Colorado’s Worrisome Snowpack, Inmates Read To Their Children
Rocky Mountain snowpack is the lowest in 37 years, a potential threat to states that rely on the Colorado River for water. Also, jail inmates build family connections by recording stories for their children. Then, University of Colorado scientists invent robotic muscles. And, skaters seek the thrill of wild ice.
State Legislators Drop Party Ties; Medicaid And The ACA’s Impact On Hospitals
Two prominent Colorado politicians, including a state senator, left their parties recently. Each says she got pressure to toe the party line on everything. Then, how Colorado Medicaid expansion helped hospitals that otherwise might have closed. And, a new book chronicles a wolf’s life in the Rockies. Some Westerners welcome her. Others want her dead.
Small Western Colorado City Relies On Pot; A Virtual Reality Opera
Marijuana taxes pay for about half of DeBeque, Colorado’s budget. So the small West Slope city is preparing for what could happen if the Trump administration comes down harder on recreational pot. Then, Grand Junction has no international flights, but local leaders think a customs office could transform the city. Also, virtual reality makes it possible to experience an opera rehearsal from the inside.
What The Fed Crackdown On Pot Could Mean For Colorado; When Cops Are Most Vulnerable
Many wonder if a federal marijuana crackdown is coming after an about-face by the Justice Department. The former U.S. attorney shares some perspective about how prosecution could change in Colorado. Then, funeral services today for the Douglas County Sheriff’s deputy who was gunned down at an apartment complex. We learn when cops are most in danger.
Colorado’s Legislative Leaders On Sessions’ Marijuana Plan, And Capitol Sexual Harassment
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is rolling back a policy that let legal marijuana flourish in Colorado. The state’s top lawmakers react, and they describe how the Capitol’s changing after sexual harassment scandals. Then, the opioid epidemic hits home for a retired four-star admiral. And, a new memoir about entering the world of for-profit eldercare.
The Big Issue Facing Lawmakers In 2018; Groundbreaking Study On Down Syndrome
As lawmakers head back to the state Capitol, CPR’s Sam Brasch has a preview of the major issues before them in 2018, including financial problems with Colorado’s pension fund, the state’s opioid crisis, and a lack of transportation funding. Also, what new findings, that show Down Syndrome is more of an immune disorder than a brain condition, could mean for treatment.
Age Discrimination In The Workplace; Studying Vancouver’s Unusual Approach To Drug Use
Age discrimination is getting pretty sneaky in the Internet era, including job ads that are placed specifically not to reach older workers and online applications that don’t allow you to enter certain birth dates. A 49-year old IT professional in Denver did a little experiment to land a job. Then, to fight the opioid epidemic, Vancouver is trying some unusual things, and Denver’s intrigued. Plus, what’s next for the Denver Broncos after their 5-11 season.
Finding Common Ground On Politics At Work; A Late Undertaker With Memorable Hearses
Forty percent of American workers surveyed earlier this year said a political discussion at the office had left them stressed and less productive. In our series Breaking Bread, CPR’s search for common ground, we meet two colleagues who worked it out and even became closer because of it. Then, what can businesses do when it’s not so harmonious? And, remembering a Pueblo funeral director, whose hearses stood out.
Navigating Political Conversations At Work; Remembering A Disney Imagineer
Colorado’s minimum wage goes up again Jan. 1. Two perspectives on how it helps and hurts. Also, maybe you had some awkward political conversations with family over the holidays…but what about at work? More this week from our series Breaking Bread. Then, remembering a Colorado man who became a Disney imagineer.
Reflecting On Membership In Little Rock Nine; Remembering Musicians Who Died In 2017
Sixty years ago, black students integrated a high school in Little Rock, Arkansas. We speak with a member of that group, Carlotta Walls Lanier, who lives in Denver, about her views on racial discrimination then and now. Also, our colleagues at Open Air remember musicians who’ve died in 2017 by having local bands play their music.
Serving Coffee Starts These Baristas Off Right; Will Tax Changes Hurt Nonprofits?
A Denver coffeehouse offers apprenticeships to workers who’ve struggled in previous jobs. Then, nonprofits worry that tax changes will cut donations. Also, we remember a Coloradan who used a little-known rule to challenge the jury system. Plus, historians recover the voices of history in Grand Junction. And, how to exercise that airport wait away.
The Good And Bad Of Colorado’s Aid-In-Dying Law; Surviving A Mountain Plane Crash
Last year Coloradans voted to let people take prescription medications to end their lives. Kathy Myers was one of the first to die under the new law, but her husband says it was hard to find doctors who would help them. In other cases, patients struggled when the medication took a long time to kill them. Then, how 20 people survived a mountain plane crash near Steamboat Springs almost 40 years ago. And, the new album from Big Head Todd And The Monsters.
Colorado’s Largest Drug Treatment Provider Shuts Doors; Former Inmate Sues Denver
The state’s largest treatment provider is closing. Arapahoe House serves 5,000 people a year in metro Denver. Now, nobody’s quite sure where those people will go. Then, Clarence Moses-El spent nearly 30 years behind bars for a rape he says he didn’t commit. He was released, acquitted, and now he’s suing Denver.
Climate Scientist Moves To France; Was Mining A Reason For Shrinking Bears Ears?
When the U.S. announced it was leaving the Paris climate agreement, the French government invited climate scientists to move to France. Several of the scientists who accepted the invitation are from Colorado. Also, we discuss whether energy development was a factor when the Trump administration decided to shrink Bears Ears National Monument in Utah.
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.
