Hello readers, my old friends. I've come to talk to you again. About all the news that's breaaaking. About all the stories happppening.
Sorry, sorry. Let's get to it. Today we've got marijuana news, an interesting education model, a second chance for a lifer and some new murals in RiNo, among other stuff that I read this morning.
Aurora may spend more marijuana money on homelessness services.
Denver's neighbor has already dedicated $1.5 million of its annual marijuana taxes to fund services for homeless people. Now it's considering another $750,000. It's an interesting proposal: If marijuana really does attract people needing services to Colorado, why not close the loop? (Aurora Sentinel)
A Congresswoman wants an investigation of Chipotle's labor practices.
U.S. Rep Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut wants the Labor Department to look into allegations of possible wage theft by the Denver-based company. Ten-thousand workers are suing too, claiming Chipotle had them work "off the clock" hours without pay. (Reuters)
The West is doing well.
Our region led the country in a strong year of wage growth. (Denverite)
Weed isn't legal for foreigners.
Westword has the story of Claudia, a Chilean who was "banned" from the U.S. after admitting to using marijuana in Colorado. (Westword)
Westminster schools are using private money to fund full-day pre-school.
Westminster has seven pre-schools that keep kids all day, which is a bit unusual by itself. What's more: They're funded by philanthropists and investors, who will be partially repaid if the programs prove socially beneficial. Denver's using the same model to provide services for homeless people. (Chalkbeat)
A man sentenced to life as a juvenile gets a second chance.
Giselle Gutierrez-Ruiz was sentenced to life in prison without parole as a teenager in 1998, when he was convicted of first-degree murderer. Since then, expectations for juvenile court cases have started to change, and new questions about his lawyers have surfaced. The inmate could be released next year. (5280)
RiNo gets more colorful this week.
Colorado Crush will bring dozens of artists to the artsy-developery neighborhood to paint a bunch of new murals. (KDVR)
