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No more free test kits, less data: What the end of the COVID public health emergency means in Colorado

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:05 GMT

Starting this week, at-home tests for COVID-19 will no longer be free, but other changes from the end of the federal government’s public health emergency won’t be as obvious.The public health emergency, declared in January 2020, will lapse Thursday, but many people may not notice a difference. Despite the association between the public health emergency and measures like mask mandates in many people’s minds, nearly all anti-COVID precautions already have been lifted. The end of continuous Medicaid coverage during the pandemic also is no longer linked to the end of the public health emergency, and the state has already started determining who still qualifies.There will be some changes, however. A rule requiring insurance companies to cover eight at-home tests monthly for each member will end, though Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program will cover tests through September 2024. Emergency regulations allowing the Centers for Disease Control and Pre...

Democrats tie in renters to property tax, TABOR refund proposal

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:05 GMT

As sounds from Cinco de Mayo celebrations echoed across the street from the Colorado Capitol this past weekend, Democrats in the state legislature pushed along a slate of bills that could nudge Colorado tax policy in a more progressive direction, advocates said.A policy unveiled Saturday would again return taxes collected over the limit set by the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR, evenly across all eligible Coloradans next year; an amendment attached to a sister bill Sunday would set aside money specifically for rental assistance — if a decade-long change to property tax rates goes into effect.In the background is Monday night’s looming constitutional deadline for lawmakers to finish their work. The tight timeline brought the Senate into session on a Sunday for the first time in more than 80 years, according to a Republican staffer.The policies so far weathered criticism from the GOP — a super minority in the state House of Representatives and near super minorit...

A plan to pay farmers to use less of the Colorado River comes up dry

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:05 GMT

One way to save massive amounts of water from the drying Colorado River — state and federal officials had hoped — was to effectively buy water this year from farmers and ranchers with a $125 million conservation program.But very few are taking the offer. Or those willing to sell were turned away.“It’s a comical mess,” Shaun Chapoose, chairman of northeast Utah’s Ute Indian Tribe, said. “They ain’t fixing nothing.”Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, which make up the river’s upper basin, launched the System Conservation Pilot Program late last year, offering money to farmers and others willing to forgo their water use this year, restarting a water-saving initiative that ran just a few years ago.This time around, though, the program is slated to spend twice as much to save a fifth less water, Colorado River officials say.Between the four states, 88 applications came in offering to save some water, Chuck Cullom, executive director of the Upper Colorado River Commission, said. The c...

Marshall fire survivors bump up against limits of local philanthropy to help rebuild their lives amid scarce federal resources

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:05 GMT

This story was co-published with Boulder Reporting Lab, a nonprofit newsroom serving Boulder County. Susan Windisch was mid-divorce when the Marshall fire took her Louisville home. Her insurance payout was split between her and her ex-husband, as was the money from the sale of their burned lot. She’s now living in a rental without enough to rebuild, looking “farther and farther” from her community to find something more permanent she can afford.“I’m faced with a really horrible housing market,” said Windisch, a professor at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her struggle with lupus lets her only work part-time. So she sought financial help from the Community Foundation Boulder County, which administers the Boulder County Wildfire Fund.Windisch said she was told “if you’re not rebuilding, there’s nothing we can do,” a response that puzzled her, especially because the foundation has raised more than $43 million to help fire victims, and still has about half left.“I would definitely q...

Contemporary Native American photographers tell their story their way at the Denver Art Museum

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:05 GMT

The exhibition “Speaking with Light” is a provocative group show featuring landmark images captured by more than 30 contemporary Indigenous photographers. It’s an exhaustive and surprising collection of photos that documents important shifts in the art form over the past four decades.But the show is also, and perhaps more interestingly, about the power of art-making itself — about the ability of artists to make objects that take command of the social narrative, that rewrite stories from their own perspective, and that offer up different endings.The show aims “to shift power dynamics and bring attention to misrepresentations,” as the exhibition materials explain. These pictures of Indigenous people made by Indigenous people stand in opposition to centuries of imagery, created and distributed by outsiders, that confuse the truth about Native American history.Organized by Will Wilson and John Rohrbach, the show acknowledges that the term “Indigenous” can be troublesome. Before th...

