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6 new Colorado laws that go into effect on Jan. 1

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:00 GMT

Two dozen new Colorado laws — concerning issues including how tractors are repaired, how evictions are handled and how elections are run — go into effect on New Year’s Day, shortly before state legislators return to the Capitol and begin the lawmaking process all over again.The bills that are set to kick in next year touch on some of the most pressing issues legislators debated last year. One measure allows tenants facing eviction to participate in the court process remotely. Another addresses a loophole in state law that had been exploited by predatory lenders.Others address health care costs, treatment for eating disorders and how doctors treat patients while those they are unconscious.Here’s a look at six of the new laws taking effect Jan. 1.Right to RepairIn April, Colorado became the first state to pass a law giving farmers and agricultural workers the legal ability to repair their own tractors and equipment. Sponsored by Democrats Rep. Brianna Titone an...

With Alma Fonda Fina, Denver chef elevates Guadalajara specialties he grew up eating

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:00 GMT

Johnny Curiel grew up in his parents’ “fonda” – “a mom-and-pop place, where blue-collar workers go for lunch” – in downtown Guadalajara, Mexico.“I was inspired by what they did, but not necessarily the lifestyle,” Curiel added. “But the more I started growing up, the more I fell in love with hospitality.”Curiel’s parents still own their fonda in Guadalajara. And after years of working for notable restaurateurs in Denver, including Troy Guard, Richard Sandoval and Dave Query, Curiel and his wife, Kasie, have opened their own mom-and-pop spot here.Alma Fonda Fina debuted earlier this month at 2556 15th St., in the former Truffle Table space, which closed in October after 10 years. The contemporary Mexican restaurant elevates what Curiel called the typical “scoop-and-serve” fonda you would find in Mexico.“It’s the food I grew up eating presented differently, but it’s not pretentious,” Curiel said. “I wanted people to understand the way that I eat and what I enjo...

Aurora’s new effort to stop gun violence targets the small number of individuals who drive that violence

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:00 GMT

Officials in Aurora launched a new violence reduction program this fall that aims to decrease shootings by focusing attention on the tiny slice of the city’s residents who are the most involved in gun violence: gang members.People associated with gangs make up fewer than 1% of Aurora residents but were involved in at least 36% of the city’s homicides between January 2022 and April and 28% of its non-fatal shootings between December 2022 and April, according to a July report the city commissioned from the National Network for Safe Communities at John Jay College, a research center that scores of cities across the U.S. have hired to help set up similar efforts to reduce gun violence.Aurora’s program, dubbed Standing Against Violence Every Day, or SAVE, started in earnest in September and is a joint effort — led by the Aurora Police Department — between a slew of city and regional agencies.The program aims to identify the young people in Aurora — mos...

“The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical” launches Golden’s new arts center | Theater review

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:00 GMT

Theatergoers would be wise to take note of the bright red sweater that a character in “The Great American Trailer Park Musical” sports. In bedazzled script, it reads: “NAUGHTY.”Consider that a celebratory declaration but also a caveat to the profane and merry mischief to follow.Composer and lyricist David Nehls (a local light) and writer Betsy Kelso return to the North Florida double-wide community of their show, “The Great American Trailer Park.” That musical was a hit for Miners Alley Playhouse earlier in the year. This new work christens Golden’s gem of a cultural space, the Miners Alley Performing Arts Center. It runs through New Year’s Eve.Betty (Julia Tobey), Lin (Preston “P-Jay” Adams) and Pickles (Jenna Molls Reyes), along with Rufus Jeter (Nick Rigg Johnson), are hoping to break the Armadillo Acres’ Christmas Curse by winning the “Mobile Homes & Gardens” prize for best-decorated trailer park.They have their work cut out for them. As the show opens, the stage captures th...

Competition between Colorado’s hot springs resorts is getting steamy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:00 GMT

Hot springs have long been a major draw to Pagosa Springs, a small southwestern town in the shadow of the San Juan Mountains. Hundreds of years ago, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe uncovered the bubbling waters of the Mother Spring — now recognized as the world’s deepest geothermal hot spring — and its medicinal powers.Today, that harbinger of heat feeds the 25 hot springs pools that comprise The Springs Resort, which also encompasses a hotel, spa and wellness studio.But there will soon be a lot more to enjoy on the property: Owner David Dronet plans to add 27 geothermal pools, a hydro-thermal spa with saunas and mud bathing rooms and a farm-to-table restaurant, as well as nearly double the number of hotel rooms. Guests will also have access to sleep programming and “active recovery activities” like guided hikes and forest bathing for days off from skiing and rafting. “The desire is for this to be a walkable health and wellness village in the heart of a Colorado mountain t...

