Tina Griego Returns, DCPA Has A New Leader, Kratom Ban Raises Hackles, Greensky Bluegrass Jams
The drastic jump in Denver home prices shocked former Denver Post columnist Tina Griego when she returned to Denver recently after moving to Virginia four years ago. She’s now on the staff at The Colorado Independent. And, we hear from the new head of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts — the first woman to run the organization. Also, the federal government might ban an herbal substance that’s now legal in Denver and the eclectic sounds of an award-winning Colorado bluegrass band.
Grand Junction City Employees Face Layoffs
With a $2.1 million budget shortfall, the city is asking some of its workers to trim their hours, take unpaid leave, retire early or quit.
Police Try ‘Shoot-Don’t-Shoot’ Simulator, A Refugee’s Story, Dining In The Dark
The Denver Police Department prepares officers for the most difficult scenarios by putting them in the middle of a new wraparound video simulator called “Shoot-Don’t-Shoot.” CPR’s Andrea Dukakis tried it. Then, an Aurora high school student from Eritrea shares his refugee story. Plus, eating in complete darkness with strangers might not seem ideal, but the founder of the Blind Cafe says its the perfect social experiment.
Colorado’s Oldest Synagogue Closes, And This Man Could’ve Been The First Black Astronaut
The holiest days of the Jewish year are coming up, but a synagogue in Trinidad, near the New Mexico border, won’t hold services for the first time in 127 years. It’s been operating longer than any other synagogue in Colorado, but has been sold and is closing. Then, an online petition wants Colorado’s Ed Dwight Jr. to become an honorary astronaut. He was the first African-American candidate for the U.S Space program, but following the death of President John F. Kennedy, Dwight was cut from the program. Plus, how budget cuts have hurt one Colorado school district, and an upcoming closure on a main road into Rocky Mountain National Park.
Debate: Coloradans Will Vote Whether To Create Open Presidential Primaries
Proposition 107 would create a presidential primary and open it to unaffiliated voters. Proposition 108 would do the same for down-ticket races.
VA Hospital’s Expensive Design, Medical Research Gender Gap, Former Bronco Turns To Fantasy Football
Colorado’s new veterans hospital is $1 billion over budget. A new investigation criticizes Veterans Administration management for overruns and delays. Then, a University of Colorado researcher wants more women included in clinical studies, because illness and disease affect them differently than men. And, former Broncos tight end Nate Jackson was bedridden a lot in his career, so he took up fantasy football. He writes about his experiences in “Fantasy Man.” Plus, a giant polar bear mascot roams local art shows and venues on behalf of cultural funding.
Denver’s ‘Rich People Behaving Badly’ Chronicled In Dick Kreck’s New Book (Excerpt)
Former Denver Post columnist Dick Kreck explores murders, infidelities and financial misdeeds from Colorado’s past.
Denver’s First Pedestrian Planner Offers Vision For A Walkable City
David Pulsipher says he regularly strolls the streets of Denver to gather ideas for a more pedestrian-friendly city.
Two Colorado Towns Still In Flood Recovery, A Freedom Fighter’s Story
Two small towns have changed permanently as a result of floods that ripped through the Front Range three years ago this week. A check back in on Jamestown and Lyons, which has struggled to replace affordable housing destroyed by the record-breaking flood. Then, from freedom fighter to working at a pharmacy in Denver, Kahsay Abraha shares his story of fighting with the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Army in the 1970s. And, an exhibit on women in abstract expressionism at the Denver Art Museum.
Bodies of Civilian Fighters Return, Pueblo Weapons Depot, Greeks In Ludlow Massacre, H.S. Football Coaches Compete
The bodies of two Colorado men killed fighting against ISIS are nearly back in Colorado. Workers have begun the dismantling a stockpile of chemical weapons in Pueblo. A new film tells the story of Greek American coal miners in southern Colorado who helped create workers’ rights to unionize.Two football coaches are jockeying for the most wins ever. And, Colorado cities are encountering challenges as they adopt LED lights.
Bodies Of Coloradans Who Died Fighting ISIS To Arrive In Denver On Friday
They’re among dozens of Americans who have traveled to Syria to fight. A Colorado congressman helped bring their bodies back home.
Colorado’s Private Prisons, Fate For Conundrum Hot Springs, Paralympian Going For Triple Gold
Privately run prisons have been deemed less safe then ones run by the federal government, so the Department of Justice is phasing them out. But Colorado will keep its private prisons open. CPR’s Andrea Dukakis explains why. A trip to Colorado’s Conundrum Hot Springs is on the bucket list for many, but the area is suffering for it. Paralympian Alana Nichols wants her team to get the same fanfare as Olympians got in Rio. She could become the first female athlete, Paralympic or Olympic, to win gold in three different sports. And a trip to singer-songwriter Gregory Alan Isakov’s Boulder County farm.
Body Of Colorado Civilian Killed FIghting ISIS Is On Its Way Home
In a YouTube video posted after his death, Levi Jonathan Shirley calls ISIS “my definition of pure evil,” and says, “I came here to stop that.”
Transgender Students At School, Why Parents Choose Not To Vaccinate, And The Race Card Project
Who gets to use what bathroom is one of the hottest topics this school year around the country. Boulder Valley School District’s transgender policies were praised by the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice recently. Then, why many parents choose not to vaccinate their kids, despite most public health advice saying they should. A Denver sociologist has studied families at the heart of this controversy for over a decade. And, six-word essays on race are being collected at the Denver Public Library, with answers like, “It’s one identity; I have many.”
Sand Creek Memorial Proposed For Colorado Capitol, Film Portrays Women Of Wall Street, Developer: Games ‘Saved My Life,’ Horses Dance At Fair
A member of the Northern Arapaho tribe says putting a memorial to the Sand Creek massacre near the state Capitol could foster healing. “Equity,” a new film playing in Denver and Boulder, portrays women on Wall Street in a raw, complicated and modern way. A Boulder developer’s long illness showed him the worldwide reach of video games and “saved my life.” In a sport called freestyle reining, horseback riders wear costumes and choreograph their animals’ moves to their favorite music. They’ll compete at the Colorado State Fair.
Sand Dunes Climate Change, Restoration Ecology, Big Athletes, Coyote America
The streams at Great Sand Dunes National Park may be key to preserving the Rio Grande cutthroat trout in the age of climate change, while restoration ecologists work to preserve other species and lands. Also, athletes are getting bigger and stronger. But is that a good thing? Then, humans have tried to kill coyotes going back more than 100 years. In Denver in the 1920s, a plant manufactured poison to exterminate them. But coyotes survived, and even multiplied and spread, while other animals in the same situation did not.
