Originally aired on August 20, 2014, this episode of Colorado Matters includes:
- Denver victim of police beating says Ferguson anger resonates: Denver residents held a rally last night in response to public outrage about the killing of a black teenager by police in Ferguson, Missouri. One young black man from Denver has experienced police violence first hand. In January of 2009, Alex Landau was beaten -- almost to death -- by Denver police. Much has been made out of Ferguson's largely white force in a town that is mostly black. Denver Police Capt. Tracie Keesee believes that the relationship between police and citizens is more complex.
- Fracking moves closer to downtown neighborhoods: Fracking is moving into midsize cities -- and not just around the fringes. In some cases, rigs are popping up near downtowns. Drilling for oil and gas isn't new in rural or even suburban areas, but as it edges into the central part of cities like Brighton and Greeley, it's raising a new set of concerns.
- Oil and gas boom strongly influences real estate in Northern Colorado: The median price of a home in Weld County is up by 9 percent in the last six months. So says, real estate broker Aaron Pearson. Homeowners can thank the oil and gas boom in Northern Colorado for that increase, he adds. Yet on the neighborhood level, Pearson of Timnath, Colo., says property values may decline if oil and gas operations pop up adjacent to a home.
- Denver councilwoman tours border facilities helping immigrants: Denver City Councilwoman Susan Shepherd recently visited the border town of McAllen, Texas, to learn about efforts to help the influx of undocumented immigrant children from central America. The tour, sponsored by an evangelical Christian coalition that advocates for immigration reform, took Shepherd to a Catholic relief center that helps undocumented families who have crossed into the U.S.
- Colorado baker stays up all night to make bread that sells like hotcakes: Late on most Friday nights, even after the college students in Fort Collins, have gone to bed, Adriana Guimaraes is awake in her kitchen. "My routine starts around five in the afternoon," Guimaraes says, talking about sweet rolls traditional to her native Brazil. "I clean the whole kitchen first." Then she bakes several batches, finishing around 5 a.m. Guimaraes finishes baking just a few hours before the Larimer County market opens.