Letters: How can Xcel, a public utility, justify such lavish digs in Denver?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:00 GMT

Lavish digs for public utilityRe: “Why Xcel’s new HQ stings so bad,” Dec. 17 editorialBravo to the editorial board for this piece. Wearing my RiNo landlord hat, this is great news for the neighborhood and will likely serve as a catalyst for continued momentum and growth. However, when switching to my Xcel ratepayer hat, one must question this decision. The T3 building may be the best-in-class building in RiNo and likely in the entire downtown sub-market. It is incomprehensible that a public utility can justify the need or expense for such a high-caliber building.Certainly their workforce should occupy a building with appropriate amenities and a work environment commensurate with similar types of entities, but it’s hard for me to imagine there is justification for best in class. Given the plethora of vacant and bargain office space currently on the market, one would think there are far more economical options.This decision on its own is bad enough, but in light of Xcel’s ...

Americana gets wild-eyed when Colorado’s Gasoline Lollipops play NYE

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:00 GMT

Gasoline Lollipops’ New Years Eve show is taking a hard turn this year.The rough-and-tumble Boulder quintet, which suffuses rootsy Americana with cold-steel precision and wild-eyed energy, won’t perform its Fox Theatre set on Dec. 31 under the guise of another band. Instead of covering Tom Petty’s “Wildflowers,” for example, it’s presenting its own music after a year of intense vulnerability that included a world premiere ballet score and expansion of its sound.The band is also collaborating like never before, with Nashville-based songwriter and fiddle player Phoebe Hunt flying in, and Boulder openers Bonnie and Taylor Sims sitting in on-stage with the band. The “family” arrangement, as Gas Pops singer Clay Rose called it, will be laid over a batch of new songs that the band will debut before recording them in-studio next year.“We’re going to be doing originals this year, so we’ll all be jamming together,” Rose ...

The holiday rush to airports and highways is underway

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:00 GMT

It's beginning to look a lot like a hectic holiday travel season, but it might go relatively smoothly if the weather cooperates.Travel over Christmas and New Year's tends to spread out over many days, so the peaks in the U.S. are likely to be lower than they were during the Thanksgiving holiday. That is making airlines and federal officials optimistic.But the debacle at Southwest Airlines over Christmas last year should guard against overconfidence. Just this week, the Transportation Department announced a settlement in which Southwest will pay $140 million for that meltdown, which stranded more than 2 million travelers.Travelers arrive at LAX around 5 a.m. on Dec. 21, 2023. (KTLA)So far this year, airlines have canceled 1.2% of U.S. flights, down nearly half from 2.1% over the same period last year. Cancellations were well below 1% during Thanksgiving, according to FlightAware.“I don't want to jinx us, but so far 2023 has seen the lowest cancellation rate in the last five years,” T...

Which Nations Are The Most “Chill” With CBD Oil?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:00 GMT

View the original article about Which Nations Are the Most Chill with CBD at Real Tested CBD.Considering hemp has been a staple agricultural crop for centuries, it may seem odd that any country would ban this plant. However, due to the 20th-century’s cannabis restrictions, there are a lot of misconceptions about hemp’s relation to marijuana. Many countries still don’t treat CBD hemp any differently from THC-containing weed.Even though hemp acceptance is spreading, customers shouldn’t assume CBD oil will be legal anywhere they travel. In fact, most places still enforce harsh penalties for hemp extracts. Travelers should always note which territories are the most “hemp tolerant.”What Countries Have The Most Relaxed Hemp CBD Policies?Currently, Canada and the USA are the best nations to buy and use legal CBD products. Canada has more relaxed policies than these two North American nations due to its recent cannabis legalization.Although hemp isn’t the same as marijuana, it’s clear that ...

Substance Over Style: Dove Armitage is Concernless when it comes to genres

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:00 GMT

Substance Over Style: Having wandered into the Silverlake Lounge recently and caught a short but intensely enjoyable set from Dove Armitage, it was clear that this is an artist that needs to be firmly on our radar.That set was representative of her career so far; while some musicians find their style and rigidly stick to it, only varying their course as much as the accepted genre boundaries allow, Armitage seems to take great joy in bouncing from one thing to another. It all sounds very her, it’s not forced. But this is an artist who makes her own rules, and that’s to her immense benefit.It all began for Armitage in 2016, when she started to teach herself to play bass and sing.“I started a band around that time called Cat Scan,” she says, via a Zoom call. “It was like this kinda post punk band akin to the Cardiacs or Devo. That band got some traction and then it started to get serious where I was like, I want to make my own music and learn how to produce, and take it to this next st...