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Illegal immigrant surges in Denver have cost $356 million, study finds
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denvergazette.com, Local

Illegal immigrant surges in Denver have cost $356 million, study finds

By Nicole C. Brambila | Denver Gazette A new study estimated that the nearly 43,000 immigrants who have come to Denver over the past two years have cost $356 million. Conducted by the Common Sense Institute (CSI), the estimate examined the outlays by the city of Denver, as well as associated health care and education costs across the region. Founded in 2010, the institute is a nonprofit organization in Greenwood Village that conducts fiscal and economic research. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
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Denver spent $150 million in untracked expenses for homeless shelters, audit reveals
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Local, National Review

Denver spent $150 million in untracked expenses for homeless shelters, audit reveals

By David Zimmermann | National Review Denver paid nearly $150 million between January 2022 and March 2024 for non-migrant shelter-related expenses that a city department has not been tracking, a recent audit report found. Denver’s Department of Housing Stability has been unable to provide a comprehensive breakdown of an estimated $149.6 million in taxpayer funds spent in the two-year time frame, according to a 51-page audit published Thursday by the Denver Auditor’s Office. “Although we asked Housing Stability multiple times for documentation identifying all shelter-related expenses from Jan. 1, 2022, through March 31, 2024, the department was unable to provide this information,” the report states. READ THE FULL STORY AT NATIONAL REVIEW
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With 11% apartment vacancy rate, its a good time to be a renter in Denver
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Denverite, Local

With 11% apartment vacancy rate, its a good time to be a renter in Denver

By Sarah Mulholland | Denverite Most Denverites have probably noticed all the apartment buildings being built in recent years. It turns out that those buildings are taking a while to fill — and that’s good news for renters. The vacancy rate for apartments in the metro Denver area was 11 percent as of October, according to real estate data company CoStar. That’s roughly double the vacancy rate of a few years ago, according to CoStar, which also owns Apartments.com, one of the biggest online rental portals in the U.S.  READ THE FULL STORY AT DENVERITE
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Denver to activate emergency shelters for cold Thanksgiving weekend
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denvergazette.com, Local

Denver to activate emergency shelters for cold Thanksgiving weekend

By Noah Festenstein | Denver Gazette Denver is activating emergency shelters for five days starting Wednesday as cold weather is expected to blanket the region this Thanksgiving weekend. This week's emergency shelter operation is the longest so far this year. The city's cold weather plan provides additional shelter for people who are not in city shelters or third-party homeless units. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
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Colorado Springs City Council approves $941M budget for 2025, dipping into reserves to balance
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coloradopolitics.com, Local

Colorado Springs City Council approves $941M budget for 2025, dipping into reserves to balance

By Brennen Kauffman | The Gazette Colorado Springs City Council gave the final approval Tuesday for the city's 2025 budget. The final budget covers $941 million in city expenses and revenue next year, including $438 million in spending for the city's general fund. Colorado Springs' budget has increased from the $900 million budget passed for 2024 but is still down from the billion dollar budget the city had in 2023. The new budget continues some of the reductions the city enacted last year to deal with financial crunches, including limiting new department spending and keeping several unfilled positions open. To balance the budget, the city will end up pulling $3.9 million from its reserves. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE GAZETTE
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In Grand Junction, scrutiny intensifies on Resource Center to address rising crime, other issues
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Local, Rocky Mountain Voice

In Grand Junction, scrutiny intensifies on Resource Center to address rising crime, other issues

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Once celebrated as one of the top 10 main streets in the U.S., Grand Junction’s downtown now faces turmoil. Business owners, frustrated with the nearby Resource Center, are cleaning up feces and needles and dealing with fires and property damage. Many are calling for the center to be relocated. The Resource Center opened on Dec. 11, 2023, providing food, shelter, hygiene and navigation services for the homeless. By October 2024, however, downtown business owners reported rising concerns about harassment, danger, property damage and filth. At the Nov. 20 meeting of City Council, business owners shared their frustrations.  “We've put in a new, almost $20,000 camera system since this Resource Center came in," business own...
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Highlands Ranch road renamed to honor Kendrick Castillo, the hero in the STEM school shooting
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DENVER7, Local

Highlands Ranch road renamed to honor Kendrick Castillo, the hero in the STEM school shooting

By Richard Butler | Denver 7 News A major roadway in Highlands Ranch was renamed to honor Kendrick Castillo, the hero student who charged at the gunman during the 2019 STEM School shooting, giving his classmates time to hide and run. Castillo's family and Highlands Ranch officials unveiled Kendrick Castillo Way, formerly Lucent Boulevard, on Tuesday. The Kendrick Castillo Memorial Oversight Committee requested the name change, and it was approved by the Board of Douglas County Commissioners. READ THE FULL STORY AT DENVER 7 NEWS
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Union workers file lawsuit against King Soopers, Safeway for alleged actions during 2022 strike
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kdvr.com, Local

Union workers file lawsuit against King Soopers, Safeway for alleged actions during 2022 strike

By Samantha Jarpe | Fox 31 News A class action lawsuit was recently filed by local union workers against the Kroger Company and Albertsons, the owners of King Soopers and Safeway respectively. The lawsuit is in response to certain unlawful “no-poach agreements” the grocery stores allegedly entered into during a 2022 strike against King Soopers and City Market by the union United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 in Denver. A spokesperson for the Kroger Company released a statement about the lawsuit and denied that there were any no-poach agreements between the two companies. READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX 31 NEWS
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Summit County residents pay a tax for work U.S. Forest Service says it won’t do this year
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CBS Colorado, Local

Summit County residents pay a tax for work U.S. Forest Service says it won’t do this year

By Spencer Wilson | CBS Colorado The U.S. Forest Service says it will not be hiring seasonal workers that do campsite enforcement in Colorado this upcoming year. In past years, those workers have kept the campgrounds clean and the trails safe. The decision by the Forest Service has upset some people in Summit County who pay extra in their taxes for some of those positions. The tax was created because the county is not allowed to hire people to do that enforcement themselves. The work needs to be done by a USFS employee. The Forest Service doesn't have the money to create those positions this upcoming year and wants to use the money that they'll save for other priorities, according to county leaders. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
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She worked for Denver for 20 years. Now she’s suing Mayor Mike Johnston’s office and his chief equity officer
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Denverite, Local

She worked for Denver for 20 years. Now she’s suing Mayor Mike Johnston’s office and his chief equity officer

By Kyle Harris | Denverite A City of Denver employee is suing the Mayor’s Office and the Mayor’s Chief Equity Officer. Jessica Calderon’s allegations include sex and national-origin discrimination, retaliation and violations of her constitutional rights to free expression and assembly.  She filed the complaint in August and her attorneys amended it this week. It addresses several years of grievances that span the administrations of former mayor Michael Hancock and Mayor Mike Johnston. The Denver City Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the complaint, and neither the Mayor’s Office nor Chief Equity Officer Ben Sanders have responded to Denverite’s requests for comment on the allegations.  READ THE FULL STORY AT DENVERITE
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