A gorgeous Colorado canyon will be raftable for the first time since 2019 thanks to heavy snowpack

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:05 GMT

The Dolores River in southwestern Colorado can be one of the best rafting destinations in the country when it has enough water. It offers gorgeous scenery in the high desert of the Colorado Plateau and history dating back to the ancient Anasazi, who used it as a highway to and from Mesa Verde not far to the south.There are many years when the Dolores is not runnable for commercial rafting outfitters because of insufficient water, though. When they can operate there, as they will this year thanks to Colorado’s abundant mountain snowfall this past winter, rafters and outfitters rejoice. The last time the Dolores could support rafting was in 2019.“We go three, four, five years regularly without having water,” said Alex Mickel, president and founder of Durango-based Mild to Wild Rafting & Jeep Tours. “It’s an amazing canyon. It’s incredibly beautiful. It’s unique southwest Colorado. You have a spectacular transition from the mountain landscape to a desert lan...

1 killed in fiery wrong-way crash on 101 Freeway in East Hollywood

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:05 GMT

One person was killed in a fiery wrong-way crash on the 101 Freeway in East Hollywood early Monday, officials said.The crash was reported around 4:45 a.m. on the southbound side of the highway near the Santa Monica Boulevard exit, according to the California Highway Patrol.Three vehicles were involved in the crash and two were fully engulfed in flames when Los Angeles firefighters arrived at the scene.At least one patient was reported trapped and had to be rescued.One person died at the scene, according to LAFD. One person was taken to a hospital, and two others suffered minor, non life-threatening injuries.Preliminary information from the CHP indicated a driver was headed north on the southbound lanes of the highway when another driver reported that the tire of the suspect’s vehicle flew off and hit his vehicle on the northbound side.A SIG Alert was issued in the area and traffic was backed up for miles as a result, aerial video from Sky5 showed.No further information about the vic...

Leading Ladies: Top 10 Women You Need to Know in 2023

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:05 GMT

01.             Safia LasmanSafiaLasman is an extraordinary figure in the real estate realm, captivating numerous individuals with her impressive repertoire of accomplishments. As a distinguished real estate agent at The Agency, she has left an indelible mark and persists in transcending boundaries through her pioneering methods.Safia’s diligence and self-made path in her career have been pivotal in her success, having transitioned from a modest background in Russia to the US, overcoming linguistic obstacles, lack of financial support, high-profile connections, and an established network. However, her exceptional ambition and determination have propelled her to unparalleled heights in the real estate sector, enabling her to pursue her passion and establish herself as a source of inspiration for individuals worldwide.Despite facing intense competition, Safia has adeptly navigated the real estate landscape, advocating for a client-centric approach and providing exceptional servi...

The Top Recreational THC Drinks of 2023

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:05 GMT

Cannabis-infused beverages are sweeping the industry as a more modern and enjoyable way to consume cannabis. The variety of flavors, the short amount of time it takes to feel the effects, and the long-lasting high are only a few of the reasons why consumers are switching to drinkable THC as opposed to traditional edibles and inhalables. In states where cannabis is legal for both recreational and medicinal use, this unique category is quickly becoming the preferred way to relax and unwind as opposed to traditional alcoholic beverages.THC drinkables are obtained in the same way alcoholic beverages are (adults 21+) and don’t require a prescription or medical card. In addition to being discreet, there are different strengths and size options available that cater to various tolerance levels. Cannabis-infused beverages are ideal replacements for individuals who enjoy a glass of wine at dinner, seek out familiar cocktails at social events, and look forward to cracking open a cold one after...

Snowmelt thrills whitewater rafters, but California sheriffs closing some rivers to recreation for now

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:05 GMT

A river whose twists and turns have earned names like “Troublemaker,” “Satan’s Cesspool” and “Dead Man’s Drop” warrants respect — even when years of drought have tamed its rushing waters. This, of course, is not such a year.A winter that drenched the Golden State with torrential rains and blanketed its mountains with massive, now-melting snow has swelled California’s rivers like the American to levels not seen for years, even generations.That’s making for an epic, adrenalin-fueled season for whitewater thrill-seekers. Andres Moreno, whose 8th-grade class at Golden Valley Charter School near Folsom took a trip last week down the South Fork of the American River with American Whitewater Expeditions, had been rafting before, but that was nothing like it is now.“I thought I would get wet — but, like, not that wet!” Moreno, 14, said afterward. “I didn’t expect it to be so many, like, big waves.”Eigh...