Author: reporter

From the moment the Colorado General Assembly’s leaders gaveled their chambers into session Wednesday, they acknowledged the undercurrent of acrimony that’s seeped ever more deeply into state politics. The Capitol’s two top Democrats touted past achievements and pledged to do more this year, but they also made repeated references to social media eroding civility. They called for more collegiality among the 100 legislators who will spend the next four months grappling with the state’s pressing challenges, including housing affordability, the property tax formula and education funding. “We can sometimes be opponents,” Senate President Steve Fenberg told his chamber, “but we…

After falling in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs last season, ThunderRidge returned its entire lineup, including the state’s top recruit in four-star senior point guard and CU commit Andrew Crawford. In other words: Watch out for the Grizzlies again, the four-time state champs and eight-time finalists who last raised the trophy two years ago. ThunderRidge (11-2) has yet to be beaten in-state and is ranked No. 3 in the latest CHSAA poll. The Grizzlies already have a number of quality wins on their resume ahead of the start of Continental League play on Friday against Legend, including…

The past two Stanley Cup champions are both missing key players but remain near the top of the NHL standings. When they met Wednesday night at Ball Arena, one certainly looked ready to make another deep playoff run. Valeri Nichushkin scored a pair of power-play goals and the Colorado Avalanche cruised past the Vegas Golden Knights in a 3-0 victory that at times did not look as close as the scoreboard indicated. Alexandar Georgiev made 25 saves, and all of Colorado’s top offensive players had a strong night against the defending champions. “When we play the best we can, we…

Emma Nelson | Star Tribune (TNS) For most of her career, Felicia Krick worked from the office every day, sometimes logging 80 hours a week as a public accountant. Then the pandemic hit, the world shut down, and she caught a glimpse of a different life. “Remote work, for me, really became a saving grace where I could continue to go after my career goals, but I could also be a little bit more present with my family,” the 36-year-old mother of four said. “And so just the rumblings of, ‘Hey, we’re going back to the office, and it’s going…

By JENNIFER PELTZ and JAKE OFFENHARTZ (Associated Press) NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump won’t make his own closing argument after all in his New York civil business fraud trial after his lawyers objected to the judge’s insistence that the former president stick to “relevant” matters and “not deliver a campaign speech.” Judge Arthur Engoron nixed Trump’s unusual plan on Wednesday, a day ahead of closing arguments. The judge had initially indicated he was open to the idea, saying he’d let Trump speak if he agreed to abide by rules that apply to attorneys’ closing arguments. Among other things, Engoron…

Amtrak’s Winter Park Express ski train will begin service on Friday in time for the four-day Martin Luther King holiday weekend. The first train will roll out of Denver’s Union Station at 7 a.m. on Friday. The train operates Friday through Sunday through March  31 with special Monday service added on MLK Day and President’s Day (Feb. 19). There will be two “bonus” Thursdays as well, on March 14 and March 21. Trains depart at 7 a.m. and are scheduled to arrive at Winter Park at 9 a.m. Return service departs Winter Park at 4:30 p.m. and is scheduled to…

With just two weeks left before the nation’s first presidential primary, a major new poll out of New Hampshire shows former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley closing the gap between her campaign for the presidency and that of her ex-boss. According to a CNN/University of New Hampshire survey released on Tuesday, the former South Carolina governor trails the 45th president among Granite State voters by just 7 points. “Former president Donald Trump still leads the 2024 New Hampshire presidential primary field, but former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is close behind. Currently, 39% of likely Republican primary voters say they will vote…

Free New Year’s Eve transportation ended before midnight What is the point of encouraging celebrating responsibly with the lure of free public transportation when the final train is at 10:26 p.m. on New Year’s Eve? This year we decided to explore downtown Denver for dinner, lights and 9 p.m. fireworks, taking the free RTD light rail from Westminster on the N Line — easy access, no driving nor parking worries. Much to our dismay, we returned to Union Station at 10:40 p.m. to return home and found the N Line last train was at 10:26 p.m.! On New Year’s? Fortunately,…

The 22-year-old accused of fatally shooting a man in a Commerce City quadplex was squatting in the unrenovated unit when the shooting occurred, according to an arrest affidavit. Finn Clark Hoover is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 37-year-old Alfredo Oscar Nunez on Nov. 30. Hoover is also charged with vehicular eluding. According to an arrest affidavit, Hoover was part of a group of people renovating the quadplex in the 7300 block of Oneida Drive and was staying in one of the unrenovated units with his girlfriend. A witness said people in the apartment were sleeping when the shooting…

The tandem of Broncos head coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton is here to stay. Paton has dealt with scrutiny. The team has a 20-31 record since he took over as general manager in 2021, and he helped negotiate contracts with quarterback Russell Wilson ($242.6 million extension) and outside linebacker Randy Gregory (five years, $70 million) that will likely hamper Denver’s cap sheet this offseason and beyond. However, Broncos owner and CEO Greg Penner thought Payton and Paton worked well together and expressed his excitement to see that partnership develop moving forward. “I was impressed with the way…