to wolves. Two calves and a ewe were also killed by wolves in November in Routt, Pitkin and Rio Blanco counties, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The Copper Creek pack is believed to be responsible for numerous livestock deaths in Pitkin, Gunnison and Grand counties. One of the yearlings was killed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) staff in May in Pitkin County after a weekend of livestock killings; a second was shot by wildlife officers in Rio Blanco County in September after it killed si...
Incoming Progressive Douglas County School Board Sparks Backlash With Early Swearing In
The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Incoming Progressive Douglas County School Board Sparks Backlash With Early Swearing In

By Noah Festenstein | The Denver Gazette The new members of the Douglas County school board have already assumed their seats — in “secret,” according to the outgoing president. The move by incoming directors effectively kicked out the four outgoing members early, said the outgoing board president, who accused the new members of being less than transparent. Douglas County voters in November elected a group of progressive-leaning directors, flipping the once conservative Douglas County School District Board of Education.  Elected directors already started their positions before Tuesday’s special meeting, when the board is supposed to be formally sworn in, according to Christy Williams, the outgoing board president. “This action, conducted without transparency, appears to ...
Colorado Joins the Fight to Keep SNAP Benefits for Illegal Aliens
The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Joins the Fight to Keep SNAP Benefits for Illegal Aliens

By Marissa Ventrelli | The Denver Gazette Colorado joined 21 other states in a lawsuit seeking to undo the Trump administration’s campaign to stop taxpayer-funded food aid from going to individuals illegally staying in the U.S., arguing the move also implicated a group of noncitizens who should be eligible to get the benefits under the law. At issue is a guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that implements the provisions of the congressional budget passed in July. That budget narrowed the groups of noncitizens who could receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that some 90,000 on average will lose eligibility per month as a result of the new law. The individuals would have received about $210 per mo...

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