Cannabis advocates in Colorado cheered the Biden Administration’s reported move to reclassify marijuana and said the decision likely would reduce businesses’ tax burden significantly. Industry leaders cautioned that such a move — if finalized — would not resolve some major challenges facing the industry, such as limited access to banking. But they pointed to the symbolic importance of preparations by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to downgrade the substance’s drug classification. A man pours cannabis into rolling papers as he prepares to roll a joint the Mile High 420 Festival in Civ ..read more

Tattered Cover, a trailblazer among the country’s independent bookstores and part of the Denver community for more than a half-century, could have new owners as early as this summer, according to the CEO guiding the chain through bankruptcy reorganization. Brad Dempsey, who took over as CEO in July, filed an amended reorganization plan Friday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Denver. He said non-disclosure agreements have been signed with various interested parties and the company is vetting prospective buyers. “I’m very comfortable that we have really solid interest in this and it ranges from ..read more

In 1999, the U.S. women’s soccer team captivated sports fans across the globe when it won the World Cup and became the first team in the female league to do so on home soil. The championship title was a pivotal moment for women’s sports that inspired a generation of young girls, among them Miranda Spencer and Annie Weaver. “I remember the 1999 World Cup and the Fab Five and the rest of that group, the ’99ers,” said Weaver, who was 5 years old then. “That was the first time it was broadcast live and people were seeing women being extremely successful in a professional sport. Seeing them win, se ..read more

Express Inc., an owner of clothing stores in malls across the country, will close 95 Express stores and all of its UpWest locations as part of a voluntary bankruptcy filing announced Monday. Three of the company’s nine Express stores in Colorado are closing, with clearance sales starting on Tuesday, according to a list released by the company. The locations include one at the Denver Pavilions, 500 16th St., one at the Flatiron Crossing, 1 W. Flatiron Crossing in Broomfield, and one at the Shops at Centerra, 5879 Sky Pond Drive in Loveland. Three retail stores at the Cherry Creek Shopping Cente ..read more

Supermarket chains Kroger and Albertsons said Monday they will sell more of their stores in an effort to quell the federal government’s concerns about their proposed merger. The companies now plan to sell 579 Kroger and Albertsons stores in markets where they overlap to C&S Wholesale Grocers, a New Hampshire grocery supplier and operator, for $2.9 billion. Under the initial divestiture plan, announced in September, C&S had planned to purchase 413 stores for $1.9 billion. It’s unclear if the new plan will satisfy regulators. In February, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission sued to block t ..read more

I’ve completed 17 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzles in the past 14 weeks. Mostly by myself. Over that same time, I also cut way back on booze, halved my phone screen time (okay, it’s maybe 30% less), and gone on a dozen hikes. All without losing a single cardboard piece. I never really saw myself as a puzzler, but it’s become a nice way to put aside the problems of the world and focus on something else for five or 10 minutes, or for a couple of hours. It helps with my sometimes short attention span, and puzzles are extremely satisfying to finish. And while 17 puzzles might sound like a lot, it’s noth ..read more

Colorado has the second-lowest gas prices in the country — for now. The statewide average price is $3.16 for a gallon of regular unleaded gas, 51 cents below the national average. The statewide average is down from $3.58 per gallon at the same time in 2023 and up about 10 cents on the month, AAA Colorado said Thursday. “Coloradans should make the most of comparatively low prices while they can,” Skyler McKinley, regional spokesman for AAA, said in a statement. McKinley said expectations of an upcoming robust summer travel season coupled with the federally mandated switchover to reformulated ga ..read more

Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, Black Sabbath and the Eagles all released major albums in 1975. So did Bruce Springsteen, Steely Dan, Paul Simon and Led Zeppelin. And you can still find some of them (probably most of them) at Wax Trax Records, which opened in Denver that year and has been Capitol Hill’s neighborhood record shop for three generations of music fans. But you’ll also find vinyl pressings by modern stars like Olivia Rodrigo, Harry Styles and Taylor Swift, not to mention fringe bands and local acts, which isn’t something most people would have predicted in the 1990s as CD sales and online mu ..read more

Five-year-old Avery Bland may not be able to express herself in a typical way, but when the youngster rolls into her new namesake teahouse in Loveland, it’s clear that she’s pretty darn happy. Avery is nonverbal, blind and wheelchair-bound. “She smiles the entire time, and she squeals while she’s there,” said mom Kristen Bland, who opened Avery’s Modern Teahouse, which employs people with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD), in February. “When I walk in, it’s like, ‘This is what it’s all about. This is about community.’” Ben Diaz holds a scoop of his favorite tea, Blue Bliss, at A ..read more

A Trader Joe’s store in Greenwood Village was fined almost $217,000 by the U.S. Labor Department for federal safety violations. The location at 5910 S. University Blvd. was cited for not providing adequate safety training to its forklift operators and failing to inspect the lift trucks, according to a Wednesday morning news release by the Labor Department. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration discovered the safety hazards during an inspection of the Colorado location in December. Related Articles Retail | Colorado teahouse trains, employs people with special needs Retail | Outd ..read more