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Budget cuts and bots: Denver shortens 311 hours and expands AI usage in city services
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kdvr.com, Approved, Local

Budget cuts and bots: Denver shortens 311 hours and expands AI usage in city services

By: Jacob Factor | Fox31 DENVER (KDVR) — Facing major budget shortfalls, Denver is cutting back hours and staff for its call center that assists residents with city services and looking to leverage an artificial intelligence chatbot to pick up the slack. Denver in Mayor Mike Johnston’s proposed 2026 budget is looking to cut more than $1 million from the 311 City Services budget, most of which comes from cutting vacant call center agents positions in the Technology-Services-Department-run office. One employed call center agent was also among the cuts. The city and county’s X page on Monday announced the new hours for the 311 phone line: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday. This is a reduction of two hours each day, as it was previously open until 7 p.m. ...
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School Board Hopefuls Promise Accountability After Turbulent DPS Years
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

School Board Hopefuls Promise Accountability After Turbulent DPS Years

By Nico Brambila | The Denver Gazette While candidates will say every election is consequential, the four seats on the ballot next month could reshape the Denver Public Schools Board of Education and chart a new course for Colorado’s largest school district. On Tuesday, EDUCATE Denver held a candidate forum along with ChalkBeat Colorado and CBS News at Regis University. “We think leadership at the board level impacts the education of our students,” said Nan Baumbusch, EDUCATE Denver staff director. Formed in 2022, EDUCATE Denver is a diverse coalition of civic leaders and community organizations whose mission is to advocate for a “high-quality DPS education,” according to the group’s website. “For this reason, voting in a board election is important whether you have a studen...
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FAA Blames DIA Flight Delays on Air Traffic Controller Shortage
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kdvr.com, Approved, National

FAA Blames DIA Flight Delays on Air Traffic Controller Shortage

By Heather Willard | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — Staffing issues have hit the skies above Denver as U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says the government shutdown is adding extra weight to air traffic controllers’ already high-stress jobs. Duffy visited air traffic controllers before speaking to the media at Newark Liberty International Airport on Monday. The airport is under a similar ground delay as Denver International Airport, with both advisories stating that staffing was causing the delays. Duffy said that there has been a small uptick in sick calls from controllers, and that if that gets worse during a prolonged federal government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration will have to reduce the number of flights taking off and landing, which would create further ...
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Denver Firms Charged With Selling Chinese Forklifts as “Made in USA”
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kdvr.com, Approved, Local

Denver Firms Charged With Selling Chinese Forklifts as “Made in USA”

By Heather Willard | KDVR Fox31 DENVER (KDVR) — Two Denver-area companies and three of the businesses’ top executives are facing federal charges for allegedly defrauding the government on sales of forklifts and trying to dodge tariffs on equipment imported to the U.S. According to a federal grand jury indictment and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Public Affairs, the two companies involved were Endless Sales Inc. and Octane Forklifts, Inc., which both appear to have addresses on Lima Street in Denver. The indictment alleges that current company executives Brian Firkins and Jeffrey Blasdel, as well as former executive J.R. Antczak, conspired to import forklifts from China and then conceal the trucks’ foreign origin. Once disguised, the group would sell the fork...
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RTD requests additional $1.6 billion in funding for rail expansion project
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Fox31, Approved, Local

RTD requests additional $1.6 billion in funding for rail expansion project

BY Jared Dean | FOX 31 NEWS DENVER (KDVR) — Over 20 years ago, voters approved RTD’s expansion program, the largest in the nation. 113 miles of both commuter and light rail systems, 78 rail transit stations, and 18 miles of rapid bus transit were set to hit the metro. “We have a lot of challenges in terms of completing the program in a shorter period of time. And I know everybody’s anxious about it, but we really do need other sources of revenue in order for us to kind of be able to complete it in a reasonable amount of time,” senior manager for transit-oriented communities for RTD Bill Sirois said. Major hits to the economy and a massive decline in ridership have made funding the project nearly impossible. RTD is now asking for $1.6 billion to get the project done by 20...
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Public Safety Survives Cuts as Denver Faces Budget Crunch
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Public Safety Survives Cuts as Denver Faces Budget Crunch

