Headlines November 22, 2021
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Aurora Meeting To Address Youth Violence
Yesterday there was a meeting about the state of emergency in Aurora after two separate shootings left nine teenagers injured last week. Community groups and religious leaders came together to give young people a place to share and learn about resources to help them. 9News reports that the gathering was hosted by the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of Colorado Church of God in Christ Youth Department and was joined by, among others, the Greater Denver Metro Ministerial Alliance, the NAACP-Aurora Branch, and the police department.
The meeting was held less than a mile from Hinkley High School, which was the scene of the second shooting that occurred on Friday. Police say they have arrested 3 suspects, each 16-years-old, and they say it was gang related.
The other incident occurred last Monday near Aurora Central High School when six students suffered gunshot wounds. None of the victims in either shootings succumbed to their wounds. Vanessa Wilson, Chief of the Aurora Police Department, said last night that the two incidents were not related.
Colorado COVID-19 Deaths Pass 9,000
Governor Jared Polis said on Friday that while the state has the 9th lowest number of deaths from COVID-19 in the country, still 9,000 Coloradans have their lives to the virus. He repeated his hope that more people will get the vaccine, noting that 81% of adults and nearly 40% of children aged 5 to 17 have gotten at least one dose.
Polis said that the state is facing one of the toughest waves since the start of the pandemic. He also urged anyone who had the vaccine over 6 months ago to get a booster. According to the Colorado health department, over 1,500 people are hospitalized in the state from COVID-19. 82% of those are unvaccinated. County Health Officials Suggest Longmont Join Call For Statewide Masking And Vaccine Passports
At a special meeting on Friday of the Longmont City Council, Boulder County Health Officials suggested the city consider joining other agencies that are urging Governor Polis to issue a statewide mask mandate and require vaccine passports for indoor settings.
The Daily Camera reports that Lexi Nolen, the deputy director of Boulder County Public Health, said that the city’s proximity to Larimer and Weld counties affects Longmont. Those counties have been less restrictive in adopting masking and vaccination rules.
Several metro Denver health agencies wrote to the governor earlier this month asking him to issue a statewide mask mandate and to require vaccine passports because of the COVID-19 surge in hospitals.
The Longmont council members did not say whether they would join that request.
Janitor Walk Off Leads To Tentative Settlement
Janitors at Denver International Airport have reached a tentative bargaining agreement with their employer. Hundreds of the workers walked off their jobs on Saturday morning as the heavy holiday traffic was beginning.
The settlement came after they struck for 12-hours and provides a $4 dollar per hour raise over three years which union officials, with Local 105 of the Service Employees International Union, called historic.
The agreement comes after the union negotiated for months with Flagship Facility Services.
In a release, the union said the janitors returned to work immediately and a vote of the workers will be scheduled on the proposed agreement this week.
Rocky Flats Decision Appealed
The Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center is appealing a judge’s decision, dismissing their lawsuit, challenging the use of the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons manufacturing site as a wildlife refuge open to hikers and bikers.
The organization had sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, saying that it did not comply with federal law when it opened the refuge to the public three years ago, but a federal judge dismissed the case.
The refuge contains about 11 miles of trials where triggers for nuclear warheads were assembled for more than 40 years. The manufacturing facility was closed decades ago, but there are still concerns about radioactivity.
Randall Weiner, the attorney for the Peace and Justice Center, told The Denver Post that the appeal was the last and best chance to close the refuge, and that the government did not adequately consider the environmental issues related to residual plutonium contamination.
CU Boulder Athletics Joins Net Zero Push
The Athletics Department at the University of Colorado Boulder has joined a campaign to achieve net zero carbon emissions.
The effort is being led by the United Nations Race to Zero program. The Daily Camera reports that CU Boulder’s Athletics is committed to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and to reach net zero emissions by 2040.
A statement from Rick George, head of Athletic said that they can continue to set examples for their fans and everybody else watching to make sustainable choices.
Kruger Rock Fire Contained
The Kruger Rock Fire near Estes Park has been fully contained. The fire started last Tuesday and burned almost 150 acres.
Record Lack Of Snow
The last time measurable snow fell in Denver was on April 21st, and now it’s the latest in the season that the metro area has had to wait for snowfall since records started in 1882. Previously, the latest first snow of the season was back in 1934 on November 21st.