Carla Jimenez

How does a city address its housing crisis? The Denver Basic Income Project has one idea: give people experiencing homelessness money each month. They’ve partnered with the University of Denver to try it out for a year, and they just began a soft launch with ten people as they ramp up for a full rollout moving forward. Mark Donovan is the founder of the Denver Basic Income project. Jennifer Wilson is a researcher with the University of Denver. We spoke about the program in April.

“Horses lend themselves to stories,” writes Sarah Maslin Nir. And Maslin Nir knows stories. She has crisscrossed the globe as a staff reporter for The New York Times. And when she’s on assignment, if there’s a sliver of free time, she checks out a place’s horses. Her new book is “Horse Crazy: The Story of a Woman and a World in Love with an Animal.” It includes a chapter on how Black cowboys have been largely left out of the story of the American West.

Students are back in school as early as this week, some with masks, some without. The state isn’t mandating them; local officials make the decision. In Pueblo District 70, which has about 10,000 students, masks are “strongly encouraged.”

The new state historian wants kids to know their families’ stories. That way they can understand what forces shaped the present and embrace differences. Nicki Gonzales begins her one-year term as historian on Sunday, August 1, which is “Colorado Day,” the day Colorado became a state in 1876.

Earlier this month sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson was suspended from Olympic competition after she tested positive for marijuana. It was a controversial move by the World Anti-Doping Agency, with many decrying the rule as unfair and nonsensical. We wondered: Does marijuana have any effect on athletic performance? And why is it a banned substance to begin with?

Applications rose at the University of Colorado Boulder after it lifted a requirement that applicants submit standardized test scores. Under a new state law other public colleges and universities can also drop the requirement for ACT and SAT testing. CU Boulder Admissions Director Clark Brigger and researcher Chris Bennett talk about early data that shows an increase in applicant diversity.

Most people know John and Abigail Adams as the second president and first lady, respectively. But few remember how John’s time in Europe during the Revolution helped bring an end to the war. University of Denver history professor and author Jeanne Abrams recounts the couple’s time overseas in her new book, “A View From Abroad: The Story of John and Abigail Adams in Europe.”

It’s well-known that polluted air is unhealthy, but University of Colorado Boulder scientists found the health problems may begin even before people are born. A new study examined 123 Hispanic mothers in California during and after their pregnancies. It looked at the effects of air pollution on the mothers and their children. We get insight from CU Boulder researchers Tanya Alderete and Will Patterson.

It sounds like the plot of a political thriller: two conservative operatives are recruited to spy on Democratic activists in the West. Their mission: infiltrate these circles and gather potentially damning information on Democrats and moderate Republicans to weaken their chances in 2020.

When it comes to health care, the high cost is often a barrier. It can mean not being able to afford insurance, inequity in treatment, and delaying care altogether. Colorado’s new Public Option is supposed to address these issues. State lawmakers passed a bill to create the option in this year’s legislative session, but no one knows yet what it’ll look like.