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Denver area residents continue to pay a premium when it comes to inflation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:00:02 GMT

Inflation in metro Denver continues to run much hotter than the rest of the country, with energy prices a significant contributor to a stubborn gap that is denying area consumers the reprieve seen in other parts of the country.The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers in Denver-Aurora-Lakewood rose at a 5.4% annual pace, ahead of the U.S. city average rate of 3.7%, according to September CPI numbers the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released on Thursday.As was the case this summer, metro Denver continues to report some of the highest price increases in the country outside of Florida, where annual inflation is running at 7.8% in Miami and 6.7% in Tampa, according to the most recent CPI reports for those metro areas. Detroit is also higher at 5.9% and Seattle is tied with Denver at 5.4%.Energy is one area where metro Denver prices are diverging the most for reasons that aren’t entirely clear. Energy services, which include home electricity and natural gas costs, are up ...

Denver judge rules 14th Amendment lawsuit seeking to bar Trump from ballot can proceed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:00:02 GMT

Determining whether a Civil War-era Constitutional amendment disqualifies Donald Trump from Colorado’s ballot holds enough public benefit that a lawsuit seeking to bar him as a candidate can continue, a Denver judge ruled this week.A group of Colorado voters, backed by a liberal watchdog group, is arguing the 14th Amendment bars Trump from Colorado’s ballot. The amendment prohibits people from holding office if they have “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the country. The lawsuit, filed by Republican and unaffiliated Colorado voters, cites Trump’s alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021, siege of the nation’s Capitol, as meeting that bar.Trump’s lawyers argued in September that the lawsuit was an attempt to infringe on his First Amendment right to freedom of speech. They sought to dismiss the claim under a Colorado law aimed at protecting people from frivolous lawsuits for exercising that right.Without ruling on the merits of the case, ...

Colorado student suspensions increase to highest level in a decade

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:00:02 GMT

Colorado schools issued almost 97,000 suspensions to students during the last academic year, the most recorded in a decade, according to new state data.  Overall, suspensions and expulsions have rebounded statewide since children returned to their classrooms following the height of the pandemic, the Colorado Department of Education’s data shows. “It’s always alarming when we see an uptick in suspensions and/or expulsions because that means that we are not doing the most restorative approaches that we could be doing to keep kids in our classrooms,” said Auon’tai Anderson, vice president of Denver Public School’s Board of Education. Statewide, schools issued 96,948 in- and out-of-school suspensions during the 2022-23 academic year, a 16% increase from 2021-22, when the state reported 83,414 suspensions, according to the state data. Suspensions for alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, disobedience and detrimental behavior all rose last year, according to the data. The statewide suspensio...

Book reviews: A new Hercule Poirot novel and other mysteries

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:00:02 GMT

“After That Night,” by Karen Slaughter (William Morrow)“After That Night,” by Karen Slaughter (William Morrow)When a young woman dies in the ER after being raped, Dr. Sara Linton promises the victim she’ll find a way to bring the attacker to justice. The attack dredges up memories of Sara’s own rape 15 years earlier, and there are uncanny similarities.Three years later, at the trial of the woman’s accused rapist, his befuddled mother, Britt McAllister, confronts Sara, saying, “I can’t save the rest of them, but I can save my boy.” Britt is Sara’s medical school nemesis, part of a gang of interns whose leader is her husband. With the help of her fiancé, Will Trent, Sara investigates the members of the old gang in an attempt to uncover their horrifying secret. It’s a brutal story filled with arrogant, sexist physicians who are only too happy to make Sara relive her past terror.“Salt House Place,” by Jamie Lee Sogn (Lake Union)Delia is haunted by wha...

Kaiser Permanente reaches tentative deal with health care workers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:00:02 GMT

A tentative deal has been reached Friday morning between Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions representing thousands of health care workers. More than 75,000 Kaiser workers took part in a 3-day strike last week to bring attention to what they called unfair labor practices and unfair working conditions that were affecting the quality of patient care.“We just can’t go on with this staffing crisis,” one worker preparing to picket outside the Kaiser hospital in North Hollywood last week.Part of the tentative deal included raises and renewed outsourcing and subcontracting protections, according to an email announcing the agreement. "We won this agreement by standing together and taking action," a portion of the email read. The agreement still needs to be ratified by a vote.

