Twenty-five years ago, Michelle DiManna sat in the math office at Columbine High School grading papers and talking to a colleague when she heard students screaming in terror. Two heavily armed shooters had entered the Jefferson County school late in the morning on April 20, 1999, and proceeded to kill 12 of their classmates and a teacher, injuring dozens more in a tragedy that shocked Colorado and the nation. The massacre, which ended with the two killers taking their own lives, reshaped school security across the United States and served as a precursor to the litany of mass killings that have ..read more

Colorado is experiencing an alarming spike in syphilis among newborns, leading the state to issue a public health order Thursday aimed at curbing the disease’s spread through wider testing. In 2023, 50 infants in Colorado were born with syphilis, up from only seven in 2018. So far this year, the state is halfway to last year’s total, with five infected babies who were stillborn and two who died in their first months of life, state epidemiologist Dr. Rachel Herlihy said. “We’ve already had 25 cases so far this year, putting us on track to have maybe 100 cases,” she said at a news conference, ad ..read more

BrewDog, the Scottish-born beer maker that was founded based on a brash attitude and big beers, has teamed up with a family-owned holding company on a new location in Denver. It’s the first time BrewDog has licensed its name and beers to a franchisee in the United States. BrewDog Denver, 3950 Wynkoop St., opens at noon Friday, April 19, in a 10,000-square-foot space with two patios, a 3.5-barrel brewing system, games and a full menu featuring burgers, giant pub pretzels, salads and wings. But there will also be a number of Mexican specialties unique to Denver based on the heritage of the franc ..read more

There’s nowhere to go but up for Colorado’s recycling rate. Fortunately, a new program, supported by a diverse coalition of communities from both rural and urban areas, will give our state the boost it needs to finally become a recycling leader. At 16%, we in Colorado recycle less than half the national average. The biggest reason for this embarrassingly low rate is that many Coloradans, especially those living in apartments and rural areas, don’t have easy access to recycling services or have to pay extra to get it. And those trying to do the right thing are often understandably frustrated by ..read more

State lawmakers have yet to fund an $11 million effort to reform Colorado courts’ long-troubled competency system, raising alarm among supporters as the end of the legislative session looms. If funded, the bill, HB24-1355, would create a statewide diversion program aimed at shifting thousands of people with mental illness out of the criminal justice system and into comprehensive care in a first-of-its-kind effort to slow the flow of people into Colorado’s overcrowded court competency system. The state’s competency process aims to ensure people are not prosecuted for crimes if they are too sick ..read more

The rhythms of Jane Austen’s novels are so persuasive, their challenges and resolutions so familiar, that playwright Kate Hamill can merrily tease our knowledge again and again in her winking adaptation of “Emma,” now at the Denver Center, through May 5. Those beats are after all, the stuff of many a movie rom-com. Still, who would have guessed the seeming influence of one Yorgos Lanthimos? The Greek filmmaker’s “Poor Things” featured his own Emma (Stone) doing an unexpectedly zany, quasi-“Soul Train” dance; Rachel Weisz devolved into something similarly wild in his film “The Favourite”. Those ..read more

Earlier this month, Xcel Energy cut electricity to about 55,000 customers along the Front Range to reduce wildfire risks from wind gusts that topped 100 mph. Another 95,000 of its customers lost power because of downed power lines from those intense winds. Those outages, planned or forced, removed power to about 40 cellular towers that Verizon Wireless relies on. Verizon had alternate power sources in place to power the towers, part of its larger game plan to keep its network going in extreme conditions Wires and cables connect equipment in a room at Verizon’s emergency response and command ce ..read more

The arrest of Denver jam-band fixture Jay Bianchi this week on suspicion of sexual assault follows three decades’ worth of other legal trouble and criminal allegations related to his businesses and personal practices. There have also been convictions for assault, drug possession and the flouting of COVID-era closure mandates. But critics say the Denver Police Department could have done more by publicly addressing the sexual assault allegations sooner, with or without charges, and by communicating more effectively with alleged victims who have been calling for action for years. They also believ ..read more

The proposed ban on the sale, transfer and manufacturing of many high-powered, semi-automatic guns in Colorado will face an uphill fight in the state Senate after clearing the state House for the first time. The measure, House Bill 1292, would ban guns referred to as “assault” weapons by its Democratic sponsors. It now heads to a Senate committee that includes one of the most vocal gun violence prevention advocates in the state — who happens to be a longtime skeptic of the effectiveness of blanket prohibitions like the one proposed. Sen. Tom Sullivan is also the father of a victim of one of th ..read more

Traversing a Colorado mountain pass during a storm in the dead of winter is a harrowing experience. Drivers with white knuckles and gritted teeth navigate through howling winds and sheets of snow that obscure the surrounding mountain peaks, not to mention the road they’re driving on. For Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) road maintenance workers, it’s an every-day challenge. One such crew, composed of plow drivers, snowblower operators and loader operators, takes on Monarch Pass, a stretch of Hwy. 50 between Salida and Gunnison, which only remains navigable year-round due to their c ..read more