By Deborah Grigsby | The Denver Gazette Day two of the public hearings for Denver’s proposed 2026 spending plan got underway on Tuesday with presentations from the city’s public safety agencies. As representatives from the Denver Department of Safety, Denver Police, Denver Fire, Denver Sheriff and the Department of Public Health and Environment shared plans for helping the city tighten its belt, recurring themes included streamlining program functions, identifying new sources of revenue and shifting some positions out of the city’s general fund into alternate funding sources such as special revenue funds and grants. Overall, agencies sought to protect core services and align with council priorities. Here are some of the top takeaways for the day: Denver Public SafetyDirector...
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Denver Closes Online Parking Ticket Appeal Portal Amid Budget Cuts
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kdvr.com, Approved, Local

Denver Closes Online Parking Ticket Appeal Portal Amid Budget Cuts

By  Nicole Fierro | KDVR FOX31 DENVER, Colo. (KDVR) — Denver layoffs are now going to impact your ability to dispute parking tickets with the city online, which went into effect on Thursday. Denver court officials told FOX31 that with the city and county of Denver’s projected budget deficit, the county court had to lay off 10 employees on Aug. 27th. Five employees of those were from the parking magistrates’ office, which was a team of five. In 2024, the Parking Magistrate’s Office processed 66,378 parking appeals and 10 final parking hearings. The spokesperson with Denver court officials also told FOX31, the team worked collaboratively with a variety of city stakeholders, including Right of Way Enforcement, the Parking Violation Bureau, Denver County Vehicle Impound and Passpor...
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Denver School Board Election Could Transform District Leadership
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Local, Approved, The Denver Gazette

Denver School Board Election Could Transform District Leadership

By Nico Brambila | The Denver Gazette With four of seven board seats on the ballot this fall — and frustrations simmering over school closures, low test scores and board transparency — November’s election could reshape Denver Public Schools and chart a new course for the state’s largest school district. It’s a crowded field. Thirteen candidates have filed, according to the Colorado Secretary of State’s office. One of them — Samari Royal Jelks Sr., who filed to run for the at-large seat held by Director Scott Esserman — said he has withdrawn from the race, but as of Monday remained listed as a candidate. Esserman, a former educator elected at-large in 2021, is now running in District 3, represented by board President Carrie Olson. Olson, in her eighth year, is term-limited and c...
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Safety Worries Grow as Crime Incidents Plague Denver’s RTD System
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Local, Approved, kdvr.com

Safety Worries Grow as Crime Incidents Plague Denver’s RTD System

By Jared Dean | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — Over the past couple of years, the RTD Transit Police has ramped up its efforts, increasing the number of officers, cameras, and mental health agents to help resolve situations quickly. The agency also has a network of security with stations and offices surrounding the stops and other private security companies. Despite these resources, RTD Transit Chief of Police Steven Martingano says sometimes it is not enough and where to place those officers can be a difficult task. “You gotta remember we go through 2,300 square miles, 40 cities and eight counties. So we try to really assign our officers to locations that, you know, based on either off of crime data,” Martingano said. But this attack could spark change. A closer look at the da...
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Mayor’s $3.6 Billion Plan Pledges Fiscal Stability for Denver
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Local, Approved, kdvr.com

Mayor’s $3.6 Billion Plan Pledges Fiscal Stability for Denver

By Gabrielle Franklin | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — Denver Mayor Mike Johnston is releasing his 2026 budget proposal. The mayor said the $1.66 billion plan should get the city back on good financial footing. The mayor said the way he has the numbers mapped out should mean no more cuts to personnel. He did have to make some cuts to programs and technology used by city workers. “Remember, we announced first the personnel savings. Today, we will announce $77 million in savings and services, supplies, contracts. I’ll walk you through and a couple of million dollars in revenue additions,” Johnston said during his press conference unveiling the plan Monday. Johnston said the 2026 budget proposal is the biggest economic adjustment in the city since 2011, outside of the COVID era when ...
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