Large crowd, cars burning rubber takeover Rosemead shopping center

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:00:02 GMT

More than 100 people and several cars took over a Rosemead shopping center Thursday night.Sky5 was over the scene around 10:30 p.m. at the Rosemead Place Shopping Center just north of the 10 Freeway. A crowd gathers outside the Rosemead Place Shopping Center on Oct. 12, 2023. (KTLA)At one point, a crowd of people were standing around vehicles blocking the walkway and parking lot area outside an Ulta Beauty store. The vehicles were revving their engines, causing fire to come out of the exhausts. Teen arrested in fatal shooting of West Covina liquor store clerk Another vehicle was burning rubber in the parking lot, leaving skid marks on the roadway. There was no word on whether any arrests were made or citations given.

Danny O’Keefe Digs Little Richard

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:00:02 GMT

Danny O’Keefe Digs Little Richard: Songwriter extraordinaire Danny O’Keefe told us about his Little Richard experience.Danny O’Keefe: I was spending the summer of my thirteenth year in a small town on the Mississippi River called Lake City. It was where my aunt and uncle and my cousins lived. It was a magical place for me.I lived in a little town in Washington State situated on the Columbia River. I’d been listening to Bill Haley and the Comets; Fats Domino; Gene Vincent; Buddy Holly; and, of course Elvis. But it was Little Richard that got to me in the biggest way. The first time I heard “Long Tall Sally” he tore my head off. You couldn’t help but move when you heard it. I wasn’t even sure if I understood the lyrics: “Gonna tell Aunt Mary ‘bout Uncle John. Claims to have the misery but he has a lotta fun. Oh, baby!” And, yet, I did. Didn’t we all? Adolescent white kids yearning for something that would move us a sufficient distance off the square.We were walking d...

‘Help is coming’ to replace latest destroyed signage in troublesome San Jose spot: Roadshow

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:00:02 GMT

Q: At Story Road and Lancelot, island signage was destroyed months ago. It has been numerous times. One night in September, a driver hit the center island, skidded to Moraes Court and destroyed a pickup prior to stopping. Story Road was worked on, as was the island, but no new signage or reflectors were installed. The black on the island, presumably from vehicle tires, makes the island difficult to see, especially at night.A couple of weeks ago at Story and Clayton/Meadow Lane, a center of the road stop sign was destroyed (again!) within a week of the sign having been replaced.Over the years there have been many accidents in this area of Story Road. Please ask the city to replace AND improve the signage at Lancelot.Also, recently a No Stopping sign was installed at Moraes Court and Story Road. What is the difference between No Stopping and No Parking? Closer to King Road on Story, there are double stacked signs, No Parking on or below No Stopping signs.AnonymousA: On your first ques...

Free condoms in public schools? Not in California — at least, not yet

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:00:02 GMT

Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed legislation that would have provided students with free condoms at public schools — an attempt to reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and drive down the rate of teen pregnancies.The bill, which was written by Sen. Caroline Menjivar (D-Panorama City), would have also blocked retailers from refusing the sale of condoms to teen customers. Though Newsom agreed that increasing access to condoms was “important to supporting improved adolescent sexual health,” he rejected the bill due to the cost — an explanation that seems to have become boilerplate language for dozens of the governor’s vetoes in recent days.“With our state facing continuing economic risk and revenue uncertainty, it is important to remain disciplined when considering bills with significant fiscal implications, such as this measure,” said Newsom in his veto statement.The state was forced to deal with a $30 billion budget shortfall this year. Newsom said th...

Hey, Bay Area: Here’s where to watch the partial “Ring of Fire” solar eclipse on Saturday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:00:02 GMT

If you’re far enough north, the skies will darken ominously on early Saturday morning as the moon slides across the face of the sun and creates a rare and hauntingly beautiful “ring of fire” eclipse.But even in the Bay Area, we may detect a subtle dimming, evidence of the clockwork of the universe as the sun and moon appear to cross paths.Related ArticlesScience | Saturday’s solar eclipse in the Bay Area: What it will look like Science | ‘Ring of fire’ solar eclipse will slice across Americas on Saturday with millions along path Science | What to look for and where to buy solar shades for safe eclipse viewing Science | A ‘ring of fire’ solar eclipse is coming soon. Here’s what you should know Science | Tomorrow’s full harvest moon is the last supermoon of the year “The sun will look like a crescent. We’ll see a giant bite taken out of the sun’s surface,” said astronomer Andrew Fraknoi, lectur...