Texts Help Homeless DPS Students; Naming Colorado Peaks For Lost Mountaineers
Schools in Denver don’t usually provide pillows and warm clothes for their homeless students — basic items that make it way easier for them to learn. So, the district has found a way to send text messages to people in Colorado, asking them to go straight to Amazon and buy those things for the kids. Then, Charlie Fowler and Christine Boskoff went missing in China 11 years ago. Now, two peaks in Colorado may be named for them.
Tax Changes GOP, Democratic Voters Want To See; New Jazz Album Echoes Civil Rights Era
The federal deficit would disappear if Americans who are supposed to pay taxes paid in full. That’s according to a political economist at CU Boulder, who also talked with us about his research that shows how differently voters would manage taxes and spending than politicians do. Later, acclaimed Denver cornetist Ron Miles, whose new album was inspired by Martin Luther King Jr.
Tax Plans’ Impact On Coloradans; Native American Group Sues Over Bears Ears
Tax proposals in the U.S. House and Senate would touch everything from benefits for homeowners to how many people have health insurance. A look at how Coloradans could be impacted. Then, the Colorado-based Native American Rights Fund represents tribes suing to block President Trump’s order to shrink Bears Ears National Monument in Utah. And, at 98, Aspen’s Klaus Obermeyer still runs the skiwear company he started in 1947.
Making Schools More Economically Diverse; Trauma Of Coming Home From Vietnam
Denver schools are mostly segregated along economic lines. Now, DPS is conducting an experiment to make schools more economically diverse. And, Stan Parker, of Colorado Springs, received two purple hearts in Vietnam. He was there in 1968 — the bloodiest time for U.S. troops. Years later, he returned to Vietnam, where he met a man he’d come close to killing.
Denver Considers A Safe Place For Drug Users To Inject; Memories Of A Royal Wedding
There’s a place — in the heart of Denver — where injection drug users pick up clean needles and drop off dirty ones. It’s blocks away from the state Capitol, where lawmakers will continue to wrestle with Colorado’s drug epidemic. At this center, people also learn how to avoid overdosing — and keep their veins healthy. And, Ian Thompson lives in Colorado, but when Prince William married Kate Middleton in England seven years ago, he was right on the altar as a verger. Thompson explains his role and discusses the next royal wedding, occurring next spring.
Boulder Charity Head Charged With Theft; Gay Wedding Cake Case At SCOTUS
The founder of a Colorado non-profit established to help Syrian refugees is now charged with theft and fraud. A Denver Post investigation revealed what happened to Boulder’s “Humanwire.” Then, the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear the Colorado case of a baker who refused to customize a wedding cake for a gay couple. We’ll hear mock arguments. Plus, hunting for hallucinogenic honey.
Coloradans On Both Sides Of Oil and Gas Debate Tell The Governor Their Stories
We invited two Coloradans to the state Capitol to give Gov. John Hickenlooper their views on oil and gas drilling. One family says their quality of life will be compromised because of an oil well about 1,000 feet away from their new home. And a man whose family has depended on oil and gas royalties for generations is frustrated about efforts to restrict drilling.
Denver Coffee Shop In Hot Water; Is The US In Or Out On Fighting Climate Change?
No one found the joke funny when a Denver coffee shop bragged about gentrifying the neighborhood. Protests erupted and local politicians faced criticism. What happens now? Then, the U.S. is leaving the global climate agreement, so why was there such a big American presence at a UN conference in Germany this month? And, since Olympic skier Gus Kenworthy came out of the closet, he says athletes have changed how they talk about gay people.
Trauma-Informed Housing Design; Bill Frisell’s Musical Shapeshifting
The new Sanderson Apartments in Denver were designed specifically for people coping with past trauma, particularly homelessness. One resident shares his story and offers a tour. Then, Emmy-winning television program “Top Chef” gets a taste of Colorado. And, guitarist and Denver native Bill Frisell gets inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame.
Crowded Race For Colorado’s Governor; Celebrated Chef Offers Up Special Side Dish
At least 14 candidates want to be Colorado’s next governor. We’ll learn what that means for voters. Then, as metro Denver courts a second Amazon headquarters, we to look to Seattle, which had Amazon’s first base of operations. And, one of Colorado’s most celebrated chefs offers up an idea for a Thanksgiving side dish and talks about what the holiday means to him.
Desire To Halt Growth In Metro Denver; Turkey Tails On Your Thanksgiving Table?
“Slow down the growth!” That’s the message some voters in metro Denver sent in the election earlier this month. What’s driving the movement? And, at the Thanksgiving table, as you’re fighting over the white meat or the dark meat, others are fighting over the tail. Later, CAT scans helped Denver scientists make big new discoveries about mummies they thought they understood.
Trump Voter Confronts Her Fears About Islam; Sexual Harassment At State Capitol
Annette Gonzales, of Pueblo, equated Muslims with terrorists. But she agreed to visit a mosque, over the objections of her family. It’s the latest in our series that looks for common ground among Coloradans with very different political views. Then, revelations of sexual harassment at the state Capitol. Later in the show: how growing up in the mortuary business shaped a Colorado writer.
The Taxman, Part Three; Photographing Rocky Mountain National Park
Colorado spends less on public schools than many other states and its roads are among the worst in the country. Some people blame a law that passed 25 years ago. In the final episode of our series on TABOR, how politicians have learned to live with the law, and how its author, Douglas Bruce, ended up under indictment by the government he tried to constrain. Also, how to get the perfect landscape photograph in Colorado.
The Taxman, Part 1; Ryan Warner’s New Favorite Song
There’s a lot of hand-wringing at every level of government in Colorado about a law that passed 25 years ago. It’s the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, known as TABOR, and its author, Douglas Bruce, wanted to give the people more control over their government. Today, part one of CPR’s three-part series on TABOR and Bruce. Later in the show, a song host Ryan Warner can’t get out of his head.
Muslims Seek Common Ground At Church; Refugees Navigate A Denver Classroom
What happens when a person of one faith steps into someone of another faith’s house of worship? In the latest installment of “Breaking Bread,” a Muslim couple attends a church service for the first time. Then, author Helen Thorpe spent a year in an English class for recent refugees at South High School in Denver. Plus, a preview of CPR’s new podcast, “The Taxman.”
When Do We Call It “Terrorism”? Remembering All-Star Pitcher Roy Halladay
When do we call an attack “terrorism”? Researchers say not as often as it happens. “When the perpetrators were saying a phrase that sounds like it was an attack committed in the name of Islam,” they say, “people were significantly more likely to call that terrorism than an absolutely identical attack where the perpetrator said ‘Heil Hitler.'” Then, All-Star pitcher Roy Halladay was a high school phenom at Arvada West High School. His former coach remembers Halladay, who died this week in a plane crash.
